Zack Robinson

Looking to grow your following, connect with your dream clients and start winning business through LinkedIn? 

You’re in the right place. 

Disclaimer: This service is free from engagement pods, templates and ChatGPT.

Freelance Copywriter

“The French hate the English.”

That’s what people kept telling me before I moved to Nice.

One older mate said I’d hate it and be back within a week lol. 

Hearing this did get in my head a bit, dampened the excitement of moving, made everything feel heavier and more stressful. 

But it was so unnecessary, cos i’m almost 4 years in, and have no plans to ever leave this place. 

From day one, it’s been nothing but pure bliss. The place is paradise and everyone’s properly sound. 

The postman comes in for a chat on the weekend.

People stop you when you’re walking the dog.

Our closest neighbour comes around with bottles of wine.

And the dude who planted the olive trees on our hill stops by with cases of fresh oil. 

Even when I’m on my own, butchering this beautiful language, everyone’s patient and always up for a laugh. 

(The vibe reminds me very much of London in the summer (iykyk). Except here, it’s like that all the time.) 

Funny though, innit? How people just decide something’s true because they’ve heard it a few times. They've never experienced said hatred, never actually tested it, just heard it so it HAS to be true. 

That’s what this was.
 
“The French hate the English.”... said by people who’ve never lived here, never visited and think Calais is the capital. 

Anyway.

If someone says this to you, tell them this from an English bloke who’s lived here for almost 4 years:

It’s b*llocks.

Money-making personal branding | Building authority and pipeline for founders and directors | See my featured section for client wins, ROI and proof that what I do works

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Every weekend, I go to the car wash my in-laws own and watch someone ruin up the paintwork on a Ferrari.

It’s a tiny village car wash, just off the motorway, 30 mins from Monaco. Ten euros a pop to put your car through those spinny, grit-ridden brushes.

One Saturday, I got talking to an old guy with a 488 Pista.

“Why do you put that through the rollers?" I said. "They leave swirl marks all over the paint”.

“It’s quicker than cleaning it at home,” he shrugged.

“Sure. But why not get a detailer to come to your house and do it on your drive?”

“Yeah… I guess. I just never think about it.”

I nodded, and started heading back to my car.

Then he shouted after me:

“Hey! Isn’t that the same with LinkedIn? People hammer away at their own posts instead of just getting someone like you to do it properly?”

I laughed.

“Exactly.”

…

Tired of LinkedIn doing nothing for your business? Drop me a DM.

I’ve finally met someone wittier than me. 

My son. 

Yesterday I bought him a new lunch box for his snacks as he’s going to the Alps for the weekend. 

Naturally, he had to test it out, so he started filling it with stuff: 

- two compotes
- bear-shaped cake thing
- yoghurt 

Then he ruins the vibe by throwing a sock in there. 

But the best bit… he comes running over to me and goes: 

“Not a lunch box, daddy. Lunch socks.” 

Looks like my way with words runs in the family. 

Proud dad moment.

There’s some weird entitlement going around these days. 

You’re not owed anything. 

People acting like they’re automatically entitled to:

– instant replies to texts
– responses to shite cold DMs
– someone else’s time just because they were “polite”

Nah. Doesn’t work like that. 

If you’ve not:

 – earned trust
 – built a relationship
 – delivered results before

then no one owes you a reply, an explanation or their time.

Keep seeing people saying crap like, "I reached out nicely so the least they can do is reply"... erm... not if what you reached out with stinks. 

Give your head a wobble ffs.

Last month I had a sales call with someone who’s been following me for 4 years. 

Yeah, 4 years!

And now we’re very close to starting a big email project together. 

Now I ain’t saying this to brag — you know that’s not my vibe — more cos it’s a good reminder of how decent-sized projects can actually work.

(Before I go on, let me say that 4 years is a long time and you deffo don’t want your content taking this long to generate results. But the reality is, for some projects, it just can, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Plus, I think I’ve proven enough [check my featured section] that results do and should also come sooner.) 

What’s funny about this one is that other than a quick hello when we connected 4 years ago, I haven’t ever spoken to this person. But they’d been reading, watching, clocking what I post and forming an opinion all this time.

Until… they had a project come up where they needed someone they could trust. That last part is key… they trusted me… without ever speaking to me. 

How do I know that? Cos on the call, she said (and I quote): “I’m not even gonna bother talking to anyone else! I want you and only you to work on it.” 

That right there is when you know your content is doing its job. 

Yeah. 

Some deals move quickly, others sit in the background for a while. But if you get your messaging and strategy right, the outcome is the same, you gain a great new client. 

Sound.

Stop marketing yourself to your peers.

It’s dumb as f*ck. 

The amount of founders I see doing this is wild.

If your goal is lead gen:

1) Why are you basing your entire content strategy around people who do the exact same thing as you?

2) Why are you teaching people how to do your f*cking job?

For 98% of people, peers aren’t ever gonna buy. And serious buyers don’t want to learn the ins and outs of what you do, that’s literally what they’re paying you for.

I know why this happens… 

It’s the LinkedIn kings and queens who’ve never sold anything in their lives telling people to “add value”. It sounds smart, looks generous, but it’s meaningless.

“Add value” basically means: Teach people what you know through free tips, frameworks and checklists. 

Erm, okay, so all stuff that’s gonna attract people who do the exact same thing as you? Hmmm. Dead smart that 🙄 

If your goal is likes and thumbs and influencer status, carry on adding value. 

But if your goal is clients, stop trying to be everyone’s free f*cking teacher, cos it’s about as useful as wiping your arse with 1-ply toilet roll the morning after a vindaloo.

Clients don’t care how “valuable” your content is. They care whether you actually get them, understand their pain, their goals and their business.

The people who love your tutorials and comment “🔥 so valuable” aren’t buying from you. Soz. 

There are ways to educate your audience without teaching them how to do your job. 

A better alternative if you want buyers is to focus on:

- Sharing your process and why it’s different\better than others
- Showing you understand their problems better than they do
- Proving you can solve said problem(s) (testimonials etc)

Otherwise, forget making LinkedIn a predictable lead gen channel for your business.

Sound.

You don’t need to “master” LinkedIn's algorithm. 

🤦‍♂️ 

If you want LinkedIn to do anything useful for your business — build trust, generate enquiries, shorten sales cycles, etc — the same rules apply as any other marketing or business development activity. 

And it's that you need to: 

- know who you’re talking to 
- understand what they need help with 
- have proof you can solve their problems 

and then create consistent, engaging content that communicates clearly that you know what you are talking about, and are the right fit for that audience. 

That’s it. Dead simple. You don’t need to trick, hack or master anything that's out of your control. 

Just do the basics well, over a period of time. 

Yet so many of you are on here, listening to numpties telling you to "just post", guessing what your audience wants to see, hoping stuff resonates, and then acting surprised or in denial when nothing converts. 

Bonkers. 

Would you “just post a few ads”? 
Would you “just send a few emails?” 
Would you hire a sales person and tell them to “just do stuff”?

Unless you like wasting time and money, no you wouldn’t.  

If you want results, you do stuff properly. Why is LinkedIn any different? 

Talking of doing stuff properly... 

There are two ways we can help you with that: 

1/ Done for you 

For founders who want to use LinkedIn to build a personal brand and generate leads without living on the platform. We handle the content and strategy, you schedule it and execute it following a tried, tested and simple process. 

Cost: £1,750 per month. 

2/ Training 

For businesses that don’t want to outsource, but need their people using LinkedIn in a way that produces something tangible. We teach your team how to generate real results from content, conversations and visibility. 

Cost: £3k. 

…

If you want LinkedIn to start pulling its weight commercially in 2026, we should probably talk.

DMs are open. 

Sound.

The thought of staying in one place would’ve freaked me tf out 10 years ago. 

But right now, you couldn’t pay me to travel the world again. 

Some people’ll call me mad. But I genuinely have no desire to get on a plane unless it’s to go home and visit my family. 

That’s a stark contrast to back in my music days, where I was constantly on the move. I had a home, but was never in it. I had a schedule, but never stuck to it. 

It wasn’t by choice at first, it’s just what the industry demanded of us as an “up and coming” band. But after a year or two, it became my whole personality. 

(THE PART OF MY LIFE WHERE I DID A LOT OF SILLY STUFF GOES HERE.)

Yeah… lol… 

After I quit the band, I struggled because I had this constant itch to be out and about, which made working from home properly difficult. There was a phase where I’d go to 4 different coffee shops back to back just because I wanted to be out and about.  

I’d do this 3-4 days a week, for months on end. 

Moving to France has properly calmed me down. I feel so content here, so much calmer. I’m still out a lot, but it’s because I’m doing stuff I really really want to, not because I really really HAVE to. 

It’s jokes y’know, cos when I chat with people who are into music and my old band comes up, they always ask if I miss “the buzz.” And yeah, I miss being on stage so much. 

But the constant movement, the chaos, people everywhere, always needing to be on top form… nah, not a chance. 

Maybe it’s cos I’ve done so much travelling in the past. Maybe it’s cos I’ve forgotten what the ‘buzz’ feels like. Maybe it’s cos where I am is enough. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s cos I’m slowly turning into an old, boring git.

Them: I need to do something different this year. LinkedIn didn’t generate a single penny for me last year.

Me: Got it. So what’s the new plan?

Them: I’m going to stop caring so much.

Me: Interesting start.

Them: And I’m done overthinking everything.

Me: Okay… but what are you actually changing?

Them: I’ll just post.

Me: Erm… I’m not su—

Them: Yeah, whatever comes to mind.

Me: Didn’t you just say LinkedIn didn’t work for you last year?

Them: Yeah.

Me: And last year you were also… just posting?

Them: Correct.

Me: So what’s different now? Audience research? Positioning? A strategy?

Them: Nah.

Me: Content pillars?

Them: Don’t need them.

Me: New offer?

Them: Nah. Just posting and going with the flow. 

Me: Going with the flow? 

Them: Yeah, everyone I know does it.

Me: So, you’re doing the same as you did last year, and expecting different results? 

Them: Exactly. 

Me: 

…

For added effect, turn on your sound.

Helping B Corps turn their subscribers into their biggest F.A.N.s | Ethical email marketing strategist | Pasta person | Nomad, currently: Vietnam

Your email list is a goldmine, but somehow, your subscribers aren't converting as well and as consistently as you hoped.

Most mission-driven B2B and eCommerce brands know email marketing could be a game-changer, but they're stuck copying "best practices" that treat people like walking wallets – tactics that feel completely misaligned with your brand's values.

Your team is stretched thin, stumbling through campaigns without strategic understanding. You can't confidently show stakeholders how email contributes to revenue because you're tracking opens and clicks instead of revenue attribution.

Here's what's actually possible: systematic email marketing that respects your audience while generating six-figure results. 

After helping brands generate $203K from a previously neglected list in less than two months, and increase event sales by 39.65% with one simple email strategy, the pattern is clear – 

You don't have to choose between authentic relationships and revenue.

The missing piece? 

Someone with deep email expertise who can step into your business and take strategic ownership of this channel while understanding that mission-driven brands need different approaches.

Your email marketing doesn't have to feel pushy or compromise your values. 

When you have the right strategic foundation, your existing audience can transform into a consistent source of qualified prospects who are genuinely excited for sales conversations, or repeat customers eager to use your products.

If you are ready to turn your email marketing into a revenue-generating asset that actually aligns with your mission - send me a message. I'd love to connect.

Yuval Ackerman

Email marketing can feel pretty isolating these days, especially when you're trying to do it thoughtfully.

So I'm starting a monthly call for email marketers - consultants, in-house folks, freelance strategists - who want to talk shop with people who get it.

This month, we're discussing what's worth paying attention to in 2026, what's just noise, and how to approach email marketing this year without getting sucked into every shiny new tactic that shows up in your feed.

Share what you're dealing with, hear what others are trying, and connect with peers who understand the work.

First one's January 22nd at 6pm GMT / 12pm EST. Limited to 10 people.

RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/ev5s8BvK

P.S. CMOs and CEOs at purpose-driven B2B companies - I run a different monthly roundtable for you! 

January's focus is turning that "improve email marketing" line in your 2026 plan into concrete execution, before another quarter passes and email stays in the same spot. Join my newsletter, and the invite will get to your inbox tomorrow: ethicalemails.co/subscribe

Helping marketing teams find the 6-figure revenue in their email list | Ethical email strategist & consultant for B2B and eCommerce B Corps, 1% for the Planet & mission-driven brands | International speaker | Pasta fan🍝

Every so often, I get a project inquiry that looks amazing on paper… until it absolutely doesn’t.

The brief is solid.

The budget is generous.

The potential is huge.

And then the client casually drops a line that makes my stomach turn:

“Yeah, we’ve added people to our list without permission.”

Unfortunately 1: I hear this from both eCommerce and B2B brands.

Unfortunately 2: I’m not surprised anymore.

Unfortunately 3: It’s still deeply disappointing.

Because apart from being illegal in most parts of the world, adding people to your list without their consent is one of the stupidest tactics a brand can use.

As consumers, everyone hates it. They report it as spam. They talk about it publicly. They remember who did it.

And from a business perspective:

Spam complaints tank domain reputation. Domain reputation controls deliverability. And when deliverability drops, even your happy, willing, eager subscribers stop seeing your emails.

So yes, the damage is real, expensive, and slow to fix.

Which is why, when these inquiries come in, I ask one simple question:

“How do you plan to grow your list from now on?”

If someone wants to do better, amazing. We move forward.

But if their answers are evasive, vague, or “we’ll see”… That’s all the information I need.

And that’s when I say (gently, but firmly): I’m not the right partner for you.

Not because I’m on a moral high horse. Not because I think every business can afford to say no. And not because I’m pretending to be perfect.

But because Ethical Emails has red lines I won’t cross, and consent is one of them.

To me, saying “no” to such projects and inquiries is part of being a solution in an industry with far too many problems.

And honestly, it’s easier to hold these boundaries when I’m surrounded by clients who actually give a damn.

They don’t just talk about their values, they document them. They publish them. They hold themselves accountable to them.

So last year, I followed their example and finally published EE’s long-overdue manifesto: my commitments, boundaries, and uncrossable lines.

Because the question that keeps coming back to me is:

What do you want to be known for when this is all said and done?

Not just what you achieved, but how you achieved it.

The businesses that will be remembered aren’t ones that took the fastest shortcut, but that stood for something and actually lived it.

If you’re curious about the boundaries I hold (for myself and for the brands I partner with), you can read the full manifesto here:

https://lnkd.in/gdDRG_B3

Your 2026 marketing strategy says *something* about email:

Improve conversions, get consistent with it, or finally figure out what you're doing with it.

The first monthly roundtable of the year is about that gap: the distance between the line in your marketing plan and actual execution.

One hour with fellow CEOs and founders at purpose-driven B2B companies, talking about turning email plans into work that moves the needle.

January 22nd, 4pm GMT / 11am EST. 

Only 10 spots available.

Join my email list to get an invite: ethicalemails.co/subscribe

This is the harsh truth about monthly newsletters…

Most B2Bs send one newsletter a month and call it a strategy.

But if the average person gets 121 emails a day (that’s 3,630 a month), your one lonely newsletter is fighting a LOT of inbox noise.

And if your subscriber sees your brand name only 12 times a year… the likelihood they are going to remember or recommend you is ridiculously low.

They won’t click.

And they definitely won’t buy.

People don’t think about your brand nearly as much as you think about your brand.

You might remember 10 brands that consistently show up with something relevant or valuable in your inbox.

What about sender names you don’t recognize?

You unsubscribe from their list because you don’t even remember who they are.

And no, the answer isn’t “send more emails.”

It's: “send smarter emails, more consistently.”

So if you’re serious about growing your revenue and impact with this channel, stop sending only one email a month.

Start showing up like you actually want to be remembered.

If your email strategy is “send to everyone,” you’re wasting money, momentum, and carbon.

Every email has a cost - in deliverability, in attention, and even in environmental impact.

So when my clients say, “Let’s email the whole list,” I always ask:

• Who really needs to see this?
• What’s in it for them?
• Does this email actually move your goals forward, or is it just noise?

That’s exactly what I did with my clients’ annual event promotion strategy.

When we stopped emailing everyone and started being intentional, they hit record highs:

• +39.65% more ticket sales
• +16.28% higher attendance
• Fewer emails sent. Less carbon. More impact.

Email marketing is about reaching the right people, with the right message, at the right time.

If you want to see real ROI from your emails this year, book a no-obligation disco call https://lnkd.in/gUTyunWE

The hidden cost of "sending emails to everyone"

If I were a CEO of an Email Service Provider in 2026, this is what I would’ve invested in to make my company way ahead of the competition:



Many people ask me about my favorite ESP or for a recommendation.

The truth is, this is a near-impossible question to answer.

Because none of them are perfect.

This is also why you haven’t seen me sharing any ESP-sponsored posts (although never say never, and no shade to my excellent, excellent colleagues who do that!).

In fact, I think that most ESPs are investing in all the wrong places... Either to please shareholders who have shiny object syndrome, or to make their users slightly and temporarily happier.

• Releasing more AI features, like subject line checkers and image generation tools
• Developing more pre-built email templates and automated flows
• Giving more options to communicate with subscribers via SMS

When the reality is, these are only band-aids, while a lot of ESPs don’t have super basic functionalities figured out.

(I’m looking at you, ESPs that still can’t automatically tag/segment subscribers when they click on links in emails!)

With the AI hype refusing to dwindle, competition breathing down their neck, and inbox providers making their requirements harder, ESPs' CEOs are under a lot of pressure. 

Which brings me to what I believe would be a game-changer for any ESP that takes both acquisition and retention seriously in 2026 and beyond.

I would love to see an ESP develop a native AI tool that would produce a trustworthy periodic deliverability report (not just “delivery”), and give users real recommendations on what they could improve - and how. 

Because if you can’t even reach the inboxes of your subscribers, all those bells and whistles don’t mean a damn thing.

Deliverability is something I doubled down on in 2025, and I will continue to expand my knowledge of it this year - because my clients deserve the best. And it’s a topic many good brands out there need more guidance on.

But I don’t see any ESPs taking the lead on such a thing when they’re still making their users believe that open rates are as important as 10 years ago...

I would love to be wrong, though.

What are you doubling down on with your email marketing in 2026?

After a year of hosting monthly email-marketing roundtables, a pattern emerged:

The “new challenges” people kept naming… weren’t new at all.

They were the same systemic issues, repeating across dozens of businesses, and are the most common problems that all businesses face now (and have faced for a while).

2026 will include more conversations that will give you additional perspectives, support you, and reshape the way you think about email in the best way.

Want to join these conversations this year? Sign up for my email list - only my subscribers get an invite: 

ethicalemails.co/subscribe

taplio

The Battle

Zack Robinson

Yuval Ackerman

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Performance ScoreZack Robinson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreYuval Ackerman's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Zack Robinson

Yuval Ackerman

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Zack Robinson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreYuval Ackerman's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreZack Robinson's LinkedIn Performance