Last weekend, I attended a talk organised by a local hospital.

The topic isn’t important right now… because what got me writing this email was what happened before it even began.

Weeks ago, when I registered for the event, I noticed it wasn’t held in the hospital, but in a function room at Great Eastern, the insurance company.

Huh…

Maybe the hospital didn’t have a spare room that day?

At the time, I didn’t think much of it.

But something about it… just felt off.

Then, just as I was walking in…

A middle-aged lady in office wear, clearly overeager to talk to me, rushed over and stuffed a goodie bag into my hand.

And the first words out of her mouth made everything make sense:

“Hi sir, this event is actually sponsored by us. Here’s a little something. Also, can I share about our special policies just for attendees today?”

I stood there politely, listening to a sales pitch.

Ten minutes of annuities.

Ten minutes I didn’t ask for.

And as her words went past me, all I could think about was how no one told us beforehand there would be a sponsor at this event.

Look, I get it. I really do!

The agent was just doing her job and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But it was a hospital. A hospital I trust.

I wouldn’t expect them to work with financial institutions in a way that leaves this kind of bad taste.

If the hospital had just told me during registration, “Hey, this is sponsored by Great Eastern,” I’d have been fine with it.

And you know…

This whole situation is not something you want to do in email marketing.

It’s always a good idea to be upfront somewhere in your funnel that there will be selling involved.

Not in a pushy way but in a clear, respectful way that sets the tone.

It might feel a little icky to say it out loud (I get it), but when you set expectations early, you earn trust.

(As I’m writing this, I just finished drafting a marketing consent checkbox for a client. They’re worried it might hurt opt-in rates. Which, to me, is still kind of baffling…)

Anyway, here’s something that works well for me:

Before a big promo, I send a short “heads-up” email. Just a quick note to say, “Hey, you’ll be hearing from me more often this week. We’re running a special offer.”

That one email acts like a hall pass. You’re free to go a little harder on the sales… as long as you’re still delivering value and not just shouting offers.

So if you’re ever planning a promo, a launch, or anything out of the ordinary, say it first.

Your readers will appreciate the honesty.