The Vegan Marketing Briefing

I confess: my instinct with a new idea is to build the whole thing first. The sales page. The logo. Six months of content.

I've done it before. And every time, the market taught me the same lesson: it doesn't care how hard you worked. It cares whether you solved a problem people will pay for.

So for the next six months, I'm testing before I build. Pay-now links. Course previews. Emails to past clients asking, "Would this help you?"

You're reading one of those tests right now.

This month, I'll show you how I set up my tests and how to run one on your next idea. Plus, we're getting your holiday offers ready, because in business, the holidays are already here. 

Let's dive in.

The idea: Nothing is built yet, and that's on purpose. Here's the plan, in three stages.

Stage 1: Before I build anything, I talk to three people.
I'm inviting three people to a short Zoom call: past course buyers or people from my list who've told me they're interested in this topic. I want to hear what they're stuck on, what they've already tried, and what would make this course worth their money. Their words will shape the outline, and often the sales page too.

Stage 2: While I build, I let people vote with their dollars.
I'm considering building just the first module, then offering a discounted pre-buy for the full course. I haven't decided yet. But here's why I lean toward it: it's different when people pay. A "yes, I'd love that!" in an email is nice. A purchase is a decision.

Let's be clear: I'm not looking for big numbers. A handful of buyers tells me more than a hundred likes.

Stage 3: Before I launch, three people review it.
Once the course is done, three people go through it before it goes on sale. They tell me what's confusing, what's missing, and what they'd cut. That way, I get input before building and feedback after building, and I don't pour weeks into content no one wants.

Solo:

Team:

Before you start, decide what counts as a yes. Write your number down first, like "3 pre-buyers" or "5 people who ask to be notified." Otherwise it's too easy to call any result a success.

The holidays might feel far away personally, but in business, they're right around the corner.

And if you think Black Friday and the holidays are only for gifts and products, think again. Yes, products make up a big share of holiday sales. But people are in a buying mood, and many are open to change as they head into a new year. That's exactly when a coaching package, a new project, or a fresh offer can open doors, and even turn things around for your business.

Shoppers will be careful this year. Holiday sales are forecast to grow just 4.1%, below the yearly average. More of them will also ask Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT what to buy. So a clear offer sent early will beat a vague one sent late.

What service businesses can sell for the holidays?

Build it in two tiers

Give people a choice: a value tier that's easy to say yes to, and a splurge tier that raises your average sale.

Key dates

🧍 Solo track (about 2 hours)

👥 Team track (2 to 10 people)

📱 Five post ideas

🤖 Claude prompts

Shape the offer

I run a [type] business serving [who]. My core offer is [offer] at [price]. Suggest 3 holiday offers for a service business: one giftable value tier under [$X], one "start in January" package, and one bonus I could add to my core offer. Give each a name and a one-line pitch.

Better Nature picked a fight with KFC, on purpose. UK tempeh brand Better Nature launched its first-ever billboard campaign: two London billboards answering KFC's famous "Believe in Chicken" with "Believe in Tempeh." They didn't pick that line at random. Their research found 54% of Brits are bored of chicken, and nearly a third buy it on autopilot.

My take: Look at what they actually did. They didn't lecture anyone about why chicken is bad, and they didn't list every benefit of tempeh. They named the default people were stuck in, a meal they were bored of and buying without thinking, and offered a way out. The message met people where they already were.

That's a powerful lesson for anyone helping people change how they eat or live. The people you serve aren't waiting to be convinced. They're already tired of something. Maybe it's diets that leave them hungry, feeling sluggish after every meal, cooking the same three dinners every week, or being the only vegan at the family table. Name that feeling, then show them the way out.

Here's how that could sound:

Try this: Write three sentences that start with "Tired of…" in your clients' own words. Use the best one as a post, an email subject line, or the first line of your holiday offer.

Yves came back because its customers wouldn't let it go.

Yves, a Canadian vegan brand with 40 years of history, shut down this spring. Months later, it's back on shelves under new ownership. The reason, according to the company: once Yves disappeared, customers made it very clear how much the brand meant to them.

My take: The company didn't bring Yves back because of a hunch or a trend report. It brought it back because customers showed, loudly and publicly, that they wanted it. That kind of signal makes a business decision feel obvious.

Your clients are sending you signals too. The question is whether you're listening. Think about what people ask you again and again:

Those aren't just questions. They're requests. A question you've answered twenty times could become a workshop, a grocery store tour, a meal-plan add-on, or a holiday survival guide. And that program you stopped running that people still mention? That might be worth bringing back.

Try this: Look back through your emails, DMs, and session notes from the past six months. Write down anything people asked for more than once. That list might hold your next offer.

Set aside 60 minutes.

Step 1 (20 min): Open ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google's AI Mode. Ask each the question your ideal client would type, for example: "Who is a good business coach for vegan food entrepreneurs?" Note whether you show up, and who does.

Step 2 (10 min): In Google Analytics 4, open your traffic acquisition report. Since May 13, 2026, GA4 automatically groups visits from AI tools under a channel called AI Assistant. Write down this month's number so you can track it.

Step 3 (30 min): Rewrite the first paragraph of your LinkedIn About section or your website's About page, using the prompt below.

I help [who you serve] with [the result you deliver]. Here is my current About section: [paste it]. Rewrite it so anyone, including an AI assistant, could tell in one read exactly who I help, what problem I solve, and what makes my approach different. Then list 5 questions my ideal client would ask an AI tool when looking for someone like me, with a 2–3 sentence answer to each in my voice: [describe your tone in 3 words].

Before you go, there's something I want to say about how testing gets done, because I see it go wrong all the time.

Let's be clear: giving your work away is not the same as testing it.

I see this all the time. A coach has a new idea, so they run a free challenge, a free workshop, free sessions "for feedback." People show up, say lovely things, and then… nothing. No sales. And the coach walks away thinking the idea didn't work, when really, it was never tested.

It's different when people pay. A "this is amazing!" costs nothing to say. A purchase, even a small one, is a real decision. It tells you someone believes this will change something for them.

I'm not saying never offer anything free. Free has its place. But when you want to know if an idea is worth building, ask for a small yes with a price attached. A discounted pre-buy. A paid pilot. A founding spot.

You deserve to be paid for your work, even while you're still figuring it out. Especially then.

If you want to go deeper on this:

Here's what I hope you take from this issue:

Pick one thing from this issue and do it this week. That's it. One step.

This is a sample issue of The Vegan Marketing Briefing, and right now I'm doing exactly what I've been talking about: asking for a small yes with a price attached.

If you want an issue like this every month, with a campaign you can run, a solo track and a team track, the Claude prompts to make it yours, and a look behind the scenes at what I'm testing, I'd love for you to join as a founding member.

Founding price: $10/month or $100/year (regularly $15/month), locked in for as long as you stay.

Here's how it works:

Join as a founding member →

And next month, I'll share how my course conversations went, what people told me, and what I'm changing because of it. Founding members see it first.

You've got this.