The Plant Friends Journal - 006
Hey plant friends,
The Newsletter That Nearly Never Was
Believe it or not, this is the second time I’ve written Newsletter 006 — the first attempt got swallowed by the email void. It feels like forever since I last sent one of these out, and that’s because, well... we got shut down. Yep, the Plant Friends email was on a bit of an enforced holiday. I could still send emails manually, but our ability to send out mass emails? Completely suspended.
So here’s the story...
Just over a month ago, I sat down to write the usual newsletter. I had everything ready; the blog, the community highlight, the competition — and hit send, expecting the usual flurry of replies. Normally I get 10–15 messages pinging in reasonably quickly with answers. But this time? Nothing. Not even a leaf flutter.
Side note: when no one replies to something I’ve posted within the first minute or two, my brain instantly spirals to “It’s over. No one is even remotely interested.” My knowledge that the algorithm needs some time to kick in and not everyone is on their phone 24/7escapes me for a while.
Later that night I checked the stats. Still pending. Nothing had sent. Very odd. So I put on my detective hat (my gardening sun hat, naturally) and began investigating.
Turns out there’s a lot going on behind the scenes of email delivery. I won’t bore you with the techy bits, but long story short: because of missing records, I basically looked like a scammer. Oops. Enter: Microsoft, asking for passport scans, proof I own the domain, address verification — the whole compost pile. They said 30 days to verify. It took longer. Typical. (This sounds like the eBay saga from a couple of months ago, right?)
Moral of the story? Don’t try to dance around the rules set by giant corporations. I wasn’t trying anything dodgy (I promise), but I was trying to skip a few steps — and it bit me on the bud. Lesson learned: even if you prefer your plants wild and free, when you’re using big tech systems, you’ve got to follow the gardening guide. No shortcuts allowed!
A Niche Worth Nurturing
That segues nicely into some more positive news. If you’ve been following along lately, you might’ve seen the screenshots I’ve shared; plants leaving the tunnel, shipping labels flying out the printer, and some decent growth (the good kind, not the fuzzy-on-the-soil kind).
Plant Friends is growing — slowly, surely, and in the right direction. We’re still a one-person band (more kazoo than orchestra), but we’re getting traction. So I splashed out £99 on a brand analysis, I wanted to know where we sit among the competition.
And guess what? Apparently, we’re in a lovely little niche. Not big enough to be on the radar of the big boys (and honestly, happy to keep it that way), but the feedback was that we’ve got a small, community-driven brand. You’ve no idea how good it felt to see that in writing. Sometimes it feels like I’m just shouting into the compost heap, so having that recognised made my heart glow.
Not all feedback was positive… one bit of feedback stung a little — the plant stock was described as ‘stale and static’. Ouch. I mean, stale? That one hurt! So expect fresh new varieties soon and a more dynamic way of presenting them.
This was the original plan, but I think I got complacent with just a few plant lines as long as they were consistently selling. I’d never really viewed it from a customer’s point of view. The problem I need to overcome here is risk. It’s risky for a small business to spend weeks growing plants or buy in huge amounts without first knowing if they’ll sell. Maybe smaller test quantities? I’ll figure it out.
Another negative was being inconsistent with content. All I can say is it’s incredibly difficult with a young family — even as I’ve been writing this our youngest has asked for: two pancakes, two juice refills, two bowls of strawberries, two oranges and an apple. (Yep, potty training is going to be a blast today.)
I’ve always relied on others in the Facebook group for content there — it helps that I’m ridiculously interested in 99.9% of the posts that go up. I also have hours — and I mean hours — of recorded content, but it’s the editing part that’s the hard yards for me. Maybe time to hire a freelance editor?
Introducing: The Plant Club
In case you didn’t notice, I’m giving you these thoughts in real time. That’s what this newsletter is about — a real insight into what it takes to grow a back garden business. I hope you’re enjoying it.
The one thing I can say for certain is that I’ll be steering much more into the strength of the brand: our community.
I’ve been working away on the site adding a new Plant Club section — it now has a dropdown with links to the newsletter archive, the blog, our prizes page, grow guides, and more in the pipeline. I want the website to feel like a proper resource for plant lovers, not just a shop.
Just like our Facebook group — where you don’t have to buy a thing to join the fun — and the TikTok account that’s more plant chaos than sales pitch, I want the website to reflect what Plant Friends is all about: community, curiosity, and a whole lot of love for plants.
Have a great week everyone! Let’s keep growing. 🌱
See you next Monday!