“One forges one’s style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines.” – Emile Zola, Born Apr. 2, 1840. What’s it take to be a good writer? Write every day. What’s it take to build a business? Make offers every day. What’s it take to build an audience? Add new followers every day. What’s it take […]
Consistent And Decent Always Outperforms Sporadic Excellence Read More »
“No writer should minimize the factor that affects everyone, but is beyond control: luck.” – John Jakes, Born Mar. 31, 1932. A positioning secret which probably seems counterintuitive to many, is to admit that your success is due in large part to luck. And I don’t mean like a gambler’s cocky bragging about how you’re
Admission of Luck Makes Success Seem Attainable to Those Who Would Buy Advice From You Read More »
“When people approach me about my films it is usually to tell me how much they hate them.” – Michael Winterbottom, Born Mar. 29, 1961. Any time you create anything, there are some people who seem to just want to tear it down because it exists. Because you bothered to try. I’m talking about haters.
Worried About Your Work? Here’s Whose Opinions Really Matter… Read More »
“A leading authority is anyone who has guessed right more than once.” – Frank A. Clark, Born Mar. 28, 1860. Frank here probably meant it as an admonishment for trusting self-described authorities. But you know me, I never let appropriate context get in the way of making the point I want to make… If you
Guessing Right Makes You a “Guru” (And So Does Guessing Wrong…) Read More »
“If you just love movies enough, you can make a good one.” – Quentin Tarantino, Born Mar. 27, 1963. Some people love copy. They fetishize it as an object, and treat the “copywriting industry” like a religion. For people like that, the goal is to have written “good” copy, so deemed by their peers –
The Copy “Fandom” is Fun for Some, But Never Necessary for Success Read More »
“Movie directors, or should I say people who create things, are very greedy and they can never be satisfied… That’s why they can keep on working. I’ve been able to work for so long because I think next time, I’ll make something good.” – Akira Kurosawa, Born Mar. 23, 1910. Today, let’s talk about defeat.
The Fear of Failure Feeds Your Forge – FEEL it, then USE it… Read More »
“All of my favorite creators started with zero… So you’ve got to make that first video. It’s not going to be your best, but you will learn as you go.” – Tyler Oakley, Born Mar. 22, 1989. Q. How do I get started writing copy? Just start. Q. What do I need to read to
How to Start Being a Copywriter: Start Writing Some Copy… Now Read More »
“If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.” – David Livingstone, Born Mar. 19, 1813. A lot of freelancers have experience with low-level, shitty kinds of clients. Those clients don’t
These Are the Only Good Clients to Keep – All the Rest Are Expendable… Read More »
“Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.” – John Updike, Born Mar. 18, 1932. A lot of writers worry too much about creativity, and not enough about consistency of output. If that’s you, let’s talk about manipulating your mind out of making that mistake, shall we? Creativity is
Creativity Comes to Life When You Feed it Something to Improve Read More »
“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” – Rudolf Nureyev, Born Mar. 17, 1938. “I don’t have a good idea.” Shut up. Write anyway. “I don’t have anything to say.” Stop it. Write something anyway. “It didn’t come out the way I wanted.” Fuck you, publish it anyway. We
Discipline and Foundations are What You Build On (Because You Can’t Build On Nothing) Read More »
