Email Marketing Experiments 🧪: Email Marketing Strategies for Business Owners, Service Providers & Freelancers

Dr. Ayebanoa Sapphire Benwari
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Email Marketing Experiments was born out of a desire to share behind the scenes of failed and successful email marketing campaigns. What we’ve tried that worked and didn’t work. Instead of thinking it and testing it alone, we also share it. From welcome sequences to sales campaigns, list growth strategies, and more, we test ideas, break down results, and spill the tea. Come join us behind the scenes.

  1. 4d ago

    #66: What I Learned About Email Marketing by Actually Doing It (Not Just Watching Videos) with Hadiatullah Olaitan

    Most people learn email marketing by watching videos, taking courses, and consuming content. Hadiatullah Olaitan, email copywriter, content strategist, and founder of a LinkedIn-to-email revenue system , says that is only half the education. The other half happens when you get your hands dirty. When you make mistakes, fix them, and learn things no course will ever teach you. In this episode, Hadiatullah shares how she went from a generalist copywriter in 2020 to a specialist who grew her leads from 28 to 387 in just two months and the real on-the-job lessons that got her there. If you have been consuming content about email marketing without feeling like you are actually moving forward, this episode will challenge you to think differently about how you learn. INSIDE THIS EPISODE 1. Why Hadiatullah describes email marketing as community building and how it is fundamentally different from social media 2. How Email Marketing helps in retention than social media 3. The Mailchimp mistake that taught her more about list management than any course ever could 4. How she went from generalist copywriter to email specialist and why niching down changed everything 5. The moment she realised LinkedIn content could be the engine that drives her email revenue 6. Why practical implementation beats video watching every single time and what to do instead 7. How she grew from 28 to 387 leads in two months by showing up consistently on LinkedIn 8. Her approach to email length and the unconventional way she studies other people's emails 9. The "build in public" strategy that helps beginners get proof of work without having clients yet 10. Her free guide for LinkedIn users who want to turn their profile into an email list landing page GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Hadiatullah Olaitan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hadiatullah-olaitan/ Free Gift: Before You Post — a free guide to optimising your LinkedIn profile so it works as a landing page for your email list. 👇 https://nestuge.me/hadiatullah-olaitan EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [02:01] – If email marketing had a job description according to Hadiatullah and why she calls it community building [02:47] – Why email is the retention layer social media can never replace [03:35] – Open Rates Confession: the Mailchimp mistake that almost cost her a subscriber permanently [05:33] – Dr. Sapphire's own story of a guest who accidentally sent a mass email under the wrong name [08:27] – How Hadiatullah started freelancing in 2020 and discovered copywriting through a gifted book [11:05] – Why she niched down from generalist to email copywriter in 2022 [13:09] – How LinkedIn content grew her leads from 28 to 387 in two months [16:20] – The automation mistake that forced her to send manual campaigns and what it taught her [17:35] – Why practical implementation is the real education in email marketing [22:39] – Her philosophy on email length and how she learns by dissecting expert emails [25:06] – Advice for beginners: build in public, start where you are, volunteer strategically [31:49] – About the Before You Post guide and how to get it CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  2. Aug 31

    #65: The 5 Email Sequence Every Business Needs(and Why Post-purchase Comes First) with Breanna Owen

    If you've ever wondered which email sequences actually move the needle in your business, this episode is for you. Breanna Owen, email strategist and copywriter, joins Dr. Sapphire to break down the 5 essential email sequences every business should have, and why your post-purchase emails are the real key to customer retention, repeat sales, and brand loyalty. You'll learn how to build smart, human-centered sequences that strengthen relationships, increase revenue, and make your email marketing more intentional. INSIDE THIS EPISODE 1. Breanna's journey from fashion into email marketing 2. A simple strategy that made email marketing easier for one of her clients 3. The biggest email marketing mistake Breanna has made 4. What "bricks and mortar" stores can teach us about email marketing 5. How to build a cart abandonment sequence that recovers lost sales 6. The key outcomes of a post-purchase email sequence 7. How to diversify your post-purchase flow so it fits different customer journeys 8. How long an email sequence can realistically run for real-life clients 9. How Human Design can shape the way you write and structure sequences 10. The email marketing myth Breanna wants to bust GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Breanna Owen Website: http://www.owenyourmark.com Social Media: http://www.instagram.com/owenyourmark NEW: The Email Clinic is open! If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more. 👉 Join us here: nestuge.com/emailclinic EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [02:21] – How Breanna transitioned from fashion into email marketing [10:18] – A simple strategy that made email marketing easier for her client [15:59] – Her biggest email marketing mistake [17:28] – The most important email sequence every business should have [18:05] – Why the post-purchase sequence is the foundation of good email marketing [20:33] – The second essential sequence to add [22:19] – The third sequence your business needs [23:03] – Other supporting emails that boost your funnel [25:24] – How Dr. Sapphire applies onboarding sequences for courses and clients [28:58] – Different types of post-purchase emails (and when to use them) [31:49] – Bringing Human Design into your email sequences [34:42] – What makes a post-purchase sequence effective [38:57] – A real-life case study from one of Breanna's clients [47:22] – One email marketing myth Breanna wants to bust [50:17] – How to connect with Breanna [51:32] – Dr. Sapphire's take on the myth Loved this episode?😉 Leave a review and a rating on your podcast listening platform. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: instagram.com/dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari Threads: threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ Website: sapphirelearninghub.com Download These 12 Emails Free: sapphirelearninghub.com/services/

  3. Aug 24

    #64: Our Q2 Email Marketing Report: 654 New Subscribers, 234 Unsubscribes, and the Email That Got a 2.4% Unsubscribe Rate with Dr. Sapphire

    What does email marketing actually look like behind the scenes of our brand? Not the highlight reel , the real numbers, the experiments that worked, the ones that did not, and the honest lessons that came out of it all. In this episode, Dr. Sapphire takes you inside Sapphire Learning Hub's Q2 email marketing report covering April, May, and June 2026. From gaining 654 new subscribers through a major collaboration campaign, to spotlighting one email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate in a single send, this is the kind of behind-the-scenes breakdown you rarely get to see. If you want to understand what real email marketing strategy looks like in practice , the data, the decisions, and the lessons, this episode is for you. Inside This Episode 1. The Q2 numbers in full: subscribers gained, emails sent, open rates, click rates, and unsubscribes 2. How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups and why 234 unsubscribes followed 3. The three-level collaboration promotion strategy that brought in the majority of new subscribers 4. The things that helped increase our list size this quarter,and what may have led to the increase. 5. What audience message mismatch actually looks like and how it shows up in your unsubscribe data 6. A spotlight on the email that triggered a 2.4% unsubscribe rate and the theories behind why 7. The VIP Circle, what it is, how it works, and why 38.5% of recipients clicked the special perk 8. Why quality over quantity is the real email list growth lesson from this quarter 9. That the ANCOR framework looks like in action across attract, nurture, convert, and retain 10. What Dr. Sapphire is testing and building in Q3, including a revamped lead magnet and new automations Resource from Episode Link to the CAC replay: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/replayticket Join the Email Clinic here: nestuge.com/emailclinic Episode Timeline ⏱️ [00:43] – Introduction to the Q2 Email Marketing Report [01:38] – The big numbers: 1,804 active subscribers, 654 new subscribers, 234 unsubscribes [02:42] – Average open rates for April, May and June and the decline that raised questions [03:06] – Total emails sent across the quarter: 53,351 [03:55] – How the Client Acquisition Challenge drove 754 total signups [06:14] – The three-level promotion strategy: personal, paid influencers, and guest sharing [07:23] – How individual landing pages and UTM tracking gave granular data per collaborator [08:51] – The ad experiment that didn't work and why they turned it off early [10:24] – The lesson on audience message mismatch and why it caused the unsubscribe spike [13:58] – Spotlight email: "You Need New Shoes" , the 2.4% unsubscribe rate explained [17:49] – The full stats: 33.2% open rate, dynamic content, and multiple link clicks [19:16] – Theories on why this email triggered so many unsubscribes [20:21] – Introducing the VIP Circle: rewarding the most engaged subscribers [27:06] – Keeping, killing, or iterating, what stays and what changes in Q3 [30:00] – Q3 plans: automations, customer journeys, and a revamped lead magnet CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  4. Aug 17

    #63: How to Turn a Freebie Into a Client Acquisition Funnel That Converts with Samantha Burmeister

    Most people create a freebie, slap it on their website, and wonder why nobody is signing up. Samantha Burmeister,founder of Nomad Copy Agency and copywriter behind multiple seven-figure client launches, says the problem is almost never the freebie itself. It is the system around it. In this episode, she breaks down the two-part funnel that has helped her attract email subscribers and convert them into paying clients from 85 countries and counting, starting with one high-converting opt-in page and one well-crafted welcome sequence that does the selling before you ever pitch anything. If you have a freebie that is not working as hard as it should, this episode will show you exactly why and what to fix first. INSIDE THIS EPISODE Why your opt-in page is the most important piece of copy you will write for your entire funnel The one thing that makes the difference between a freebie that converts and one that collects dust What to put on your opt-in page and what most people leave out that costs them subscribers How to drive traffic to your opt-in page without running paid ads The welcome sequence strategy that warms up new subscribers and moves them toward buying Why the freebie and the welcome sequence must work together and how to make sure they do How the Opt-In CopyBot and Welcome Sequence CopyBot can cut your writing time dramatically What it looks like to build a business that runs from anywhere in the world and the email strategy behind it GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Samantha Burmeister Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nomad.copy Lead magnet: www.nomadcopyagency.com/sapphire NEW: The Email Clinic is open! If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more. 👉 Join us here: nestuge.com/emailclinic EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [01:26] – Sam's background: from finance and tech sales to nomadic copywriter in 85+ countries [02:38] – Writing copy from her 79th country and landing a client because of it [03:26] – Her first seven-figure client launch and what made it work [04:18] – How she got her very first freelance client ,from within her own network [05:50] – Why the opt-in page is the starting point of every great funnel [06:25] – What goes on a high-converting opt-in page: the exact copy elements [09:12] – How to drive traffic to your opt-in page organically, on social, and beyond [15:11] – What happens after someone opts in: the welcome sequence strategy [16:23] – Introducing the Opt-In CopyBot write your page in minutes with AI [17:26] – The Welcome Sequence CopyBot and how the two tools work together [18:44] – How to think about your freebie funnel as one connected system CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  5. Aug 10

    #62: How I Grew My Email List by 307 People in March 2026 Without Ad Spend with Dr. Sapphire

    What if you could add over 300 people to your email list in a single month without running a single ad, creating anything from scratch, or spending more than a week on execution? In this solo episode, Dr. Sapphire breaks down the exact collaboration strategy she used in March 2026 to grow her list by 307 people, using the International Women's Day as the hook, eight community partners as the distribution channel, and a free bundle she already had sitting in her email marketing school. This is the full behind-the-scenes breakdown, numbers, data, what worked, what she would do differently, and exactly how you can replicate it for your own brand. INSIDE THIS EPISODE Why list growth has to be intentional and what it looks like when you actually plan it The collaboration outreach strategy that turned 11 messages into eight successful partnerships How she productized existing content into a high-value free bundle without creating anything new What the landing pages looked like and the conversion rates that surprised even her The audience data she collected from 307 cold leads and what it revealed about who is looking for email marketing help The friction mistake that cost her signups and how she would fix it next time What she tracked, what she missed, and the metrics she wishes she had from the start Why leveraging a season, a day, or a moment is one of the most underused list growth strategies How to turn a one-off collaboration into a long-term brand partnership that keeps growing your list NEW: The Email Clinic is open! If this episode got you thinking about your email marketing, imagine having a community where you can get help 24/7. The Email Clinic is where freelancers and service providers come to start, grow, and sharpen their email marketing skills together. Live copy reviews, live training, community chats and more. 👉 Join us here: https://sapphirelearninghub.nestuge.com/ EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [00:51] – Introduction: how Dr. Sapphire grew her list by 307 people without ad spend [01:07] – Why list growth must be intentional and the question she gets asked most [01:41] – The International Women's Day idea and how it started [03:03] – How she productized existing content into the Email Marketing Career Bundle [03:56] – The outreach process: 11 messages, 9 yeses, 8 collaborations [04:37] What the cold outreach email actually looked like and the reply that came back [08:31] – The infrastructure: landing page, Google Drive assets, captions, and graphics [11:46] – The numbers: 307 signups, two landing pages, and conversion rates of 40% and 48% [13:57] – Audience insights: who signed up, where they came from, and what they struggled with [16:05] – Geography: Nigeria, US, Ghana, UK, Kenya, Finland, Brazil and more [18:29] – What she would do differently: deeper alignment, less friction, more tracking [20:15] – The email metrics for this new cold audience: 32.76% open rate, 4.79% click rate [21:09] – The 12% drop-off rate and what it means for list quality [24:45] – Why leveraging a season or international day is one of the smartest list growth moves [25:47] – The importance of vision and message alignment to get partnership CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  6. Aug 3

    #61: Inside a 60-Email Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Welcome Sequence with Kristin Lawton

    Most welcome sequences tell people about you. Kristin Lawton's welcome sequence lets people build something with you. Kristin,Chief Brand Mixologist at District Brand Bar, with 20+ years in brand strategy across politics, PR, and nonprofit communications built a 60-email choose-your-own-adventure welcome series where new subscribers "enter the bar," pick a base spirit, flavour, cocktail style, and garnish, and land on a fully custom cocktail recipe by the end. It sounds like a lot of email. It is a lot of email. But her overall click-through rate jumped to 6% after launch , nearly triple what most lists see without any increase in unsubscribes. In this episode, she walks through exactly how it's built, what happens when subscribers don't want to play along, and how anyone (not just a cocktail-themed brand) can build something similar. INSIDE THIS EPISODE 1. Why Kristin built her welcome sequence as an interactive "choose your own adventure" instead of a standard intro series 2.How subscribers' choices (base spirit, flavour, style, garnish) route them down different email paths 3.The "dealer's choice" fallback for subscribers who never make a choice and why it performs just as well 4. The tech stack behind it: Kit (ConvertKit), a Notion tracking database, and heavy use of tagging across dozens of small automations 5. Why she rebuilt her welcome series to "train her audience to click" from the very first email 7. The results: a 6% overall click-through rate post-launch, with open rates and unsubscribes unchanged 8. Her monthly "Mixologist Playbook" newsletter designed to look forward instead of recapping the past 9. An AI-personalised 6-month anniversary email that generates each subscriber a custom cocktail using their first name 10. The email marketing myth she wants to bust: sending just to send is not the same as staying consistent GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Kristin Lawton, Chief Brand Mixologist at District Brand Bar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/districtbrandbar/ Website: districtbrandbar.com/hello My Quiz: What's Your Signature Brand Marketing Style: https://districtbrandbar.com/quiz EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [03:34] – Kristin's path from politics, PR, and nonprofit communications into brand strategy [05:30] – Building an off-grid cabin during the pandemic (and why she's banned from driving the tractor) [08:20] – Kristin's "job description" for email marketing: keep them ordering another round [09:45] – Her biggest email marketing mistake: a typo in her own brand tagline, sent to her whole list [12:50] – Inside the Choose Your Own Adventure welcome series and how it works [15:48] – The tech behind it: Kit, Notion, and layers of tagging automations [16:43] – How her DISC-based brand style quiz feeds into the sequence [18:44] – Why she scrapped her standard 3–5 email welcome series for something more immersive [22:10] – What happens when subscribers don't make a choice: the dealer's choice path [25:55] – The results: click-through rates jumped to 6% overall after launch [30:39] – How the dealer's choice sequence works on the backend for non-responders [31:51] – Her advice for building a choose-your-own-adventure sequence, even without a themed brand [35:42] – The monthly "Mixologist Playbook" newsletter and why it looks forward, not back [40:55] – The AI-personalised 6-month anniversary email that builds a custom cocktail from a subscriber's name [46:02] – A common mistake someone who's just starting out can make when using this strategy [51:41] – The email marketing myth she wants to bust, and the sender-name mistake that's an instant unsubscribe [53:51] – Rapid fire: long vs. short emails, open vs. click rates, branded vs. plain-text design CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  7. Jul 27

    #60: How to Improve Email Open Rates and Click Rates Through Real Email Marketing Experiments with Tayler Cusick Hollman

    Most email marketers are searching for the perfect strategy to increase their open rates and click rates. Tayler Cusick Hollman believes they're asking the wrong question. In this episode, marketing consultant, educator, and founder of the marketing platform Enji shares the real email marketing experiments she's run inside her own business, from haiku-style emails and engagement-based segmentation to nurture-first campaigns and subject line testing. Some experiments worked, some failed spectacularly, and one still remains an unsolved mystery. If you've ever wondered how to improve your email marketing without relying on guesswork, this episode will show you how to build a culture of testing that leads to better decisions and stronger results. INSIDE THIS EPISODE 1. Why experimentation is one of the most valuable skills every email marketer can develop 2. The surprising haiku email experiment that reduced click rates instead of increasing them 3. Why sending emails only to engaged subscribers caused open rates to drop and why Tayler still can't explain it 4. What happened when she reduced her email frequency to see if fewer emails performed better 5. How a nurture-first email strategy is changing the way she approaches sales campaigns 6. How to decide what to test in your email marketing based on your business goals 7. Why looking for patterns in your email analytics leads to better marketing decisions 8. The difference between marketing a SaaS product and marketing a service through email 9. Why founders should segment subscribers by the problems they're trying to solve,not just demographics 10. The welcome sequence and onboarding automation every SaaS business should have 11. The email marketing mindset that keeps Tayler testing, even when experiments fail GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Tayler Cusick Hollman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enji_co/ Website: https://www.enji.co/ EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [01:37] – Meet Tayler Cusick Hollman and the story behind Enji [08:04] – What role email marketing plays inside her business [09:05] – Open Rates Confession: accidentally sending an email before a feature launched [11:16] – Why email marketing experiments matter [12:39] – The haiku email experiment that hurt click rates [14:00] – Why sending only to engaged subscribers unexpectedly lowered open rates [20:31] – Testing fewer emails versus sending more frequently [21:47] – Building a nurture-first email strategy before pitching [24:09] – Why curiosity and resilience make better email marketers [26:29] – How Tayler decides what to test next [31:11] – Email marketing for SaaS versus service businesses [34:13] – New email campaign ideas and customer case studies [41:23] – Advice for founders launching SaaS products [45:41] – Rapid Fire: campaigns, automations, segmentation, and email marketing opinions [49:51] – Where to connect with Tayler and learn more about Enji CONNECT WITH US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

  8. Jul 20

    #59: Small List, Real Revenue: How Andi Smiley Uses Email & Pinterest to Sell Her Offers Without Sales Calls

    Most people believe they need a massive email list before email marketing starts generating meaningful revenue. Podcast coach Andi Smiley believes the opposite. In this episode, Andi shares how she filled every spot in a brand-new offer using a relatively small email list, two emails a week, and zero sales calls. She also explains why storytelling, not hard selling, has become the foundation of her email strategy, how Pinterest quietly drives podcast growth, and why consistency matters more than having thousands of subscribers. If you've ever wondered whether your email list is "too small" or worried about emailing people too often, this conversation will completely change the way you think about email marketing. INSIDE THIS EPISODE 1. Why a small email list can generate meaningful revenue 2. How Andi filled a brand-new offer without using sales calls 3. The mindset shift that helped her start emailing twice a week 4. Why storytelling makes sales emails feel natural instead of pushy 5. How many emails people usually read before making a buying decision 6. Why unsubscribes aren't always a bad thing 7. The simple email system Andi uses to stay consistent every week 8. How Pinterest helps grow her podcast, website traffic and email list 9. Why podcast episodes should have only one call-to-action 10. The metrics Andi actually pays attention to and the ones she worries about less today GUEST RESOURCES Guest: Andi Smiley Threads: https://www.threads.com/@friendlypodcastguide Podcast: https://friendlypodcastguide.com/friendly-podcast-guide-links/ Free Resource: Is Pinterest Right for Your Podcast? Checklist: https://friendlypodcastguide.com/is-pinterest-right-for-me-checklist/ EPISODE TIMELINE ⏱️ [01:44]- Meet Andi Smiley and how she manages to read six to seven books every month. [05:48]- From radio producer to podcast coach: Andi's journey into podcasting. [08:48]- Why email marketing is the biggest revenue driver in her business. [11:04]- Open Rates Confession: Why she was afraid to send more than one email a week. [14:28]- The strategy that filled every spot in her new Pinterest VIP offer. [19:04]- Why separating podcast emails from sales emails changed everything. [22:49]- Keeping readers interested while promoting the same offer for over two months. [25:44]- About her checklist for podcasters who want to use Pinterest [28:14] Why Andi stopped trying to write "perfect" emails and simply became herself. [33:33] The email subject lines and formats that consistently earn opens. [37:17] Her simple weekly system for writing and scheduling emails. [39:51] How Pinterest drives podcast listeners and email subscribers. [45:33] Rapid-fire: favourite metrics, email length, CTAs and tools. [50:35] Andi's advice for anyone struggling to generate revenue from email. Connect with Us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sapphire_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayebanoabenwari/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@dr.sapphire_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sapphirelearninghub/ Website: https://sapphirelearninghub.com/

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Email Marketing Experiments was born out of a desire to share behind the scenes of failed and successful email marketing campaigns. What we’ve tried that worked and didn’t work. Instead of thinking it and testing it alone, we also share it. From welcome sequences to sales campaigns, list growth strategies, and more, we test ideas, break down results, and spill the tea. Come join us behind the scenes.

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