Hey Reader,

If you’ve been following my permitting saga, you know things haven’t exactly gone to plan.​

After my initial product was rejected, I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to bother with it at all. Buuut I’d gotten it in my head that I wanted to do holiday markets, and damnit, I was gonna do holiday markets!

So after submitting my raspberry jam and getting it accepted, I got my cottage permit later than planned…which meant I ended up applying to holiday markets later than planned.

When I started searching for markets to book, it wasn’t looking great. Publicly, almost everything was full, waitlists were long, and it would have been easy to shrug it off and try again next year when I was more prepared.

But one thing about me is that I’m always gonna shoot my shot - and when I really want something? I don’t miss.

Which is why last weekend I attended my first holiday market, knocked it out of the park, and then got myself accepted to three more in less than a week. How?!

Making it easy for them to say yes.

I’m going to show you the exact email I’ve been sending to event organizers that’s gotten me into markets that have been full for months, and then we’re going to break down why it’s worked so well - and how you can apply the same strategy.

The exact email that turned "we're full" into "you're in"

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Here’s why this email works:
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​1. Get to the point.

As someone who’s coordinated events, I know how many balls are in the air. The subject line and first sentence answer the only question that matters to an organizer: do you have a gap and can I fill it?

2. Be specific.

I only offer raspberry jam. That's it. It's an easy add to a holiday floor plan with little risk of overlapping other vendors. (Turns out most cottage permits go to bakers!)

3. Make it easy to say yes.

I ask for the exact details I need and note I can fit in a small space. That cuts down on back-and-forth and signals I’m easy to work with (which I'm increasingly learning is not the case with many of these micro-crafting businesses).

4. Collaborative, not needy.

“I’ll start promoting” tells them I help bring traffic, not just take a table. “If you’re full, keep me on your radar” keeps the door open without pressure and gets me on the cancellation list.

5. Local credibility in a single line.

“Backyard micronursery here in Vancouver” says I’m a real neighbor, not a random reseller. Markets curating for community want that.

In case you haven't picked up on it yet, this email isn’t just about jam; it’s about making clean asks that cut through noise.

State the gap, name your fit, remove work for the other person, offer an easy out, keep it human. That’s it.

It works for a sold-out market, a podcast slot, a partner feature, a room, a reschedule with a busy decision-maker—anywhere there’s a gate and a person guarding it.

Pick one thing you want this week, write the three-sentence version of that ask using the beats above, send it to two people, and see what opens.

This is how you get what you want without groveling or gaming—by being exact, useful, and worth the yes.

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I hope however you spend the season makes your heart happy.

Talk soon,

P.S.