When You Know Better, You Do Better

To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
–John Henry Newman

In This Issue:

When You Know Better, You Do Better
by Krista Jones

An old college friend called a few weeks ago to tell me she was coming to town the following weekend. She asked if she could stay with me for a few days.

Sure, I said.

When she arrived, I discovered her definition of a few days was far different from mine. She wasn’t here for the two or three days I had expected; she was staying for ten days!

That announcement threw me for quite a loop. But rather than telling her I hadn’t expected her to be here that long, I decided to let it go.

Then I excused myself, went to my room, and tried to prepare myself mentally for the next week and a half. I would have felt much better about the extended visit if I had a “normal” job. But when you work from home feeling like you have to constantly find something to entertain someone puts a bit of a strain on the day.

So the first six days were a bit tense! It wasn’t easy trying to stay balanced on the thin line between making her feel welcome in my home and keeping my business running smoothly.

I fought this battle with myself for days until something I have learned through writing copy finally woke me up…

See, when I’m writing copy I know that how I feel on the inside should be in vibrational harmony with what I write and say. Yet, during the first several days of my friend’s stay, I had been smiling through clenched teeth—something I would never do in my writing. I know better.

That’s when I realized that becoming a copywriter has affected me in ways I never expected.

I wondered how I could have mastered the art of being congruent in my writing, but not in my life. I also remembered how concerned I used to be about possible negative things copywriting could bring to my life, such as being perceived as a cheesy salesperson.

It never occurred to me back then that learning the art of persuasion would teach me valuable life lessons like the importance of being congruent in both my professional and personal lives.

In getting back to my friend, once I realized I wasn’t really extending myself to her, I knew that very likely she could sense that I was stressed about her being there. And that bothered me. A lot.

So guess what? After that I truly let everything go. As a result, I was far more relaxed, sincere, and generous with my time. In fact, we did things I seldom take the time to do: We took a trip to the zoo, climbed a mountain, and went to a jazz bar. And we both had a fabulous time.

If you’re wondering what happened to my work while I was gallivanting around town, you’ll be happy to know that ended well too. Once I accepted that I wasn’t going to be able to work a full schedule, I re-prioritized my “to do” list, retaining only the most important things. The rest I let slip to the following week…and everything worked out just fine.

I’ve promised myself that the next time someone comes to stay, I’ll be quicker about making the proper adjustments so I can genuinely say, “I’m glad you’re here and that I have this time to spend with you.”

Ahhh … another valuable lesson in the day of the life of a copywriter.

Resource Referral: The Reading Room

A CP reader recently asked us what books we recommend for beginning copywriters. I started to come up with my top 10 list, but then I remembered that fellow copywriter Malcolm Smith wrote a guest essay several months ago that contained an excellent must-read list for copywriters. His recommendations would definitely fall on my list so I’m reprinting Malcolm’s list here:

Influence by Robert Cialdini. This is not a book on copywriting. But it’s on almost every top copywriter’s “required reading” list. This is the Bible of persuasion. If you haven’t read it, go get it right now.

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz. One of the most wildly successful copywriters of all time, Schwartz’s “Burn Out Disease” ad sold 13 million copies of a single book.

My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. Hopkins was the brain behind the marketing of products like Palmolive soap and Bissell carpet sweepers. He’s credited with inventing many of the accepted methods used by direct marketers today.

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples. David Ogilvy called this “the most useful book about advertising I have ever read.”

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy. One of the great modern masters of advertising of any kind, Ogilvy packed this book with sound advice and terrific examples.

Malcolm Smith is a Florida-based copywriter specializing in information products and alternative health. You can visit him at www.MalcolmGSmith.com.

Quick Copy Tip: Stop Spinning Your Wheels

When I was writing the draft of today’s issue, I really struggled with how to end the essay. I told myself I was going to sit in my armchair until I finished it…no matter how long it took.

Big mistake. I sat for there for 20 and then 30 minutes…waiting for inspiration to come. Finally I realized that if I wanted to figure out how to conclude the essay, I was going to have to let go for a while. So I got up from my chair and went about the rest of the day without another thought about the essay.

My answer arrived the next morning. In fact, it was the very first thought I had when I opened my eyes. It came to me without another moment of struggle—just like dozens of other ideas that have come to me when I give up the fight.

If you’re struggling with something you are writing—or attempting to write—stop wasting your time trying to force it. The best thing you can do for yourself is let it go. But keep paper and a pen handy because just when you least expect it, the idea or words you’ve been looking for will come spilling forth.