Sometimes when you make a big change in your life, all hell breaks loose around you.
I mean, here you are, all pumped up from your brand-new and exciting decision to…
….leave your overworked/underpaid job
….start taking better care of yourself
….clear your clutter
….start charging what you’re worth
….actually work on your creative project for 15 minutes every day
And you’re feeling so good and brave!
You feel joyful and excited and have butterflies in your stomach!
And then….
And then….
And then…
someone you love gets sick (hospital sick)
or
you get fired (and you were going to quit anyway, but wow…fired???!!)
or
your lover gets mad (ugly mad)
or
your house falls apart (the roof literally caves in)
or
or
or
And it really seems like there is no way you can possibly follow through on your new commitment to your self, your creativity and your prosperity.
It really seems like you must abandon your new decision and go back – at least for a little while – to the way things were.
But please please don’t.
You Must Keep Your Resolve — Especially When It Seems Impossible.
These Troubles Are A Kind Of A Test.
Now I’m not saying that you should ignore the sick person or leave your lover or fail to fix the house.
I’m saying you’ve got to manage these “Helena Handbasket Moments” in A NEW WAY.
Welcome to Transformation-Induced Chaos.
When you think about it, it’s no surprise there’s so much turmoil — you are changing and growing at lightening speed and you’re going to get some splashback, right?
So the secret is not to take all this chaos as a sign to revert to your old behavior.
Sam’s Slightly Counter-Intuitive Two-Fold Remedy for Transformation-Induced Chaos
The two-fold trick to managing this might seem a bit counter-intuitive:
1) Focus first on yourself and your well-being
2) Focus on the money
So for #1, make sure that you are calm, rested, fed and centered. Nothing good happens when you are running around undernourished in any sense of the word.
Take time for your art, for your spiritual work and for the things that bring you joy. In this way, you’ll be able to negotiate the pesky “circumstances” of your life. (And yes, even the IRS, the threat of divorce and the shadow of bankruptcy is just a circumstance — it’s no reason to lose your balance : )
And for #2, keep your eye on your highest-income producing activities.
Stand firm in your rate increase.
Refuse to work cheap.
Draw a firm boundary around your creative-work time each day.
Celebrate your daily successes AND keep it up!
You will be much better able to help yourself and the people in your life if you are bringing in a healthy income.
(Please note: bringing in a healthy income will not suddenly turn you into a money-grubber, a shallow, materialistic person, nor will it take away from your street cred as a “real” artist. It will simply give you the freedom to make new choices.)
So while it may seem “selfish” to be out getting new clients when your family is in crisis, it’s actually an act of compassion. You are putting your own oxygen mask on first.
And it may seem “irresponsible” to keep your meditation time each morning when your lover is so upset, but it’s actually an act of true love. You are nourishing the love within yourself so you can better share it with another.
And while others may rush to judge you and your new priorities, their criticism is just a light breeze blowing by as you walk, run, rush pellmell or stagger into your new life.
Keep your eye on your prize.
What’s the prize?
A satisfying creative life filled with love.
How to change your life without running-around-crazy-like-your-hair’s-on-fire – aka – how to stay serene and joyful while you change the world is a bit of a challenge.
But if you’re ready for the chaos and you stand firm and fight, you can find a gateway to a whole new kind of heaven.
Have you said this sentence to yourself about your creative projects, your clutter or getting your business off the ground?
“I know what I need to do…I just have to make myself do it.”
Yep.
I’ve said it, too.
And it’s a huge, horrible lie.
The truth is this:
You are aware of one method that you could use to get your project moving and…you’re not interested in it.
It’s like you’re standing down at the bottom of a mountain….
You can see the top and you think, “Oh! I really want to go there!”
From where you are, you can see one big path up the mountain. Lots of people are on this path.
But for some reason, you don’t want to take that path. You think about it, but you don’t move.
It’s just…not for you.
You may even start to wonder if there’s another way up the mountain.
But then your big “rational” voice says, “Don’t be silly. There’s the road up the mountain. Just do it. Just make yourself do it. What’s your problem? Are you lazy? Why don’t you just do it already?”
This voice is amplified by helpful magazine articles and practical-minded friends and well-meaning fools who keep telling you, “There’s only this one way up the mountain and you know you need to climb the mountain so get on with it, why don’t you?”
And yet you don’t move.
You start to feel worse and worse — because you really do want to get to the top of the mountain. So maybe you work on your self-esteem or you say affirmations or you try enforcing your willpower… but still…
Nothing.
Zip.
No movement.
Here’s the truth:
You aren’t moving because, honey — THAT ISN’T YOUR PATH.
There IS a way for you to climb that mountain and accomplish your goals… it’s just not the way you think.
After all, you are a Creative Genius.
You think different.
Your life is about art and self-expression and healing people and laughter and loving and doing the kind of work that doesn’t even feel like work because you love it so much and you don’t even notice the time passing.
And The World Needs Your Art.
So Here’s My Proposition:
Session #1: Figure out which of your projects to work on first
Session #2: Create a personalized project plan that’s both fun & easy (your own personal way up the mountain)
Session #3: Break through your self-imposed barriers to success
Session #4: Discover the perfect vocabulary for expressing the truth about you & your work (useful for both marketing and general self-worth)
Session #5: Find your tribe of ideal clients, collaborators and colleagues
Session #6: Stay in action (no petering out halfway through, OK?) and CELEBRATE!
Plus there’s bonus “Office Hours” calls and a year-long membership in my 365 Club PLUS you get a free ticket to the 3-Day
Retreat in San Diego, June 20-23, “The Big Yes: How To Overcome Procrastination, Perfectionism and Self-Doubt and Say YES to
Your Creative Prosperity”
Fun, right?
So if you’re ready to create your own success and make joyful progress on your projects in your own (ididiosyncratic, genius-y) ways, then check out The Monster Get It Done 6-Week Teleclass page here: www.MonsterGetItDone.com and sign yourself up!
(And if it turns out to not be the right thing for you, no worries – just let me know before May 8th and I’ll cheerfully refund your tuition. No questions asked. No hassle. No problem.)
I’m ready to help you find YOUR way up the mountain, so let me know – are you in?
P.S. Feeling ambivalent? Here are three steps you could take right now:
1) Watch, listen or download the MP3 of the free preview call — Get Unstuckified: Why You Procrastinate On The Important Stuff and What To Do About It (it’s all the way down at the bottom of the page)
2) Schedule a free 15-minute “evaluation” call with me here: https://www.timetrade.com/book/WWDYQ
3) If your intuition is tugging on your sleeve and you don’t feel like doing the “evaluation” call, then why not just jump in and register for The Monster Get It Done Teleclass
You can get started for as little as $199 — if you discover it’s not right for you, just let me know by May 8th and I’ll cheerfully refund your tuition, no questions asked.
Check out: www.MonsterGetItDone.com
Thank you. – SSB.
Why I Get Mushy About Infusioncon
Well, first of all let me say that I am the last person on earth one would expect to be in love with a software company’s annual conference. But Infusioncon changed me.
Please note: I have no business or marketing background, no training in computers or software. But back in 2009 when started working for myself full time, I found Infusionsoft, and it’s been true love ever since.
First, let me tell you what Infusionsoft is: it’s an all-in-one system whereby you can send emails, track who opens and clicks on those emails and also sell people stuff. It’s like having a way to send nice emails, an extra-detailed address book that remembers everything a person has ever done and a shopping cart system to sell your stuff — all in one.
It’s a huge, beautiful machine.
Now, back to that conference . . .
Back in 2010, I attended my first Infusioncon, slightly shocked to be honored as an Ultimate Marketer Finalist. I presented the story of my business in front of a thousand people. I wrote Ode to the Entrepreneur for them and they gave me a standing ovation. You can see it on the tape here: the proof that poetry and business can make great bedfellows.
That Infusioncon was the first time I ever really embraced my new identity as a business person, and I was able to do it easily because Infusioncon is a convention of THE NICEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. The CEO, the management, the tech support staff… unnervingly kind, every last one of them. Even their customers are crazy-nice. Which is why it’s so fun to hang out with them all once a year.
Really, you must go.
This year it’s March 27-29 at the swanky Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Your brain will melt (in a good way) from all the information and ideas – there’s a ton of expert sessions & trainings and this year my hero David Allen is speaking and – wait for it – so is Daymond John from Shark Tank, the world’s greatest television show.
I love them so much that I’ve become an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant (do I look smarter?) and I am proud to represent them, especially to the creatives, iconoclasts, writers, artists, performers, poets, teachers, geniuses, weirdos and wild bunch-ers who make up my community and might not otherwise hear about this stuff.
So if you’re interested in learning about Infusionsoft, check out the demo and see if it’s right for you:
https://crm.infusionsoft.com/go/viewdemo/samanthabennett/
(you bet that’s an affiliate link – I’m a Certified Consultant for heaven’s sake.)
And if you want to learn more about small business sales & marketing in three days than most people learn in a lifetime, check out Infusioncon: http://2013.infusioncon.com/
Anyway, that’s my love letter.
Join me at Infusioncon 2013, won’t you?
Discover How To Feel Great Writing About Your Creative Projects and Entrepreneurial Endeavors Online
Hi — This is #4 of 7 days I’m sending out a series of articles about how to do better & feel better about marketing your creative projects and entrepreneurial endeavors – it’s a promo for this fabulous new teleclass called www.WriteRightNowVIP.com that starts this Thursday, May 24th.
So before we get to the article part I want to talk for a sec about the class…
Answer me honesty — would better, more TRUTH-FILLED “sales” copy earn you an additional $100 a month? An additional $500? What if we could create you some materials that would up your income by $1000 in the next eight weeks?
(And I’m not guaranteeing that we can, of course — I’m just inviting you to consider the possibility. Because it IS possible.)
Would you like some personalized assistance from 2 small business creative entrepreneurial experts?
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY before the price goes up tomorrow. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
“These articles are AMAZING.” – M.W.
Wes & I are happy to provide as much free help as we can AND I really want to urge you to consider enrolling in the Write Right Now VIP workshop so you can get the BEST INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS from us personally and one-on-one.
We offer “satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded.” That’s how confident we are that you will benefit enormously from this course.
OK — so here’s #4 of the “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” article as derived from the free on-demand webinar that Wes Schaeffer & I did the other day —
—–> Did you miss it? Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
And, FYI, here are all “7 Copy Writing Mistakes…” topics:
1 of 7: I don’t want to feel sales-y…(read this one here)
2 of 7: I’m too wordy… (read this one here)
3 of 7: How to get started & how to find the time to keep going (read this one here)
4 of 7: What’s REALLY effective copy writing & how do you know?
5 of 7: Beat perfectionism once and for all
6 of 7: How to discover what’s really going to be compelling for your audience
7 of 7: What to do if you feel constrained by having to write for SEO, academic writing, your boss…
How To Know If Your Copy Is Really Effective
“I know half of my advertising dollars are being wasted…I only wish I knew which half.”
– John Wanamaker, Founder of Wanamaker’s Department Stores; now Macy’s
One of the great truisms of “traditional” advertising is that no one is really sure if it works or not.
And one of the advantages to being a small, nimble entrepreneur in the age of Internet advertising is that you can test all kinds of different strategies quite inexpensively.
Even better, you can see & measure your results instantly.
But only if you know what you are measuring and why.
So…What’s My “Bounce Rate” Anyway?
We’ll get more into this during the Write Right Now VIP workshop, but just for starters, let’s talk about GOOGLE.
You know that Google determines where you show up in their search engine results, but do you know how them make that determination?
Nope.
Neither does anybody else.
Not really, anyway. It’s an ever-changing algorithm that they keep top secret.
But we can create our own metrics by looking at is the following data from your website:
Bounce Rate
Number of Pages Viewed
Time on Page
And you should be looking at those numbers, too. Let’s talk about what they mean.
(And if you don’t have Google Analytics on every page of your website, do that now: http://www.google.com/analytics/. And I keep track of my metrics & got this info using Craig Jacobson’s www.JuicedMetrics.com. That’s not an affiliate link, BTW…I just dig his stuff)
Bounce Rate – You Want It To Be Under 70%
That’s Google measuring how many people click over to your site and then immediately click away. They assume that if you have good content, people won’t instantly “bounce” away.
Number of Pages Viewed – 2.5 Is Good
More is better, of course. That’s why you’ll often see blog posts that say, “read more” and take you to another page. That counts as an additional page view.
Time on Page – More Than 2 Minutes Is Good
Again, longer is better. Video is great for getting people to stick around, as are juicy blog posts.
Now PAY ATTENTION because this is the important part…
Here is the simple secret to GREAT content creation:
Content = What You Wish Someone Had Told You Ten Years Ago.
That’s it.
If you write an article a week explaining some aspect of your work that you wish you had known about 5 or 10 years ago, you will be AUTOMATICALLY creating content that is SEO-friendly.
SEO = The Questions Your People Are Asking (Typing Into Google) Right Now
So let’s put this all together:
– if your Bounce Rate is high then your SEO might be off (in other words, people aren’t finding what they expect to find when they come to your site.)
– if your Time on Page is low, you might need to create “stickier” content.
– if your Number of Pages Viewed is low, you might need to improve your Site Navigation by making it clearer where they should click and why.
Make sense? Good. Now go write something.
P.S. Of course this all varies wildly from person to person and from industry to industry, which is why Wes & I offer a PRIVATE, one-on-one session with each of us to every Write Right Now VIP workshop participant.
Want more? Here’s how to get more…
You deserve to have your business be financially sustainable, values-driven and joyful. Not easy, mind you – but joyful.
And improving your copy writing is the NUMBER ONE key to your success.
So…
I’ve partnered up with my good friend Wes Schaeffer from www.TheSalesWhisperer.com – he’s an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant & he’s a full-on, small-business genius with a GREAT sense of humor – everyone says we make a great team : )
So you’re invited to check out our Free Preview Event – called “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
It’s for creative entrepreneurs, frustrated small business people…
and YOU if you know that if only your…
– web pages
– bios (don’t you HATE writing Bios? We’ll show you the EASY way!)
– blog posts
– product descriptions
– social media posts (what are you supposed to say on Twitter? Really?)
– press releases
– emails (like this one!)
…were more authentic & more compelling, then you could SELL MORE STUFF, which would mean you would be helping more people! (Which is why we do all this, right?)
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
– You want to promote your business…but you get tongue-tied when people ask you what you do.
– You would love to Blog and Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & whatever… but you’re not really sure what to say.
– You know your web pages are old & boring…but the idea of redoing it all makes you want to go lay down.
– You’re a creative entrepreneur who’s over-worked.
– You’ve got 37 ideas, a bunch of new projects and plus there’s your actual business…and then there’s the family and the kids and… good heavens, you don’t have the TIME to write new copy!
– You’re ready for financial success and you don’t have time to screw around. You need real answers from experts who really GET IT.
– You are ready to learn a NEW way to write copy that’s easy, fun and…wait for it…. PROFITABLE.
Then this event is for you!
Here’s what people said about it:
“so down to earth, and so real, and are SO encouraging!” – D.D., California
“That was very helpful! Thanks, you two 🙂 ” – R.P., Los Angeles, CA
“I enjoy your laser sharp humor as well as succinct comments and great insights. Always inspirational and instructive.” – C. D., Washington
“7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
You can listen online AND you can download the MP3.
I’ve been in the trenches & learned a lot about small business marketing in the past bunch of years and I’m thrilled to have this chance to share my insights with you.
YOU KNOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR GOOD WORK.
But if they never hear about it, they can’t benefit from it, right?
And please let me know how things are going with you – you know I love to hear from you!
P.S. And yes, of course this is a preview event for the Write Right Now VIP workshop – but it’s not a pitch-fest – you know I hate that, too. This is TONS of useful content, tailored just for you. In fact, if you want to check out what the Write Right Now VIP workshop is all about, you can go here: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
– SSB.
Hi — This is #3 of 7 days I’m sending out a series of articles about how to do better & feel better about marketing your creative projects and entrepreneurial endeavors. It’s a promo for my fabulous new www.WriteRightNowVIP.com teleclass that starts this Thursday, May 24 – check it out! We offer “satisfaction guaranteed or your money cheerfully refunded.” That’s how confident we are that you will benefit enormously from this course.
Either way, I love how much you all are loving the tips & information in these articles.
“Thanks some of the tips have been working already!! I look forward to listening again and telling my friends.” – Deb Proctor, Buenos Aires
Did you miss “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” free on-demand webinar that Wes Schaeffer & did the other day — ??
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here – http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
And, FYI, here are all “7 Copy Writing Mistakes…” topics:
1 of 7: I don’t want to feel sales-y…(read this one here)
2 of 7: I’m too wordy… (read this one here)
3 of 7: How to get started & how to find the time to keep going
4 of 7: What’s REALLY effective copy writing & how do you know?
5 of 7: Beat perfectionism once and for all
6 of 7: How to discover what’s really going to be compelling for your audience
7 of 7: What to do if you feel constrained by having to write for SEO, academic writing, your boss…
How To Get Started And How To Stay Motivated
OK – I’m just going to say this straight out:
If you are a creative entrepreneur, then you have 2 gigs. You have your “real” gig – the job or work that you actually do (consultant, coach, practitioner, actor, healer, chef, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy…) and you have the gig of marketing your gig.
Congratulations. You just won two jobs.
It’s vitally important that you be honest with yourself about whether or not you are willing to accept both jobs.
Because if you just want to do your work and you don’t want to do the marketing, then that’s fine! Just make sure you don’t need the money.
But if you need your business to be profitable or to have a bigger audience, then you’ve got to come to terms with doing the marketing — or, as I described it in email 1 of 7 of this series, “Marketing Is Just Making Friends With People You Don’t Know Are Your Friends Yet.”
Once you commit fully to BOTH of your gigs, you’ll find your motivation to get started grows.
Now Commit To Writing Every Single Day No Matter What
I’ve created a Daily 5-Minute Writing Assignment for the Write Right Now VIP workshop so that you will get in the habit of writing something (a Facebook post, a blog post, a “thank you” email, a love letter, a Tweet…) every. single. day. for eight weeks.
Making your copy writing an AUTOMATIC HABIT helps:
diminish perfectionism (after all, you’re going to work on it again tomorrow, so who cares if it’s not perfect today?)
reduce your anxiety around getting started
end the argument you’ve been having with yourself about how you really should be writing more
But you are perfectly capable of creating a list of assignments for yourself. You don’t need me to send you a “Daily Goose”…
Maybe you make Monday your Twitter Day and Tuesday your Blog Post Day and Wednesday your Sales Page Day…
Or maybe you decide to spend a month just writing, split testing and perfecting your Landing Pages….
Or spend two weeks playing around with Facebook Ads…
Do whatever you know will help get the truth about what you do in front of the people who really need you. And if you don’t know exactly what that is, then you’d either get some expert advice (like from me & Wes) or you best start experimenting, honey!
And How To Keep Going
Get a buddy.
Accountability is a an incredibly valuable tool.
After all, if I promise myself I’m going to do something, well…I may or may not do it. But if I promise YOU that I’m going to do something – well, shoot! You know I’m going to do it.
BTW, the Write Right Now VIP workshop offers you a PRIVATE Facebook page where you can find like-minded creative geniuses. You can post your wins, find accountability buddies or just stay inspired by watching everyone else. An amazing resource!
Find this helpful? Here’s how to get more…
You deserve to have your business be financially sustainable, values-driven and joyful. Not easy, mind you – but joyful.
And improving your copy writing is the NUMBER ONE key to your success.
So…
I’ve partnered up with my good friend Wes Schaeffer from www.TheSalesWhisperer.com – he’s an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant & he’s a full-on, small-business genius with a GREAT sense of humor – everyone says we make a great team : )
So you’re invited to check out our Free Preview Event – called “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
It’s for creative entrepreneurs, frustrated small business people…
and YOU if you know that if only your…
– web pages
– bios (don’t you HATE writing Bios? We’ll show you the EASY way!)
– blog posts
– product descriptions
– social media posts (what are you supposed to say on Twitter? Really?)
– press releases
– emails (like this one!)
…were more authentic & more compelling, then you could SELL MORE STUFF, which would mean you would be helping more people! (Which is why we do all this, right?)
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
– You want to promote your business…but you get tongue-tied when people ask you what you do.
– You would love to Blog and Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & whatever… but you’re not really sure what to say.
– You know your web pages are old & boring…but the idea of redoing it all makes you want to go lay down.
– You’re a creative entrepreneur who’s over-worked.
– You’ve got 37 ideas, a bunch of new projects and plus there’s your actual business…and then there’s the family and the kids and… good heavens, you don’t have the TIME to write new copy!
– You’re ready for financial success and you don’t have time to screw around. You need real answers from experts who really GET IT.
– You are ready to learn a NEW way to write copy that’s easy, fun and…wait for it…. PROFITABLE.
Then this event is for you!
Here’s what people said about it:
“so down to earth, and so real, and are SO encouraging!” – D.D., California
“That was very helpful! Thanks, you two 🙂 ” – R.P., Los Angeles, CA
“I enjoy your laser sharp humor as well as succinct comments and great insights. Always inspirational and instructive.” – C. D., Washington
“7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here
(or paste this link into your browser window: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2)
You can listen online AND you can download the MP3.
I’ve been in the trenches & learned a lot about small business marketing in the past bunch of years and I’m thrilled to have this chance to share my insights with you.
YOU KNOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR GOOD WORK.
But if they never hear about it, they can’t benefit from it, right?
And please let me know how things are going with you – you know I love to hear from you!
P.S. And yes, of course this is a preview event for the Write Right Now VIP workshop – but it’s not a pitch-fest – you know I hate that, too. This is TONS of useful content, tailored just for you. In fact, if you want to check out what the Write Right Now VIP workshop is all about, you can go here: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
Thank you!
YAY! Here’s #2 of the “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” article as derived from the free on-demand webinar that Wes Schaeffer & did the other day —
Watch or download the free on-demand webinar here: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2
And, FYI, here are all 7 Copy Writing Mistakes…” topics:
1 of 7: I don’t want to feel sales-y…(read this one here)
2 of 7: I’m too wordy…
3 of 7: How to get started & how to find the time to keep going
4 of 7: What’s REALLY effective copy writing & how do you know?
5 of 7: Beat perfectionism once and for all
6 of 7: How to discover what’s really going to be compelling for your audience
7 of 7: What to do if you feel constrained by having to write for SEO, academic writing, your boss…
I’m Too Wordy…
Well, honey, it’s tempting to just say, “Use fewer words” : ) But that’s not really the issue, now is it?
One part of the issue is that you want to tell everybody everything about your work right away.
Think Of It This Way: A “Sales Funnel” Is What Takes You From First Glance To Marriage
If you imagine that you look across a crowded room and make eye contact with someone who looks interesting to you, then you would find a way to strike up a conversation, right?
And you wouldn’t start the conversation by giving them every last detail about where you grew up, would you?
Of course not – that would be weird.
You would start the conversation by saying something like, “Hi.”
And then you might give them a compliment or offer to buy them a drink or make some pithy observation.
Same thing goes for potential clients: begin the conversation in a way that demonstrates that you are genuinely interested in them.
But there’s more to it, isn’t there?
The marketing conundrum of 2012: people have short attention spans but they still need to be convinced, persuaded and soothed.
So you need to use as many words as necessary to convey a feeling of confidence in your prospects, but no more.
(In other words, shut up when they are ready to buy…but how do you know?)
So try using VISUAL CUES to break up long copy into shorter, more easily understood segments.
For example, you might create an email or sales page that has:
- A compelling headline (bold) that piques their interest
- A fantastic opening paragraph
- An image that supports your text
- A caption under the image that makes a point or encourages an action
- Several sub-headers (bold, colorful) that break up the text
One of the participants on the “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money & Keeping You From The Success You Deserve” noticed that it was just like creating a magazine article — brilliant! YES!
Here’s the logic:
The most-read parts of any document are 1) The headline 2) The opening paragraph 3) The image 4) The captions 5) Sub-headers
Taking the time to make these elements intriguing pays off when you remember:
No one reads anything – they only LOOK at it.
So making those elements really groovy will help your reader determine – at first glance – whether they should go back and actually read the rest or not.
This gives you the punch of “short copy” combined with the detail of “long copy.”
Find this helpful? Here’s how to get more…
You deserve to have your business be financially sustainable, values-driven and joyful. Not easy, mind you – but joyful.
And improving your copy writing is the NUMBER ONE key to your success.
So…
I’ve partnered up with my good friend Wes Schaeffer from www.TheSalesWhisperer.com – he’s an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant & he’s a full-on, small-business genius with a GREAT sense of humor – everyone says we make a great team : )
So you’re invited to check out our Free Preview Event – called “7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money”
—–> Watch or download the free preview event here: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2
It’s a free on-demand webinar for creative entrepreneurs, frustrated small business people…
and YOU if you know that if only your…
– web pages
- bios (don’t you HATE writing Bios? We’ll show you the EASY way!)
– blog posts
- product descriptions
– social media posts (what are you supposed to say on Twitter? Really?)
– press releases
- emails (like this one!)
…were more authentic & more compelling, then you could SELL MORE STUFF, which would mean you would be helping more people!
(Which is why we do all this, right?)
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
– You want to promote your business…but you get tongue-tied when people ask you what you do.
– You would love to Blog and Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest & whatever… but you’re not really sure what to say.
– You know your web pages are old & boring…but the idea of redoing it all makes you want to go lay down.
– You’re a creative entrepreneur who’s over-worked.
– You’ve got 37 ideas, a bunch of new projects and plus there’s your actual business…and then there’s the family and the kids and… good heavens, you don’t have the TIME to write new copy!
– You’re ready for financial success and you don’t have time to screw around. You need real answers from experts who really GET IT.
– You are ready to learn a NEW way to write copy that’s easy, fun and…wait for it…. PROFITABLE.
Then this event is for you!
Here’s what people said about it:
“so down to earth, and so real, and are SO encouraging!” – D.D., California
“That was very helpful! Thanks, you two 🙂 ” – R.P., Los Angeles, CA
”I enjoy your laser sharp humor as well as succinct comments and great insights. Always inspirational and instructive.” – C. D., Washington
7 Copy Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money
(and how to fix them WITHOUT having to hire an expensive copywriter)
with Small Business Experts
Wes Schaeffer & Samantha Bennett
—–> Watch or download the free preview event here
: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2
You can listen online AND you can download the MP3.
I’ve been in the trenches & learned a lot about small business marketing in the past bunch of years and I’m thrilled to have this chance to share my insights with you.
YOU KNOW THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR GOOD WORK.
But if they never hear about it, they can’t benefit from it, right?
Please join me & my pal Wes on this Really Useful Webinar
–
—–> Watch or download the free preview event here
: http://bit.ly/WRNVIP2
And please let me know how things are going with you – you know I love to hear from you!
P.S. And yes, of course this is a preview event for the Write Right Now VIP workshop – but it’s not a pitch-fest – you know I hate that, too. This is TONS of useful content, tailored just for you. In fact, if you want to check out what the Write Right Now VIP workshop is all about, you can go here: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
If you have an intuition that the full Write Right Now VIP workshop is going to be right for you, then sign up ASAP and you can save yourself a PILE OF MONEY. (Like $500…) so take a look: http://writerightnowvip.com/info/
- SSB.
