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How emails are the heart of your coaching business

• Gregory Halpen

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Episode 1: A New Way to Build
How email marketing, consent-based funnels, and your quirks can fuel a sustainable coaching business.

Tired of the "crush it" culture? So are we.

In this debut episode of the You're Subscribed! podcast, we’re tossing out toxic marketing tactics and reclaiming business-building as a creative, soul-led act. If you’ve ever felt like your weirdness, contradictions, or anxiety made you “too much” to be a coach—this one’s for you.

We’re breaking down:

  • Why marketing doesn’t have to feel performative
  • How email creates space for real connection (without algorithm pressure)
  • The power of consent-based funnels (bye-bye, fake urgency)
  • A mindset shift: Write to your past self to connect with your dream clients now
  • Why your quirks aren’t a liability—they’re your brand magic

This is your permission slip to build a business that honors your voice, your values, and your life.

Key Takeaways:

  • Email = Intimacy: Create connection in a space where performance isn’t required.
  • Story over strategy: When you share lived experience, you build trust that converts.
  • Funnel reframe: You don’t need sleaze to sell—consent-based marketing works better and feels better.
  • Your weird is your wow: Stop editing yourself out of your brand. Start leading with what makes you memorable.

Resources + Links:

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Speaker 1:

Hey, welcome to the first episode of the Quirky Rebel Coach podcast. This is the very first episode and this first episode is where we lay the foundation of what to expect in coming episodes, and in this episode, I'm going to share what this podcast is about who I'm here for, why I teach email-first business building and what I really think about funnels and what you can expect in future episodes, whether you're just starting out or starting over, welcome. So let's get this out of the way. The Quirky Rebel Coach isn't here to help you crush it or scale, or crush your next launch or hit six figures by Thursday. No, this is a podcast about building something sustainable and soul aligned. It's about marketing that feels like a creative act, not a performance. It's about crafting honest messages that connect, not just convert. It's not all about conversion. So if you're looking for five-step hacks and bro-y energy, this isn't the place, but if you want to build a business that reflects your values, your quirks, your weirdness and your real voice, you're absolutely in the right place. So welcome. Because you are allowed to desire financial stability, you are allowed to raise your rates. You are allowed to be seen as valuable without performing the business you're building, as valuable without performing the business you're building, the stories you're carrying, the honesty you bring into this work. That is worthy. You are worthy and that's why this podcast exists Not just to teach you how to write better emails, but to remind you over and over and over and I will always remind you and I will always be here, be here to be that cheerleader that you can do this your way, that you don't have to edit out the messy parts of your story to be successful, that your quirks and contradictions and lived experience are the brand. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. So why email?

Speaker 1:

Email is quiet. I like that word, quiet. I like stillness. It's easier. At least for me it's easier, it's intimate and it's where real connections happen. Especially if you are an introvert, email marketing is the perfect tool for an introverted person or a person who has a lot of anxiety or depression. All of that, all of that jazz, you know. No algorithm, no chasing trends, just you and your reader, your stories, their full attention.

Speaker 1:

And, let's be real, social media can be useful, absolutely, but it can also be a trap. Constant content, constantly churning out content, chasing the followers, chasing the algorithms, performance over presence it's like shouting into the void. No one's answering you back. That's just how it works. With email, you build trust, you build depth, you build a business. That doesn't depend on how often you post, but how honestly you show up. And yes, you can show up honestly on social media, but it's a different vibe, it's a different dynamic there. It's not the same thing as emails. So here's a quick tip If you don't know what to send your list this week, try this Write a letter to the version of yourself from one to two years ago.

Speaker 1:

What did you need to hear then? That's your email. I promise it will resonate. You're sharing your story and, yes, there is a way to share your story. That's not too much, that's not trauma dumping, that's not manipulative or desperate desperation marketing. We're not doing that here. There is a way to be creative, transparent and truthful with your story, especially in how you tell it. There is a way to be creative, transparent and truthful with your story, especially in how you tell it. There's a way to do it.

Speaker 1:

Listen, I'm not anti-funnel. I like funnels. Funnels can be beautiful. I love funnel cake. I can't eat it, but I love it. They can create ease and structure right. They can help your audience make aligned decisions and feel supported along the way. If they're done in a way that doesn't manipulate. Funnels should never manipulate. In my opinion, they're self-manipulative. They're built that way to begin with. It's not like there's no perfect funnel, but you can make a more consensual, transparent funnel that's not deceitful or doesn't trick you. And in my opinion and this is how I work a funnel should never rely on fake urgency, fear tactics or sleazy copy. Some urgency is okay as long as it's not fake urgency. Some urgency is okay, like in the theater. I'm a storyteller, I'm an actor. There's always urgency in the work that I do and the storytelling that I do. That's just how the story gets driven forward, right? But the kind of funnels I support are rooted in consent, transparency and relationship building. They tell a story, they give your people space to breathe. They're the kind of funnels you would feel good moving through, okay.

Speaker 1:

So here's an example I helped a client of mine build a three email nurture sequence that invited people into her program. No hard sell, no countdown clock, just clarity, honesty, genuine care. There's a funnel woven into that three email nurture sequence. But how the sequence was set up and how it was written it was very truthful and honest and it was not based on desperation. She had a higher conversion rate than when she followed a template she bought online or when she followed the advice of somebody who says, no, you need more urgency, you need more um. You need to make people think, and the only way you can do that is by being a little deceitful in your emails, and that wasn't the most awful thing I've ever heard in my life when I heard that. So she did it her way. So she did it her way. I mean, she did it the way that I suggested and we worked together on and it changed for her. It was freaking amazing.

Speaker 1:

Why is this important? Because people can feel when you're being real with them. Now, feeling something is different from knowing something, because we feel things all the time, but do we know why we're feeling it and can we, can we see that feeling as um, as an instinct or a gut instinct? Not all the time. That's why people, many people, get taken by these funnels, by these emails, by these email marketers. It's a lot of a lot of scamminess out there, even people who may not be scammers. Just the way they're built and the way they set up their business, it's just the way it is right, but let's change that shit. Here's a quick tip Before sending your next funnel email, just ask yourself a question. Ask yourself would I feel good receiving this? And if not, if you have any doubts, any second guessing at all, rewrite it until you would.

Speaker 1:

If you're a coach or creative entrepreneur in the early stages or in the middle of a pivot, this podcast is for you. You want to build a list, share your story, create offers that feel right, that feel aligned with your value sets, that feel like a warm blanket during the wintertime. You know something cozy and yummy and truthful. You want to grow slow and grow real and maybe, just maybe, you want to stop feeling like you have to edit out the most interesting parts of you, of who you are. You're not trying to impress anyone or everyone. You're trying to connect with the right people. If you're over the performance and if you're ready to lead with substance, not strategy hype first, welcome home. So here's what you can expect from future episodes of the Quirky Rebel Coach Podcast Number one short, soulful episodes with tips on email writing, consent creation I should say content creation, but we want to make sure there's consent within the content and business growth rooted in integrity, right.

Speaker 1:

Also, we want to work on mindset strategies, self-sabotage like. When that stuff comes up, we're going to talk about it. We're going to talk about honest stories people mine and others about the behind the scenes of building something real, something sustainable, something that we need to understand that it takes time to build. Also, reflections on visibility, money, creativity and what it really takes to keep going. And when I say money, I'm not saying like anything about six figures, seven feet, any of that crap. I'm talking about our money blocks, things that get in our way when it comes to money and the stories we have created that we tell ourselves about not being worthy enough and all of that jazz and some gentle rants. Because, let's be honest, some of this online biz advice needs to be called out and I'm going to call it out gently. I'm not going to do any. I'm going to be rebellious about it, but I'm not going to be a jerk about it At the Quirky Rebel Coach Podcast always grounded, always human, always about helping you grow a business that feels like you Do.

Speaker 1:

You know who you are. That's a good. That's a good first step. If you don't know who you are, then you're not going to know what kind of business you're going to start or what kind of business you're trying to start. So if you take nothing else from this episode, take this.

Speaker 1:

You are allowed to build a business that fits your values, honors your voice and supports your life. I'm trying to break through all the noise out there. If you're a coach trying to make it in this world of a coaching business, there's a lot of noise out there. So many people coming at us with offers, with courses, with oh my God, with so many things, especially if you're prevalent on social media. That's all you ever see. Just remember you are allowed to build a business that fits your values, honors your voice and supports your life. You are allowed to take up space to tell your story, to earn well. You don't need to make a killing, just earn well, make a decent living. You are worthy of building something beautiful and being loved for who you really are, not just what you produce.

Speaker 1:

If that resonates, I hope you keep listening. So hit, subscribe, leave a review if it feels good to you and if you want to stay in the loop, come join my email list at the quirky rebel coachcom. That's where the deeper stuff lives, way over there and in my emails. I send some pretty good emails, some fun storytelling emails. Um, that will maybe make you laugh, giggle, fart, laugh, ugly cry, maybe, who knows, but they're good, they're interesting. I really like writing my emails. Thank you so much for being here. This is the Quirky Rebel Coach Podcast and we're just getting started.