Confession, Reader,

With the exception of writing these emails, I don't really like "marketing."

It all feels like too much work. Write this many characters and no more. Post this often. Format it this way. Spend this much time liking, commenting, and subscribing.

I understand the irony. This kind of strategic structure helps me stay consistent, yet I also suffer from have the kind of artistic, free spirit that rebels against rules and expectations.😂

Just as I had to find a way to make money "fun" for my clients and me, I need fun ways to generate leads if I'm going to stick to it.

Nothing is more fun than hanging out with friends and luckily, hanging out with friends has made me a great deal of money.

Seriously. My "marketing" is about 15% writing/posting and 85% connecting with cool humans I enjoy.

Let's take one example.

My top referral partner in 2024, a dear client and friend, brought in $23,877 in client work.

She herself was once a referral. She met me in a business group where I was a featured speaker. That event generated $25,304 in client work.

I was introduced to the leader of that business group from ANOTHER referral, one of my oldest clients, who is a true raving fan. In addition to introducing me to leaders who may want me to speak, this client has directly referred $41,552 in other clients since 2021.

You guessed it, that raving fan client was first a referral too. I met her in 2020 in a business mastermind.

That mastermind directly made me $156,688 in client revenue, BEFORE I add up all the additional income from referrals from that group. As you've just seen, tracing just one referral from that group adds an additional $90,733 in revenue!

Despite leading to at least $247,421 in revenue and more than 25x my original investment, that mastermind is only my 3rd most profitable marketing investment.

The most profitable of all? Catherine Brown's Good Humans Growth Network. You can hear my testimonial of the referrals that came from just one day of networking within her group which has led to a 60x return on my investment (so far).

Good Humans is hosting the GROW conference in Galveston, TX from Feb 26-28.

Catherine is letting me share $100 off the registration fee with the code GROW100.

There are many reasons that the Good Humans in Catherine's group are exceptional referral partners, yet the main reason is how Catherine herself structures her live events.

She describes the GROW conference as a “highly curated, relationship-building experience" because she knows that no one is going to refer someone unless they have an authentic relationship first.

Catherine's ahead of a significant trend here. ​
With AI and algorithms controlling more and more of the content we see online, clients and customers don't know if they can trust the content they see anymore and are unlikely to buy without hours spent researching or interacting with a brand.

For this reason, marketing budgets are being slashed because it just doesn't have the ROI of the early days of the internet or social media. Relationships are the new (old) business trend of 2025 as authentic, in-person connection is more important than ever to drive sales, even for product-based businesses.

That's why I'm so excited for GROW. I can't wait for more friends, more fun, and more referrals to come from this sunny, beachside conference next month.

Use the code GROW100 for $100 off and come to GROW with me. Register here.

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To your success,

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