Advertisement Adversaries: "Monthly Check-In Spread"

This entry is covering a seller I know for a fact is legitimate. We've chatted quite a bit, and they actually requested for me to dip into their listings for an ADversary post! So, while this seller is going to remain anonymous and the usual rules of "don't go find this person" apply, this is someone I've talked to and have gotten consent from for this project.

This seller is relatively new to the witchblr/tarotblr scene, but they're pretty active. Posts abound about their practice, tools, and various interests. I may or may not have spent a couple hours just scrolling in fascination. I have a soft spot for unique, home-grown practices that are unafraid to get a little weird with it, and this seller's blogs really hit the spot. I'm a fan.

For the purposes of this article, I'm focusing primarily on this person's divination blog, mostly because their Ko-Fi shop is all divinatory offerings. As an animist, all of their tools have names and distinct personalities which inform the readings provided with those tools. There's actually a whole post dedicated to the tools they have in their collection - and it's a considerable collection, indeed! "Avid" is certainly the right word. Lots to choose from, and it seems you can request specific tools for some types of readings.

In their pinned post, they cite that they've been practicing divination for about three years (as of this writing), working at it almost every day. It's a short amount of time in comparison to some readers around these parts, but dedicating to almost-daily readings for three years is impressive!

And it shows! All readings, even paid ones, are published publicly on a side blog dedicated to divinatory readings, tool reviews, and other divination-related posts. Their average readings are lengthy, providing ample detail and pictures of all cards (or other items, in the case of their charm sets) drawn for the readings.

The overall tone of their readings is kind, written for ease of access, and very friendly. This seller strikes me as approachable and knowledgeable. The types of readings they offer are unique enough to stand out while also being familiar enough to be comfortable.

I do think that their primary audience, based on the types of readings they offer, is going to be other practitioners and diviners. They tend to be very in-depth and specific, which isn't always appealing to a general audience. The only issue with this is that other diviners are very likely to do their own reading or ask for one from a friend than pay a sum for one. It's a tougher market, but a worthwhile one, as clients tend to be of a higher quality overall.

This seller uses Tumblr as their primary medium for receiving requests and giving readings, but they use Ko-Fi as a transactional hub. The listing we're focusing on is for a Monthly Check-In Spread:

I chose this one because it's the one I would consider the middle ground between their really unique readings and the "standard" readings you might find anywhere. Twenty cards is, if you didn't know, a shit load. For only $10.00, that's fifty cents per card - an absolute steal.

Now, there are no images for any of these listings. That's not necessarily a real negative, since all of these readings are published publicly on Tumblr. You can easily find examples of the same readings to see what you're getting. For this reading, it may not really be necessary to have an image of an example spread. But for the other unusual readings in the commissions listings, it might be helpful to have. Plus, it makes links to the listings more attractive, too.

First impressions for this listing and the shop are pretty positive, if bland. If I didn't know this seller personally, I might be a little put off by having to contact them before making a commission request. A lot of more casual clients are unlikely to want to do that, and you might miss out on sales because of it. That said, you do mitigate a lot of issues with people breaking rules, asking for things you can't do, and just generally being uncool. It's a trade-off, one that shouldn't be made lightly.

The primary selling points here are the uniqueness of the readings offered, the vast variety of tools available, and the personality of the reader. My first impression is that their newness is pretty obvious, but they have a lot of potential for greatness. I really hope their requests pick up (to still-comfortable levels, of course), because their style deserves the attention.

Now, let's get into our rating criteria!

Let's pull up that product description again, just to have it.

This, like all other listings here, is very straightforward. It says exactly what you're going to get: Twenty cards drawn and interpreted to predict the next four weeks ahead. I particularly appreciate that the description breaks it down a little further, saying you get the month overview, weekly breakdowns, and the blessing and burden for each week.

Each listing contains the directions to contact the seller before requesting a reading on Ko-Fi. The seller explained to me directly that this is to prevent rule breaking and to ensure they're able to perform the reading. I really get this, personally, since I also sell on Ko-Fi. There are fees from PayPal and Stripe (and Ko-Fi itself, if you're doing the contributor thing for extra features) that you won't get back if you do a refund. You essentially eat those fees, which sucks for even an established, very successful seller.

However, as mentioned above, I do think it's a turn-off for many potential clients. It's not the kind of thing to require lightly. This is, though, very much a personal choice. And I think it's explained here pretty clearly. The other thing about it is that I assumed this meant DMing on Tumblr, since it's DMing on Ko-Fi; but rereading their pinned post with a closer eye, I realize they want you to send an ask on Tumblr, not a DM. They don't read DMs. It's really important to make that distinction!

If I had to nitpick something for clarity about the service itself, I would say it's in how the twenty cards are allotted to the four weeks. Is it five cards drawn per week? Or is it a more holistic approach to the month as a whole? How are we dividing that up? Personally, I want just a little more detail so I understand exactly what I'm getting. However, I realize I'm pretty picky in that regard, and I genuinely think the way it's worded now is fine for the average client. The solution would be to reach out and ask, which is exactly what the seller wants, anyways.

One other thing I could nitpick is for clarity in how long the reading will take to complete. I assume it depends on the queue ahead of me, the complexity of the reading, how long it takes to go back and forth in our conversations... but I don't want to assume, I'd like to be told. An approximation is enough - something like, "I reply to DMs within one business day. Readings are usually complete within a week of payment confirmation." That way, someone doesn't get pissed when they don't get their reading within a day or two.

Overall, Clarity gets a somewhat critical 4/5 for me, with half a point off for each of the nitpicky things. Very solid.

As you progress through the Ko-Fi screens, we reach the Terms and Conditions blurb, which gives us our refunds policy:

This is a standard place to put refunds information. Not offering refunds once services are provided is also standard. On the one hand, sellers often have to eat the cost of transaction fees on refunds. And on the other, it prevents people from getting readings and then unfairly demanding refunds for no reason, scamming sellers out of their time and money.

Reiterating the message-first policy is pretty smart. It's not a common requirement, and putting it in two places (especially somewhere people have to check an "I Agree" box to move on) means the client is likelier to actually read it.

Now, there's one thing here that stands out to me: The mention that the reading will be published on Tumblr. This is repeated in their pinned post on their readings blog, which they require all prospective clients, whether free or paid, to read for a full run-down of rules. (Fairly standard, in my opinion; reading terms/rules before requesting any reading is polite.)

The first is that I wonder whether I'll get a personal copy of the reading. If I didn't have a Tumblr, how would I receive the reading? Even if their primary audience is on Tumblr, this limits their growth opportunities for the future. Sending a copy of the reading directly to the querent be more sustainable in the long-run.

The second is, what if I would rather have my reading be 100% private? Is that an option at all, or is it required that the reading be public? The pinned post states that I can be anonymous in the reading, so I assume I can't have the reading be totally private to just me. Which brings me back around to the question of whether the public post is going to be the only record of the reading, or if I'll also receive a personal version of it via email or something similar.

Either way, this would be, personally, a pretty big turn-off for the reading. I generally prefer to have my readings be private, and having a reading I've paid for be published for the public to see is something I wouldn't love. This isn't a big deal to everyone, but for personal matters or sensitive subjects, I could definitely see this preventing some folks from buying - even at such a steal of a price. If you didn't read the pinned post carefully enough (which I admittedly missed this, despite reading it three or four times for this article! I knew free readings were all published; it was the paid readings I didn't realize were published), and this is when you found out your reading would be put on Tumblr publicly... well, it'd certainly make me wish I knew before going through all the trouble of reaching out, chatting, and then almost paying. Of course, I doubt it would actually get that far - the conversation had would most likely discuss the publication terms, just to confirm them if nothing else.

However, on the good side, this seller is honest about how much experience they have, quoting the exact date they started doing divination right in their pinned post. They also state in the same pinned post that they're not perfect, and that sometimes, they might be wrong in their predictions. I really appreciate a reader who's humble enough to tell the truth like that. It gives big points to Transparency.

They also, in the same pinned post, list out various views they hold about divination and what you as a client ought to expect. It's a simple, effective code of conduct that displays their expectations for querents and for themselves. Solid.

So, Transparency is overall not bad. I'm giving this seller 4/5, with points off for the public/private questions and points added back in for the frankness.

As previously mentioned, this seller is very active on Tumblr. I didn't see any other social media attached to their accounts, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Particularly because all of their blogs are chock-full of good stuff: information about their own practices, their tools, things they're excited about, things they're trying, readings from other people, their hobbies, their interests... Hell yeah, honestly.

This person has several side blogs, all for different subjects and focuses. They reblog a lot, but they're also involved in conversations and sharing their own thoughts.

This is someone who is very active in their communities. They're not interacting to make money, they're interacting because it's fun and they like it. Turning their divination practice into a source of income is an extension of that. I genuinely believe that if this seller didn't like divination, they wouldn't bother with it.

They share a ton about their tools and methods. Recently, they've been offering practice readings for free that are so cool. They're engaging with their audience just to engage, but it also provides an essential insight into the way their readings work. This seller answers questions about their readings and practices with an eagerness that shows me exactly how happy they are when doing all this.

All this to say, their Presence is an extremely solid 5/5. I think the only improvement to be made would be tagging their divination reading posts with more popular tags for greater visibility and growth. Keep doing what you're doing.

So, there are no listing photos on any of the commission options. Again, this isn't necessarily bad, because this seller publishes all their readings publicly on Tumblr. You can do a quick scroll to see all their tools in action for the readings they've got on offer (plus more!).

All of the images found on the blog are 100% genuine. They're obviously unique, taken of the readings in progress. Nothing here is generated by a machine. The readings are consistent in style across all the posts, and none of the images are repeated. It would be tough to fake these readings, I think, because of the sheer number of tools they've got. There are so many moving parts, it would take more effort to bullshit the readings than do them for real!

I really can't overstate how lovely this seller is. Their interests inform their practices, and there's something very charming about that. It doesn't get much more genuine than someone doing good work just to do good work, for no other reason than they're good at it and it's fun. Once again, hell yeah.

Genuineness gets an obvious 5/5.

Like we discussed before, all readings are provided publicly on the seller's Tumblr blog, so it's pretty obvious when the services are completed! I would assume that the client would receive a message letting them know when it's posted. And, based on the other readings published, the client is directly tagged unless they request to be anonymous. So there are a few ways to know.

The seller leaves reblogs on for the readings so that the querent can reblog it, and they include a note at the end requesting that no one but the querent reblog. It's in these reblogs that most feedback is given, but it's sometimes in the replies.

I took a couple hours to scroll and read through all the replies and reblogs to see what folks are saying. (I didn't take any screenshots for the querents' privacy, since the reviews talk about details found in the readings.) Reviews are overall positive, and I'm not surprised. The quality here is very, very high. So high, in fact, that I decided to take a shot at it with a reading for myself. I rarely request readings from other people, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the reading I was given was both highly accurate and useful. This reader comes recommended by other verified sources in the community, which is, in my opinion, the best kind of verification one can have.

There weren't any overtly negative reviews that I could find, but I think a key detail here is that this blog isn't overly active. It's still pretty new, all things considered, so traffic is more of a trickle than a flood, especially with the seller's recent break from performing readings for others. The feedback this seller has received is thorough, though, and there were bits of advice for improvement sprinkled here and there.

So, overall, Verifiability receives a somewhat biased 5/5. The fact that my own friends, who are themselves accomplished diviners, are able to verify this person's services is a huge boost.

This seller's readings are entirely above-board. Their rules specifically state that they won't do divination for medical, legal, or financial advice. They also specifically say that they won't answer questions that cross lines of closed practices or that disrespects anyone else.

Their services are respectful from start to finish. I would dare to say it's part of their whole Brand.

Not only that, but based on the other blogs this person has, they're someone who is always learning. They very specifically Do Not do bigotry, which you'd think would be a low bar, but so many other sellers I've looked at in the last few months fail to clear it, so... y'know. Their pinned post also specifically asks for people to point out wrongdoing, misinformation, and problems in the content they post, which is a very green flag. Even if I hadn't had the pleasure of talking to this person directly, I'd still rate this person quite high here.

Anyways, by virtue of losing precisely no points in this category, Morality gets a 5/5.

AHooray, I get to fill out this category for the first time! Note that there's no rating for this category; it's just an addition with general tips for improvement. It's important to know that these aren't rules, and there are a thousand ways to approach marketing stuff. Opinions, thoughts, ideas, etc. etc. etc.

The first thing I'll say is a repeat of something I said earlier: Images for the more obscure types of readings would probably be a good idea. Either a photo of an example spread or an image that describes the spread in some way attached to the listing is something to consider. Ko-Fi's format for images on commissions is... it's weird. I personally don't have images for my commissions because I hate the way they appear in the list, so I really do think this is a personal choice either way.

Something I've noticed in a few places are a handful of typos. In the reading posts themselves, the spelling and grammar are really good! It's in the listings and disclaimers that there are a couple issues, which I think may be due to inexperience and perhaps fluster with regards to the legality of it all. Let me pull up the Terms and Conditions screenshot for the spread again:

It's just a little bit off. It works, to be sure, but the execution is a touch clumsy. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, Ko-Fi should be capitalized, capital-K and capital-F. And in the same paragraph, that last sentence is the strange one. Here's how I'd adjust it, personally:

"Please leave your Tumblr username in the request box so that I can reach you there if needed. If no Tumblr is provided, or if you don't have a Tumblr, I will use Ko-Fi to contact you."

In the final line, I would either place an article of "The" in front of "finished" to make it read "The finished reading will be published..." or make "reading" plural so that it reads "Finished readings will be published..." As it is right now, it isn't 100% grammatically correct.

I'm going to nitpick here a little as well: There are so many disclaimers. Too many, one might say. Having the instructions to contact the seller on Tumblr (or Ko-Fi) before buying in multiple places makes sense, as that's an unusual thing to require. However, I think that having the "entertainment disclaimer" on the main page description, in every listing's description, and in the Terms is excessive, at least on Ko-fi. Narrowing it down to just the main page and Terms is plenty. This makes it significantly easier to update in the future.

Now, note that on a platform like Etsy, having the "entertainment disclaimer" in the product description is good practice. This is because Etsy is a marketplace, and people often aren't clicking through to see the shop description and every other listing. They're using the search bar with a particular term and then clicking on something that's eye-catching. If the disclaimer isn't easily found in the product description, they run the risk of legal troubles.

Ko-Fi isn't really that marketplace. In general, sellers are linking to their pages on social media to an existing audience. Also, I'm of the opinion that Ko-Fi's presentation of Terms and Conditions (and the customizability of them) is significantly better than Etsy's. The text is big and obvious with a box you check and a button you click to say "yes, I've read this, and I agree with it." So, I don't think it's 100% necessary on every single listing.

If I had to pick one more thing with room for improvement, it's discoverability. When I scroll through the most common tags people use for finding tarot readers and other diviners, this seller rarely appears. Why? Because their readings are tagged using their unique filing system (which is a good thing to have!)... and not much else. They tag with "tarot readings," but that's all. Their pinned post with all their information has one tag for their filing system and nothing else.

In talking to this person, they wish they got more requests. It seems to me that they're not really reaching their audience because they're not reaching. In order to be found, you have to be in the tags. To be in the tags, you have to post and tag accordingly. Having a pinned post is all well and good, and reblogging yourself is fine, but that won't make you appear at the top of the tags.

Constantly posting about readings being open can be annoying for the diviner and potential querents. Spam should be avoided. But never posting means never getting discovered! Intermittent posts stating that your readings are open, defining the types of readings you're doing briefly, linking to your pinned/guidelines post, and then adding notes and links for commissions are ideal. Essentially, whenever this person finds themselves going "hm, I wish I was getting requests right now," they should make a fresh post on the readings blog with tags for things like "#free tarot readings," "#free divination," and "#paid divination." It's the best way to get discovered, which is the only way to get requests, which is the only way to get paid.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: This seller has a lot of potential. They've got a solid style that comes through clearly in their readings. Over time, as they get more confident, I really do think they'll see a fair amount of success.

Oh, also, raise your prices. Ten dollars for twenty cards is nonsense, unless the entire reading - discussing with the querent, drawing the cards, laying them out, doing the interpretation, writing up the analysis, doing edits, and publishing - takes no more than one hour.

Think in terms of a livable wage: How many hours does a reading take? How much are you trying to make per hour? How much is fair to make per hour? If this reading takes one hour, you're making $10.00 per hour. Is that really fair, even to a novice? And even if you think it is, is it fair to someone more advanced? The time spent honing one's skills is worth compensating. And, for that matter, so is the investment in the tools being used. Consider their cost. If they were all gifts, perhaps it doesn't matter, but think about it. If you were using one tarot deck purchased for $60.00, how many readings would it require to break even on that investment? What about if you're factoring an hourly wage?

Remember: You're not just drawing cards. You're spending time and energy beyond the motions of the divination. The time spent communicating, training, and writing is also part of the service being provided.

Food for thought.

The average of all six scores comes to a total of 4.6/5. Pretty damn good! It feels nice to rate someone so highly.

This seller and their shop have a ton of potential. I know I keep saying that, but it's because it's true! It's my number one takeaway.

Honestly, I think this shop is a really good example of someone who's uncertain but doing their best. They're already aware of their position as a diviner. It's a shockingly easy (and very tempting) thing to grift and lie and manipulate in this space. The fact that this seller is making efforts to be as transparent as possible and shares so much of their practice - holy shit, that list of tools, though! - means a ton.

In a magical services landscape choked with the smog of bullshit artists, frauds, and inflated egos, this seller is a breath of fresh air. I genuinely look forward to seeing their success.

Take notes, folks. This one's textbook.