Before we get into the journaling…Do you know why the work of building a business is so hard?It’s because we’re building something from scratch.We’re creating something that, at one time, existed nowhere but in our hearts and minds.This may sound blasphemous—it did to my heart when the thought first arose—but creating and running a business […]
Here I sit, in my family room, looking out to the lush outdoors, as if through an imaginary picture frame. In the foreground, in front of the frame, is my new Chinese money plant. It’s doing quite well. It’s also bringing me money, as I knew it would.Photo by
My oldest son introduced our family to a new card game. Odds are you don’t know about this card game. It’s not for sale at Walmart or at your local toy store. And the reason I’m sharing this with you is that playing it just once changed my entire worldview — my worldview as a human being […]
Lately, I have been thinking about how I might be living a Plan B life. And what it would mean to live a Plan A life. What would it look like? How would it feel to greet every day with passion, and a desire to serve? These thoughts roam my mind, as if on a field trip through a […]
Abundance. What a beautiful. luxurious word. Even the way it sounds feels abundant. Ah … bun … dance. There is a dance there; do you see it? Abundance is a dance between the world and its inhabitants. It’s also a dance between you and your prospects. And because your marketing content represents you on the web, you can say that […]
I have two short-short stories to share with you. Story #1 I found a yellowed piece of paper in my daughter’s room. On it was a handwritten poem: Stephen kissed me in the spring, Robin in the fall, But Colin only looked at me, And never kissed at all. Stephen’s kiss was lost in jest, Robin’s lost in play, But the kiss in […]
Greatness. Isn’t that what we digital entrepreneurs aspire to? We want to be recognized as authorities in our fields. We want to hold influence over the shape of our worlds, and our clients’ worlds. And, we want a large — okay, let’s be real here — a MASSIVE following. We want a tribe full of people who look up […]
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a small business owner, marketer, or entrepreneur selling online products, services, or both. And, dag-nabit! People just aren’t buying. You know your offer is holy-hell valuable. If prospects would just say YES! If they’d just sign up now, click here, BUY … they’d get to experience your wallet-busting value, up-close-and-personal like. With […]
Do you consider yourself “creative?”Confession.I never used to consider myself “creative.”People would ask me what I did for a living, and I’d tell them I’m a marketing writer, copywriter, editor.They’d say, “Oh wow! You must be really creative.”I’d fight it!“No,” I’d say. “I’m not really creative. I write educational and relationship-building content for businesses; it’s […]
How are you when it comes to making offers to your tribe? I admit that making offers doesn’t come easy to me. It’s strange, in a way. I mean … here we are, out on the web doing business, wanting to share our transformative gifts with the world. We know we have gifts; our brilliance shines brightly!We believe in […]
One shitty Monday morning, a perfect storm of experiences brought a problem of mine — and, I suspect, a problem of yours — into perfect focus.That morning, a new client scheduled a call for the afternoon, a call that would require MAJOR work in advance on my part. Thanks for the notice, yo!I had no idea […]
Yesterday, something happened that took me aback. Like … I literally sat at my desk for several minutes, looking up and down, and back and forth, between the air above my head in the room in front of me and a text I received through Messenger. Before I show you … a little backstory. I had been stressing […]
This morning, I picked up Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered, by Austin Kleon.So far, it’s been an easy read about finding your tribe by putting yourself out there every day.“Every day?!” you might say, eyes wide, mouth open.Photo by Jan Canty on UnsplashYes, Kleon says. It doesn’t have […]
What can happen when you swipe random images from the Internet to use in your contentYears ago, I had been blogging and creating content as usual for my website, pulling images off of the Internet wherever and whenever I wanted.I’d heard tales of people being hit with lawsuits for doing this, but I thought, “It’ll […]
Right now, your Soul’s Purpose is searching for you. I recently read an article by Ponny SH Lam called, “Do You Choose your Soul Purpose, Or Does It Choose You?” In it, Ponny talks about how, when she was a university Career Advisor, the Universe sparked her soul by way of a chance encounter at a fast-food […]
Forget the “ain’t nobody got time for that” memeI had a Zoom meeting with my mastermind recently. (By the way, I highly recommend masterminding … SO GOOD!) We were talking about the progress we’ve been making in our online businesses. That’s when one of the members mentioned something she’d heard from some online guru, something about how sometimes […]
Where’d consistency in communication go?While poking around on my Blog Post Ideas spreadsheet looking for goodies to write about, I came across a Harvard Business Review blog post by JD Schramm, which touches on the importance of Consistency in Communication. In recounting the story of a professor who for years and years consistently sent a typewritten […]
Am I the right writer for you?Dear reader, Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. My guess is that you’re on this page for one or more reasons. You may be looking for: The Blog Post Inspiration Deck (coming soon!)A fabulous marketing writerA supercalifragilisticexpialidocious editorPricing for writing and editing servicesInspiration for your own writing or editing bizInformation on that wacky […]
Live from the farm….Since I started the 30 Day Blog Post Challenge a week ago, I’ve realized a few things about blogging and want to share them with you. 1. Regarding that blogging calendar…. A blogging calendar has turn out to be not very helpful to me during the Challenge. I find that the topics on […]
What’s most important to you in your work?Take a look at these moving words from Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. I have a definition of success. For me, it’s very simple. It’s not about wealth and fame and power. It’s about how many shining eyes I […]
Imperfect action ≠ crappy content The gurus say that imperfect action is better than no action. In a way, I agree: It’s better to have an “imperfect” something out there than nothing at all. BUT. A huge BUT. Imperfect doesn’t mean “crap.” Glaring content issues that shout “CRAP!” to everyone Imperfect doesn’t mean you let content out of the house with […]
Writer Experienced with Forklifts Wanted. I am looking to hire the services of a freelance writer who has some form of experience with forklifts. The writer will showcase his or her knowledge of operating a forklift by providing unique and informative articles. Please reply with details about your experience.Although the forklife ad is actually a […]
Why do bad things happen to good marketers? Are you one of those people who always seems to run into glitches and snafus on the web — terrible email marketing messages, broken forms, unreadable pdfs, nonsensical writing, mystifying online shopping processes? Then you, my friend, may be, like me, a damn-good, empathetic marketer. It’s my theory […]
When online chat goes wrong: Frustration, multiplied Are you now using or have you ever used Audible.com? I was a customer several years ago, paying $14.95 a month for an ebook, and stockpiling ebooks when they went on sale. Finally, when my ebook library far outgrew my capacity to listen, I put my account on hold. […]
Here at The Write Idea, I’m all about helping you make life easier for the people who visit your website and read your content — including content on your website popups. To that end, here’s a lesson learned straight from this morning’s browsing session.The problem: Vague website popupsSo … I’m about to embark on a passion […]
Softness. Such a lovely word. It brings to mind pillows and clouds. Feathers, warm towels, and cuddly kittens. But I doubt “softness” is a term you’d associate with a struggling business, so it’s probably not a “solution” that’s crossed your mind. Whether you’re finding it hard to win customers, attract prospects, gain traction, or even break even […]
While pursuing a master’s certificate in professional and technical writing, I dabbled in a grant-writing class. Something I read in that class stuck with me because it’s as relevant to content marketing and content writing as it is to grant writing.From Miner and Miner, 2005, p.5., emphasis mine:During the review process, [sponsors] discern among proposals by […]
