RME-71 · Black Friday to Christmas

Don't be Sally: 12 storyboards

Twelve ideas for a light Black Friday to Christmas season, one drop-down each. YT kept all ten first cards on 1 October, rewrote five of them in her notes and added two. Open an idea to see the hook and joke, the storyboard scene by scene, the LinkedIn post and the one advice point. Nothing is built yet.

Your job here, Vy

  1. Open each idea and read its storyboard. One numbered scene is one sentence on screen plus what the picture does.
  2. Highlight anything you would change and leave a Hypothesis note on it. A scene that is unclear, a joke that does not land, a picture you cannot see in your head.
  3. Tell us which 3 ideas to build first. Put it in a Hypothesis note on the box at the bottom of this page, or tell the Content PM.

The offer options and the Almanac gaps at the bottom are for YT. You can skip them.

Every storyboard builds on the video1 look (video-engine/video1/video1-composite.html) with the webinar camera, and is assembled from motion library pieces (M-numbers, 01-library/assets/motion/pieces.json). The logo, subtitle band and footer stay fixed outside the camera. Pictures carry the idea, the one sentence is the only text, and numbers on screen are shapes you can count. Sally runs a small coffee business, Coral Cove Coffee (a demo-names company): a coffee shop that grew into an online coffee subscription box (her profile, RME-136). Her coffee cup sits beside her name card where the business helps the joke.

  1. 1 · Black Friday in September
  2. 2 · Panic season: the 2022 webinar spreadsheet
  3. 3 · It's Microsoft's fault
  4. 4 · You stretch before you run
  5. 5 · Don't be Sally (the series frame)
  6. 6 · Now is not the time to migrate
  7. 7 · The empty chairs at Christmas dinner
  8. 8 · It's not stuck, it's in the queue
  9. 9 · Take the stairs, not the lift
  10. 10 · The Sally checklist (carousel)
  11. 11 · Consistency: all year nothing, then ALL THE EMAILS
  12. 12 · Everyone is tired of promo email
1 Black Friday in September kept as is Every September, somebody finds the Black Friday button. A calm year: one tidy email a week. Then the leaves turn, it gets a bit cold, and Sally starts hammering the keyboard. By mid-September she has sent BLACK FRIDAY IS COMING four times. Nobody asked. It is not even Halloween.

Storyboard 11 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-31 calm line and staircase, M-12 envelopes, M-18 gate, M-45 zoom in.

New pieces needed: A small coffee cup prop beside Sally's card (her coffee box, RME-136).

  1. This is Sally.

    Sally's name card (M-11) alone in the middle of the paper, with a small coffee cup beside it.

  2. All year, Sally sends one email a week.

    The card slides to the top left. A calm teal line (M-31) draws across the year, and one envelope (M-12) drops onto it each week.

  3. Then the leaves turn.

    The paper tint warms to amber from week 37. The line keeps going, still calm.

  4. Sally finds the Black Friday button.

    The SEND button on her card grows and gets pressed. The envelopes per week stack 1, then 2, then 4, and the line jolts upward.

  5. It is not even Halloween.

    A small month strip under the line shows 31 October still ahead, while the stack is already four tall.

  6. Double your volume and providers notice.

    Zoom in (M-45) on the jolt. A 2x tick lands where the stack doubles.

  7. Triple it and the gate narrows.

    A 3x tick lands. The gate (M-18) narrows and the extra envelopes queue behind it. No percentage on screen.

  8. Providers cannot read your calendar.

    The month strip fades out. Only the line is left.

  9. They read your pattern.

    The jagged line glows teal, the one thing the gate can see.

  10. Climb to November, don't jump.

    A ghost replay draws the same total as a staircase (M-31) that reaches it by late November. The gate stays wide open.

  11. Don't be Sally.

    End card. Sally's name card, crossed through with one teal line.

Post text (YT's profile)

Every September, somebody finds the Black Friday button.

All year: one calm email a week.
Then the leaves turn. It gets a bit cold. And suddenly it is four emails a week, all of them shouting about a sale that starts in November.

Here is how that looks from the other side.

Mailbox providers learn what normal looks like for you. Double your volume in a short window and they notice. Triple it, and throttling or the spam folder usually follows.

They cannot read your marketing calendar. They read your pattern.

So if you want more volume in November, climb to it. Don't jump.

Don't be Sally. 🍂

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Doubling your volume in a short window gets noticed, tripling it usually brings throttling or the spam folder (012.010.008). A quiet stretch followed by a holiday blast to the whole list is the classic pattern providers distrust (016.010.003).

Almanac 012.010.008, 016.010.003

2 Panic season: the 2022 webinar spreadsheet rewritten per YT's 1 Oct notes Somebody found the webinar spreadsheet. It is from 2022. It is not one panicked Friday. It is three months of it. In September Sally finds the sign-up sheet from a webinar in 2022 and uploads the lot. Those people came to watch one talk, three years ago. Now they get Black Friday is coming, Black Friday is here, Black Friday extended, Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday extended and Last chance, twice. Some of them unsubscribe. The next week Sally's other list emails them anyway. Now they are not confused, they are cross.

Storyboard 14 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-20 case files as the spreadsheet, M-25 dot grid, M-31 month wall, M-22 running meter, M-14 doors.

New pieces needed: None. The spreadsheet is a case file (M-20) with a 2022 tab, no file name on screen.

  1. This is Sally's webinar spreadsheet.

    A closed case file (M-20) slides onto the desk next to Sally's card.

  2. It is from 2022.

    Zoom in (M-45) on the file tab. It reads 2022.

  3. Those people signed up to watch one webinar.

    The file opens into a grid of dots (M-25), labelled example: 400 people. Each dot carries a small play mark. They came to her home brewing webinar.

  4. In September, Sally uploads all of them.

    The 400 dots pour into Sally's list under her card.

  5. Then she emails them.

    One envelope (M-12) flies to every dot.

  6. And again, every week until December.

    A month wall (M-31) for September to November fills with envelopes, one per click, thickest around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

  7. Three years is a long time to remember one webinar.

    Dots fade from teal to grey, one after another. No count on screen, the Almanac gives none.

  8. People who forget signing up press the spam button.

    A few grey dots send an amber flag back. The running meter (M-22) climbs toward the 0.10 percent line.

  9. Some unsubscribe instead.

    One dot steps out of the grid through a door (M-14) and the door closes.

  10. Next week, Sally's other list emails them anyway.

    A second list card appears. Its envelope goes round the closed door and lands on the same dot.

  11. Now they are not confused, they are cross.

    That dot turns amber and raises its flag.

  12. One unsubscribe should close every door.

    A single suppression bar slides across both lists and both envelopes stop at it.

  13. Email the people who expect to hear from you.

    Only the teal dots that said yes to marketing light up and get the next envelope. The grey ones stay still.

  14. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Somebody just found the webinar spreadsheet.

It is from 2022.

Those people signed up to watch one talk, three years ago. This autumn they will get Black Friday is coming. Black Friday is here. Black Friday extended. Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday extended. Last chance. Last chance, again.

From September to December. From someone they do not remember.

Some will press spam. Some will unsubscribe, and then get the same email from your other list a week later. That is when confused turns into cross.

A webinar sign-up was a yes to the webinar. The reminder, the recording. Marketing is a separate yes.

So before the season: know where every address came from. Make one unsubscribe close every list. And email the people who are expecting you.

The webinar spreadsheet is not your list. 🙃

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

A webinar sign-up carries two permissions, the event mail and marketing, and marketing needs its own box people tick themselves (008.017.010). People who have forgotten signing up complain with "I never signed up for this" (014.014.005), and a segment that has never heard from you can push complaints up fast (018.014.007). For a single-brand sender, one unsubscribe should block every list (005.005.003). Track where every address came from (008.011.002).

Almanac 008.017.010, 014.014.005, 018.014.007, 005.005.003, 008.011.002, 004.011.004

3 It's Microsoft's fault rewritten per YT's 1 Oct notes (warmer) From September, Sally talks about Black Friday. By December, she talks about Microsoft. September, Sally mentions Black Friday once. October, in every email. November, every day. Before Black Friday her opens slide, after Cyber Monday her mail is in junk, and she cannot work out why everything goes wrong around the one week that matters. So she writes to Microsoft. In capitals. She means well. She is tired, and Microsoft is the nearest thing to shout at.

Storyboard 15 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-31 month wall and calm line, M-25 dot grid, M-22 running meter, M-18 gate, M-13 mail server desk, M-45 zoom in.

  1. In September, Sally mentions Black Friday once.

    A month wall (M-31). One September envelope (M-12) carries a small amber tag.

  2. In October, she mentions it in every email.

    The October row fills with tagged envelopes, two a week now.

  3. In November, she mentions it every day.

    Every November day fills. The wall goes solid amber.

  4. Her readers start to drift off.

    Under the wall, a grid of readers (M-25) loses dots to rose, one by one.

  5. A few press the spam button.

    The running meter (M-22) climbs and touches the 0.10 percent line.

  6. Her mail starts landing in junk.

    The gate (M-18) splits the stream and part of it drops into a junk tray. No share on screen.

  7. So Sally writes to Microsoft, in capitals.

    One big capital-letter envelope flies to the mail server desk (M-13).

  8. It lands on top of a tall pile.

    The desk holds a tall stack of angry envelopes. Hers lands on top. Nothing moves.

  9. The filter is not cross with Sally.

    The desk has no face, only a small screen with her sending line on it.

  10. It is reading the change in her rhythm.

    Zoom in (M-45) on that screen: the calm line, then the climb from September.

  11. The way back is gentle.

    The wall clears back to one envelope a week.

  12. Write to the people who still open, then add a little each week.

    Only the teal readers get mail. A small staircase grows by a step a week.

  13. Give it a few weeks.

    The meter eases down along a time axis marked in weeks. No end date on screen.

  14. Next year, start the climb a few weeks early.

    A ghost staircase draws in before November and arrives at Black Friday calm.

  15. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

From September, Sally talks about Black Friday.

Once in September. In every email in October. Every single day in November.

Then her opens slide. Then her mail lands in junk. And by December Sally is writing to Microsoft. In capitals.

We have all wanted to do that. I have. It does not help. Requests that blame the filter go to the bottom of the pile.

And the filter is not cross with Sally. It is reading her rhythm, and her rhythm changed.

If this is you right now, be kind to yourself and to your list. Go back to your normal pace. Write to the people who still open. Add a little each week. Give it a few weeks.

And next year, start the climb a few weeks before the big day, not the day after. 🎄

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Sending too often pushes complaints toward the 0.1 percent line (020.008.002, 004.011.004). Requests that blame the filter get pushed down the pile (018.012.011). A spike can leave reputation down for weeks (014.010.003). The way back: restart with people who opened or clicked in the last 30 to 60 days, then add 20 to 30 percent a week (012.012.005). Next time, ramp over two to four weeks before a known peak (018.014.007).

Almanac 020.008.002, 004.011.004, 018.012.011, 014.010.003, 012.012.005, 018.014.007

4 You stretch before you run rewritten per YT's 1 Oct notes Sally skipped the stretch, pulled a muscle, and blamed her trainers. Black Friday. No warm-up, no climb, Sally sends a million emails in one go. A lot of them miss the inbox. So she blames her email marketing tool. Then she posts "email is dying" on LinkedIn. From the same account that just sent a million emails to make money.

Storyboard 13 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-25 dot grid at scale, M-44 zoom out, M-02 road to the door, M-13 mail server desk, M-19 badges, M-31 staircase.

New pieces needed: A stretch mat (one still object). A plain post card for the "email is dying" line.

  1. You stretch before you run.

    One still object on the paper: a stretch mat.

  2. Sally did not stretch.

    The mat slides away. Sally's card (M-11) stands at a start line.

  3. She sent a million emails on Black Friday.

    Envelopes stream off her card. Zoom out (M-44) until they fill the frame: 1,000,000, labelled example.

  4. A lot of them missed the inbox.

    The stream splits and part of it drops into a junk tray. No share on screen.

  5. Sally blamed her email marketing tool.

    On the road to the door (M-02), the first checkpoint, the tool, gets an amber blame arrow.

  6. The tool only carries the mail.

    One envelope rides through the tool checkpoint untouched.

  7. The mailbox provider decides where it lands.

    At the door, the provider's desk (M-13) checks four badges (M-19): reputation, authentication, engagement, complaints. Then it picks inbox or junk.

  8. Then Sally posted that email is dying.

    A plain post card appears beside her card with the words email is dying.

  9. She had just sent a million of them to make money.

    Zoom out again. The post card is tiny in front of the million envelopes.

  10. Email is fine, it just needs a warm-up.

    The stretch mat comes back under Sally's card.

  11. Climb over two to four weeks before the big day.

    A staircase (M-31) rises across a four-week strip that ends on 27 November.

  12. Your keenest readers go first.

    On the road, the teal dots set off first and the grey ones wait their turn.

  13. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

You stretch before you run.

Sally did not. On Black Friday she sent a million emails in one go. A lot of them missed the inbox.

So she blamed her email marketing tool.

Then she posted "email is dying" on LinkedIn. From the account that had just sent a million emails to make money.

Here is the thing. Your tool carries the mail. The mailbox provider decides where it lands, and it decides from your reputation, your authentication, how people engage, and how many press spam.

Email is not dying. It just needs a warm-up.

Climb to the big day over a few weeks. Send to your keenest readers first. Then stretch to the rest.

Don't be Sally. 🏃

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Email marketing tools do not control inbox placement. The receiving provider decides, from reputation, authentication, engagement and complaints (021.010.008, 021.010.013). Ramp volume gradually over two to four weeks before a known peak (018.014.007), and warm by audience first: your most engaged people go first (018.017.004).

Almanac 021.010.008, 021.010.013, 018.014.007, 018.017.004

5 Don't be Sally (the series frame) kept as is Meet Sally. She sends to everyone, all the time. Don't be Sally. The recurring character. Every post in the season is one Sally move and the one thing to do instead. Sally means well. Sally just panics. Every post ends on "Don't be Sally."

Storyboard 9 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-25 dot grid, M-31 calm line, M-18 gate.

New pieces needed: The coffee cup and a small brown subscription box beside Sally's card (RME-136).

  1. Meet Sally.

    Sally's name card (M-11) alone in the middle.

  2. She runs a little coffee subscription box.

    A coffee cup and a small brown box slide in beside her card. The box carries a coffee bean mark.

  3. Sally sends to everyone.

    Her list fans out below as a dot grid (M-25), and every dot gets an envelope.

  4. All the time.

    Her sending line (M-31) draws in, jumping up and down like a heart monitor.

  5. Steady senders stay inside a band.

    A second, calm line draws inside a shaded band of 20 percent either side of its average.

  6. Sally's line leaves the band on almost every send.

    Sally's line is laid over the band. Each send outside it flashes amber.

  7. Providers learn to trust the steady line.

    The calm sender's envelopes pass the gate (M-18). Sally's queue behind it.

  8. Every week until Christmas, one Sally move and one fix.

    A row of twelve small cards slides in, one per idea in this series.

  9. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Meet Sally.

Sally runs a little coffee subscription box, and she loves her customers.

Sally sends to everyone. All the time. Especially in November.

Every week until Christmas I will show you one thing Sally does, and the one thing to do instead. Nothing preachy. Sally means well. Sally just panics.

First Sally fact. Mailbox providers like steady senders. Roughly the same volume from send to send, within about 20 percent, is what lets them learn to trust you.

Sally's volume chart looks like a heart monitor.

Don't be Sally.

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Steady sending earns trust: roughly the same volume from send to send, within about a 20 percent band, lets providers learn your pattern (016.010.003).

Almanac 016.010.003

6 Now is not the time to migrate rewritten per YT's 1 Oct notes Sally's emails are landing in junk. So, two weeks before Christmas, she is moving house. After weeks of Black Friday emails, Sally's list is fed up and her mail has dipped into junk. Her fix: a brand new email marketing tool, set up in a week, just in time for the Christmas push. She packs in a hurry. The box with the unsubscribes in it stays on the old doorstep. And the bad reputation comes along for the ride.

Storyboard 15 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-25 dot grid, M-18 gate, M-06 storage unit as the moving boxes, M-31 month wall, M-19 badges, M-22 running meter.

  1. Sally's readers are fed up.

    Her reader grid (M-25) after the Black Friday weeks: rose dots for the quiet ones, amber for the ones who pressed spam. Labelled example.

  2. Her emails start landing in junk.

    The gate (M-18) drops part of her stream into the junk tray.

  3. So Sally decides to move house.

    Moving boxes (M-06) stack up beside her card, the same brown boxes her coffee ships in.

  4. Two weeks before Christmas.

    A December month wall (M-31) with 11 December circled.

  5. A safe move takes four to six weeks.

    A bar grows from 11 December. Its length is the warm-up: it ends between 8 and 22 January.

  6. Christmas lands in the middle of it.

    The 25 December marker sits inside the bar.

  7. The bad reputation moves with her.

    The reputation badge (M-19) rides on the domain, not on the tool, and arrives at the new house still amber.

  8. The unsubscribes stay on the old doorstep.

    One box is left behind on the old step as the rest leave.

  9. So the new tool emails people who said stop.

    An envelope reaches a closed door. The meter (M-22) climbs past 0.10 percent.

  10. Stay put and fix the list instead.

    The boxes slide back in.

  11. Clean it.

    The grey dots, the addresses that no longer work, drop out of the grid.

  12. Shrink it to the people who want your email.

    Only the teal dots stay: people who opened or clicked lately.

  13. Send them something good.

    One envelope goes to each teal dot and opens.

  14. Then add a little more each week.

    A small staircase (M-31) climbs a step a week into January.

  15. That's all the spam filters really want for Christmas.

    End card with a small teal heart.

Post text (YT's profile)

Sally annoyed everyone on her list in November.

Now her emails are landing in junk.

Her fix: a brand new email marketing tool, two weeks before Christmas. Set up in a week. Ready for the Christmas push.

Why, Sally.

A new tool does not bring a new reputation. That lives with your domain, and it moves with you. A safe move takes four to six weeks, with both tools running side by side. Start it two weeks before Christmas and Christmas lands right in the middle.

And the box everyone forgets to pack is the unsubscribes. They do not move on their own. Leave them behind and you email the people who asked you to stop.

So stay put and fix the list. Clean it. Shrink it to the people who want your email. Send them something good. Then add a little more each week.

That's all the spam filters really want for Christmas <3

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Switching tools rarely fixes reputation, because providers track it by your domain (021.008.004). A safe move warms the new setup over four to six weeks with both tools running side by side (009.014.001). Suppression lists do not transfer between tools, so export and import them before the move (008.004.008), or the re-mailed complaints push you past 0.1 percent (009.014.002). The way out of a dip: restart with people who opened or clicked in the last 30 to 60 days, then add 20 to 30 percent a week (012.012.005).

Almanac 021.008.004, 009.014.001, 008.004.008, 009.014.002, 012.012.005

7 The empty chairs at Christmas dinner rewritten per YT's 1 Oct notes (the maths on 100) Sally invited 100 people to Christmas dinner. 40 came. Out of 100 invites (an example, not a statistic): 20 went to friends she has not called in years, 10 to people she met once and added anyway, 10 to old addresses nobody reads, 10 to people who do not remember her at all, and she sent so many reminders that 10 who would have come gave up. 40 came. Sally cannot understand why the party is a bust.

Storyboard 15 scenes

Pieces: M-48 out of every 100, drawn as chairs and dots (no figures until Vy picks the cast), M-26 dot fraction, M-12 envelopes, M-14 doors.

New pieces needed: A long dinner table to hold the 100 chairs.

  1. Sally invites 100 people to Christmas dinner.

    A long table with 100 chairs, ten rows of ten (M-48), every chair outlined teal. Labelled example.

  2. 20 are friends she has not called in years.

    20 chairs turn rose and slide to the far end.

  3. 10 are people she met once and added anyway.

    10 chairs turn grey with a small question mark. Each holds a ticket from her free coffee raffle.

  4. 10 invites go to old addresses nobody reads.

    10 envelopes (M-12) bounce back to Sally and those chairs go grey.

  5. 10 do not remember her at all.

    10 chairs raise a small amber flag, the spam button.

  6. She sends so many reminders that 10 more give up.

    Envelopes pile up on 10 chairs until those guests walk out through a door (M-14).

  7. 40 people come to dinner.

    The tally beside the table reads 40 of 100. Sixty empty chairs.

  8. Sally is surprised the party is a bust.

    Zoom out on the long, mostly empty table.

  9. Next year, Sally checks the guest list first.

    The table rewinds to 100 outlined chairs.

  10. She asks the quiet friends once if they still want to come.

    One envelope goes to the 20 rose chairs. No count of replies, the Almanac gives none.

  11. The ones who stay silent get no more invites.

    The rose chairs that do not answer fold away.

  12. She fixes the old addresses and leaves out the strangers.

    The grey chairs fold away.

  13. She sends one good invite, not nine.

    A single envelope per guest.

  14. Smaller table, fuller room.

    The table shrinks to fit the guests. Every chair is full. The dot fraction (M-26) shows the rate rising.

  15. Do it before the season starts.

    End card, with a small month strip that marks October.

Post text (YT's profile)

Sally invited 100 people to Christmas dinner.

20 were friends she has not called in years.
10 were people she met once and added anyway.
10 invites went to old addresses nobody reads.
10 people did not remember her at all.
And she sent so many reminders that 10 who would have come gave up.

40 came.

Sally cannot understand why the party is a bust.

(Those numbers are an example, not a statistic. But you know your own list.)

This is what an unchecked list looks like before the season. The quiet ones do not just cost you a send. They drag down the rate for everyone who opens.

So before the volume goes up: ask the quiet ones once if they still want to hear from you, stop sending to the ones who stay silent, fix the addresses that bounce, and send one good email instead of nine.

Smaller table. Fuller room. 🍽️

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Run re-engagement before the big seasonal push, so the quiet ones are out before the volume goes up (005.010.002), and engagement rates rise once they stop diluting them (005.010.008). People who forgot signing up complain (014.014.005). Sending too often drives opens down and complaints up (020.008.002) and overwhelms borderline subscribers (005.010.015). Clean after any import (005.001.003) and know where every address came from (008.011.002).

Almanac 005.010.002, 005.010.008, 014.014.005, 020.008.002, 005.010.015, 005.001.003, 008.011.002

8 It's not stuck, it's in the queue kept as is Black Friday. Sally's campaign looks stuck. So she sends it again. And again. 10:14 it looks stuck. 10:20 she sends it again. 10:31 again. Her best customers now have three copies of the same sale.

Storyboard 11 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-13 parcel and mail server desk, M-15 envelope row, M-12 envelopes.

New pieces needed: A small clock face.

  1. Black Friday, 10:14.

    A clock face beside Sally's card reads 10:14.

  2. Sally's campaign looks stuck.

    A row of envelopes (M-15) stops halfway to the mail server desk (M-13).

  3. It is not stuck.

    A small try-again-later sign flips up on the desk.

  4. Busy servers ask mail to wait and try again.

    The envelopes form a neat queue in front of the desk.

  5. A 421 means slow down, not blocked.

    Zoom in on one parcel tag. It reads 421. The queue keeps moving.

  6. It still arrives, just slower.

    The clock runs from minutes into hours. The queue drains into the desk.

  7. At 10:20, Sally sends it again.

    Rewind to 10:20. A second row lands behind the first. The pile is twice as tall.

  8. At 10:31, again.

    A third row. The pile is three times as tall. The shape is the pile.

  9. Her best customers get three copies of the same sale.

    Follow one teal dot: three identical envelopes land on it, each with the same coffee box offer.

  10. One send, then patience.

    Back to one queue, draining calmly.

  11. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Black Friday, 10:14am. Sally's campaign looks stuck.

10:20. She sends it again.
10:31. And again.

Now her best customers have three copies of the same sale.

Here is what was happening. On the busiest days, receiving servers get overwhelmed and answer "try again later". Your email waits in a queue and keeps retrying. It still arrives, just slower.

A "421" in your logs means slow down. It does not mean blocked.

So on the big day: one send, then patience. Pressing the button again does not make the queue shorter.

Don't be Sally. ☕

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

On the busiest days receiving servers answer "try again later". Your mail waits in a queue, retries, and still arrives, just slower, usually within a 72-hour retry window (001.001.082). A 421 means slow down, not blocked (020.008.007).

Almanac 001.001.082, 020.008.007

9 Take the stairs, not the lift kept as is You are allowed to send more in November. Take the stairs, not the lift. The one good-news post in a Sally-heavy season. Sally takes the lift. Everyone else takes the stairs and arrives at the same floor.

Storyboard 9 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-31 staircase and spike side by side, M-18 gate, M-45 zoom in.

  1. Good news: you can send more in November.

    An empty chart with two lanes, both starting at the same height.

  2. Two senders start at 10,000 emails a send.

    Two columns of equal height, labelled example: 10,000.

  3. One takes the stairs, a quarter more each send.

    The left lane climbs one step per click (M-31): 12,500, 15,600, 19,500, 24,400.

  4. Sally takes the lift.

    The right lane, with Sally's card, jumps from 10,000 to 24,400 in one send.

  5. That jump is more than double.

    Zoom in (M-45) on the jump. The 2x tick sits well below the top of her column.

  6. The gate narrows for her.

    A gate (M-18) on her lane narrows. The stairs lane passes freely.

  7. The stairs look like a business getting busy.

    The staircase glows teal.

  8. Same floor, different shape.

    Both lanes end at 24,400, side by side.

  9. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Good news, because this series has been a bit Sally-heavy.

You are allowed to send more in November.

A gradual lift before Black Friday, around 20 percent, is normal. Providers expect shops to get busier in the run-up.

The trick is the shape. Twenty to thirty percent more per send, step by step, reads as a business getting busy. Tripling overnight reads as something gone wrong.

Same floor at the end. Take the stairs, not the lift. 🪜

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

A gradual lift before Black Friday, around 20 percent, counts as normal business variation (020.008.010). Adding 20 to 30 percent more volume per send is a reasonable pace (016.010.003). Doubling in a short window gets noticed (012.010.008).

Almanac 020.008.010, 016.010.003, 012.010.008

10 The Sally checklist (carousel) slides updated to match the rewritten cards Eight things Sally did not do before Black Friday. Save this for November. The advice layer as one saveable carousel, one Sally miss per slide, each with the fix. Closes the season or runs mid-November.

Storyboard 10 scenes

Pieces: LinkedIn carousel layouts (01-library/channels/linkedin-carousel-layouts.md). Each slide reuses one picture from the matching idea.

  1. Eight things Sally did not do before Black Friday.

    Cover. Sally's name card, her coffee cup and the series mark.

  2. Ask the quiet ones once, then stop sending to the silent.

    Slide 1. The 100-chair table from idea 7, folding to a fuller room.

  3. Climb to November, don't jump.

    Slide 2. The staircase beside the spike from idea 9.

  4. Email only the people who expect you.

    Slide 3. The 2022 case file from idea 2, with only the teal dots lit.

  5. One unsubscribe closes every list.

    Slide 4. The suppression bar across two lists from idea 2.

  6. Your keenest readers go first.

    Slide 5. Teal dots setting off first on the road from idea 4.

  7. Your tool carries the mail, it does not decide the inbox.

    Slide 6. The road with two checkpoints from idea 4.

  8. Fix the list before you move tools.

    Slide 7. The box left on the old doorstep from idea 6.

  9. On the day, one send and then patience.

    Slide 8. The calm queue from idea 8.

  10. Save this for November.

    End card. The link big and centred, one sentence under it.

Post text (YT's profile)

Eight things Sally did not do before Black Friday.

Save this one for November. Every slide is one thing she missed and the fix.

None of it is clever. All of it is boring, and boring is what lands in the inbox in December.

Don't be Sally.

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Every slide carries its own Almanac number, taken from the idea it comes from: 005.010.002, 012.010.008, 008.017.010, 005.005.003, 018.017.004, 021.010.008, 021.008.004, 001.001.082.

Almanac 005.010.002, 012.010.008, 008.017.010, 005.005.003, 018.017.004, 021.010.008, 021.008.004, 001.001.082

11 Consistency: all year nothing, then ALL THE EMAILS new, from YT's 1 Oct notes All year: nothing. Black Friday: SEND ALL THE EMAILS ALL THE TIME. Most of us are not consistent with email. We are not either. Months go by with nothing at all. Then Black Friday hits, and it is SEND ALL THE EMAILS ALL THE TIME. Right time to make money from email. Wrong way to do it.

Storyboard 13 scenes

Pieces: M-11 Sally's card, M-31 calm line, staircase and month wall, M-12 envelopes, M-18 gate.

  1. Most of us are not consistent with email.

    A year line (M-31) with long flat gaps where nothing was sent.

  2. We are not either.

    A second, equally gappy line slides in under the first, labelled us.

  3. Months go by with nothing.

    The empty stretches shade grey, one after another.

  4. Then Black Friday hits.

    A month wall flips to 27 November.

  5. SEND ALL THE EMAILS ALL THE TIME.

    The line shoots straight up and envelopes (M-12) burst out of it. The capitals are on purpose, the only loud frame in the film.

  6. Right time to make money from email.

    The November window glows teal on the year line.

  7. Wrong way to do it.

    A gate (M-18) on the spike narrows and the burst piles up behind it.

  8. Providers trust a rhythm they can learn.

    A calm line inside a 20 percent band replaces the gappy one.

  9. A rhythm takes weeks to count, not a weekend.

    A bracket of two to four weeks shades on the time axis.

  10. So give yourself a plan of four to eight weeks.

    A plan bar slides back from 27 November. Its start lands between 2 and 30 October. Tagged YT's advice.

  11. Start in early October and you still have all eight.

    The bar's left end clicks to 2 October.

  12. Climb a little each week to the big day.

    A staircase fills the plan bar and arrives at Black Friday calm.

  13. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Confession. We are not consistent with email either.

Most of us are not. Months go by with nothing at all.

Then Black Friday hits and it is SEND ALL THE EMAILS ALL THE TIME.

Right time to make money from email. Wrong way to do it.

Mailbox providers trust a rhythm they can learn. Going quiet for weeks and then sending hard is one of the patterns they flag. And a new rhythm takes a few weeks of steady sending before it starts to count.

So my advice: give yourself a plan of four to eight weeks before the big day. Start in early October and you still have all eight. Climb a little each week.

Don't be Sally. (We are working on it too.) 📅

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Going quiet for weeks and then sending aggressively is a pattern providers flag (020.008.010). Steady volume within about a 20 percent band lets them learn you, and it takes two to four weeks on a fixed cadence before reputation visibly shifts (016.010.003). Start ramping a few weeks before a known peak (018.014.007). The four to eight week plan is YT's advice, not an Almanac fact.

Almanac 020.008.010, 016.010.003, 018.014.007

12 Everyone is tired of promo email new, from YT's 1 Oct notes Everyone is tired of Black Friday emails. Including the people sending them. In November everyone's inbox turns into one long sale. Every email says best deal of the year. A lot of it feels fake, because it feels like the price went up first (YT's opinion, not a fact). And not every business needs a Black Friday at all. If you're a lawyer, what are you going to promote? Two-for-one divorces?

Storyboard 13 scenes

Pieces: M-15 envelope row as an inbox column, M-14 doors street, M-22 running meter, M-25 dot grid.

New pieces needed: A sale sticker and a price tag. A small law-office sign for one door. A calendar square with a small pickle (Sally's weird holiday, RME-136).

  1. In November, every inbox turns into one long sale.

    An inbox column (M-15) fills top to bottom with envelopes, each with a sale sticker.

  2. Every email says best deal of the year.

    Zoom in on three stickers. They are identical.

  3. It feels like the price went up first.

    A price tag nudges up, then a discount sticker brings it back to where it started. Marked as YT's opinion in the notes, not shown as a fact.

  4. And not every business needs a Black Friday.

    A street of doors (M-14). One has a small law-office sign.

  5. If you're a lawyer, what are you going to promote?

    Zoom in on the law-office door. Quiet.

  6. Two-for-one divorces?

    A sale sticker slaps onto the law-office door. Hold for the laugh.

  7. Sally sells coffee.

    Cut to Sally's card with her coffee cup. A beat after the laugh.

  8. Last spring she ran a coffee sale for a pickle holiday.

    A calendar square with a small pickle on it. A coffee sale sticker slaps onto it. The pickle looks confused.

  9. More of what people are tired of costs you.

    The running meter (M-22) climbs toward the 0.10 percent line as the inbox column overflows.

  10. If a sale is new for you, test it on a small group first.

    A small cluster of the dot grid (M-25) gets the sale envelope. The rest wait.

  11. If it does not fit your business, skip it.

    The sticker peels off the law-office door, then off the pickle.

  12. Send something people want to open.

    One plain envelope, no sticker, opens.

  13. Don't be Sally.

    End card.

Post text (YT's profile)

Everyone is tired of Black Friday emails.

Including, I suspect, the people sending them.

In November every inbox turns into one long sale. Every email is the best deal of the year. And honestly, a lot of it feels fake. It feels like the price went up first, so the coupon is not cheaper at all. That is my opinion, but I doubt I am alone.

Also, not every business needs a Black Friday. If you're a lawyer, what are you going to promote? Two-for-one divorces?

Or take Sally. Sally sells coffee. Last spring she ran a coffee sale for a pickle holiday.

If a big sale is new for you, try it on a small group first and watch how they react. If it does not fit your business, skip it. Send something people want to open instead.

Don't be Sally. 🛍️

[Offer line goes here once YT picks one.]

The advice point

Sending too often drives opens down and pushes complaints toward 0.1 percent (020.008.002). A new kind of email, like a first big discount after a year of newsletters, can shift engagement and complaints, so run it on a smaller test group first (018.014.007). Whether a business should run Black Friday at all, and the fake-discount line, are YT's opinion, not Almanac facts. Before sending for a holiday, ask whether what you sell fits it, and do not force relevance that is not there (006.009.006).

Almanac 020.008.002, 018.014.007, 004.011.004, 006.009.006

Your top 3 to build first

Highlight this line and leave a Hypothesis note with the three numbers, best first.

Sally stays a name card with no drawn figure until you pick the cast (character-cast.html).

For YT: the offer (not picked yet) and the Almanac gaps

YT has not picked yet. All four stay open.

A · Half price on your first clean (50% off), way in advance

What it is. Half the price of the first clean, offered well before the season.

YT's note. YT, 1 Oct: way in advance, to give you time to clean, or to make your boss do the right thing, save money and make money in the season, which leaves no room for reputation or deliverability mistakes.

The maths. 50 percent off is the same as 100 percent more credits for the money.

For. The easiest offer in the world to understand. Run early, it is the push to clean before the volume goes up, and the line a marketer can take to their boss.

Against. We lose the price fight on purpose (BIBLE section 4), and a sale teaches people to wait for the next one. There is no billing system of record right now, so it could only be honoured at launch. Stacked on the 15,000 bonus it cheapens both.

B · 25 percent more credits

What it is. Buy credits, get a quarter more on top.

The maths. Plus 25 percent credits is worth 20 percent off, not 25.

For. The price stays whole, and it speaks the credits language the waitlist already uses.

Against. 25 percent looks small next to a 15,000 bonus, people have to do sums, and it still needs billing to exist.

C · Clean before the rush: the bonus doubles

What it is. Join the waitlist before a mid-November date (yours to pick) and the bonus doubles, 15,000 to 30,000 credits, on top of the 1,000 with the account.

The maths. The extra 15,000 credits are worth 120 dollars at the top list price (0.0080) and 39 dollars at the volume price (0.0026).

For. The deadline is the advice itself (clean before the volume goes up, 005.010.002). It is a gift, not a discount, and it works today because the app is waitlist only.

Against. Credits feel abstract. The waitlist page has to show the doubled number, which is a website change. Nothing to buy until launch.

D · Before and after: the January re-check is on us

What it is. Clean a list before Black Friday, and the same list gets a second check free in January.

The maths. Two cleans for the price of one on that list, so 50 percent off spread over two touches, with no price cut on the page.

For. No discount headline, a natural second conversation in January, and the January check shows what the season did to the list.

Against. Needs the app live and billing to sell anything, harder to say in one line, and a promise made now is a cost in January.

Almanac gaps these ideas ran into

Review My Emails · Don't be Sally series · storyboards only, nothing built yet · updated 2026-10-01