How do I overcome discomfort with being too sales-focused during the holiday season?

Reframe sales messages as helpful service rather than pushy selling. Before the heavy promotional period, send value-adding emails that give your audience something useful without asking for anything. This builds goodwill. Then recognize that many subscribers are genuinely grateful for reminders about sales, gift suggestions, and coupon codes—they want to buy from you and appreciate the nudge. Project an attitude of ‘this is what I do, I love what I do, and if you’d like something, here’s what’s available—and it’s on sale right now.’ If someone resonates with your work, they’ll appreciate the information. If they don’t want to buy, they’ll tune out regardless of your tone, so there’s no point worrying about offending them. Focus on serving the people who do want to hear from you.

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Asked by an artist uncomfortable with heavy promotion · Answered by Hava Gurevich · art-marketing-podcast · 2025-08-22