Craft Mode · a monthly snail mail club

a monthly snail mail club for marketers What the heck is actually happening to work in the age of AI?

Once a month, I investigate one question about work in the age of AI.

I interview the people living it. Write down what I learn. Then send the whole story to your actual mailbox.

One reported story. One useful takeaway. One small piece of art.

A real physical letter. Envelope, stamp, everything.

Send me issue one free →

One letter a month. Your first is free, then $12 a month. Cancel anytime. Your address is only used to send the letter.

From Steven. I’ve taught 4,400+ marketers to use AI at places like Google, Stripe, Notion, Microsoft, KPMG and Zoom.

to: you your actual mailbox anywhere in the world
Issue Nº 001 · 11 Seconds · August 24
Issue One Free · ships August 24
Full Interview Notes Unlock at 100 members
Sticker in the Next Envelope Unlocks at 250 members
Member Tool Discounts Unlock at 500 members
Filmed Interview Series Unlocks at 1,000 members
the letter is already complete. the extras unlock as the club grows.
The first question

11 Seconds

Who is actually reading your resume?

That’s how long a recruiter spends on your resume.

So what happens during those 11 seconds?

Who sees it first?

What makes them keep reading?

And how the heck do you stand out when every application has been polished by the same three robots?

I’m interviewing recruiters, hiring managers and a CEO to find out.

Then I’m handing them my own CV to publicly destroy.

For research purposes, obviously.

Issue one ships August 24.

Send me issue one free →

Join the first 100 and you can submit your own resume for the issue-one teardown.

I’ll choose a small handful, remove the personal details, and ask recruiters what they notice in the first 11 seconds.

What actually arrives?

A small envelope from New York.

Inside issue one:

The letter

The full story, reported from both sides of the hiring table.

The 11-Second Test

A practical card you can use to check your own resume.

The postcard

One beautiful object from the issue. This month: 11 Seconds.

The audio note

Scan the code and hear everything I couldn’t fit on the page.

Not bad for something that isn’t another notification.

Join the club

Your first letter is free

I want you to hold the thing before I ask you to pay for it.

Issue one costs nothing.

If you love it, stay for $12 a month and I’ll send you one new letter every month.

If it isn’t for you, cancel before letter two and pay nothing.

First letterFree
Then$12 a month

One letter a month. Cancel anytime. Your address is only used to send the letter.

Send me issue one free →

You’ll be in good company

The marketers I’ve trained come from:
GoogleStripeNotionMicrosoft CanvaKPMGZoomBloomberg
Next drop

First letter lands in…

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Days
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Hours
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Min
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An invitation

Come join my letter.

Think of it like a read-along podcast.

Each month I take one question every marketer is whispering about, interview the people who actually know, and write you the whole story.

And yes.

It’s a real letter.

Physical. Stamped. Delivered to the same place as your electricity bill, except hopefully more enjoyable.

How to think about it, not just prompt it.

Coming up

Season one

Six letters.

One work mystery at a time.

Real interviews. Me as the occasional guinea pig. One thing you can use when you finish reading.

Next up · August 24 Issue One · August · the hiring issue

11 Seconds

That’s how long a recruiter spends on your resume.

I’m interviewing recruiters, hiring managers and a CEO about what really happens after you apply.

Then I’m giving them my CV.

A decision I may come to regret.

For anyone hiring, hunting or quietly updating LinkedIn just in case.

Issue Two · September · the manager issue

What’s on your manager’s mind?

What managers are actually worried about this quarter.

And how to get ahead of it before it becomes a surprise meeting on your calendar.

Issue Three · October · the new-hire issue

The first 90 days

What actually happens when someone gets hired for their AI skills.

The expectations.

The politics.

The moment everyone realises “good at AI” was not technically a job description.

See the whole season
Issue Four · November · the prompts issue

Show me your prompts

Why nobody wants to show their AI work.

And what happens when they finally do.

Issue Five · December · the comeback issue

The ones who left

People who got made redundant and built something better.

Issue Six · January · the season recap

What we learned

Five letters.

Forty interviews.

The strange patterns nobody saw coming.

The people behind the stories

interviews happen all month. as they do, the faces and quotes land here.
Coming soon
Recruiter · the hiring issue
HiringCareers
Coming soon
Hiring manager · the hiring issue
HiringAI skills
Coming soon
CEO · the hiring issue
HiringAI skills
Coming soon
Manager · the manager issue
ManagersPriorities
From the creator

Hey 👋 I’m Steven.

I’ve spent most of my career trying to figure out how work actually works.

I built a marketing agency in New Zealand.

Then sold it.

I helped a 30-year-old coffee company grow from $225k to $500k a month online.

I started companies.

I read the resumes.

Then, in a particularly rude plot twist, I became the resume.

Made redundant.

50 applications from New Zealand.

49 silences.

One very polite no.

I changed one line on LinkedIn and ended up with a visa-sponsored job in New York.

Since then, I’ve taught 4,400+ marketers how to use AI.

One in four got promoted or moved roles.

Founder. Job hunter. New hire. Teacher.

I’ve spent a slightly unreasonable amount of time on every side of this.

So I started Craft Mode.

Once a month, I pick one question I cannot stop thinking about and bother everyone who might know the answer.

Then I write you a letter.

A real one.

Stamp and everything.

Cheers,

Steven

Want the first one?

Issue one is called 11 Seconds.

It is about who actually reads your resume, what they notice, and how to stand out when AI has made every application look suspiciously polished.

It ships August 24.

The first letter is free.

Send me issue one free →

Then $12 a month if you stay. Cancel anytime. Your address is only used to send the letter.

FAQ

Is the first letter really free?

Yep.

Issue one is free. If you love it, stay for $12 a month. If you cancel before letter two, you pay nothing.

What do I get each month?

One physical letter containing a reported story, interviews and one useful takeaway.

Some issues will include a postcard, a practical card, artwork or another small surprise.

Where do you ship?

Anywhere in the world.

If your mailbox has an address, the letter can reach it.

When will I be charged?

Issue one costs nothing.

Billing starts September 24, when issue two ships. Cancel before then and you pay nothing.

What will you do with my address?

Use it to send the letter.

That’s it.

No selling it. No mysterious catalogue arriving six months later.

Can I cancel?

Yep.

Cancel anytime before the next billing date.

What happens if I move?

Members can update their mailing address before the next letter ships.