You said it was bad.
Sebastian did this in his Indeed job ad (see my prior letter to you).
A breakdown of his clever job ad:
Awesome Headline:
“Awesome crappy job in the evening hours approx. 17.00–21.00”
Right away, it grabbed you. It was honest and said, “Yeah, the hours sort of suck.” But you wanted to read more because it was bold.
He said this job was bad.
He was not hiding that working 5 pm to 9 pm was far from great.
And he got your attention, which was the point of the headline.
Inviting Personal Touch:
“… in Sebi’s Little World!”
He didn’t hide behind corporate fluff, like, “We are W, help X do Y so they can achieve Z.”
It made you feel welcome in Sebi’s world. It was personal and approachable.
(Sebi was short for Sebastian Schulz who was running a “second-hand goods” company, btw.)
Clever Humor and Belief Shifting:
“Might just be a chill, well-paid gig. Cruise around Berlin, Brandenburg evenings, jamming to my quirky voice messages.”
He flipped your expectations by painting a picture of a job that was actually relaxing and well-compensated, combined with the freedom to cruise around Berlin at night.
We knew it was going to be a bad job.
People usually didn’t want to work evenings or nights.
So that was the established baseline.
We couldn’t go lower than than. It couldn’t get worse.
He used this baseline to then create a different image in our heads:
- relaxing
- well-paid
- driving around the city in the evenings (which implies there is low traffic and relative silence, hence relaxed)
He used humor by talking about the opportunity to listen to his voice messages, which is a way of saying he would probably call you frequently when giving you directions. Clever and funny!
Direct and Honest Details:
“Work from 5 to 9 or 10 pm, Monday to Saturday.
You don’t need muscles, but don’t be a couch potato either.”
Clearly did he set the expectation — yeah, it was a six-day week in the evening but he didn’t pretend it was for everyone.
Friendly Closure:
“If you’re reliable, punctual, friendly, and a safe driver, get in touch. Join my scatterbrained but adorable team.
Cheers from,
Sebi”
He capped it off with an invitation to be part of a quirky yet lovable team, which felt like you’d be joining a little family, not just a company.
What you learned?
He was a great copywriter.
Second, the job ad did what any good marketing should do:
- grab attention with a standout headline
- engage with personal, relatable storytelling
- change beliefs with humor and a twist in perspective
- set clear, honest expectations
- and end on a positive, warm note,
which made you actually consider applying for the job.
Next time you wrote, you tried these:
- Hook with something bold.
- Make it personal.
- Tweak the expected narrative.
- Be clear and honest.
- Close warmly, invite engagement.
Whether it was for marketing or even just an email home.
Joke Time:
Why did the married guy stick with a job he hated?
Because it felt just like home.
Onward,
Alexander “eats crappy job ads for lunch” Kluge
P.S. You wanted to learn more quirky marketing tactics, so you replied and we had a chat.
//
You read “Please leave…”, the only hand-written letter on the internet.
Daily letters in the past tense that made you feel something in the present moment and cracked a smile once in a while.
Plus, if you joined my private email list, quiet announcements and sneak peeks of my journey to a €100,000 Annual Recurring Revenue–my weekly {Sunday Truth}.
