The Logos is an Operation Mobilization ship that does mission work

It carries Christian and educational literature around the world to places that really need it.

Plus, there are hardly any Christian bookstores in Germany.

Hamburg (a city of 2 million), my current location, has none.

So, browsing the books on the ship I came upon Ken Taylor’s biography. I only picked it up because it had a noble book cover and was just 6 Euros.

I had no idea who he was, and restricted myself from finding out.

Wanted to be surprised.

And I was very surprised.

Ever heard of the New Living Translation, Life Application Bible, or Tyndale House Publishers?

That’s Ken.

But one story really grabbed me.

His father, George, purchased a spot in the local paper, the Queen Anne News, that published weekly.

So, every week he hammered out on his typewriter a 5-inch, single column ad.

Ken remembers his father writing and re-writing the “ad copy” (as he called it).

For 3-5 hours a week he sweat over this mini publication.

George always came up with fun titles like “Man Bites Dog” to draw eyes.

And to ensure it targeted men, he purchased a spot in the sports section.

The ad would finish with a clear and simple gospel presentation.

At first he paid for the ads with their tithe.

Later wealthy friends helped him out and he published in much larger newspapers.

He did this for...get this... 35 freaking years.

It doesn’t surprise me that his son became such a famous Christian writer.

But what would George say about email?

I think he would be amazed first, “They have spell-check. Endless typewriter ribbons. They click a button and it is live for the world to see. You can do this for free!”

Yet, he would likely scratch his head, “Why are they only publishing maybe once a week?”

Or probably, “Why aren’t they being more evangelistic.” Christians tend to write to Christians. But that is a different topic.

In any case, 100 years ago, George was writing entertaining ads that invested in the Kingdom of God.

He came up with 1000s of hooks to draw men toward the gospel.

This is what you as a Christian writer can do every day by writing an sending emails.

Hook readers and draw them further into the Kingdom.

Ken wrote about this on page 10.

It would have been enough to stop the book there, leaving Ken Taylor a mystery.

George inspired me more with his little ad, than his son did with his mega laundry list of publications.

Blair

P.S. If you are an author and want to start making email more your main thing. A great way to do this is with an evergreen 5-day email course. When you are being interviewed for a podcast, then you have something enticing for those listeners to sign up for. No one is going to care that you have a substack. Most don’t know what that is. Here is how: https://www.outofthinblair.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

===

“I’m starting from zero and want to learn email marketing properly, including copywriting, list building, design, automation, segmentation, deliverability, and analytics.

Which platform/course would you recommend for a beginner, and what learning path would you follow if you were starting today?”

===

The reddit answers were very snore:

• read ESP documentation (why would they want to learn mind reading?)

• check out Mailchimp’s resources (what does a monkey know about email?)

• get a Klaviyo certificate (what?)

• email fundamentals: list building, segmentation, deliverability (bla bla bla)

Here’s my take:

#1 find or create an amazing offer

I like to serve authors. So their book (and educational material like courses) is what they offer. The better the book, the more tailwind your efforts have.

You can write a pretty crappy email, but if your offer drips with curiosity and solves that dreaded thorn in the flesh...you will make sales.

If the offer is bland, you have to be an expert marketer already just to accellerate through the headwind.

#2 find and emulate amazing email writers who have amazing offers

There is an author I follow, who sells books that cost more than seminary text books.

One of this writer’s books is priced over 1k.

I am a Christian, so I know what the Bible says about pursuing mammon.

But this writer happens to be a Christian, too, and he may be the one of the most brilliant email writers alive.

Learn from such email writers starting now.

It may take years to reach a level even close to theirs.

And, “nope”, not gonna tell you who it is.

#3 Write daily and publish

Sometimes it will be torture. Sometimes it will be less torture.

Sometimes your readers will be tortured.

Remeber, email writing is a different animal than book writing. The author in #2 writes much differnetly in his books than he does in his emails, without losing his voice.

Always make an offer.

If you are an author, and are tortured with the idea of growing your subscribers, I am not a beginner and can set you up with a 5-day email course.

Basically I read your amazing book and either show you how to write the course, or I will do it for you.

My offer:

https://www.outofthinblair.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

P.S. Nope, not going to tell you who it is.

Master it and you will sell more books (or whatever you subscribers want)

Now, at home I cannot turn it off.

• Poking ribs

• Squish-hugging like a trap

• Telling my girls as they leave to “Punch someone in the throat today with God’s blessings.”

But I am way too boring with people outside the family.

Not only am I ranked near zero in “joking around” with non-family, but also am totally cringe when I react to pro teasers.

Just a smiling deer in headlights.

I don’t get it how some people can banter like that chubby catcher in the movie “Sandlot” with just anybody. (Actually almost every catcher I have played with had this skill)

Always ready to prod and provoke with excellent comedic timing.

If you’re like me, and suffer this same dualistic problem (expert at home, incompetent outside), I have good and bad news for you.

Bad news first: I don’t think spontaneous banter and snark with outsiders can be learned.

Basically we are doomed.

My dad was an expert in knowing exactly how to employ humor in all circumstances, but my genes wouldn’t allow me to absorb that ability.

Sure you can cheat and learn a few lines. But they will see right through you.

Just try saying “Just another day in paradise” the next time someone asks you “How are you doing?” They will just force a smirk.

Good news: You can and should snark in your emails, and this can be learned.

It is really the only place I prod and tease outside of my family.

Not only is writing snark therapeutic fun for us boring types, but you will stand out from all the content out there in you niche.

While they are finishing their 10k-word pillar post, you will have already have a list of subscribers who like you and feel they know you.

So I admonish you, “Go out there and ridge-hand strike your subscribers in the nasal cavity with your snark.”

It will bless them.

A helpful tool to get new subscribers up to speed on your hidden banterous nature is a 5-day email course. Your book is where you want them to go deep and serious, but your emails is where they learn a little bit, but mostly learn to like you.

I can get that done for you or with you.

We can snark it up together…(that is supposed to sound cringe)

See my offer here:

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. My girls about died watching “Sandlot” when that boy at the swimming pool tricks the beautiful lifeguard into giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Not too many things brings me more joy than their squeals of embarrassment.

All Karens, just know that your name in heaven will be different.

But I must have had a neighborhood-wide “karen”-bounty on my head this week.

Granted I did make some mistakes worthy of response and most notable was me not seeing my dog poop in front of a house.

I always pick it up, but the one day I miss it...

So my dog and I are strolling along and he stops to sniff.

I keep going as usual listening to some podcast in one ear.

My dog catches up with me, but I hear fast foot falls trailing him.

A young woman with furrowed brow is yelling in German (I am fluent but my headphones were a bit loud.)

Auggie (Augustine von Hippo), my beautiful Swiss shepherd dog mix, ran to happily greet her.

I try to stop him, but he is too friendly.

With headphones now down, her tirade catches up with me.

Yep, sure enough he went #2 right in front of her house and I missed it.

No problem. I’ll go to pick it up.

But she wants blood.

Lots of “How dare you”s and “This is not the first time”s (even though I am only there once every 2 weeks)

“How can you walk with you dog of the leash, there are children here.”

“Lady, look, I understand. I will be more careful next time,” is my reply.

She storms back inside.

Not two minutes later I cross that very same low-trafficked street and don’t look over my shoulder.

Another karen is screaming at me in her car because she has to make a semi-sudden stop.

I gesture an apology and keep going.

Finally, on my next walk with Auggie, I am riding a bike.

A woman is walking, smoking and talking on the phone in front of us on an unpaved path.

I ring my bell a few times to let her know we are there but she doesn’t glance back.

My dog happily trots past her and I am quick to follow.

Then, with fanged mouth she spits, “Its against the law in Hamburg to not have you dog on a leash!”

I sigh and give her a passive-aggressive thumbs up.

Not very Jesus-like.

Auggie is our second dog. And he is 10x more obedient than our former golden retriever, Luther.

I just love walking with an obedient dog unleashed.

Subdueing creation.

I don’t even think a karen-apocalypse could get me to permanently leash him.

This is how we should feel about email writing.

And, this is my hope for you.

That you, especially as a writer/author, unleash your joy of writing your emails (daily if you can).

Sometimes you might accidentally leave a #2 in the wrong place and provoke some karens.

But you just keep on showing up and publishing.

It’s even more fun when you get subscribers coming in on auto pilot.

My done-for-you 5-day educational email course can get you rolling on that.

Check out my offer

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. Had to look it up, but the closest male equivelant of “karen” is “ken”. But “male karen” just has more zing to it. This is about as far from a theological conversation as we can get right now.

Madds, my middle daughter had tried 3 times to get baptized at the church.

First, she was too young (10), second and third, Sylvia (my wife) had gigs on those Sundays.

Madds was frustrated.

(My repeated offers to fill up the tub and get it over with never worked.)

The other two girls wanted to get baptized, too, so Sylvia suggested that we just do them all on Saturday, and shocked us with a: “Me included.”

Now Sylvia had been baptized as a baby in the Germany Lutheran church and had accepted it as her sufficient, faith baptism. It was also a means of her honoring her parents’ faith.

But in most free church circles she was often treated as a second-class Christian being denied full membership. She wrestled with this on and off, but was ultimately fine with her baby dunk.

So, you can understand my jaw-drop.

I checked to make sure I understood, “You too?”

“Yep”

A sizzle of excitement filled the dining room. And all the girls said, “Let’s do it!”

Despite the good weather forecast that Saturday, it had rained hard on and off all day.

It started to clear that afternoon, but even on our way to the reservoir the sky was a mix of golden sunshine and showers.

We found the empty sandy beach, illegally let the dog frolic, and set up a pop-up changing tent.

Fully dressed, first me, Sylvia and Flips (19) got into the cold water.

I baptized Sylvia. Flips assisted. Sylvia made me start over because she was laughing hysterically. Continued laughing as she raised out of the water.

Sylvia baptized Flips with me assisting.

My oldest baptized Madds (15) with me assisting and coaching. Flips said, “buried ALIVE in baptism.” I corrected her, “buried with HIM in baptism.” (likely due to the excess of mystery audio stories) She giggled and repeated, then we dunked Madds.

Madds, then baptized Keeks (14) with Flips coaching and assiting. At the shore we noticed Keek’s hair was not totally wet. I asked, “Do you want to do it again and go all the way under?” She chuckled, “Yes!” So Madds and Flipps baptized her again.

As we were celebrating on the shore, I looked out across the water.

And I kid you not: a rainbow arched in the sky.

It felt like a fairy tale.

Then rain started falling and the girls took cover in the little tent.

Sylvia and I went under a tree.

And Sylvia explained why she got baptized:

“Mainly I was tired of wrestling and wanted to rebel against pastor-only baptism. But if you hadn’t been repeating that Nacho Libre dialogue so much, I don’t think I would have considered it.”

Search “nacho libre baptism” on YouTube. It is one of my most favorite movie scenes of all time

Here’s the scene.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nacho (Jack Black) is a Mexican monk who becomes a wrestler. His tag-team partner Esqueleto is a skinny former homeless man. They are in the locker room in spandex and shirtless about to face their ultimate match.

Nacho comes out of the bathroom, toilet still flushing, leans against the door frame.

Nacho (thick Mexican accent): I’m a little concerned right now. About… your salvation and stuff. How come you have not been baptized?

Esqueleto (eating sth, feeling accused): Because I never got around to it ok?

Nacho walks behind him and fills a basin with water.

Esqueleto’s back still turned to Nacho.

Esqueleto: I dunno why you always have to be judging me because I only believe in science.

Nacho (walking toward Esqueleto with basin): But tonight, we are going up against Satan’s Cavemen (gives the sign of the cross) And I just thought it would be a good idea if you...

Nacho grabs the back of Esqueleto’s head and baptizes his face in the basin with a karate “Haeeyahhh.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

End scene.

Ok, notice what didn’t convince my wife.

I never once made an arguement to my wife to get baptized as an adult.

She knew full emersion was the biblical way.

Never once in our 23 years of marriage, did I ever debate this.

I was even baptized as a baby and re-baptized as a believer.

But me goofing off, quoting Nacho Libre 100 times over the last months nudged her to orchestrate the family baptism event.

It was no manipulation on my part. I just love quoting Jack Black with his silly Mexican accent.

God did the rest.

My point for you email writers: If you bombard your subscribers with too many serious devotionals, debates, and philosophical arguments (while neglecting your goofy side), you might miss out on some rainbow moments.

But you really have to almost annoy them.

If this resonates with you and you need a high converting asset that will grow your email list, check out my offer:

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. The day of the baptism, Sylvia suggested that I baptize everyone as the dad. I would have loved to have been baptized by my father, if he had been a believer, rather than that pastor I have no contact with now. But in the end, we decided discipleship was more important. And let (almost) everybody baptize someone, who had never done it before. Keeks was the last one, but she got two reps in.

You can look at words on a page and change yourself.

Actually, I think you can learn almost anything if you’ve got good written instructions.

When I was a kid, I bought a book a the elementary school book fair about learning karate.

I ran home with it, analyzed the corny black and white images, and poured over the descriptions.

“Soon I will know karate.”

A little optimistic.

Couldn’t totally do it alone like I wanted.

You needed a victim.

So, without hesitation tested moves on my little brother.

But in the end it was disappointing.

Mere words and pictures didn’t translate into actual skill...

…this time.

“A predictable disappointment,” you might say, but I have always believed you could train yourself to learn something with just a instructions , discipline and a bit of imagination.

Pre-YouTube in my 20s, I got another book “Core Performance” by Mark Verstegen which was a workout book for athletes.

Again I studied the progressive movements and descriptions, and this time I really figured things out on my own.

I didn’t need a mirror. I could move my body through space just like the illustrations.

It made me not only very strong but it helped me avoid injuries that had plagued me through high school.

It wasn’t karate, but you could say I became a disciple of Verstegen with just his words and pictures mixed with my discipline and imagination. No external help.

I am often jealous now of how young athletes now have access to YouTube. You no longer have to visualize movements.

But I still believe that words + your imagination can train (disciple) others.

That’s a core means of following Jesus.

“teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you”

Yes, I know: Add the Holy Spirit. (or He adds you..?)

But with Him and your imagination just are fused with an infinitely powerful Being you can learn from in real time.

Now email has it limits, but you can make disciples with it.

Maybe not like Paul did with precious scrolls.

There is something special about physical copies that add weight to words. Make you cherish and meditate on them.

But you can make MVDs “Minimal Viable Disciples” with your emails.

Give them enough to play in the shallow end of your area of discipleship.

Ask yourself this: What is the lowest bar I can set to disciple my subscribers?

But don’t teach it systematically in the email.

Use email to activate their imaginations and get them off the couch and into the shallow end with Jesus.

Stories are great for this.

One way to create Minimal Viable Disciples on auto-pilot is with a 5-day email course based on your book. You can tackle the minimalistic version of your book with some fun-to-read emails. And I can write it for you.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. My wife even learned to knit a lama-wool sweater for me by just reading words like code on a page and very unhelpful images. She had to undo the thing several times, but did it. I am amazed at what she could do with just imagination and persistence. I wore the first one so much she has to make another one.

It is about the Hecks, a working-class family from Orson, Indiana: chaotic, barely surviving financially, incredibly loyal.

The best character by far is the teenage boy Axl Heck, the charming minimalistic hedonist.

50% of the show is just him walking around in his boxer shorts.

Our girls often imitate his demeanor saying:

“Why am I the only one who does anything around here?”

(Actually, they probably don’t know they are quoting him.)

By contrast, his sister Sue, is the over-enthusiastic optimistic go-getter, who is desparate for her brother’s approval.

Very often Axl weaponizes Sue’s need for approval to do anything that requires him unnecessary effort.

List of Sue manipulations:

• Axl panic screaming in living room to hand him the TV remote that is just 3 feet away.

• Promising to hang out with her if she does all his chores.

• Framing cleaning his room as an exclusive and fun “organizational challenge” only her talents can manage.

Acting like he is dying of starvation so that Sue will get him snacks.

Now, I see some newsletter emails that look like they were written by Sue Heck.

• big banner

• 10 images

• 5 segments

• 15 links

• 2 bonus deals

• link to the 10,000 word article I wrote on for the last 30 days

An email-megalopolis.

As much time was spent creating that one email as I spend each year on my German taxes.

But if Axl wrote it? It would be like:

• 300 words

• no research (just using your fallible recollection)

• fascinate about the remote control (or sth mundane he can see from the couch)

• charmingly pitch sth that will make him money

All within 15-20 min.

Send.

Guess who will have more fun and be less disappointed?

Guess who will be able to write daily?

Guess who will have a better open rate?

“Yeah, but wouldn’t Axl just use AI to write emails, if he is so lazy?”

Fair question.

For sure he would’ve outsourced his entire high school education to AI. But when the stakes were high, he could turn on the charm like very few humans could. For that reason, I think he would never trust AI to write emails for selling. He would find himself quickly exhausted rewriting and rewriting the email. Then just give up and write it once. Maybe re-read it. Then send.

One of the best ways to start training in the Axl Heck School of Email Marketing is to write daily.

Set the timer for 30 min and go....

And one of the best ways to train your audience to expect daily emails from you is to have a 5-day email course automated for every subscriber that sends them an email a day.

Soon you will weaponizing your readers to do your bidding with your charming laziness.

I can build your 5-day email course for ya, if you are a Christan author with a book or a book idea.

Granted outsourcing goes against learning to charm your audience, but I spent hundreds of hours learning how to create those puppies so you can focus on eating potato chips on the couch in your underwear.

Find out how I do that here:

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. Some of the most heart-warming moments in The Middle is when Axl performs a selfless act for Sue like getting her that fork instead of tricking her to do it for him. It redeems him just enough to go another 10 episodes being the self-absorbed Axl my family loves.

“Sign up for my newsletter and get a free Chapter 1 of my book!!!!”

Well... this is way better than offering the dreaded “free updates”.

C’mon, who would pay for updates?

I would sooner pay for no updates.

But here are 9 reasons why you should not dangle Chapter 1 as a bonus for signing up:

1. No one reads PDFs

Everyone forgets where they are downloaded (if they have the energy to download at all). So they die an almost instant death in that mystery folder.

2. Downloading on mobile still bites it

When was the last time you reviewed the download folder that only exists on your phone? Never.

2. Pinch and scroll exhaustion

Most people signup on their phone. How fun it is to pinch and zoom, then scroll side to side for 10 pages of Chapter 1. I forget to take my magnesium every day, so I will avoid cramps in my hand by never opening your Chapter 1 pdf.

3. You can get more chapters for free in a Kindle sample

If a pdf is ever worth reading, I upload it to Kindle which can convert it to my favorite font type and size. But guess what I can download on the Kindle store? A sample of MORE than 1 chapter of your book.

4. Online alter-egos can’t read walls of text

Even if I open it on my desktop, I can’t get my online brain to read more than 1 paragraph. It’s like asking me to go to a museum where all you do is read stuff.

5. Chapter 1 is the most boring chapter

I usually want a book because of what’s in Chapter 8 or the Appendix. Chapter 1 never has value. It’s usually the stuff your publisher says you need.

6. Not written by an expert copywriter

If chapter 1 does not get me salivating and dripping spittle-froth onto my kindle, it is usually a waste of words. Expert copywriters, however, can tap into that deep ache or desire unlike most authors and leave a lingering longing to rip into the rest of the book.

7. Chapter 1 by itself is the most disappointing chapter

So many times I am excited to read a book. Got all of my Braveheart face paint ready to charge. But the Chapter 1 is always just a glorified outline of the kind my middle school teacher taught us to write of that boring article.

8. There are no benefits to reading Chapter 1

It’s just a backstory, clever metaphor, and an outline of the book. I get more benefit from reading the back of a shampoo bottle when I....never mind.

9. Even if you paid me 20 bucks, I would likely not get around to reading your Chapter 1 because 99% of all cChapter 1’s I have read in my life have taught me to hate Chapter 1 like I hate all realistic remakes of animated Disney films.

“But, Blair, you just talking about the Introduction, not Chapter 1.”

I don’t care.

Even if your Chapter 1 has some good content in it. I still wouldn’t read it in pdf form for the reasons above.

Plus, I have never seen someone list all the benefits I would get from Chapter 1 if I sign up for the free download, because there are none.

A squadrillion times better is offering a free 5-day email course based on your book, that can really offer minimal viable discipleship (MVD), get them to paint their face half-blue, buy your book, and overthrow the English scum.

I can build one for you.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. I still haven’t watched Braveheart with my daughters. Dave Ramsey kind of destroyed it for me. But I haven’t listened to Dave Ramsey in a long time, so maybe up soon on our family-movie night.

Each had to take a cognitive test.

Group 1: phone was face down on the desk

Group 2: in their pocket or bag

Group 3: in a completely different room

Surprise! Group 3 “significantly” (in a mathematical sens) did better.

Turns out that using energy to ignore your phone makes you dumber.

There is a whole other host of skull-densing habits our digital alter-egos have:

• Default skimming

• Multi-tasking twitch

• Extreme desire to watch hilarious dachshund shorts (the greatest small dog breed of all time)

Comon, we all get our “stupid” on the moment the glow hits our face.

I probably shouldn’t even be writing this on my laptop.

So why is it so many people write emails like a 3-point 45 minute sermon?

Even then I am distracted by the back of the bald guy’s head in front of me AND what the dude next to him is watching on his phone.

No dumb person in their wrong mind is going to read that wall of text.

Their off.line alter ego would, though.

The book you wrote was meant for off.line readers with their properly functioning noetic structues firing on all cylinders.

But your emails should be written for oafs.

Save the juicy in-depth for you book. It also gives them a great reason to buy your book.

If you want help turning you book into a fun email course for the dumb version of your readers, check out my offer:

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. I had a dachshund as my first dog. It’s like having a big dog in a little dog. Teasing him was so much fun, but he got us back by digging holes under the fence and making us chase him around the neighborhood. We were a different kind of dumb back then.

He actually heard our story 25 years earlier at that very couple’s wedding.

But the whole story hinges on something seemingly trivial:

an email exchange that almost didn’t happen

The stranger remembers our story so well because my wife and I met on the airport in Vancouver, Canada.

He even had told his daughter the story several times.

Here it is:

It’s the year 2000. My friend and I are trying to fly stand-by back to Dallas from a Labri conference.

The flight is full and the agents tell us our best bet is to take a bus to Seattle to catch a flight.

So, we book bus tickets and wait. I head off to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.

In the mean time, this girl comes up to my friend and asks him to watch her bags so she could make some phone calls.

(This was before 9/11. Bag watching wasn’t a big deal.)

When I come back, my friend introduces me to this girl who is not only a beautiful German and catching the same bus, but is a Christian!

Turns out she is visiting friends from her Bible school in Sweden, and I gladly ask her about how she became a Christian while standing in line to get on the bus.

She finds the question a bit weird, but she answers and we sit together on the bus.

We talk and talk and in the back of my mind I know there is little chance of anything romantic happening because I live thousands of miles away from here.

The way stand-by works is that you don’t know if you are getting on the flight until the very end.

She gets a seat first and gets in line to board, but she is angry about something.

I get up and find out what’s up.

Why was she mad?

I am not proud of this part of the story.

It had never dawned on me that I could have missed the flight.

We had not exchanged any contact details yet.

Still angry, she requests that we exchange emails.

I feel horrible.

But we do make it on the flight with her.

Things cleared up between us on the Chicago airport. Something special was brewing.

She then flew off to Tulsa. We to Dallas.

And with that precious email we began our correspondence.

Which has lead to an adventurous 26 years.

God wasn’t going to let us part without those emails.

But it would have been tragic had it never happened at all.

Ironic now that I help authors get emails with one of the best, time-tested methods for building an email list.

Or maybe it was inevitable.

Here’s how I can help you build an email course base on your book to hopefully build life changing relationships with your readers and beyond.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. 2000 was a world long before smartphones. I remember look, smell and feel of that college computer lab as I read her emails with heart pounding. Not just because I had sprinted there the moment it opened.

Many underwent a “third baptism,” where the state executed them by drowning.

If a lay person baptized a lay person in a private home and the state found out, you’d better run.

It is hard to believe Christians doing this to other Christians, or at least sanctioning this. Even your favorite reformers openly supported this.

But that was the nature of the totalitarian state-church of Christendom back then.

Or just the nature of totalitarianism.

Believing or saying the wrong thing equals treason.

One of my daughters is in the process of getting baptized.

So we looked at baptism in Acts and the “third baptism” in the 1500-1600s. Both marked you as being justifiably executed. “Third baptism” was clearly more outrageous to her because Christians were doing this to Christians.

There is just nothing comparable today in the West.

I can set up an inflatable cold plunge tank in the middle of my street and baptize anyone without fear of violence.

The worst I could get is a traffic warning from the police or an HOA complaint.

But looking at the violence Christian’s went through should give us this:

Boldness to believe and practice our Jesus-following faith.

Even in our nuances.

So, here is what I don’t get:

Why is so much Christian content so tame.

I cannot stand snuggly, coffee-cup, candle-lit pictures of bare feet and an open Bible. This is disturbing.

Some even see unsubscribes as a kind of “third baptism” persecution.

Really?

Our love should be deep and our hides thick.

Our content should disrupt the darkness.

Our writing should be more battle ship and less luxury cruise.

Because there will come a day when your great grandchildren are confronted by totalitarianism.

And they will be glad that you were not at all concerned about petty unsubscribes.

Be bold my writing friend. Welcome the unsubscribes.

Write often if you can.

Let me know if you need some help with that.

Subscribe now

Blair

P.S. Us laypeople should be doing a whole lot more baptisms, right? Something I am praying for for myself.

My girls even complain that I never cry. But it is not true. They just never catch me.

I don’t cry at the typical tragic parts.

I get emotional during mundane scenes of unexpected kindness. Most people just stone-heartedly watch these, but they really get me.

Like in “Sandlot” at the very beginning when the neighborhood baseball star Benny saves the shy protagonist Smalls from embarrassment by giving Smalls a proper ball cap and glove.

Or in Wonder Woman part one when she just abandons the plan to go save a small Belgian village from Nazis (maybe not mundane).

And on this teenie show “Victorious”, where Victoria befriends an weird-outcast girl in the bathroom at school. (surprisingly well written show)

I have 3 teenage girls, so lay off.

None of them want to watch Braveheart (sigh).

But these acts of kindness typically require a high degree of courage and have nothing to do with tragedy.

Whatever it is, they make my tear ducts squirt.

Probably because of the strong overlap with the gospel.

Anyway, if I open my inbox and look at most newsletters, I see the opposite of gripping cinematic kindness:

• Another devotional email that uses a clever metaphor, but is missing a personal component.

• Insights about something, but show no heart or vulnerability.

• Or just blatant asks “Hey, sign up for my event”, with pretty boring 80’s infomercial sales copy: “Are you tired of dealing with a depressed hamster? Well, join my free webinar Happy Hamster Hacks today!”

Well, I would probably sign up for that.

What I am saying, is if I sign up to your newsletter, I kind of want to enter your world and hear the mundane yet meaningful stuff.

I want to feel like I am getting to know you.

If you share yourself in an entertaining way, I would even like to read your email every day.

Even if what you are selling has no relevance to my life.

When I set up an 5-day email course, the emails come in consecutive days.

It can be a little scary going from once-a-month newsletter to daily.

But you will sell more books and stuff that way, and become more likeable to your audience.

So, are you tired of writing boring newsletters? Well, buy my email course services, which will turn your book into a high-converting 5-day email course.

See what I did there.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. The only sad movie (I can remember) that I watched in the movie theater, where I drained all bodily saline, was “Schindlers List.”

P.P.S The Bible actually would prefer we watch more sad movies than comedies (Ecclesiastes 7:2–4). They have a tendancy to make us wiser.

P.P.S. Contrary to woke police, “The Odessy” is a great movie. And really sad.

Before the Reformation, the Catholic church used relics to make gobs of money.

But some of these relics were unbelievably weird.

Forgive the unholiness of this selection, but it is history:

• The Holy Prepuce (Jesus’ foreskin). Really?

• Vials of the Virgin Mary’s Milk. Ewww.

• The Holy Breath (breath Jesus exhaled while praying).

And there is a whole other sleuth of mummified body parts of saints I don’t know.

Maybe the weirdness is what made them profitable.

We laugh about these now, but if I were a peasant with an uncurable disease, ruled by a merciless noble, and trusted in the Catholic church, you would probably find me on a relic pilgrimage to shake someone’s severed hand.

As a matter of fact, my wife and I changed our whole tour through Europe to visit a relic in Torino Italy.

Not for its magical properties, but due to fascination.

I had read a book about the Shroud of Turin and believed (and still do) it is quite probably the actual linen that was wrapped around Jesus after his crucifixion.

I’ll spare you my attempt to explain the evidence for that case, but it is worth a youtube search.

Anyways, the shroud was not on display when we got there, which was a little disappointing. It’s only shown every 10-25 years.

But while meandering through Turin, we happened upon a rinky-dink Shroud of Turin museum.

Guess who gladly paid the 8 Euros each to walk through this ghetto of a museum.

I can barely call it a museum.

We watched some anciently produced amateur intro film, walked through ugly rooms with tangentially related artifacts, and looked at a life-sized bootleg version of the shroud.

What does this have to do with marketing?

You don’t have to be great at selling, if you have a fascinating freebie offer.

Your landing page just needs say:

“Hey, sign up and you will have a unique and reliably answer to that mysterious problem.”

Or

“Hey, sign up and I will send you a holy severed body part of an unknown saint that will gross you out.”

Unfortunately, most authors just have:

“Sign up for my newsletters to get updates.”

No one wants your updates but your mom.

When you hire me to create your education email course, I create for you a landing page for the course that makes signing up a fascinating “no brainer.” (Or maybe it does included the brain of a cool saint. I’ll think about it.) But because your book is already relic-level fascinating, such a high-conveting signup page is easy to do.

Here is the link

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. Apologies, for the gross topic. I am pretty sure Jesus was cringing during that part of Christian history. But the Bible has gross stuff, too, right? I know I am right.

When I walk into a store (Even a Christian book store). Just leave me alone, please. Not only do I not want help from a 16 year-old puppy, but I also hate to be sold to by a veteran slimy quota vampire. Either I have done extensive research, I am really just browsing, or my wife and daughters are in the store somewhere. Just go away.

Anyway, I am completely different as a listener to a podcast.

After about 15 min, I often have already downloaded the kindle sample.

(Notice I do not buy the book.)

On the few occasions I make it to the end of a podcast 999 out of a thousand authors pitch their book:

“Go check out my book on amazon.”

That’s their pitch.

Logical, but a massively wasted opportunity.

Here I am, puddy in their soft little hands and they ask me to do something I have already done.

I repeat.

It is a MISTAKE to pitch your book in an interview about your book.

The whole interview has already been indirectly pitching the book. It is already a sample on my kindle.

What should you do instead.

Create an asset that costs the listener their email.

Pitch that.

Guess what you can do when you have their email:

Tastefully pitch your book repeatedly and often until they unsubscribe.

Below is the asset I recommend.

What is one more mistake?

I have heard a lot of people talk about giving your content away for free. I heard recently that Micheal Hyatt supposedly said you can give 75% away and they will still buy your book.

But that was a pre-AI world.

When you give an interview that is posted on YouTube. The transcript is automatically produced and easily searchable.

If you divulge it all in a podcast, guess what, AI now knows it.

So I just ask AI to do some deep-research on that book and it tells me what is in chapter 8, or pretends like it does.

Either way, I don’t buy the book.

To NOT withhold chapter 8, or whatever, is a mistake.

Why buy the book if it regurgitates everything you’ve said in a podcast?

If I were you, I would intentionally withhold a lot more.

But look, if you were wondering which asset I was referring to. It’s no mystery: educational email courses

Find out how I can help you set one up.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. Your kindle sample should do nothing but sell the book hard and/or give the reader every reason to get on your email list…which repeatedly sells your book very often. Yes, I am a Christian.

BLAIR: No, it would not be easier. Yes, it is one of the best marketing approaches out there.

Let me unpack.

Part 1 - Why starting a podcast is harder:

About 2 years ago I took a podcasting course to start a podcast. It was a passion podcast to interview Christian authors. I got some big names on and got to about 12 episodes before calling it quits.

Time commitment:

Not only did I need 8 hours of post production.

But I also needed about 2 hours for the call (prep, tech setup, interview, off-air chat).

Another 4 hours for speed reading the book. Basically, I purchased the audible version and put it on 2x speed while reading the kindle version.

One more hour for writing an intro and “good” Barbara Walters questions.

And an hour for just reaching out to get guests.

Finally, 2 hours of posting it on social midia.

Doing the math, I needed 18 hours per epsisod. Bascially a part-time job.

(I even added fun stories from my life at the very end, like Marvel credits, to boost personal connection with the listeners - 3 hours)

Even if I had a team for the post production and social media. I would have needed 8 hours minimum.

You are better off spending 8 hours a week trying to become a guest on a podcast or two.

Part 2 - Why it is the ultimate network and marketing tool.

You get to talk to a host who is connected to tons of thought leaders and other podcast hosts for free.

You get to leverage their audience and marketing engine for free.

And if you have a great free offer for their audience (like an education email course), you can grow your email list quickly for free.

Now it is not easy getting on podcasts and creating a good freebie. Just offering a free chapter won’t cut it. You can get that on kindle. What you need is something that makes the listeners risk their lives whild driving on the interstate by trying to put in their email to gain access to your offer.

I can help you with both. Not helping listeners kill themselves while driving, but helping you get on podcasts and creating a great freebie.

Check out my educational email course offer for starters.

https://blairjohnlee.substack.com/p/done-for-you-email-course

Blair

P.S. I hope to do a reboot of the podcast someday. Alas, the shame is still there for not being able to keep it up. It’s called “Bibleworthy”. Search my substack and find.

Some may gag.

The farmer types not.

In any case, the lesson in the story is sticky (pun intended), and if you use email, this will greatly increase the effectivity of engaging with your list.

Anyway, here’s what happened.

Last week I’m driving the same ten-minute route I drive every day five days a week. The last five minutes I hit the highway and my mind is on autopilot. I pray through the Lord’s Prayer, as usual, and then typically exit. The lane I’m in goes through the tunnel, but I don’t notice the big red X over my lane. Then it got really bumpy and I even start to slide a little bit. Looks like a truck spilled a lot of dirt. I take my foot off the gas and switch to the left lane out of the “dirt”, and the dung stench blasts me. Crap.

A few hours later, I have the chance to take it to the self-serve car wash. You know how snow gathers up on a car’s underside behind the wheels during the winter? Well that’s exactly what happened with all this cow poop. Cleaning the exterior or the sides of the car is easy, but getting up under, into the underside of the car, is very messy. High pressure water isn’t predictable in how it rebounds off the different objects. And of course, it splatters me with black specks of ickiness.

I spend about ten euros, and though I can’t see any more of the manure, you can still smell my car from fifty meters away.

So here’s the deal.

The subscribers to your email list scroll through their emails on auto pilot.

Your precious email you spent hours on is invisible to them.

Unfortunately, your lack of effort to change things up is the culprit.

Maybe your emails are kinda boring. You’ve been using the exact same formula for years because that’s what the leaders in your industry do.

A typical thing I see newsletters do is that they have 5 different segments in their newsletter with all completely different topics with completely different links pitching completely different things.

The email subscribers are already overwhelmed with their inbox. And then when they open your email, they’re overwhelmed further with having to find a link to click. And when they click the link, they gotta read a long article with tons of other distractions. So by the time they’re done with your content, they’ve subconsciously decided to never open your emails ever again.

Soon your subscribers become blind to your boring emails.

Excriment on the other hand is anything but boring, when it is not where it belongs.

It is one of humanity’s favorite things to talk about.

If you are looking for simple ways to stand out like a stinky mess in the road, subscribe.

Subscribe now

Blair

P.S. Strangely, this soiling of my car’s underbelly was an answer to prayer. “Lord, should we sell our car?” Answer: “Not as long as it smells like that.”

After hundreds of guest pitches, to my surprise, the pros do two things right.

But first, here is a list of what amateur Christian podcasters do:

• Never reply to email

• Ghost you after a conversation has started

• Hate getting cold emails.

Strangely, I thought amateur podcasts would be easy to pitch.

But they ain’t.

And when I say “pro” podcast, I mean the ones that get 50 pitches for every one interview they publish. (One host was generous enough to share that stat with me.)

These hosts deliver the who’s-who interviews in Christian evangelical influence.

The first thing they do is really easy.

How can you upgrade your podcast in ZERO seconds?

Decide to reply to pitches fast.

I will not name names, but this has happened multiple times. Pro podcasters reply within 24 hours. Either the actual host or a producer writes back.

Pro podcasters even love to be pitched. And are gracious enough to tell you why a guest is not a fit. Such valuable intell.

Amateurs give you the vibe that you are annoying them. And

Here is the second upgrade, and it takes thirty minutes.

How can you upgrade your podcast in 30 minutes?

Set up a guest pitch form.

Make a free Google Form and turn on a notification. Force pitchers to do their homework. Ask questions that make sure they are pitching a relevant guest. Make every field required.

Then write them back fast, especially when they are a bad fit. And tell them why.

Amateurs try to spare feelings and say “sorry, we are not looking for guests right now.”

I don’t believe them.

You cannot tell me that if Tim Keller rose from the dead and wanted to get on your show, you would not clear your schedule for that interview.

But pros have given my authors some excellent constructive criticism.

So, a guest pitch form plus a fast reply turns you into a legit pro podcaster.

What about pitches that come through DMs or your inbox?

Three small upgrades:

• Set up a dedicated guest@yourpodcast.com address so you can quickly reply to a DM with “hey, send your pitch here.”

• Save a reply template that links pitchers to your form or asks your standard intake questions.

• Redirect every pitch to your form.

Sure, you will get some crazies and some irrelevant pitches, when you make it easy to be pitched.

But, there is a world of unheard-of authors out there, who can hit the bull’s eye of your audience’s heart.

Unfortunately, they can’t reach you.

—Blair

P.S. Right now I am pitching an author, who has one of the most refreshing approaches to personal evangelism. No more awkwardness or scripts. Reply or message if you want me to pitch him for your podcast.

I have a complicated relationship with productivity.

My wife can get stuff done like a beaver building a dam. She just does it. I'm more the reflective type -- I can spend hours thinking and researching and never actually move.

Let's just say I married the right woman. If it weren't for her, I'd be even more of a mess.

I've tried everything. Getting Things Done. Building a Second Brain. To-do apps. Google Tasks. Goal setting.

I even tried the whole "vision cast 10 years into the future" cult -- picture the furniture, the feelings, the smells, manifest it all into existence.

I bet there's research out there that says that's a bunch of crap. It just made me feel guilty about how little I'd gotten done.

They all had the same problem: I like building systems. That part is fun.

But once the system is built and it's time to actually maintain it? I lose interest. Productive for a very short season, then back to my default: just trying to remember stuff.

These were all little Frankensteins. I'd build them up, they'd show some signs of life, and then these inflexible things would turn around and murder my productivity.

So back when I was running my Amazon business, I remember thinking, "If I had the money, I'd hire a personal assistant somewhere -- a real person, full-time, just to keep me on track."

But then you have to give them enough work so they feel like they actually have a real job. And there's the threat of not being able to pay them if a slow month hits.

I never hired that person. But 6 weeks ago, I built one.

His name is Brock. My last name's Lee. So yeah – Brock Lee. I know.

What does an AI personal assistant actually do?

An AI personal assistant pulls your whole life into one place and tells you what to do next. That's the short version.

I am not a developer. (I get HTML and CSS, but not much more.)

Brock is built on Claude Code and Obsidian. He's got a personality -- kind of a Christian Alex Hormozi.

Encouraging but direct. Challenging but not preachy. He'll tell me a task is 14 days old and ask if I'm going to do it or drop it.

Every morning I type /gm (for good morning) and Brock pulls up my whole life:

• My calendar (I never check it -- so this alone saved me from missing appointments)

• My to-do list, color-coded by urgency -- red for do-it-now, yellow for this week, green for this month, gray for parked

• My family's schedule and what each person has going on

• A prayer rotation -- specific Bible verses I'm praying for my wife, my kids, and my coworkers

• Relationship nudges -- "You haven't texted this person in 18 days. You know what to do."

• A scorecard tracking whether I'm actually living out our family mission

• My workout plan and injury rehab progress

• A reflection streak tracker (currently at zero -- more on that later)

Brock runs on slash commands. /gm is the daily driver, but I've built a bunch more:

• /capture -- turns on aggressive capture mode. I just talk and Brock sorts it into tasks, ideas, stories, or relationship notes

• /reflect -- end-of-day reflection. High, low, buffalo, gratitude. I barely use this one. Disaster.

• /check -- accountability dashboard. Shows every commitment, how old it is, and pushes me to resolve or drop

• /weekly -- week-in-review summary, printable for Sabbath

• /monthly -- pattern detection across the month. Relationship trends, mission progress, financial awareness

• /content-week -- full content pipeline. Brain dump, interview, draft, revision. This blog post was written with it

• /research -- YouTube search + NotebookLM analysis. Pulls transcripts, generates audio, video, infographics

• /yt-search -- standalone YouTube search and transcript extraction

• /notebooklm -- direct access to Google's NotebookLM for generating podcasts, slideshows, flashcards, mind maps

• /end-session -- session handoff. Updates the vault, closes loops, writes a cold-start prompt for the next session

And then there's stuff that just runs in the background without a slash command.

Brock listens for tasks and ideas in every conversation. Silently updates relationship notes when I mention people. Nags me when commitments are overdue. Checks on my marriage every session. And reminds me to close the laptop at 6:30 PM.

The morning briefing is the one I can't live without. The reflection one? I'll get there.

Is it perfect? No. The morning briefing is too long. I'd love a visual dashboard instead of a terminal readout.

Still tweaking.

But here's the thing: I've used it every day for over a month. Every day except our Sabbath -- Saturday is no-computer, no-phone, no-work.

But come Sunday morning? I'm fired up. I sit down with Sylvia, we go through the calendar for the week, and I tell Brock everything I need to be involved in.

Things I'm not involved in but want to know about -- like what my kids have going on -- I just have Brock remind me so I can have better conversations with them.

That's never happened with a productivity system before.

Part of it is that I can keep building it. It appeals to my builder instinct -- this is an infinite game, not a checklist that goes stale.

Just last week I built a way to research YouTube videos and pull transcripts through Claude Code without ever having to get on YouTube and doom-scroll my life away.

How do you build an AI personal assistant with Claude Code?

About three days to get a working assistant. I'm still building on it today -- but three days to useful.

AI is like the movie Memento: every time you restart it, it forgets everything. And you need to start fresh sessions often because AI gets dumb after about half its memory is used up.

So I needed a brain that remembers.

I used a GitHub repo called Getting S#!t Done (GSD) that walks you through the setup step by step.

It asks you questions -- what do you want your assistant to do? What matters to you? Who's in your family? -- and builds incrementally. Small pieces.

GSD is actually great for building any project, even full apps. I use it for every Claude Code project.

The tech stack:

• Claude Code Max (the terminal-based AI -- this is where Brock lives)

• Google Calendar API (so Brock can read and write to my calendar)

• Wispr Flow (voice-to-text so I can just talk instead of type)

That's it. Brock stores everything as plain markdown files in folders. You don't need a special app to read them -- any text editor works.

I use Obsidian with their paid sync so the files stay current between my computer and phone -- I can check notes or dump ideas on the go. But it's optional.

Claude handles the technical side. I just told it what I wanted.

The hardest part wasn't technical. It was resisting the urge to research what everyone else was doing and instead just plugging holes in my own life first.

What do I keep forgetting? What balls do I drop? Start there.

Can an AI assistant help you lead your family better?

Yes -- if you tell it what matters. Brock doesn't guess at my priorities. I told him our family mission, our values, and who my people are. He holds me to it.

Before Brock, I'd forget appointments. I'd forget I told someone I'd follow up. And I'd underestimate how long it takes to prepare for my wife's birthday.

I'm not going to forget her birthday. I'm just bad at gauging prep time.

The kids are old enough now to delegate the cake and stuff like that. But this year I wanted to surprise her with a new mattress -- we'd been sleeping on this old thing forever.

So I had to figure out when to go to IKEA, how to get it home, how to hide it. She had no idea. That part was great.

But I forgot to organize the flowers. And there was something else I forgot too -- I can't remember what it was right now. But that's okay, because Brock remembers.

Next year, Brock starts the countdown 2 months out. "Have you ordered flowers? Have you planned the party? She shouldn't have to plan her own birthday, Blair." And after the birthday, I told Brock what I'd do better next year. He'll remember. I won't have to.

Here's a thing you can't do with a real personal assistant: tell them about your fight with your wife.

I can capture what I could've done better after a disagreement. Not to dwell on it -- just to actually learn instead of repeating the same patterns.

Try telling a human assistant about that. With AI, you don't worry about what you're saying. "Hey Brock, how do I research toenail fungus?" No judgment.

I know this is probably being saved on some server somewhere and the evil overlords will someday use it against me.

But at this point, the apocalypse will come anyways.

Brock scores my tasks by mission alignment, revenue impact, and urgency. Three numbers. Simple. But it shows me when I'm majoring in minors.

One of the hardest things for me to invest in is stuff that's not urgent.

Like -- I'm thinking about grandkids. Nothing could be less urgent than building a life right now for future generations. We want the gospel to multiply multi-generationally.

That means long-term thinking. That means working on things that don't feel pressing. Brock helps me keep those things visible instead of letting them disappear under the pile of "urgent."

Has it changed how I lead my family? Yeah.

I know what my kids are doing this week. Brock will say, "Your daughter had a tough day -- talk to her about it." It pulls me out of work mode and into dad mode.

I get lost in projects easily. Brock helps me with that.

How do you use AI for prayer and spiritual life?

Brock isn't a "Christian app." He's just a coach who shares my values. But the prayer piece has been one of the biggest surprises.

I work a manual labor job -- UPS, early morning shifts. I've got hours where my hands are busy but my mind is free.

So I built a prayer rotation into the morning briefing. Every day Brock shows me three prayers:

• One for my coworkers (from Tim Challies' 18 prayers for unbelievers)

• One for Sylvia (from Desiring God's 10 ways to pray for your wife)

• One for my daughters (from Christian Parenting's 50 prayers for teenage daughters)

Different verse each day. Different focus.

It's not that AI is praying for me. It's just reminding me to pray with variety instead of falling into the same rote patterns.

We also have a family mission -- Kingdom Builders. Three pillars: create art and music, practice hospitality, make disciples.

Brock keeps a scorecard. Are we actually doing those things this month? Or just talking about them?

Seeing a zero next to "hospitality" for the month is just another nudge leading me one step closer to depression and anxiety.

What are the limitations of AI personal assistants?

He doesn't improve himself. I have to notice what's not working and tell him to fix it. I wish he'd say, "Hey, you haven't used this feature in two weeks. Should we change something?" Maybe I'll build that.

The morning briefing is too long. It's a wall of text in a terminal window.

And I'm terrible at using the reflection feature. Brock has a whole end-of-day reflection system, but I work until the last minute and then shut down. I don't reflect. That's a me problem, not a Brock problem.

How do I build my own AI personal assistant?

Don't be intimidated by the terminal. It's not going to break your computer.

Here's what you could do right now: open your favorite AI platform and say, "Hey, can you interview me to help me build an AI personal assistant? I just need you to ask me questions to find out what I want it to be able to do."

Start answering the questions. That's really all you need to start. You'll figure out what matters to you by talking about it.

Then grab Claude Code and the GSD repo. Everything gets stored as plain markdown files -- you can read them with any text editor.

If you want something fancier, Obsidian is free.

If you don't understand what Claude is asking, just say "hold on, explain this." It will.

I went from dreaming about hiring a personal assistant to having one that knows my family, my schedule, my commitments, and my mission.

It's like an ever-evolving Frankenstein. Which will ultimately turn into a rage machine and probably kill us all.

Still learning. Still tweaking.

If you're building something like this – or thinking about it – happy to swap notes.

A few weeks ago, I deleted 100 hours of work. Not by accident—on purpose. The app I had built was a mess of dead ends and spaghetti logic, and the only way forward was to start over. But here's the thing: I'm rebuilding it better, faster, and with a clearer head. And I'm not a developer.

I'm an online marketer who helps Christian authors get booked on podcasts. My formal training is a master's degree in hermeneutics—ancient texts, not modern code. I can write HTML and CSS well enough to customize a WordPress site, but actual programming? That was always someone else's job.

Then AI changed everything.

What's in This Post

I'm currently building what I call the Christian Author-Podcast Matchmaking Platform—essentially a CRM for managing podcast outreach on behalf of authors. It tracks podcasts, manages author pipelines, suggests matches, and logs all the relationship-building that goes into landing interviews. Full disclosure: I'm paying about $100/month for Claude Code Max, which gives me access to Anthropic's most capable AI coding assistant. This is Part 1 of what I'm calling my "learning in public" series.

Why Did I Start Building Apps with AI?

It started with a spreadsheet.

In August 2025, our family finances Google Sheet had grown into a monster. We had recurring costs and income streams that required constant copy-pasting, and maintaining it was becoming a part-time job. I'd heard about AI coding tools, so I decided to try building something simple: a cash flow tracker.

I used a platform called Base44, and after a lot of trial and error, I ended up with something that worked. It was basically a glorified calculator, but it did what I needed. I still use it daily. That small win got me hooked.

What Did I Learn From My First AI-Built App?

Mostly what not to do.

I made the app way too complex. I anticipated edge cases that didn't exist and built features nobody asked for. Every time something broke, I had to revert to previous versions—which happened constantly. The final product has clunky flows and weird dead ends because I had no idea what I was doing.

But here's what matters: it works. Every day, I open that app and track our cash flow. That proved to me that a non-coder could actually build functional software with AI. The lesson I took away was simple: start with the smallest possible version that does one thing well.

What Made Me Want to Learn This Properly?

Base44 worked, but the ongoing subscription costs add up when you're just experimenting. I wanted more control and fewer recurring bills.

In September 2025, I joined a Skool community called AI Captains, run by Jordan Erbs and Kenneth Gonzales. Kenneth is a professional developer at prettysimplegroup.com, and Jordan specializes in teaching people to use AI strategically—being the captain of your AI journey, not just a passenger clicking buttons.

The most valuable thing Jordan taught me early on was getting comfortable with the terminal. That "black and white screen with green text" that coders use? It's not as scary as it looks. It's actually simpler and more powerful than most graphical interfaces.

I also learned about planning frameworks: PRD (Product Requirements Document), BRD (Business Requirements Document), FRD (Functional Requirements Document), and MRD (Market Requirements Document). For personal projects, I only use a PRD, but understanding these frameworks changed how I approach building anything. Measure twice, cut once.

What Tools Do You Need to Build Apps with Claude Code?

My current stack is simpler than you might think.

Core tools:

• Claude Code — The AI coding assistant that runs in your terminal

• Supabase — A PostgreSQL database with an API layer (generous free tier)

• n8n — Workflow automation that I self-host

• GSD (Getting S#!t Done) — A project scaffolding framework designed for AI development

My setup:

• Terminal: PowerShell, which comes free with Windows

• Voice input: Wispr Flow instead of typing everything—much easier

• IDE: VS Code, but not for writing code—just for viewing file structures and quickly scanning files

• MCP integrations: These let Claude talk directly to Supabase and n8n without me switching between applications

Why terminal? Because it gives you direct access to your computer without layers of interface getting in the way. It's faster and more lightweight. Understanding basic terminal commands is genuinely important for this kind of work.

How Did I Actually Set Up This Project?

Step 1: Write the PRD. I updated my Product Requirements Document from the failed v1 project. It's now a 19KB document covering the business model, database schema, and all planned features. For personal projects, a PRD is enough. Save the other frameworks for business ventures.

Step 2: Set up GSD. I installed the Getting S#!t Done framework, which creates a .planning/ folder with three key files: PROJECT.md (core definition and constraints), ROADMAP.md (full 10-phase plan across two versions), and STATE.md (tracks where I am so Claude can pick up where I left off).

Step 3: Break into phases. Version 1.0 MVP has 5 phases: Foundation, Podcast CRM, Author Pipeline, Matching, and Dashboard. Version 1.1 Intelligence adds 5 more: Episode Sync, Interview Detection, AI Topics, and others. Each phase gets its own PLAN.md with atomic tasks.

Step 4: Connect the tools via MCP. The Supabase MCP lets Claude talk directly to my database. The n8n MCP lets Claude create and test workflows without me opening the n8n interface.

Step 5: Execute plans. I run /gsd:execute-plan and agents execute tasks while I review and test. Each task gets an atomic git commit, and the system auto-generates summary files with metrics.

What Does a Typical Work Session Look Like?

I start fresh every session to keep context clean—AI gets fuzzy after using about half its context window. GSD picks up exactly where I left off by reading the STATE.md file.

I say "go ahead" and let the agents run. Then I review the output, test in my browser, and give feedback: "fix this, change that." We iterate through versions until I'm satisfied, then move to the next phase. It feels like working with a junior developer who's incredibly fast but needs supervision.

What Have I Actually Built So Far?

Version 1.0 MVP shipped in about 4 hours of actual work:

• 1,539 podcasts imported

• Full CRM with relationship tracking

• Author pipeline management

• Match suggestions and outreach logging

• Dashboard with key metrics

• 5 n8n automation workflows

Version 1.1 is in progress (currently Phase 7 of 10):

• Episode sync from RSS feeds (done)

• Interview detection (in progress)

• AI topic extraction (upcoming)

• Smart matching improvements (upcoming)

What Are the Biggest Lessons I've Learned?

Planning pays dividends. Writing a PRD before touching code forces you to think through what you actually need. Visualize before building.

Start manual, automate later. Think of it like an e-bike—you can pedal yourself before turning on the motor. Build the simple version first.

One slice of pie at a time. Don't build Frankenstein. Don't piece together a behemoth. Small, working pieces that connect.

MVP first, edge cases later. Don't anticipate problems until they're actually real. You'll waste time solving things that never happen.

I actually understand databases now. Never thought I'd say that. Supabase makes it approachable.

Help AI use fewer tokens. Structure matters. Clean project organization means Claude can work faster and cheaper.

What Hasn't Worked or Slowed Me Down?

Early on, I had no scaffolding—no way to control the project or maintain continuity between sessions. GSD fixed this, but I wish I'd started with it.

I didn't learn Claude Code's built-in skills soon enough. Things like slash commands and context management that would have saved hours.

I took too long to learn GitHub. Version control should have been day one, not month two.

I'm still scared of Stripe integration. And I don't know how to get paying customers into an app yet. Those are problems for future me.

Is This Actually Fun?

Yes. It's challenging and hard, with lots of black boxes I don't fully understand. But once you get into it, there's this "aha" moment where you realize: this is how software gets built.

Being risky, trying stuff, publishing things—it's genuinely fun. If I'd chosen a different path years ago, I think coding would have been enjoyable. I'm glad AI lets me experience that without having to take that path.

Where Can You Learn Vibe Coding?

I recommend AI Captains. Jordan Erbs and Kenneth Gonzales teach a strategic approach—not just hacks, but how to think about your whole AI journey. They get you familiar with terminal basics, planning frameworks, and building with intention.

What Advice Would I Give Someone Starting Out?

1. Write a PRD before touching code

2. Start simpler than you think—true MVP

3. Learn GitHub early for version control and publishing

4. Don't over-engineer or anticipate fake problems

5. Get comfortable with basic terminal commands

6. Join a community

7. Expect to throw things away—tools change fast

What's Next?

The CRM is still in progress—currently Phase 7 of 10 for Version 1.1. I'm what you might call an "augmented worker." AI expands what I can attempt, even if I couldn't do it alone.

I'm learning in public and will share results as they come. Part 2 arrives when v1.1 ships.

Follow me on Linkedin.

A case study in AI-assisted web development using free tools

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Static Website with AI?

My wife needed a promotional website for her jazz concert series - five shows across Hamburg in 2026. The requirements: bilingual German/English, mobile-first design, SEO-optimized, and a 1930s Art Deco aesthetic. I've built websites for over a decade (mostly WordPress), but this time I wanted to see how far AI-assisted development could go.

Total time: 8 hours from concept to live site.

Live site: celebrate-gershwin.netlify.app

Tools I Used

Tool Purpose Cost Claude Code AI coding assistant in VS Code $20-100/month Google AI (Nano Banana Pro) Image generation for mockups $20-100/month Canva Asset cleanup and preparation subscription GitHub + Netlify Hosting and deployment free Google Fonts Typography free Tailwind CSS Styling via CDN free

Subscription Notes

• Claude Code Pro ($20/month): Works well but has token limits that reset several times per day. You may need breaks during intensive sessions.

• Claude Code Max ($100/month): No token limits. This is what I used.

• Google AI Pro ($20/month): Access to Google AI Studio. Generate one image at a time.

• Google AI Ultra ($100/month): Access to Google Flow for batch image generation. Much faster for iterating.

I already had these subscriptions for other projects. Net new cost for this website: $0.

What I Built

• Bilingual DE/EN with toggle

• Mobile-first responsive design

• 5 MusicEvent structured data schemas

• UTM tracking for analytics

• Newsletter integration

How Do I Build a Static Website with Claude Code?

Here's the 5-step process I followed:

Step 1: Design Mockups

I started with AI-generated mockups in 9:16 portrait format (mobile-first). Using Nano Banana Pro, I described the aesthetic: "1930s Broadway playbill, Art Deco, gold and burgundy color scheme, elegant serif typography."

After roughly 10 iterations over 30-60 minutes, I had a visual direction.

One challenge: Nano Banana Pro blocks prompts it thinks involve prominent people. Since both vocalists have an online presence, I had to work around this for the hero image.

Step 2: Asset Extraction

From the mockups and reference images, I identified what I needed:

• 7 image assets (hero photo, corner ornaments, dividers, pattern tiles, footer photo, og-image)

• 4 Google Fonts (Playfair Display, Inter, Bebas Neue, Poiret One)

• Color palette (gold #D4AF37, burgundy #722F37, cream #FFF8E7, charcoal #2D2D2D)

Some assets came from Canva, others extracted directly from the AI mockups.

Step 3: Development

Using Claude Code in VS Code, I built the site through conversation. I described what I wanted, reviewed the output, took screenshots of issues, and iterated.

One feature that previously required significant effort - a German/English language toggle - was straightforward to implement. I described the behavior I wanted and it worked.

Step 4: Review and Refinement

My wife reviewed the site and provided feedback. This led to consolidating sections (the original 7 sections became 5) and removing a song list that felt redundant.

She wasn't entirely satisfied with some aspects - Google Fonts are limited for achieving an authentic 1930s Art Deco style, and the hero image could be improved. Real user feedback, even critical feedback, improves the final product.

Step 5: Deployment and SEO

• Pushed to GitHub repository

• Connected to Netlify for automatic deployment

• Added structured data (5 individual MusicEvent schemas for each concert)

• Implemented UTM tracking on all external links

• Added newsletter signup integration

How Do I Avoid Mistakes When Using AI to Code?

These three habits saved me time:

Keep a scratchpad. I maintain a scratchpad.md file and regularly tell Claude Code to update it with current tasks and decisions. When you return to a project after a break, you can say "review the scratchpad" and pick up where you left off.

Preview before deploying. Netlify's free tier has limited deploy credits - each push to GitHub uses one. Open your HTML file in a browser locally before pushing. Tell Claude Code "don't deploy just yet" while you're still iterating.

Ask when you don't know. If you don't know how to do something - set up GitHub, connect Netlify, preview locally - just ask Claude Code. It can walk you through the setup.

Should I Use WordPress or Static HTML for a Small Website?

This approach produces a static HTML site - no database, no backend admin panel.

Advantages of static HTML:

• Fast load times (no server-side processing)

• Netlify's CDN caches the site globally

• Free hosting for simple projects

• No security vulnerabilities from CMS plugins

Disadvantages:

• No admin panel - you edit code directly

• Requires some familiarity with development workflows

• Changes need a developer (or AI) rather than a content editor

My recommendation: For a 1-5 page promotional site, the trade-offs favor static HTML. For a large blog or frequently updated content, a CMS might still make sense.

What Free Tools Should I Use to Build a Professional Static Site?

After shipping, I did a deep dive into best practices. Here are the tools I'm adding to my next project:

Better AI Instructions

1. FlyonUI - Use a component library instead of raw Tailwind. Pre-built buttons, cards, and navigation produce cleaner code. The AI makes fewer mistakes with semantic class names like btn btn-primary instead of long utility strings.

2. HTML5 Boilerplate - Start with a real boilerplate instead of an empty folder. It includes security headers, proper meta tags, and cross-browser fixes.

Systematic Workflow

3. Commit after every working piece. Not just at the end. If the AI breaks something, git checkout gets you back to the last working version in seconds.

4. Track time by category. Log mockups, coding, debugging, and deployment separately. My "8 hours" felt fast, but I don't know how much was fixing AI mistakes versus productive work.

Automated Quality Checks (All Free)

5. Pa11y - Scans HTML for accessibility issues. Catches missing alt text, heading order problems, and contrast issues before launch.

6. Hyperlink - Finds broken links. Point it at your HTML files and it checks every link.

7. Schema Markup Validator - Paste your structured data and it tells you if Google will understand it.

8. Lighthouse CI - Google's performance auditor, automated. Checks performance, accessibility, and SEO on every deploy.

What Are Claude Code's Best Features for Web Development?

Beyond basic prompting, Claude Code has power features that dramatically improve output quality.

Plan Mode

Press Shift+Tab twice before any significant change. Claude shows you exactly what it plans to do before doing it. This alone would have saved me hours of fixing unintended edits.

Slash Commands

Create reusable checklists as markdown files. Put this file at .claude/commands/deploy-check.md:

Before deploying, verify:

1. Run Pa11y accessibility check on index.html
2. Run Hyperlink to find broken links
3. Validate structured data at validator.schema.org
4. Check that all external links have rel="noopener"
5. Test language toggle (if bilingual)
6. Preview on mobile (375px width)
7. Check Lighthouse score (aim for 90+)

Only proceed with deployment after confirming all checks pass.

Then run it anytime with: /project:deploy-check

Hooks

Add automatic checks that run every time Claude edits a file. Put this in .claude/settings.json:

Auto-check for missing translations:

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "de=$(grep -c 'content-de' \"$file_path\" 2>/dev/null || echo 0); en=$(grep -c 'content-en' \"$file_path\" 2>/dev/null || echo 0); if [ \"$de\" != \"$en\" ] && [ \"$de\" != \"0\" ]; then echo '⚠️ Translation mismatch: '$de' German, '$en' English sections'; fi"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Check external links for security:

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "if grep -q 'target=\"_blank\"' \"$file_path\" 2>/dev/null; then if grep 'target=\"_blank\"' \"$file_path\" | grep -v 'noopener' > /dev/null; then echo '⚠️ External link missing rel=\"noopener\"'; fi; fi"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

How Do I Set Up a CLAUDE.md File for My Project?

Copy this template to .claude/CLAUDE.md and fill in the bracketed sections:

# Project: [Your Project Name]

[One sentence describing what this site is for.]

## Tech Stack
- HTML5 (semantic markup)
- FlyonUI components via CDN (cleaner than raw Tailwind)
- Vanilla JavaScript (only where needed)
- Hosting: [Netlify / Vercel / GitHub Pages]

## CDN Links (copy to your HTML)
<!-- In <head> -->
<link href="https://cdn.flyonui.com/flyonui@latest/flyonui.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>

<!-- Before </body> -->
<script src="https://cdn.flyonui.com/flyonui@latest/flyonui.min.js"></script>

## Design Tokens
- Style: [Modern / Minimal / Vintage / etc.]
- Primary color: [#hexcode]
- Secondary color: [#hexcode]
- Background: [#hexcode]
- Text: [#hexcode]
- Headings font: [Font name from Google Fonts]
- Body font: [Font name or "system sans-serif"]

## Page Sections
1. [Section name] - [what it contains]
2. [Section name] - [what it contains]
3. [etc.]

## Component Preferences
Use FlyonUI semantic classes:
- `btn btn-primary` instead of long Tailwind utility strings
- `card` with `card-body` for content blocks
- `navbar` for navigation
- See full list: https://flyonui.com/docs

## Rules
- Mobile-first (test at 375px width)
- All external links need: target="_blank" rel="noopener"
- Commit after each working section
- Use Plan Mode (Shift+Tab twice) before multi-file changes

## Structured Data
- Schema type needed: [LocalBusiness / Event / Product / Article / none]
- Validate at: https://validator.schema.org

## Pre-Launch Checklist
- [ ] Accessibility scan passes (Pa11y)
- [ ] No broken links (Hyperlink)
- [ ] Structured data validates
- [ ] Lighthouse score 90+
- [ ] Tested on actual phone, not just DevTools

The difference between hobbyist and professional: Professionals use the same AI tools, but they validate the output before shipping. These free tools are the quality gates that separate "it works on my screen" from "it's ready for a client."