Hello new friend, I'm Anna.
This is a page where you can learn more about me, but I’d like to start by talking a bit about YOU. Just to make sure you’re in the right place, and it makes sense for you to spend your time reading the rest of this (( lengthy )) page.
You are passionate and knowledgeable about something, and you chose to turn that passion into an online business.
And then you realized that most of your time is spent… *gasp* writing. Not the least of it writing emails.
Maybe you didn’t realize just how much writing you had to do. Or maybe you thought you didn’t have to, because your business is more creative.
The truth is, getting people to hand you money over the internet mostly comes down to the words you put out there.
The only problem? You don’t know what to say.
I created the Connect, Nurture, and Sell™ framework to help online business owners like you turn email subscribers into loyal customers.
If you’ve got no idea what to write in your emails, feel like your emails sound salesy or forced, or you avoid sending emails out of overwhelm, I can help.
Is this you?
You crave deeper, more meaningful connections in your business. You don’t want to feel like you’re forcing your products or services on people.
So you worry that if you send too many emails, they’ll be annoyed, unsubscribe, and think you’re only money-driven.
You often feel like you’re putting in lots of effort in your business, but not seeing much return. There’s a thousand different things you can do, and email is one of those things that makes you feel even more overwhelmed.
You want a solid strategy that doesn’t require a ton of energy or time, and doesn’t force you to shout into the void.
You send out basic updates or sales promotions, but your heart’s not in it. Your email is basically a glorified notification service. When you email, no one responds back and you’re tired of hearing crickets.
Building community is hard, especially if you’re introverted. But you feel fulfilled by helping others, and wish that you could have a cozy community of your own.
If so, keep reading...
These days, I talk about business every day. But there was a time that business wasn’t on my radar at all.
Even though I was always creating things to sell to neighbors, friends, and family when I was younger — hand crafts I’d made myself, tickets to a “performance” I put together with my brother, even a “magazine” that was a collection of interesting facts — as I grew up, the expectation was that I would get a “real career.” Which, in my family, meant getting a PhD and securing a job in academia. (( My dad was an M.D., Ph.D. experimental surgeon, and my mom a biochemist. ))
It wasn’t like I was pushed into it; I quite liked school at every level, and I was especially enjoying the teaching opportunities that came as I was finishing my degree in Cognitive Psychology & Neuroscience. I was on track to go on to a hybrid teaching and research tenure-track job as a professor when I graduated in 2013. Any creative pursuits (( crafting, writing, and playing the piano )) were put on the back-burner, and relegated to the category of “hobbies for when I have free time.”
But then I met & married my first husband, who convinced me that it wasn’t going to work. There were too few jobs out there for new Ph.Ds. Too many old guys hanging onto their tenured jobs from the heyday of psychology in the 1970s. He wasn’t willing to move away from a cushy 6-figure job in the oil & gas industry, which would have been a requirement if we wanted to stay together AND I was to pursue a tenure-track position.
So I agreed to give it up.
And suddenly, I had a whole lot of free time on my hands.
I’m not knocking the “traditional housewife” lifestyle at all — I was just REALLY bad at it. I despise cooking and (( still )) refuse to do it, I clean very reluctantly, and the laundry lounges around in the basket for longer than I care to admit. I would rather spend my days writing fiction, crafting and creating, and reading everything I could get my hands on.
It was during this time that I discovered people who were actually making money online — doing the same kinds of things that I’ve always enjoyed. So I dove in head-first, and opened my very first “real” business, teaching handmade jewelry on YouTube. Then I dabbled into services for the other amazing entrepreneurs that I continued to meet: setting up websites (( which I’d been doing for fun since my high school days )), helping with productivity (( using what I’ve learned about how the brain works )), building funnels & automations (( in any and every software and tool available at the time )), and eventually I had a fledgling tech VA business on my hands, which I called Geni Collective.
As I started to make money again, my relationship with my then-husband changed drastically. I was being told that it wasn’t “real money” because it wasn’t as much as he was bringing home. We had huge fights whenever we talked about our family’s financial future. He refused to accept any possibility of “whatever it is that you do online” being any significant part or contribution to our finances or lifestyle. I realized that if I wanted to continue to have something that fulfilled me (( and making money while helping people, from the comfort of my home, was definitely something that did )) — I had to make a choice once again.
This time, I chose myself.
I left my first marriage of 8 years to start my life over, with nothing more than 30K to my name and the rights to my business (( that was the only thing my ex-husband didn’t fight me on… go figure. )) Working on my business during those first couple of years was the only thing that kept me sane, and boy did I get to work. I covered my bills and a little extra that first year and that was the first time I actually felt like an adult.
Eventually I met & married my soulmate, Kenny, and we moved all over the place until we found a place to settle and buy a house — a dream we achieved in 2022. I retired him from his IT job, and now he works with me in the business as a silent partner. Through all of the moves and transitions, I felt incredibly blessed to have a location-independent business that continued to do really well, and support what my family needed at each stage.
I became the biggest advocate for self-employment and entrepreneurship, especially for women who may have been discounted and pressured into traditional roles because they felt like they had no choice. I felt honored to be able to be in a role to support business owners in achieving their own dreams with their business — no matter their back story or situation — because I firmly believe that making your own money is a basic necessity and safety net regardless of your gender, family role, or life path.
To that end, I continued to seek out ways that I could support my clients even better, and I noticed something:
I could build the best funnels, automations, and email sequences around, solve any tech puzzle, and simplify any process — but still my clients struggled to actually USE the setup and systems I created.
That’s when I realized that most people didn’t know how to talk about what they did in their business in a way that resonated with their audience. They didn’t know what to write inside of those automated email sequences in order to actually make money. And, on top of it all, most of them were introverts like me, who felt anxious about “showing up” online.
So I returned to my teaching roots, sharing what I’ve learned about selling — what I had to learn out of the necessity to create an income for myself. Email marketing was a natural channel to build connections for me; I’ve been doing it since I first got started in 2013. Email is personal, cozy — like writing a letter to a pen pal (( something I actually did a handful of times in high school!! )) So now, I’m focused on teaching business owners the art and science of finding their voice and connecting with their email subscribers in a feel-good, authentic way, that also drives results (( aka sales. ))
The Way I Do Things
I fully recognize that I didn’t get to where I am now because of being pushy, salesy, and bro-market-y — so you won’t find any of that stuff around here, and I definitely don’t teach it. Most of my clients are introverts like me, and I focus on helping them sell in a supportive & feel-good way.
I believe that the best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing at all. I believe in the power of real, personal connection. Yes, it’s absolutely possible with email marketing!! Just get on my email newsletter and see for yourself ;))
My teaching background has prepared me to be really good at breaking down complex concepts and strategies into straightforward, simple, and doable steps. Email marketing works best when it’s consistent, so I focus on teaching my framework in a way that’s easy to understand and implement without overwhelm. Consistency doesn’t mean driving yourself into the ground. In fact, email is probably the most time-effective marketing strategy with the highest ROI.
Overall, I emphasize real connection, so you won’t find fully passive set-it-and-forget-it strategies, plug-and-play templates, aggressive / hype marketing, one-time sale strategies, or an over-reliance on social media (( in fact, I don’t use social media at all, neither in my business nor my personal life. ))
I don’t do perfectionism, hustle culture, or overwhelm. I value hands-on learning, as well as learning by doing. When we work together, you get the best of my experience as it applies to your specific business and your best ways to success. We’ll craft emails that sound like you and create real connection with your subscribers, so you’re no longer just talking at them.
Check out the bottom of this page for specific ways we can collaborate.
✨ Fun Facts ✨
I love to read, and average about 30 books a year. I love fantasy and dystopian fiction, books about business (( of course!! )), and research-grounded psychology explorations.
Send me your favorite book recommendations, both fiction and non-fiction!!
I had a super tough professor in college — whom everyone else feared — but she was the only one who ever gave me super specific feedback on my papers.
It was uncomfortable sitting there, having my paper ripped apart line by line, but it’s because of her that I finally realized what makes for good writing (( thank you Prof. Collins!! ))
It’s one of the reasons I love reviewing my client’s emails — there’s nothing like seeing the specific improvements rather than vague directions. I try not to make them feel uncomfortable, though!!
I have many creative outlets — designing planners and making art, writing my own short stories and novels, sewing clothing, creating 3D models and assets for video games (( and playing games, too, of course )), journaling and self-exploring / improving with the Tarot, and constantly learning about new things.
I’d love to learn about your hobbies, too!!
Let's Connect!!
This is where I share everything — my best content, weekly insights and strategies about what’s working right now with email marketing, and exclusive opportunities to work together.
I have created mini and not-so-mini trainings on a number of topics about email marketing. Check out my best-selling workbooks that help you write each email faster and easier than you thought was possible.
See all the ways that we can get stuck in together and help you craft the perfect sustainable email marketing strategy. Or just wrestle with the tech if that’s what you need most right now.