The Power of Tiny Asks

Big goals got you (or your audience) frozen? Thaw them out with tiny asks.

“Throw those candy wrappers!”, I snapped at my kiddo.

Like every parent ever, I've repeated this a million times. What's so hard about walking to the kitchen and dropping trash there?

It's simple, right? Just:

1. Pick up wrappers

2. Walk to kitchen

3. Throw in trash

Then it hit me.

What's simple for me is a three-step expedition for a 7-year-old.

So I reframed my request into a tiny ask:

"Hey, can you put your empty candy wrappers on the table after you've eaten your candies?"

And he said, “Okay!” and instantly placed that flimsy foil on our table.

My heart did a little dance. Victory! 🎉

From that day on, ALL his wrappers landed on the table. No misses. No reminders.

Is the problem completely solved?

Nope. But no more messy couch or surprise ant attacks during movie nights. I'll teach him Step 2 once Step 1 becomes second nature.

That's the glimmer of Tiny Asks.

It got me thinking about us grown-ups...

Are we making the same mistake when:

• A freelancer crams 5-year dreams into 2-month sprints, ending up in crippling anxiety

• A marketing leader setting impossible KPIs, watching their team's spirit crack

• A SaaS founder waiting for all 9 features before launching that MVP

In this first issue of The Glimmer Code, we'll learn how to set ambitious goals, not ambitious plans.

Because here's the truth: your goals should make your heart race, but your plans? They should help you breathe — and move quickly.

Let's explore how tiny asks could be your key to sustainable success. g✨!

⚡ Spark Notes: Why tiny asks create instant action

Quick reality check: 80% of New Year's resolutions die by February.

But after years of marketing SaaS products, creating micro courses, and yes, wrestling with parenting wins, I've discovered the secret spark in tiny asks.

Research shows that when we start small, our brains are like "Okayyy, I can work with this!"

Instead of triggering our fear response, tiny asks activate our reward system. It's giving "dopamine hits different" energy!

Fun fact: Our brains literally cannot tell the difference between a small win and a big one — it's just happy we’re winning!

And this creates momentum for the next tiny ask.

🤓 Cognitive Fluency: The Science Behind Tiny Asks

Cognitive Fluency is just fancy talk for how easy or hard someone thinks a task will be.

Note the emphasis on thinks - it's not about actual difficulty, but *perceived* effort AND the feelings they associate with it.

Remember my kiddo and his empty wrappers?

He thinks throwing trash is super hard. That’s why he won’t budge from his seat. His PS5 playing time is just too precious to sacrifice to complete mommy’s ask.

🎬 Tiny Asks, Applied

Let's make this super practical!

So how can you use Tiny Asks to get you (and your audience) moving? We’ve got some nice ideas!

On LinkedIn writing

When I asked my writing community how many would love to start showing up on LinkedIn this year, the post got over 150+ reacts, 90+ comments, and infinite energy.

When I did a follow-up post asking them to drop their first post, I got crickets.

There were 2-3 people who dropped links, but that’s just it.

And understandably so.

If you’re new to social content writing, especially on LinkedIn (which can be a beast!), writing feels daunting.

So forget content plans, “1 post a day challenges”, and crafting your content strategy. Try ONE of THESE per week instead:

• Monday Micro-Drops: One solid piece of content

• Wednesday Wins: Share a tiny client work victory

• Friday Feels: Quick connection with your audience

Pro tip: If you have a hard time writing, try Glimmer Writing.

Glimmer writing is one technique I teach freelancers so they can create effortlessly. Even newbie freelancers who are not writers can write content in just 5 minutes.

I maybe speaking Tagalog at some point. Hope you understand the gist though!

On setting goals

I’m obsessed with goal setting, but it didn’t really work for me until like 3 years ago.

The difference?

I swapped building an ambitious, solid plan with a more intentional and flowy one.

Here’s an example:

Instead of "Get 10k followers on LinkedIn in 2024" (hello, anxiety), I did this:

Months 1-4: Exploration Phase

• Get a feel of it

• Test a couple of content topics

• Make sure I can write 2-3 posts/week

Months 5-8: Micro-Experimentation

• Test 3 post format

• Gather quick feedback

• Test 3 content types

Months 9-12: Selective Scaling

• Double down on what works

• Cut what doesn't

• Add one new element (and level up)

Notice the breathing room? The built-in checkpoints? The actionable chunks of focus?

That's intentional space for growth and reflection. When you remove the pressure, movement becomes natural.

Pro tip: You can apply the same framework to your goal setting and do a 3-year plan, quarterly or even a monthly one. It's all about the tiny steps forward.

Confession: I’ve really set a goal to get 10,000 followers on LinkedIn last year, but I failed. 🙈

Only got 5,774, but I got what I needed:

• Clarity on an offer that speaks to me more (Lifecycle marketing to Hybrid B2B SaaS)

• Got inbound leads from VP of Marketing and made meaningful connections

• Starred in MailModo’s Lifecyclist Show (lol), and got featured on Medium and IndieHackers!
  

On getting visitors to try your app

Thinking about sign-ups?
Think they’re your smallest ask?
Think tinier!

Enter the interactive demo - your app's "try before you drop your email" moment.

Data shows visitors who play with demos are 8x more likely to commit to sign-up.

Take Spiral, for example.

It’s an AI that chops up your content into digestible social snippets.

Instead of asking for email upfront, they let you test-drive their podcast-to-tweet feature right away.

No forms. No painful onboarding. Just pure value.

Here’s how you can apply Tiny Asks to your SaaS emails to activate more users.

💌 Speaking of onboarding emails... I've helped countless SaaS companies transform their onboarding experiences, dramatically reduce churn, and even 2x their revenues in a few months. I’ve used Tiny Ask concept a lot! See my process here.

If you're struggling to keep new users engaged, I'd love to hear about your current approach and share a few ideas that have worked for my clients.

🧠 TL;DR: The Science of Tiny Asks

Cognitive Fluency 101: It's not about how hard something actually is, but how hard it feels. When something feels easier, people are more likely to take action.

So make your asks (or your calls-to-action) tiny.

The Tiny Ask Framework:

1. Break down your big ask into the smallest possible step.

2. Make that first step ridiculously easy.

3. Introduce the next step.

4. Rinse and repeat.

Remember: Your brain treats all wins the same. So you might as well make them easier to achieve.

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And that's a wrap on our first issue of The Glimmer Code! ✨

Since this is Issue #1, I'd love to hear your thoughts:

• What resonated most with you?

• What topics would you like me to dive into next?

Drop a comment below — I read and respond to every message!

And if you found value in this issue, would you consider sharing it with:

• That founder friend who's wrestling with their MVP launch

• Your marketing buddy who's feeling overwhelmed with targets

• Anyone who needs permission to take smaller, sustainable steps

Remember: Your goals should make your heart race, but your plans? They should help you breathe.

Until the next glimmer,
Aiza

PS: If The Glimmer Code ✨sparkled✨ for you today, sharing it with others would mean the world to this slowpreneur's heart!

(But trust me on the “subscribe” button!)

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