Turtle Island Trading Company — Follow-Up Sequence
Contact: Carmen Halagahu (+ Yellowbird) — walk-in / Facebook
Status: Initial interview offered or filmed — this sequence picks up after that first contact
Purpose: 4–5 touch sequence, delivering real value per touch, building toward soft asks downstream
Lead angle throughout: relationship-first, no hard sell — the interview was the gift
Touch 1 — Reel delivery (send immediately after the edit is ready)
Subject: Your reel from the shoot
Carmen —
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The edit is done. Here you go: [link]
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68 seconds. I kept the part where you talked about what it means to carry work from native artists who are still making things — that felt like the center of it. You can post it anywhere, cut it however you want, share the raw version if you prefer. It's yours.
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If something feels off or you want a different cut, just say so. I've got the footage.
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— Brandyn
~80 words. Delivers the asset, names one specific moment from the shoot (Brandyn should swap in the real moment). No ask. The "it's yours" line matters — it reinforces the gift framing without saying "gift."
Touch 2 — First Voices Festival hook (send ~1 week after Touch 1)
Subject: First Voices Festival — any chance you need coverage?
Carmen —
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I was thinking about First Voices Festival when I was editing your reel. That kind of event doesn't get documented the way it should. Most of the footage that exists of indigenous cultural events in Atlanta is either shot on a phone or it disappears entirely.
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If you're planning to run it again this year and need someone to cover it — or even just do a short recap reel you can share with vendors and sponsors — I'd be happy to talk through what that could look like. No contract, no big ask. Just a conversation.
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The reel from your shop took about an hour to film. An event like that would be a half day and worth doing right.
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— Brandyn
~120 words. Uses the real event name, makes a concrete and specific offer, gives a sense of scope (half day). No price mention yet — that comes in person if she responds.
Touch 3 — Shooting-date idea (send ~2 weeks after Touch 2)
Subject: An idea — using the shop as a location
Carmen —
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Separate from the First Voices thing: I shoot a lot of small Atlanta businesses and I'm always looking for interesting interiors. Turtle Island is one of the best-looking rooms in L5P.
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Occasionally I bring other clients to shoot in spaces like yours — it's a straightforward arrangement, nobody charges anybody anything, you get some visibility from whoever else is shooting there, and I get a location that isn't a white wall.
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No pressure if that's not your thing. But if it sounds like it could work, I could walk you through how I've done it with other shops in the neighborhood.
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— Brandyn
~105 words. Introduces the shooting-date partnership concept without calling it a "partnership." Frames it as a mutual arrangement. The "other shops in the neighborhood" line is intentionally vague — only make it specific if Brandyn has an actual example he can name.
Touch 4 — Peer referral ask (send ~3 weeks after Touch 3)
Subject: Anyone else in L5P I should talk to?
Carmen —
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I've been working my way through L5P introducing myself to shop owners and offering the same thing I offered you — a short interview feature, no cost. The series is taking shape.
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If there's anyone you think I should talk to — anyone running a store or a program who's got a real story and doesn't have good video — I'd appreciate the intro. Even just a name to look up.
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You know this neighborhood better than I do.
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— Brandyn
~85 words. The peer referral ask. Soft and specific — "a name to look up" is low-friction. The last line is a genuine compliment, not flattery — she's been there, she knows.
Touch 5 — Graceful close (send ~4–6 weeks after Touch 4, if no reply)
Subject: Leaving the door open
Carmen —
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Last note from me for a while.
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The door's open on all of it — First Voices coverage, the location thing, whatever. None of it expires.
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Your shop is one of my favorite places in this neighborhood. That's true whether anything comes of this or not.
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— Brandyn
~55 words. No recap, no ask. Ends warm. The last line only works if it's true — and it is, that's why the store was on the list in the first place.
Sequence notes
- Spacing: don't compress. The sequence assumes no reply — if Carmen responds at any point, drop the sequence and engage directly.
- Touch 1 timing: this only goes when the reel is actually ready. Don't send a "I'm almost done editing" note. Send the link or say nothing.
- Touch 2 — First Voices Festival (VERIFIED 2026-05-26): This is real and Turtle Island is a co-organizer (with 7 Stages, Zintkala Zi PowWow, and the L5P Business Association) — not just a participant, so "if you're planning to run it again" is accurate framing. It runs in mid-to-late November (Nov 14–28 in 2025) and is now in its 4th+ year — a signature L5P event, the first to bring a powwow inside Atlanta city limits. You can sharpen the touch: "I know First Voices is usually mid-November — if you're already in planning mode for this year…" Sources: 7 Stages, ARTS ATL, AJC, WABE. (Also verified: Carmen Halagahu + Yellowbird bought the shop in 2021, rebranding it from Coyote Trading — the "carry work from native artists" framing in Touch 1 is accurate.)
- Touch 3 — shooting dates: Brandyn should only send this if he'd actually use Turtle Island as a shoot location. The note reads as genuine because the premise is real (the shop is a genuinely good-looking interior). Don't send it as a trick.
- Touch 4 — peer referrals: Carmen Halagahu has been in L5P for years. If she gives a name, that name is probably worth following up on. Treat a referral from her as a warm lead.
- Downstream asks not in this sequence (hold for in-person or after she replies):
- Sun & Moonlight game night at the shop — too big an ask for cold email; save for when there's a real conversation
- GCV testimonial — don't ask in the sequence; if she posts the reel and tags Brandyn, that's already a testimonial
- Sponsorship — way too early; this comes after the relationship has a few months on it