Hi everyone. I am a retired hair stylist trying to make a little money on the side. I put together this “Grey Blending Starter Guide” (Action Plan Doc in Green White Grey Sleek Minimalist Style Canva link) and I’m not sure about a few things 1) the content 2) what to do with the starter guide 3) Is it worth charging for or give it away? Here is a link to my blog where I’ve been writing posts for about a month now. www.askthehaircolorexpert.com
Thanks in advance for any advice~Kate
Hi Kate - nice to meet you! I have a few initial thoughts, these are not criticisms, just a gentle push in the right direction!
First of all, the guide is extremely short, at under 600 words. And if you don’t count the intro paragraphs or the conclusion, the actual plan, which is what will interest people, is only 400 words.
If you are expecting people to buy something, or to give you their email address in return if you give it away for free, it needs to provide real value, something they can’t get elsewhere. something in-depth, based on your personal knowledge and expertise.
It really needs to be written in the first person - “I did this,” “when I was a colorist,” “I advised my customers,” etc, to show off your experience. And ideally several pages long.
You need to expand the different phases; each tip deserves at least one full paragraph, not just a sentence.
For example, instead of Deep Conditioning Treatments: Grey hair lacks the natural oils of pigmented hair. A weekly mask will keep your tresses soft, shiny, and frizz-free.
More in-depth - “As an experienced colourist, one of the first things I explain to clients with grey hair is that the texture often changes in ways they do not expect. Grey hair is not just hair without colour. It can feel drier, coarser, more wiry, and sometimes a little more stubborn to manage. That is because grey hair tends to produce and hold less natural oil than pigmented hair, which means it can lose softness and shine more easily. I see this all the time in the salon. Clients often tell me their hair suddenly feels rougher, frizzier, or harder to style, even though they are using the same products they always have. In many cases, the missing piece is not another styling product or a stronger serum. It is regular deep conditioning.
When I work with grey hair, I always stress the importance of treating moisture as part of the routine, not an occasional fix. A weekly deep conditioning mask can make a visible difference to the way grey hair looks and feels. It helps soften the texture, smooth the cuticle, and bring back a healthier, more polished finish. That matters because grey hair can easily start to look dull or fluffy if it is not properly nourished. Even beautifully cut or expertly coloured hair will not look its best if it is dry. Conditioning is what gives the hair that supple, cared-for quality that clients often describe as feeling more like themselves again.
I usually recommend choosing a mask that is rich enough to add moisture but not so heavy that it leaves the hair limp or coated. Grey hair often needs softness and flexibility, especially if it is prone to frizz or feels brittle around the front hairline or ends. I advise clients to apply their mask generously through the mid-lengths and ends, and if the hair is particularly dry, to work a small amount closer to the roots as well. Leaving it on for a proper amount of time matters too. Rinsing it off too quickly defeats the purpose. A few quiet minutes once a week can genuinely improve manageability, shine, and overall condition.”
Can you see the difference - more personal, more authoritative.
Is it written with AI? Nothing wrong with that, my whole life revolves around AI, lol. But sometimes it phrases things oddly. For example, can you imagine any of your customers actually saying, “How can we keep the integrity of my hair healthy?” They are more likely to say, “How can I keep my hair healthy?” or “Can we do this in a way that keeps my hair healthy?”
It’s currently a Canva link. Is that how you plan to send it out? Remember, not everybody has Canva; typically, it would be a PDF file. And it would look better as a PDF; the title and images are huge! (I really don’t like the image at the end, it looks like she has blood over her eye, lol).
I hope this helps. I’m happy to answer any questions! Good luck, and well done for thinking of this idea at an early stage of your website, to get some early attraction.
Diane, Thank you!! I had no clear path and jotted down a few steps but you are exactly right about ALL of it. I do have it in PDF format, I just couldn’t figure out how to attach it to a post here. I will be working on my document and may post for another review, if you are okay with that. I really appreciate the guidance and the thoughtful time you spent looking at my work. I am so new to all of this and I really want to make it happen. Thank you again.
Hello Diane, It has been some time since you so graciously took a look at my guide. I have re-written it and hoped you might take another look. I’m not sure what to do with it now, what would you advise? Thank you very very much for your time and guidance. https://askthehaircolorexpert.com/get-the-guide/
Hi Kate - good to hear from you again! The new guide is so much better. I can see you have put a lot of work into this; it’s much more in-depth. But, of course, I have a few thoughts to help you progress!
The proofreading is the biggest problem. There are repeated misspellings — “maintanence,” “additonal,” “avacado,” “artifical,” “Intitial,” “consultaion” — plus inconsistent British/American spelling - “colour” vs “color” in the FAQ.
For a guide selling expertise and premium products, typos quietly undercut the authority you worked to establish on page 2!
Layout inconsistency hurts too. Page 18’s FAQ is set entirely in ALL CAPS, which is hard to read and tonally jarring against the calm voice you project everywhere else.
And the generic stock photos (the laptop-on-desk) pull against the authentic salon photos of you, which are far more compelling. Leaning harder into real client before/afters and your own work would do more for conversion than any stock image.
So - correct the spelling, don’t write in all caps, and try not to use generic stock photos.
Right now it’s a lead magnet without a lead-capture machine around it! The job is to turn it into the centre of a small content ecosystem that does three things repeatedly: brings strangers in, captures their email, and warms them toward your products and consultations.
You can gate it behind an email opt-in. The guide becomes the “free download” that grows an email list — the single most valuable thing a solo expert can build, because you own it outright and it survives any platform change. A simple landing page: headline, the promise (“ditch the root touch-ups”), three bullet points of what’s inside, email box, done.
If the content in the PDF naturally matches any of your blog posts, you can end them with “Want the full printable guide? Download it here.” And have the link send them to your landing page to collect their email address.
Hope this helps; happy to continue further if you need it!
Thank you Diane. I am so embarrassed, but thank you so much for the help.
Kate Hall
It’s definitely moving in the right direction though! Diane was (still is?) a professional copy-writer and editor, so she’s very picky about writing. She’s definitely had to point out some of me grammir mistacks, haha.
But overall, it really is a good start.
Have you tried using AI to help you edit some of this more quickly? I’m happy to record a video of how I’d do it, if you wanted me to help. But I don’t want impose on anything.
Don’t be embarrassed; everybody makes mistakes, and as Andy said, I’m a professional writer and proofreader, so my eye is always drawn to even the tiniest of errors!
Hi Andy, Thank you for the words of encouragement. Yes that would be extremely helpful. Is there some software you can run a canva peice through for editing? Thank you for the help.
Well, as I’m experimenting with this, I realize now that using AI is a little more difficult than I thought. Basically what I’m trying to do is have AI recreate your PDF in HTML so that it has a better ability to edit it down exactly how you would want it, and then re-create that into a PDF. But it’s not turning out as well as I had originally hoped.
@Diane Have you tried or have any experience with the Canva MCP connector? And would that be more helpful in this situation? I’ve never used it, but may have to if it speeds up these workflows.
Good morning Andy. Please do not work on this any longer. It is a lot of work. I’ve already made many changes manually. It’s okay, do it if it will help you. You are so generous to help. I do have some questions for you regarding the FB pdf I read yesterday.
Thank you.
Kate Hall
Oh, it’s not a problem! I enjoy experimenting with these type of things when I have time. I figured out it was more the flow I had wrong - I attached the one I created. Very similar to yours, so I’m not exactly sure what it did differently.
Grey-Blending-Starter-Guide-2.pdf (1.6 MB)
Yeah, ask away here or in the other thread, and I’ll be more than happy to answer what I can 
I have the Canva MCP connected to Claude, but I had never tried doing something like this, but it works really well!
1 - Upload PDF to Canva
2 - Add the Canva link to Claude, and ask it to correct the spelling errors.
3 - Allow Claude to access Canva.
4 - Claude confirms that it can see the errors, and again asks for permission to access Canva.
5 - Success!
6 - Ask Claude to correct the content all in caps.
I didn’t take any more screenshots, but it worked!
Thank you for the time you put in on this Diane. I sincerely appreciate the help.
Andy,
Where do I begin? Thank you so much for the edit you did on my guide. It is a million times better. The formatting all the way down to the font style and color. I am not very good at asking for help, but I feel like a fish out of water here. So, thank you!
Thank you too for the Ultimate Guide to a Profitable Facebook Page. I am going to re-read it and I will send you a few of my questions then. This group is amazing. The help offered here is priceless. I am a retired hair stylist and not tech savvy at all, as you can see. I have hope and optimism though and a steady dose of energy to make this “affiliate” marketing income stream work for me and my family. If there is ANYTHING I can do to help the group or offer the group I am all ears. Thanks again.
You’re welcome. Can I give you a few “heads up” rules and tips about using Amazon as your affiliate provider?
The most important rule: Make 3 sales within 180 days. Amazon will close Associate accounts that have not referred three qualifying purchases within 180 days of sign-up. This isn’t optional, and once rejected due to inactivity during this period, reinstatement isn’t possible — you have to start fresh.
This isn’t as bad as it sounds - you simply apply again and will be accepted. However, you will be given a new affiliate ID, and none of your old links will work; you will have to replace them! The sales don’t need to be big-ticket items; any qualifying purchase through your link counts, and it doesn’t even have to be the item you are promoting.
This leads me on to another rule: Affiliate links cannot be shared in emails, PDFs, eBooks, or private messages — they are only allowed on public websites, blogs, apps, YouTube, or approved social platforms. And if you add them to other platforms, such as Facebook, you need to add the links to the platforms to your Amazon account. Not difficult - you do it through your settings. So, you can’t put them in your lead magnet PDF - Amazon has no way of tracking them!
And finally: Do not buy through your own links. Associates should never buy products through their own affiliate links. Amazon’s tracking systems will detect this, and it can result in account termination. Neither should you allow friends or family to buy through your links. You might think that Amazon won’t know, but they do, don’t ask me how!
I know this all sounds doom and gloom, but Amazon does have the strictest rules (and the lowest rates of commission of any affiliate platform). On the upside, they are the most trusted, and you will earn commission on anything the customer buys within 24 hours of clicking your link. I once had a customer buy the product I was promoting, and then they added a load of books to their order, and I got commission on everything!
Good morning, Diane. Thank you for the information. I have just finished adding the links to my guide, so I will go ahead and remove them now. I really appreciate you flagging the Amazon guidelines for me. To date, I’ve earned about $60 in commissions by sharing links to my articles on Facebook—I assume this method is compliant with their policies, but please let me know if you suggest otherwise. Thank you again for your expertise!
Oh, that’s excellent, and if you are seeing the commission in your account, then they are obviously happy that you are doing everything right! And I notice you are promoting items that are classed as “luxury/premium beauty,” which pays higher commission. Wishing you every success!
Loving this thread … it’s turned into a full-on detailed guide to creating a lead magnet with bonus Amazon compliance tips too … lol
