The World’s Only B2B Marching Band

Welcome to Issue 201 of Total Annarchy, a fortnightly newsletter by me, Ann Handley, with a focus on writing, marketing, living your best life. Was this email forwarded to you? You can subscribe here.

Sunday, November 30

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, Butterball!

Welcome to the four best days of the year! Pie is now rebranded as breakfast. I hold firm to my zero-tolerance policy for pants with buttons. Everyone is a little bit nicer. And most of all... I’m truly grateful for you.

Every two weeks I spend time crafting this newsletter and I send it off into the world to stand on its own in your crowded inbox, jostling for space next to Nordstrom and Etsy and who knows what else.

Every two weeks I second-guess and overthink. I imagine you opening it, like you are, right now.

Every two weeks I hope for the best—not for me, but for you. I hope it hits.

Thank you for being here.

I have a few treats for you today. Let’s dig in!

👉 BTS in Boston

Last week, Christopher Penn wrote about his MarketingProfs B2B Forum experience:

Lots of events are worth going to.
Very, very few feel like home.

He’s right. (Chris usually is.)

But why? (Why it feels like home—not why Chris is usually right.)

Here’s the secret: The B2B Forum feels like home because a team of smart, generous humans spends 12 months obsessively obsessing over every detail—from food to vibes to bookshelves to Labubu bucket hats—to make it feel like you’re walking straight off the airplane into the arms of your people.

(Metaphorically.) (Or actually. Whichever you prefer.)

I also share the personal side: My pre-show self-hype and self-talk. ("No one out there actively hates you... avoid dead-face... drop your shoulders... have fun.")

For the first time, I wrote about what it really takes, behind the scenes. If you’ve ever wondered how an event becomes something more than an event—or if you’ve tried to build that feeling yourself—this is the story:

Read the behind-the-scenes here.

Side note: 50% off kickoff special pricing! Tickets for the 2026 B2B Forum are not yet on sale to the public. But you can grab the insider pre-release ticket because I love you. Here’s the special page.

Side-side note: Only 75 tickets are available at that pre-sale price. Don’t @ me if you dawdle, OK?

👉 EVERYBODY WRITES: Fortnight Insight

TikTok is actually a surprisingly rich place for copywriting inspiration. No joke. Its tight formats and visual constraints force clarity and creativity.

Let’s talk about how one approach, in particular, is the fastest way to give your writing an actual human heartbeat.

Get writing inspiration from TikTok.

(Lots more writing insight in the 2nd edition of Everybody Writes.)

👉 THE EM DASH IS NOT AN AI TELL IN ALL CAPS!

I’m sure you’ve heard this, yes? That the use of em dashes means AI wrote it? Welllllllll... I’m here to tell you: NO. It does not. Here’s why.

I’m real tired of hearing this one. So I made a pop-up store for all of us to tell the world. Open only through the end of the year. All proceeds go to animal rescue.

Writers: Justice for Em Dashes! Show solidarity!

🛒 Grab your merch here and support animals who need us.

P.S. If you’ve already grabbed yours—thank you! Share a photo on social using #JusticeforEmDashes. I’ll choose a few people to receive a surprise package from me.

👉 How to Sharpen Your Message

In Boston, my B2B Forum opening keynote shared some early ideas from my new book (coming 2026).

Meanwhile, my friend Jay Acunzo did something generous/slightly terrifying: He took my book’s premise and sharpened it.

His piece is a masterclass in clarity. If you’ve ever tried to articulate a big idea without overexplaining it (hi, it’s me), listen to Jay.

P.S. Come for the masterclass; stay for the spectacular butchering of my name.

DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS

The large language model I highly recommend.

Ann Handley is the author of Everybody Writes and other books. 

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