Why we don’t advertise
In addition to never working for free & only sending email, we also don’t advertise, invest, or sponsor anything, and we’ve never done so in our history. Some people ask us to do this, and so this page exists as a helpful place to point people. It may also be interesting to you peripherally.
Why we don’t advertise
There are a few main reasons why we don’t advertise:
- We vastly prefer referral. Over 90% of our work comes from referral. Every time we’re referred, we view it as a validation of our reputation, which we’ve spent over a decade carefully building and writing about. The kind of work that comes from referral is vastly different in energetic tone than the work that comes in from an ad. People come from the networks we’re already familiar with, and they’re primed to assume that we’re trustworthy. We love both of these things.
- Current advertising models are broken. For one, we don’t use Google or Facebook products, making it impossible for us to even buy ad space in the most popular places on the web. But far more importantly, advertising in general is predicated on some ideas that we don’t ethically agree with. If I run a content blocker to remove most ads from my experience on the web, why would I then turn around and try to put ads in front of you?
- We’re financially low-risk. Put another way, we don’t like spending money if there’s no clear sign of return from it. Most ads are “thrown away”, never being clicked or engaged with. Why would we bother?
- And finally, we make enough. Why do I need to sell all of the books sitting in my closet? They are evergreen texts that will move on their own time. We still sell a few copies of Cadence & Slang every month. We don’t take on more than 3 clients at a time; our wait list is a mile long, we choose whom we hire based on structural alignment, and we haven’t had to pull anyone off in three years. My #1 goal in life is to maximize my discretionary time while creating fulfilling work for people who love what we do. My work does not scale and will lead to burnout if I perform too much of it. Advertising & sponsorship would increase our stature at the expense of the lifestyle that I wish to keep creating for myself.
I have the felt sense that Draft is passed around like a secret whenever people ask who the best person is in doing what we do. That comes as a great source of pride & fulfillment to me in my work. It’s a sign that we’ve come to do something profoundly right over the years. That signal is irreplaceable.
What this means for you
Let’s get the biggest one out of the way first:
- Our services cost less. Because we don’t need to pad margins with an advertising budget, we’re able to pass those savings on to you. Generally speaking, with no fixed office space & low overhead shipping costs, we’re able to minimize overhead and focus exclusively on an exchange of fees for value.
- Our work is more intentional. If you see this page, it came through a network of trusted sources. That allows us to be more clear & intentional in whom we work with. We firmly believe that the universe is able to take care of us when we need, and things all arrive on their own time.
- And finally, we focus on one thing only: the quality of what we make. I don’t want my practice to be about anything but creation. This makes us more trustworthy, more impactful, and higher quality in general. And isn’t that what you want?
In short, advertising is all about one thing: attention. We move intentionally & mindfully through the world, and hope the same for everyone we work with. We want to create a world that creates this focus & presence, so that we can all exist in a way that nourishes one another. Thanks for reading, and since I’m probably obligated to drop a link to our work, you can read more about our consulting & written work.