Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Attachment – does it make marketing more difficult?

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Coach Joy Butler wrote me recently to thank me for the Top 10 Article Generator, and she had an interesting comment to make. I asked her permission to write about it in the blog and she graciously agreed:

“Developing marketing tools is amazingly difficult for me even though I was once marketing VP for a small company. The difference is, I was marketing people and products to which there was no emotional or egoic attachment.”

I think I understand what Joy was getting at. When we’re marketing ourselves, our own products and services, it is very personal. It can hurt when people don’t buy, or when they buy and want a refund, or when they don’t sign up, or when they sign up and then unsubscribe.

We put our hearts and souls into what we do, and that can make it even scarier to put it out into the world to be judged.

Personally, I’m starting to recognize lately that I LOVE marketing. Launching my book feels like the culmination of all the years I’ve spent studying and practicing Internet marketing (six years and counting). I truly am having fun putting it all together to promote this book that I am so proud of and so excited about.

Attached to the book? You bet I am!

Attached to the results that I get? No, I’m leaving that up to the universe to decide.

What about you? How do you maintain a healthy detachment from your results? How do you avoid taking it personally when your marketing efforts don’t pan out?

Please comment on this blog post and let me know.

Batching – group similar tasks to make the most of your time

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I had a wonderful meeting with my mentor at the end of July, and one of the things we spoke about was "batching." In essence, she asserted that my time is valuable, and to make the most of it, I need to use it efficiently. That means grouping together similar tasks and getting super-focused on doing them all within that same block of time.

I had already intuitively implemented a lot of batching practices in my life (though I have to say that I practice some more regularly than others). Things like:

  • When I run errands, I group them together based on location  (there's extra incentive now because of gas prices)
  • Saving up cheques for less trips to the ATM (I also avoid any fees by doing my cash withdrawals at the same time, at my own bank)
  • Processing emails only twice a day (this one's been harder to stick with, and I still do like to check more frequently for messages from clients)

When it comes to writing, batching has meant creating a special block of time in my calendar every week for drafting, writing and pre-scheduling blog posts. I'm sitting in this time slot right now, and it feels spacious and precious to me. This routine has progressed out of my blogging in fits and spurts technique, and using the "draft" post function as an idea catcher is what makes it work.

Writing Prompt: What are some writing jobs that you could group together to tap into the momentum and efficiency of batching?

Andrea Lee interviews Linda Dessau about the Style Guide for Coaches

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The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write book tour continued yesterday with a stop on the Money, Meaning and Beyond blog. This was a very poignant interview for me, which you’ll understand more when you read this acknowledgment from the front of my book:

"And a special thank you to Andrea Lee. When I graduated from CTI and set out to coach the world, I thought there was only one way to do it. You opened my mind to possibility and gently coaxed You Talk, I’ll Write into being."

See the full book tour schedule so you can catch up on what you missed, and join us on the upcoming stops.

P.S. Andrea had this to say about the Style Guide:

"In a clear, calm voice of authority, Linda Dessau provides profound relief for those daunted by the opportunity to communicate their value and expertise through writing. For the coach whose goal is money and meaning sustainably through multiple income sources, Linda’s contribution is a must-have."

Never say deadline again

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I have completely removed the word “d-line” from my vocabulary. I’m now using the phrase “scheduled (or estimated) delivery date.” It’s got the flexibility and comfort that I need, but still has a actionable feel with that word “delivery.” That other word just felt too ominous, strict and morbid.

What do you think? Are you ready to let go of the fear of death if you don’t meet your d-lines and ease into the comfort of scheduled delivery dates instead?

Writing prompts: Are there any words that make your skin crawl? Comment on this post and let me know. Are you using any words that could be having that same unintended effect on your readers? Scan your writing for words that have negative connotations or a double meaning.

The Creative Power of Water

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I was standing at sink doing the dishes recently (no dishwasher around here – you’re looking at her!), thinking about my new book and white paper, and how I was going to get the word out. All of a sudden everything clicked for me. I could almost visualize the path that I could invite people to travel with me, as they learned more about me and what I offer.

But this isn’t about me (ok, it’s a little bit about me, but this IS my blog), it’s about the creative power of water.

I’ve noticed that water – whether it’s trickling, streaming, raining, pelting or flowing – can have a deep impact on my own creative flow. And when I remember to do it, I can consciously tap into that. So instead of turning on the news or a CD while I’m doing the dishes, I plant a question or problem that I’m seeking guidance about, and I open my mind to answers.

Of course the next step is to capture those ideas (see my earlier post about Einstein hair for some examples of idea catchers), before they float away again. I’ve learned not to fear that either, though, because the best ideas ALWAYS come back.

Writing Prompt: The next time you’re struggling to generate writing ideas for your blog, website, newsletter or book, let go of the struggle, take some quiet time and tune into the creative power of water.