I believe in Karma.
Not in some mystical way, mind you, but more like ”if you’re a jerk, people will be jerks to you”, or “if you’re dishonest, people will be dishonest to you”. This probably stems from a “this is your values and the company you keep” aspect – e.g.: people who are dishonest usually hang around with other dirtbags who are dishonest. And so on. (more…)
There’s no type of copywriting that has more price differentiation than writing articles / SEO articles. Because there are writing services out there that will literally write 500-word articles for $5. I’m not kidding. (more…)
Nothing about copywriting today – this has more to do with business communications.
One of the things I have noticed in this blink-a-minute internet culture is how much mediocrity is tolerated – and even accepted as the norm – in terms of business communication.
I first started thinking about this last year, when I got my iphone. I downloaded an app called “line 2” that was supposed to give me a second number that would replace my business line. I figured since the business landline was running me $40 a month, and Line 2 was $5 a month (or whatever it was), hey, why not? So I did it.
Well, I found out something really quick – it’s not as good as having a landline. It just isn’t. It dropped calls; the sound wasn’t very good; the forwarding aspect was pretty murky, etc. I would say it’s 80% as good as a landline. And in the case of a business phone, that’s totally unacceptable.
But, for many people, that IS acceptable. Mediocre service, for many people, is just fine. They’re happy with iffy phone service if it means keeping $35 a month in their pocket. Well, not me – I switched back a.s.a.p. But I know other people – businesspeople – who use Line 2 and just put up with the glitches. It amazes me, really.
Let’s stay on the phone with another subpar service (at least for business) – Skype.
A lot of businesspeople use Skype exclusively. For the life of me, I cannot understand why. Let me be clear about this – Skype is terrible for everyday business calling. It just is. Again, it’s about 80% of a landline, with a myriad of dropped calls, bad connections, etc. Now, I CAN see some use for Skype – it’s a nice IM program, and it’s fine for broke college kids to call home. And it’s even ok for international calls (which are typically still spotty with a landline). But if you’re here in the US with me and want to talk business? No, I’m not going to Skype you. Get a real phone (either landline or good cell).
I like technology – I really do. But I’m not going to put up with garbage to save a few bucks. It’s just not worth it to me.
Dan’s advice: If you are serious about business, you need solid phone tech, even if it sets you back forty bucks a month.
I want to get all “Zen” on you for a moment and talk about the power of vision. Or perhaps I should say “ENvision”.
It’s a very powerful thing – if you can envision something, I mean REALLY envision it, well, that’s the first step to making it happen.
Now I’m not going to get outrageous here – envision as I might, I’m not becoming the starting center fielder for the NY Yankees. But as I sit here, looking at my books for sale on Amazon.com, and looking around my office and how my life turned out, I’m struck by something profound…
I kinda planned this.
Thirteen years ago, I had just gotten divorced, and was making $10 per hour working a tech support job. I was 32. It seemed like life was going nowhere. I had been in business for myself a few times before then, but never really went anywhere. I think that’s because partially, I didn’t know where I was going.
So, at 32, I started thinking about where I really wanted to be. I didn’t set any “official” goals. No five year plan or anything like that (that’s WAY too “type A” for me.) But I envisioned what I wanted out of life. And here’s what I wanted:
I was dead serious about what I wanted - I actually envisioned myself living this life.
And you know what? It’s all there now. Even the black pickup and the Hot Tub.
Now I have to make a new list… a third / fourth book (not on just business, either – I’d like to also write about life motivation, relationships, living a happy life, etc.) I’d also like to be on the radio some, maybe do some seminars. More consulting for sure, because I’m good at writing and web conversion and such – and I can teach it, too. Lots of things, really.
The point is, I don’t just dream this stuff. I actually envision it.
Then I do the next step (which is vital.) I ask myself the all-important question – “Ok Dan, how do we go about making this happen?”
Like I said before, I set no timetables, no “goals”, none of that. I just envision what I want, and begin the process of making it happen.
Do you think it was an accident that I started my writing business? Was it dumb luck that made me send a proposal to a publisher (truth be told, hundreds of thousands of writers have millions of rejections – I have like four. Once I decided to write the book, I simply made it happen and sold it.)
I don’t say the above to brag or impress you in any way. I say it because millions of people dream. They dream, but they don’t ENVISION. And even if they do, they certainly don’t say “ok, how do we make this happen.”
I’m telling you to do just that. Envision what you want. Then really go about making it happen.
So how do we go about making it happen? We’ll talk about that another time 
Usually when a year ends, some website or TV show will do a short retrospective of famous people who died during the year. For me, the October passing of TV Pitchman extraordinaire Don Lapre was noteworthy, because Don was/is somewhat responsible for my own entrepreneurial business philosophy, both in good and bad ways.
If you don’t know who Don Lapre is, well, here’s his picture – I’m sure you recognize him from late 80′s / early 90′s infomercials.
You see, I first felt my entrepreneurial stirrings watching those infomercials. I LOVED them, especially the make money ones. Don Lapre, Dave DelDotto, Brad Richdale, Tom Wu, the fat guy with the Hawaiian shirt and the wheelbarrow full of money, Carlton Sheets, Tony Robbins (technically not a “make money guy”, but I liked him anyway); the list goes on. I didn’t actually believe that buying the programs was going to make anyone money, but the very principal of what many of them were doing “spoke” to me. Especially Don’s – Don was the best of the bunch. It was just so logical – if you get one newspaper ad that makes money, duplicate it in 500 other papers… OMG - *head explode*. Basically, it made me think outside the box… you could see that in my business now, where I happily spend money advertising my services all over the world. Most people don’t think that big.
But there was something also dishonest about these guys, and especially Don. You see, Don had these “three different ways to make money” (tiny ads, buying and selling, and 900 numbers) and essentially said he applied them himself, dragging himself out of poverty and a one-bedroom apartment… however, Don failed to mention that some of us saw him on TV a few years earlier, pushing a “people who are owed money” list. He said in THAT infomercial that he used to be poor until he did the list thing… so which was it? How come the infomercials that made him famous failed to mention the business venture he was in a few years earlier? I knew then that despite his exuberance (which I loved), he was dishonest.
Don also (like many of the others) never actually mentioned a product to sell. They talked about selling, but never told anyone what to sell. The truth is, these guys were essentially selling a dream, and that’s what got most of them into trouble. Don’s record with the FTC/etc is abysmal, and he eventually stopped selling the making money package. But then he popped up a few years later with “The Greatest Vitamin in the World”… however, the infomercial was obviously “cheap”, and Don didn’t look so hot. That brash, bright-eyed 20-something that I found so inspiring was now a beaten down 40-something huckster. It was sad. More FTC stuff, more fraud claims, and this past October, suicide in a jail cell. A whimper of an end to one of marketing’s biggest stars.
It didn’t have to end that way. His businesses didn’t have to die. He didn’t have to age 30 years in a decade. He didn’t have to cut himself so he bled to death in a jail cell at 47 years old.
How could it have been different? He could have simply been honest. He could have used his charisma and obvious sales talent to make a living that didn’t defraud people or require showing “results not typical” in small letters on his commercials every five minutes. As much as I liked Don, I have to admit that the loudest guy in the room is usually the one who’s full of shit. And Don was loud. And like I said above, even though I liked the guy’s way of “thinking big”, I also knew he was full of shit. And nothing good ever comes from that. Dishonest people may shine bright for awhile, but rarely do they survive long-term. Don didn’t. Neither did Bernie Madoff (or his son, who also killed himself.)
That’s another lesson I learned from Don - How not to be. You can look long and hard, but you likely won’t find a more honest guy than me. And I’m proud of that. Here’s an example – Don probably never met a customer he wouldn’t sell to. Conversely, I routinely turn down copywriting work from people who I know I can’t help. I’ve seen people with horrid websites and a terrible business model who think copywriting is the answer. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t, and if I feel it isn’t, I don’t want your money, even if you really want to hire me. It’s just how I do things. I do what I say I’ll do, when I said I would do it. And I do things that I think are right, all the time. Everybody should be that way. It almost puzzles me when people aren’t.
As I write, it’s almost 2012, and that always excites me. I’m not one for artificial milestones, but New Year’s really does feel “fresh”. I don’t really have any resolutions or whatnot, nor do I set any goals. I have a general idea of how I’d like things to go, and that’s usually enough for me. I’m looking to expand the consulting side of things this year – what that actually means I’ll figure out in time – it could be simply launching a new website review service (coming soon), and it could mean bigger things. But that’s my overall plan – keep copywriting for anyone who wants it, and get paid a little more for my opinion. Because my opinion is worth a lot!
Have a great “between Xmas and New Year’s” week, everyone.
Was on another message forum the other day, and in this one thread about entrepreneurship, someone who’s spent nine years in a corporate job asked something like “how do you get that passion for something that you start a business with it?”
I thought about it for a bit, because I’ve been in business three different times (2 ended up failing). One was advertising (direct mail, to be exact), one was IT services, and now writing (which actually started as programming, but that’s another story).
So, am I really passionate about all that stuff? Enough that the passion drove me to business?
To be honest, I’m not. Don’t get me wrong – I like what I do (and have done)… I really like it, actually. If I were a millionaire (and sadly, I am not), I’d likely still write (or do advertising, or IT stuff) in some form.
But would I write press releases, brochures, and web copy for clients on a deadline? Probably not. Just being honest.
It’s not like I always had this passion to write web copy. I love to write, and I’m really good at a particular kind (direct, clear business and sales writing). But if I had all the money I ever needed, I’d probably do more consulting (just so I could keep my brain buzzing) and less writing – I’d write in support of me only. Writing is cool and all, but it also hurts after awhile. Really.
Anyway, here’s generally what I wrote to the guy as a reply:
************
That passion isn’t something you find… it’s just there, but not in the way you think. For most people, the passion is entrepreneurship itself.
I’ve been an entrepreneur in spirit all my life, and three different times I “quit” (or got fired… same thing) and started a biz – with three different businesses. One was advertising/direct mail (failed), one was IT (failed) and one was writing (copywriting – success… still at it more than a decade later.) I even wrote a book about entrepreneurship and working at home for yourself, detailing both the failures and successes, and another book about web copy.
But even though I always liked to write, the way I do it in business now is not the passion. It’s hard to be “passionate” about writing a press release for some new product (boil reduction cream!) I like doing it – don’t get me wrong. It beats working in a coal mine or such. But if I could do anything I wanted, writing a press release is about one millionth on the list.
I know a successful guy who sells special ethernet cables. But it’s not like ethernet cables are his first love. I know another who does data entry. She doesn’t have any passion for data entry (at all), but she does have a passion for being home with her kids. Your passion/hobbies/etc may lead you to business, but trust me, it’s not enough.
Forget trying to identify a strong passion – owning a business is just something entrepreneurs do. I have found most entrepreneurs are like that – they don’t wait for the perfect storm – owning the business is the passion.
Sorry not to be more useful than that (this probably isn’t what you wanted to hear), but that’s how I feel about it.
I’m passionate about my wife, my home, our lives, etc. Work is a way to make the life I want possible.
Well, two service people (one clerk, and one waiter.)
The other day, Maryellen and I went to the diner. We love the local diner here – really good food, very reasonable, and usually good service.
So we go in, get seated and then… nothing. We had menus, and were ready to order, but a server never came. I guess the person who handled our section just wasn’t on the ball. I could see three waitresses talking, and I made eye contact, but nobody came. 5 minutes or so go by, and I’m ready to leave (I never complain about stuff like this anymore, because I’m never very nice about it. It’s a character flaw of mine, but I can’t help it. So to spare me being mean to someone, I just leave.)
Since this blog is technically “new”, I’ll move some of my favorite archived posts to the front from time to time.
I talk a lot here about the benefits of working for yourself, and yea, I admit, it’s a pretty nice gig overall. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, either. There are some drawbacks, and I’d be remiss if I did not mention a few of them. Keep in mind these are more slated towards me and people like me (basically a one-person or very small operation.)
I left out a lot of stuff, obviously, but the above should give you an idea that working for yourself is by no means ”easy” (as some people have told me it must be.) In fact, I wish sometimes my life was as simple as showing up to some job Mon-Fri, collecting a paycheck, and not even thinking about work during off hours. I’ve done both, and working for yourself is way harder. I like it better (by a good deal), but it’s by no means easy.
Goodness, that felt good to write
I read this recent article on CNN about Millennials and work, and how they are “changing the workplace rules”. Here’s the article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/22/managing.millennials/index.html?hpt=hp_abar
The basic premise of the article is how Millennials (which are essentially people born after 1980) have these demands and expectations, and believe things like “fun first / work second“. To paraphrase the article…. “these kids have friends, activities, and interests. They won’t sacrifice them for work.” (more…)
I want to talk more about work, because it’s on my mind.
My last post was about my advice to the class of 2011, and essentially, I said you need to work, and be the person who gets things done. Nothing wrong with that, really, but I want to discuss work a little deeper in how it relates to success. (more…)
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