“The key is, no matter what you’re doing, to do it with a service approach. And that’s really what authentic marketing is: serving.”
— Chris Do (The Futur)
Two years ago, Dr. Don Schweitzer was splitting time between his associate professor role and trying to build Sierra Counseling & Coaching. He had a new Wix website and real expertise, but no infrastructure to actually grow a business. No email system. No lead magnets. No content pipeline. No strategy for turning his knowledge into consistent revenue.
We started working together to build all of that. Website rebuild. Logo and brand definition. MailChimp setup. Social media. CRM integration. The first lead magnet. And, importantly, a content system that could function whether Don had time to create or not. His time is constrained by teaching schedules, research, and client work. The retainer addresses that bottleneck directly: when Don’s swamped, Stigma M&D creates content using material from his actual work. Custom ads. Social posts. Chapter intros. Training materials. Strategic email campaigns.
His email list has grown to 2,783 subscribers, and we’re targeting 4,000 within the year. But list size doesn’t matter if you’re not converting attention into revenue. So, here’s what one authentic email campaign generated in five days—and what it could do annually.
The Jab-Jab-Hook Method
“Give value. Give value. Give value. And then ask for business.”
— Gary Vaynerchuk
I stole this from Gary Vaynerchuk. It’s simple: you earn the right to sell by proving value first. When done right, email marketing returns $36 for every $1 spent. What we needed to do for SC&C was less Jab and more Hook. Don’s readers have got a lot of valuable material, while Don’s sales and services were struggling behind.
Jabs are value, like newsletters, challenges, tutorials, research, tools, and content that shows up consistently with something useful. No pitch or agenda needed. Just content they can use because you want to provide it. Don’s Weekly Mindful Living newsletters hit 20-30% open rates consistently. The Weekly Mindfulness Challenges perform the same—Challenge #53 hit 25.9%. These aren’t promotional. They’re the actual work, packaged for email.
Every Jab deposits trust. Every email proves opening his content is worth the time. We’re not growth-hacking or gaming algorithms. We’re building a relationship where asking for something—the Hook—feels natural instead of predatory. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer, and email marketing can help your people stay connected and benefiting from your expertise.
It’s easier to Hook an audience when they’re already eating what you’re feeding them. Content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional outbound marketing. When you’ve built enough trust that sales feel natural, the conversions reflect it. The best marketing isn’t noticed.
The Campaign: Nov 29 – Dec 3
First, we did another Mindful Living Newsletter as a “Jab” to keep the pace and re-establish a personal connection with his audience. This was a return to the resource-rich format, created by Stigma M&D based on Don’s real life and posts. It was pure value—real story-telling, resources, value, and low sales. Midful Living #98 was sent to 2,782 Recipients and achieved a 27.1% Open Rate.
Then, it was time for the Hook. We’ve helped Don develop a catalog of four mindfulness resources, one launching before Christmas. They’re extensions of services and expertise he’s provided for two years. Using these, I created an email about Holiday Mindulness resources on Small Business Saturday.
On November 29th, we sent the Mindfulness Resource Holiday Guide—a strategic Hook. Here’s what happened:
- 9 book sales on Amazon at $5.99 profit per unit = $53.91 in confirmed profit.
- 2 unique counseling clicks to the Calendly consultation link.
High-intent leads. People who opened, read about his services, and wanted to schedule. Conservatively, if one converts to a 6-week client at $150/session, that’s $900 in potential recurring revenue.
The total measurable value already from one email campaign is $953.91.
We also resent to non-openers from a previous campaign. The subject line said “RESEND”—we didn’t hide it. That’s not smooth, that’s transparent. That resend got an extra 7.6% open rate and more clicks, but that didn’t make the math here.
Email marketing is more about consistently providing nickels and dimes for your audience than it is about nickling and diming them. We provide value so, when we ask for money, it’s a fair exchange.
“You cannot bore people into buying your product; you can only interest them in buying it.”
— Leo Burnett
The Annual Projection
One campaign generating $947.92 proves the concept. But the shift can be systemic—from inconsistent hustle to a predictable engine. For example, we could easily estimate that if we kept with the Jab-Jab-Hook method for Don’s future email marketing, we could see:
- Resource Sales: 52 weeks × $100 weekly profit = $5,200 annually
Sustaining $100/week (16-17 units) is conservative given what we’ve proven.
- Client Acquisition: 12 new clients/year × $900 per 6-week engagement = $10,800 annually
One client per month is conservative. One Hook campaign generated 2 high-intent leads; converting half is realistic. Run one Hook monthly, and we’re looking at 24+ leads annually.
- Total: $16,000+ in annual revenue Don wasn’t generating before.
The Jabs nurture continuously. The Hooks convert strategically. The infrastructure runs whether Don has time or not. That’s leverage.
Why This Works
Many businesses build a list and immediately pitch. Or send generic newsletters that don’t provide real value. Or give up after getting no results. All email marketing fails because it hasn’t earned trust.
Jab-Jab-Hook works because it mirrors actual human relationships. You show up. Provide value. Build trust through consistent delivery. Then ask without expectation or attachment. It doesn’t feel like a violation—it feels like a relationship.
“The sales department is not the whole company, but the whole company had better be the sales department.”
— Philip Kotler
What This Means for Other Purpose-Driven Professionals
If you’re a consultant, therapist, coach, or service-based business owner, this model works. You don’t need a massive list. You don’t need viral content. You need a system that delivers real value consistently and converts that value into revenue when you’ve earned the right to ask.
Infrastructure matters—the MailChimp setup, the website that functions, the lead magnets, the CRM, the email sequences that nurture without being manipulative. All of it.
Consistency matters. Don’s 20-30% open rates happened because we showed up every week for two years with something genuinely useful. Trust compounds over time. There’s no shortcut.
Giving away your expertise matters. Don’s newsletters aren’t teases designed to withhold the real answer until someone pays. They’re complete, useful content. That’s exactly what makes the Hook effective when we send it—the audience already knows that when Don asks for money, what they’re buying is worth it because he’s proven it repeatedly.
And strategic timing matters. Hook too early and you burn the relationship. Wait too long, and you leave money on the table while your audience forgets why they signed up. The Jab-Jab-Hook method forces that balance: earn the right to sell through consistent value, then sell without apology.
This is what it looks like when business and marketing are done as one: authentic value, service, and trust. Not as separate functions, or competing priorities. But as the same integrated work.
The process is always one thing at a time, one idea at a time, and one person at a time.
“The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few adjectives will persuade her to buy anything.”
— David Ogilvy
