Content Marketing for independent entrepreneurs done differently. Here's your first tip: You don't need to grow your following.
This is an email about President's Day - Fyreside Newsletter - 2/16/26
Hey Reader,Happy President's Day, I guess? I'll be honest, this one has always baffled me. Don't get me wrong, I'll never complain about a day off, but a full government holiday for some dead dudes' birthdays? And I suppose the holiday is also to commemorate the office of POTUS, but, like, why? Running for president is a choice, no one is forcing you. Perhaps it's time we stop treating public office as a mythic accomplishment deserved of praise and celebration and instead treat these positions as what they are: public service. Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about President's Day. But the Subject Line! Yeah, I know what the subject line says, I wrote it. My hope was that you would open this email with the hope of reading something profound about President's Day. Not because I actually had something profound to say about President's Day, but because I needed you to open this email. President's Day is just a convenient buzzword and a combination of words that are culturally relevant today. It has nothing to do with today's newsletter. Today's newsletter is about propaganda. This is what we in the biz refer to as "The Bait and Switch." Laying the Rug Last week, I posted this TikTok. It's a long one, so I'll summarize it for you:
That may not initially read as nefarious. "Who cares if they're burying the lede to get their message across?" You should because it's exceptionally dangerous. This method of coercion is actually how my high school health teacher told us we'd become addicted to drugs.
Unfortunately, 30+ years of life has taught me that this hypothetical older person who will give you free drugs doesn't really exist. Nevertheless, this method of manipulating someone with one thing only to greet them with another remains prevalent. When cults and abusive partners do it, they call it "love bombing." When politicians do it, they call it "broken campaign promises." When internet tricksters do it, they call it "rickrolling." Pulling the Rug Call it what you want, the Bait and Switch is everywhere. Per Wikipedia, it's present in one of China's earliest books about fraud, Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles (c. 1617). In marketing, it's technically illegal. Laws vary from country to country, but in the US, false advertising is illegal. However, false advertising means you advertised something you cannot sell. The loophole is that false advertising does not cover things you cannot sell right now. This sort of Bait and Switch marketing is super common in car sales. Have you ever seen a car for sale online, only to discover the dealership no longer has that exact car. Or maybe you've been to a store offering 50% off a particular product like soda. But when you arrive at the store, they inform you that the 50% off is only good on caffeine-free Pepsi, everything else is full price. It is the turn that's dangerous. The examples in this newsletter are relatively harmless and silly, but the methodology is neither. Propaganda is designed to prey on vulnerability and the Bait and Switch tactic is designed to create vulnerability. So as we continue to push back and fight the good fight against propaganda, do your best to call out a Bait and Switch when you see it. People keep doing it because they get away with it. Don't let them. -MCp.s.
--- Let's celebrate your wins next. Ask me how!
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Bahnfyre
Content Marketing for independent entrepreneurs done differently. Here's your first tip: You don't need to grow your following.
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