Hey Reader,
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Happy Monday!
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Today is officially a snow day as we're still digging out from yesterday's Snowmaggeddon. We received a mountain of the wintery stuff on top of a huge storm that came in a little over a week ago. There's definitely been WAY more snow than any year I can think of in recent memory.
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Before the storm hit, my husband and I were both working late and decided to order takeout for delivery. Normally I try to order directly from the restaurant and pick it up, but when you're tired, I'll occasionally use Uber Eats.
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This time, I thought I'd try DoorDash since I received a year for free via my Amazon Prime subscription and have hardly used it. Plus, I have some gift cards I've been trying to use up without much success.
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So far, my experience ordering with them has been terrible. Their customer service is abysmal and they don't even try to be polite. It actually makes sense if you've seen some of their commercials. There's at least two of them showing a DoorDash driver getting greeted by a homeowner who grabs their order from the driver without so much as a word, and then slams the door in their face.
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Does anyone else think that's odd behavior to normalize? That should have been my first red flag.
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Treating delivery people with such blatant disrespect doesn't really seem like appropriate behavior, but to showcase it in a series of commercials? That's downright bizarre, don't you think?
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But I digress. In this case, I was the one that got the rude end of the stick. When our order arrived, there was only one container of food - my husband's.
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I tried texting the driver directly to tell him we were missing an item, but he ignored my message. When I contacted DoorDash, they said there was nothing they could do and refused to refund my money, cutting off the chat almost immediately.
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​Say what, now??​
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I contacted the restaurant and spoke to someone who sounded genuinely upset as they had personally handed both containers to the driver. Since the driver wouldn't reply to my message, it seemed pretty obvious he had taken my dinner for himself. (Fish and chips if you were wondering.) 🤣
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I contacted DoorDash again - this time, to let them know what the driver had done, at which point they finally refunded me. I was worried that the restaurant (a small business) would get stuck having to foot the bill, so I called back and spoke to the owner. He told me that this wasn't the first time a customer had got their food stolen from them. 😳
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Since then, they learned their lesson and have a video camera set up to make sure they won't get stuck holding the bag which I was relieved to hear.
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Even though I haven't been thrilled with using Uber Eats lately, when I've had issues, they were dealt with by customer service quickly and politely. I also wasn't able to leave a rating for the Doordash driver since I received a refund. That seems like a major problem as I'm sure other customers would want to know.
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At any rate, I thought I'd share my experience in case it might help you next time you're considering where to order from if you use services like these. DoorDash will sometimes offer some decent promos, but be warned: you get what you pay for.
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And worse still, you could very well pay for something you might not even get. Until I use up those darned gift cards, I'll be opting to pick my food up directly at the restaurant. And if you do opt for delivery, maybe videotape grabbing the food at the door, or from the driver (without showing their face) to make sure you're covered.
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If you have any similar food delivery nightmares, hit reply and let me know. I'd love to hear about it.
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Now, on to some of my favorite creators who truly put the customer experience above all else. 💗

NEW: A CUSTOMER SUCCESS ROADMAP​
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Faith Lee has a brand new course out today. The Custom GPT Success Framework shows how to design, deliver, and sell profitable custom GPTs that help your audience reach outcomes faster — without creating more products or spending more hours.

If you run a business, sell products, offer services, or support an audience, this framework shows how to use custom GPTs strategically — not randomly or technically. It’s a clear, step-by-step framework for turning what you already know into scalable solutions that work across any niche.
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Right now, you can pick this up for $97 (regular price $197) when you join by January 31st. No coupon code needed.

As an added bonus, you'll receive:

✅ 2-week pop-up Facebook group (Feb 2–15)
​Hands-on support from Faith as you create your custom GPT

✅ BONUS VIP Voxer Day (Feb 12)
​Available when you choose the $97 one-time payment option

✅ Promotional opportunity
​Create your brand new custom GPT by Feb 15th to receive the opportunity to be featured to Faith’s email list of 10,000 subscribers

The launch ends January 31st.

✨ BONUS - If you pick up Faith's new course using my link, I'll give you a coupon worth $50 to use in my shop! This coupon has no expiry and I have some brand new courses, GPT's, PLR products and more I'm about to release so you'll definitely be able to use it for those brand new goodies! Just forward me your receipt.

ENDS TONIGHT: CALM THE CHAOS​

For anyone in the thick of juggling business with real life chaos, today is your last day to grab my friend Aimee's awesome Adapt & Thrive Bundle.
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These are tools, templates, and systems from 46 creators to keep your biz running smoothly on days where you're dealing with emergencies and don't have the bandwidth for your business. And of course, there's those low-energy days where planners and content kits come in handy during those weeks which don't require full-throttle effort.

My contribution to the bundle is one of my favorite paper packs of all time: The Parisian Papers Art Deco Pack​. This amazing collection of stunning, always evergreen, totally timeless papers which be used for years to come. You'll receive FOUR sets for a total of 80 papers!

You have until midnight to pick this up and until March 9th to redeem your goodies so there's lots of time to go through the bundle at your own pace. You'll also get a bunch of killer bonuses worth $64:

• A Google Bundle Tracker to stay organized
• $27 coupon for Aimee's aMember shop (stock up on Canva templates, clipart, or ready-made blog posts)
• Aimee's training: "How to Build a Biz That Works When You Can't."

Make sure you don't delay as this bundle is only available until midnight, PST!

✨ BONUS - If you grab the Adapt & Thrive Bundle​ using my link, I'll give you a coupon worth $25 to use in my shop, making your bundle practically free!

NEW: CREATE EASY REVENUE

If you run a business and are big on providing top-notch service, thinking about products that your customer actually wants is one of the keys to success.
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And if you sell digital products but don’t have a bump offer at checkout, there’s a good chance you’re leaving easy revenue on the table.

​Bump It Up is a short, practical training created by MaryJo from Cool Bean Design that shows digital product sellers how to create high-converting bump offers that actually make sense for their products.

This isn’t about pushy sales tactics or complicated funnels. It’s about offering small, helpful add-ons at checkout that increase cart value without more traffic or more work.

Inside the training, you’ll learn:

• What a bump offer really is and why it works so well
• The best types of bump offers for digital product sellers
• How to price bumps without guessing or underpricing
• How to write bump copy that feels natural, not salesy
• The most common bump mistakes that hurt conversions

You’ll also get two printable resources:

• Bump Offer Worksheet & Idea Generator to help you create your first bump step by step
• Best Types of Bump Offers Cheat Sheet packed with examples you can reuse for future products

This training is ideal for sellers of workbooks, planners, journals, templates, and courses who want a simple way to increase average order value.

For a limited time, Bump It Up is available for just $17 (regularly $47) through February 2nd.

NEW: COURSES ON EZ MODE

If you've been interested in creating courses for your business, Carrie from Peaceful Passive Income has a brand new course that you'll definitely want to check out.
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Inside Course Creation Made Easy, you'll learn everything you need to know to create your course - from course planning, to recording your lessons along with what and how much to prep, to getting it all packaged up and ready to sell as well as what extras you can spruce your course up with, how to sell you course, and more.
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She'll also be covering both the techy side of things AND the emotional/psychological. Because she doesn't want either of those issues to hold you back from your goal of getting your course out there.

And she's also including all the pep talks and encouragement you need to be able to get past any mental blocks that have been holding you back in the past.

And how's this for an awesome bonus? There's a Live Round beginning February 2nd to the 22nd which will give you three full weeks get your course created with Carrie guiding and cheering you on!
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Best of all, if you complete your course within the three week Live Round, she'll promote it in her newsletter!
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This course will normally sell for $147, but this is your opportunity to save $80 and with coupon code: CREATEMYCOURSE.
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​The launch ends February 1st.

✨ BONUS - If you pick up Carrie's new course using my link, I'll give you a coupon worth $35 to use in my shop!

ENDS TOMORROW: CREATE PLUSHIE CHARACTERS​
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Jan from Simple Happiness Biz has the CUTEST new training out!
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​The Plushie Character Kit teaches you how to create unique plushie character images from scratch, create images of your character in a consistent style, and design reusable, valuable assets that work in a wide array of niches and situations.
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She also has a $7 guide which shows you how to create your very own children's book based on your plushie's character without needing illustration skills or complicated tools.
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Right now, you can pick this up for $12 until January 27th (no coupon required) After that, the regular price will be $47.

✨ BONUS - If you grab Jan's kit and the bump offer get $10 back in Lara Loot.

NEW: CUTE FREEBIE​
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Christina has just released a brand new, freebie, 9 party games with super-cute watercolour clipart.
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These nine games are normally sold for $19 - but right now, you can grab it for zero cost!
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If you love Christina's products, you'll definitely want to check out her course, The Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp, which is on sale right now for $97 (normally $197.) And if you pick this up during the sale, you'll also receive her popular course, Storyselling in Emails (value $97) as a free bonus!
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I have pretty much every course that Christina has created and highly recommend!

Use coupon SMARTERAFFMARKETING to grab your discount.

✨ BONUS - If you grab Christina's course, get $50 back in Lara Loot.

NEW: HAPPY HEARTS
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​Katherine has released a brand new kit in her Limitless Design Kits Monthly Membership.
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Spread the love with the Happy Hearts Design Kit! This cheerful and whimsical collection captures the joyful spirit of celebrating love, friendship, and sweet moments with a playful, feel-good charm. Perfect for adding warmth and happiness to your creative projects, this kit is all about heartfelt details, cozy romance, and sharing a little extra love. 💕
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With all the latest concerns over copyright, usage rights, and outsourcing art from questionable sources, a few members have asked if she makes the graphics in her kits. The answer is YES, she personally illustrates/draws/paints the graphics.
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All of her personal hand-drawn or painted illustrations and high-resolution elements can be used to create PLR, digital products, physical products, and TEMPLATES (to name a few) which is MUCH MORE than any typical commercial use license.

Along with the individual elements, she's also included a few different types of graphics to help you create scenes.
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These design kits are only available for one month inside the membership so you have until the 14th to pick these up. Katherine will then be offering them for sale at the current regular price of $97.
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You'll automatically receive $482 worth of bonuses that come with MRR rights, meaning you can turn these kits around and not only sell them commercially, but as PLR without restrictions!
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MRR or master resell rights means you can sell these items commercially to others who can also sell them commercially. Normally, with PLR, you can sell them to others for personal use only.
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This means you can use these products to create your very own PLR. It's also perfect if you've been wanting to get into a bundle but don't have a creative bone in your body and aren't sure what you would be able to offer with PLR rights - now you'll be able to thanks to Katherine's gorgeous resources.
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Best of all, you can use these elements without fear of infringing on someone's license, which is much more generous than a standard commercial use license, and use them for to create PLR digital products, physical products, and templates (to name a few) - and yes, even stickers!

Check out everything you get on the sales page. This kit will be available at the discounted price of $27 until February 14th.

✨BONUS - If you purchase Katherine's kit, I'll give you 50% of your purchase back in Lara Loot which you can use in my shop with no expiry.

I hope you have a wonderful start to your week. I've been getting more of these requests lately, so I thought I'd mention: If you see an offer that isn't in my newsletter and want to purchase via my link to access my bonuses, send me an email and I will do my best to assist you. 😻

✨ Tales From the Rouge Fun things ✨

✨ My Favorite Biz Tools ✨

*TC Bonus: If you purchase Thrivecart using my link, receive $200 back in Lara Loot. 😻
Other purchases made through my links qualify for bonuses! ​Drop me a line​ for more info.

My name is Lara and I'm the owner of Tales From the Rouge - inspired by a magical enclave in the Rouge Valley in the east end of Toronto, Canada. I'm a writer/television producer and a wife and mom who loves photography, nature, and my ever-expanding collection of antique typewriters. I'm inspired by nature on a daily basis and draw inspiration from my surroundings which trickles down to my creations.
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You are receiving this newsletter after signing up for one of my paper packs in a free or paid bundle or giveaway. I hope you'll stay and enjoy my newsletter containing useful health and wellness tips, fun stories along with awesome promos and gifts! However, if you don’t want to stick around, just hit that unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. I do hope you hang out for a bit to see what the fuss is all about!
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Please be aware that if you unsubscribe from this email you will no longer receive updates on bonuses, courses, or waitlists that you might have signed up for. Please use caution when unsubscribing.​
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​Disclaimer:

I often recommend products and services that I use or that have been recommended to me by people I trust. In many cases these recommendations are accompanied by an affiliate link, which provides me with a referral commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The information presented here is for educational purposes only. Before taking any action that may affect your health, finances, or well-being, please check with your own doctor, health-care provider, financial and business advisers. Always do your own due diligence.
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