Welcome to the Danger Zone
generic = the kiss of death
I was hanging out in a copywriting group the other day (what, doesn’t everyone nerd out over advertising? Just me? Shut up)… and got into an interesting discussion with a newer copywriter. This person was tasked with writing a “generic” ad that could be “reskinned” and used for multiple businesses, with different owners, in multiple…
Read Morenow what?
John had THE big idea. He invented the Facebook for golf lovers, and he just KNOWS he’s on track to rake in millions of dollars in the next couple years. All he needs are some investors and some beta users and a little buzz/word of mouth, right? It sells itself. So he starts on the…
Read Moreassume positive intent
Here’s an observation – especially in today’s world of frayed nerves and insta-snark kneejerk replies at anyone who’s even perceived at being “out of line”. What if the person reaching out to you didn’t intend it the way you interpreted it? We’d all go a lot farther by giving folks grace and assuming positive intent.…
Read Moreabdication vs delegation
I have a confession to make: Tech and I don’t get along. Unless it’s super intuitive and gettable-at-a-glance, I tend to give all technological solutions a wide berth. That’s not to say I’m a luddite – my smartphone is practically glued into my hand some days (an unhealthy habit, that’s for damn sure). And being…
Read Morewhy I don’t worry about my pricing
I was talking to a private coaching student of mine when the topic-which-shall-not-be-named came up: It’s a big, bad, ugly one that makes most people cringe: Money. More specifically, pricing. A lot of folks who start a freelance writing business see some of the successful writers off landing big contracts and think, “hey, I can…
Read Morebeing your own hype man
Have you ever wondered about this one? Is it possible to go in-house if you haven’t had a copy job before? The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is… that’s exactly what I did. And the good news? I didn’t have any kind of magical formula to follow… I was pretty much making…
Read Moregood marketing doesn’t stop at the sale
I see a lot of companies out there focused on the marketing. Considering I’m a marketer, I’d say that’s a good thing. Keeps me in business. I like that. But if you think marketing is going to magically save your company, I’m gonna stop just short of calling you willfully deluded. In reality, marketing is…
Read Moreeverybody (fails)… sometimes
I just dated myself with that title… but for all my 90s kids, admit it. You sang that one too, right? It just seemed so RIGHT to choose that song because it’s so true. Everybody hurts sometimes. And everybody fails sometimes. And yet we all pretend like failure is something avoidable. Like we can simply…
Read More2 phrases that could be holding you back
So last week I spent way too much time agonizing about sharing my story. In the end, I wrote it up and posted it… and got probably the most powerful reaction I’ve ever had to something I’ve written. If you missed it, you can check it out here. If you don’t have time to check…
Read Morewhy everyone needs a kudos file
When I was first starting out, there was something that wasn’t really talked about in entrepreneurship and owning your own business: It’s friggin’ lonely. Sure, the bros bragged about Lambos and parties and working from the beach (#laptoplifestyle #douche). A few more genuine folks talked about the freedom and flexibility and fun projects. I was…
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