To get real results, you’re going to need to write — a lot. That is non-negotiable.
We aren’t going to sugarcoat how difficult writing can be. We write tens of thousands of words each month, and we know the discipline required to do that consistently.
We also know what it feels like when writing is easy (when pieces “write themselves,” as we like to say) and when every word on the page feels like a knife fight.
We regularly experience both. That’s the reality all of us are signing up for. Welcome to The Club.
This module will share a few thoughts about what it takes to write well, write consistently, and enjoy the process.
It’s important to say right up front that you do not need to be, or think of yourself as needing to be, a professional, — capital W — Writer to write emails that engage your audience, connect with them, move them, and turn prospects into customers.
Nothing in the Art of Email requires that you, or someone on your team (if you’re not doing the writing) are or become a world-class writer.
However, writing well helps. A lot. Fortunately, writing is a skill that improves with practice, and you’re going to have many opportunities to practice.
This lesson is about helping you sharpen this skill.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” — Stephen King
Our first recommendation is to make a habit of writing every day. If you’re not doing it already, we highly recommend that you begin writing Morning Pages immediately.
Morning Pages are simple — write three pages, long-hand, first thing after you wake up every day. Write whatever comes to mind, in whatever order, without editing.
Morning Pages are less about writing and more about externalizing your thinking onto the page. Let the thoughts flow in whatever order they arrive, and don’t worry about trying to make sense of anything.
Just keep returning every day and you’ll be stunned by what happens.
Commit to 30 days of Morning Pages and, if you’re so inclined, reach out to us on Day 31 to say thanks. We’re that confident you’ll find the practice transformative. We certainly have.
Next, it’s important to mention that we’re writers, not copywriters.
We’re not suggesting there’s anything wrong with copywriting. However, the underlying intention of copywriting is to sell, and that orientation creates second order consequences that may undermine your longer-term goals.
“Failing to consider second- and third-order consequences is the cause of a lot of painfully bad decisions, and it is especially deadly when the first inferior option confirms your own biases. Never seize on the first available option, no matter how good it seems, before you’ve asked questions and explored.” — Ray Dalio (billionaire investor)
We recommend, instead, that you think about writing conversationally (unless your audience expects something different).
When you sit down to write, be yourself. Don’t try to “write copy.” Just write. Get thoughts out of your head and onto the page like you’re talking to a friend, read what you’ve written out loud occasionally (or have your computer read it to you), edit as needed, and everything will be OK.
What looks like ‘good writing’ often is more about the connection between what you write and your audience’s needs and desires. If you get that connection right, everything is easier. Get it wrong, and nothing is easy.
To help improve that connection, we recommend our two-part Audience & Offer Masterclass.
When you commit to any creative endeavor, including writing, you’ll run into Resistance eventually.
We’ve written about Resistance (and how to defeat it) in a previous installment of our Emergent Marketing Newsletter.
Here’s an excerpt from an email titled Courage & Perseverance, Part III (Aug 6, 2021):
This week’s topic is Resistance — Steven Pressfield’s name for anything that gets in our way when we sit down to create (or think about creating anything meaningful).
Resistance insists something is missing…
We’re not ready yet…
Our ideas aren’t good enough…
That no one wants what we have to offer…
…and then Resistance — like the sly ol’ fox it is — offers us some “easier,” more attractive alternatives.
Check email, see what’s new on Facebook, watch Netflix…
We can always get started tomorrow, mañana…
Between you, us, and everything we all want to accomplish, Resistance lies waiting in the shadows.
We’d love to tell you there’s a pill or potion you could take to make it go away, but the truth is there isn’t. (We’ve certainly looked for it.)
That’s the bad news out the way.
Now let’s talk about the good news…
Once you understand what Resistance is and how it shows up, you can beat it.
And, if you’re a creator, there’s nothing more important than knowing that you have the power to show up every day and create.
Every success we want to achieve and experience we want to have — business, personal, and financial — is the other side of the creative process.
And Resistance is the gatekeeper.
Resistance appears in the form of two thoughts…
The first is some variation of “I’m not working on the ‘right’ thing,” and the second is “I’m working on the right thing, but I’m not doing it the ‘right’ way.”
(Often, those two ideas are combined, and Resistance tells us we’re not working on the right thing and we’re not doing our work the right way! That’s a perfect recipe for creative despair.)
Both of these thoughts create doubt, and doubt prevents progress.
“Creativity is an act of defiance.” — Twyla Tharp (The Creative Habit)
Take a moment to think about something you want to bring into the world. It could be as simple as writing an effective landing page or as complex as starting a new business venture.
Now imagine the thoughts that get in your way.
Take a moment and write those down (digital or analog), and then look closely at what you’ve written.
We’ll think you’ll find that each falls within one of the two ‘buckets’ we described above. Maybe not exactly, but thematically. Recognizing those themes is powerful.
This knowledge is a vaccine against Resistance.
Now that you understand how Resistance works, you can defeat it.
Let’s use an example from our Momentum Builder Workshop to illustrate the point…
Before we do that, however, we need to be honest about something a little embarrassing. It’s important that we’re transparent about our work, so we don’t give the illusion that we always have the answers in advance.
Most of the time, ideas don’t show up fully formed and ready to be shared. Instead, we often discover our best ideas while we’re doing the work. (There’s a powerful lesson in there for all of us.)
When we created the Momentum Builder Workshop earlier this year, we didn’t deliberately think about preventing Resistance.
Our goal was to create a workshop where participants would complete the minimum viable infrastructure with content that pulls an audience forward over five weeks (if they were willing to do the work).
However, looking back at the workshop and reviewing feedback from participants, we realized that we had reverse-engineered Kryptonite to defeat Resistance.
(In systems theory terminology, defeating Resistance is an emergent property of the workshop, not something we created deliberately. Or, in layman’s terms, it was a happy accident!)
Yes, we know we’d seem smarter if we told you that we planned this all along, but integrity matters and we always want to describe how our process really works so you know what to expect when you sit down to work.
Returning to our original point, to beat Resistance we need:
- a clear vision of what we’re trying to accomplish and why that’s important,
- to know that we’re doing the right work (minimum viable infrastructure) and that we’re doing that work the right way (theme, frame, and content that pulls readers forward).
That’s it.
That’s the magic combination of ingredients that prevents Resistance from slowing us down.
“But it never gets totally easy. Creating every day, I just want to say something that – I may sound glib about this stuff, but every day is still, for me, all of that stuff that you have and everybody has, the insecurity, the fear that you’re not good enough, I have to wrestle with every day. Mediating, the Morning Pages and long walks. You have to — every day it’s about building a practice that enables you to try to forget that you’re afraid.” — Brian Koppelman, co-writer/producer (with David Levine) of Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen, Billions, etc. (2014 interview with Tim Ferriss)
In addition to the specific use case described in this email series, you can use these insights to defeat Resistance more broadly in all of your work.
Start by establishing a clear, precise vision for the end result you’re trying to create and an honest assessment of where you are in relationship to that desired result now.
Precision and honesty is important. This is for your eyes only.
Then, define the outcomes / deliverables that need to be created in order to achieve your vision. Be very specific.
Finally, create a definition of done for each of those deliverables so you know — in advance — what success looks like.
Don’t forget that “done” doesn’t mean “perfect.” (Perfect is the enemy of progress.)
If you take the time to do this, the vision you create will pull you forward.
Your list of outcomes / deliverables and ‘definitions of done’ for those deliverables will answer any questions raised by Resistance, preventing and eliminating doubt along the way.
This is simple, but not easy.
Like any skill, you’ll get better with practice.
Finally, if you still have any lingering doubts about your ability to write, here’s a personal story from André that will put those fears to rest.
Enter André…
I mean it when I say that I believe anyone can learn to write (really) well. I’m living proof of that. Believe me.
Let me tell you a story…
I’ve only ever told this to a few people. It’s kinda embarrassing. But I guess there was a happy ending.
I’m born English speaking. I can’t speak any other languages really (sometimes I feel the same way about English).
Throughout school I SUCKED at written English. I was told I have a “learning difficulty.”
So early on in my school life (I was barely out the gate) I was held back a year.
Brilliant start, André. Way to go, buddy.
I don’t remember the details, but I guess they thought I just wasn’t on the same “level” as my classmates.
So I quickly became the oldest kid in the class. Not ideal for one’s self-esteem, I guess.
I was 8 years old.
But I was a nipper. I’d get over it.
Apparently I was also a bit of a handful back then. Teachers said I had a “concentration problem.” So I was referred to a specialist. He said I had ADHD, and prescribed me Ritalin.
So now I was an 8 year old, a year behind for his age … and on Ritalin.
Happy days. Things couldn’t get much worse.
But I guess I didn’t progress at the level teachers thought I should progress at, even one year behind. So a couple of years before going to high-school, I was sent to a remedial school.
I now apparently had dyslexia too. High five, André!
I couldn’t spell for shit (nothing has changed there btw). I battled to read. So I was shipped off to remedial school.
… which basically was a specialist school catering for children who have “learning difficulties,” which prevents them from achieving success in a mainstream (normal) school environment.
But damn, I loved remedial school.
Perhaps because everyone was just like me. No one could focus on one thing for more than 5 minutes. No one could spell. No one could read well.
Two years later I finally made it to high-school. A real high-school with normal kids.
But out of all my subjects — English has my worst by a mile (no surprise there).
I scraped through exams each year by the skin of my teeth. Because if you fail English, you fail the year. Period.
I still couldn’t spell for shit.
I remember regularly getting 0/20 for spelling tests.
The teacher thought I was screwing around. No one could possibly be that bad. I was. Even though I was honestly trying. The words just don’t “form” in my mind. They still don’t.
Now here I am … what feels like a lifetime later — an online marketer, creative professional — a full-time writer.
Go figure.
Honestly … if I can string sentences together, and can write half decent, you can too. No excuses. None at all.
This isn’t about perfection.
It’s about making a connection with another human being. Which is not hard, if you’ve done the grunt work upfront.
It’s about good enough. Then improving as you go.
It’s about being yourself — as if you’re talking to a friend — and delivering value to your tribe that’s meaningful to them.
Enough said.
Like André said, No excuses. None at all…
END OF CORE TRAINING