Did You Know There’s A Reset Button?

One of the many things 2020 showed us is we have little to no control over what happens in the world.

And…

that we do have control over how we will respond or react to events around us.

As much as we would like to have a Do Over of 2020 – many would like a Do Over of 2021, too – how about we click the reset button instead?

Not exactly a Do Over – but not a complete Start Over either.

Because really…you don't want to start over do you?

Starting over means

• ditching what you've done to this point
• learning a lot of new things
• feeling anxious and stressed about the unknown

What's in between the Do Over and the Start Over?

The Reset Button.

It's where you decide the point in your professional career…the point in your skill level…you want to start from.

I looked back over each pivot – each change in direction I took my business – beginning in 2008 and ending in 2019 and realized I was trying to start over.

I was trying to do something very different each time.

Which means I had to learn brand new skills. And to enter new markets.

Definitely the hard way to success!

Trust me – I hit the wall in 2019. I was confused and tired!

With an assessment of my skills in hand – on paper … and on the whiteboard … and on social media – it was time for me to identify the path that would be easier to follow.

I wanted to use all of my existing knowledge and skills. I didn't want to learn brand new skills. I didn't want to learn a new business model.

This is when I clicked the Reset Button.

October 2019 is when the email copywriting experiment happened.

I wanted the answer to this question:

Will people pay for a Welcome Series for their autoresponder?

The only way I knew to test the market was to create a profile on a marketplace like Fiverr and offer the service. Two weeks later I received my first order. Over the next two years I would leverage the rave reviews and attract private clients.

Today I am the face of my business. I am a writer of copy and content for these niches: ecomm, wellness for humans and animals, and business services.

Thank goodness for The Reset Button!

With the click of the Reset Button I wasn't an amateur in the basics of owning a business, marketing, making a sale.

I could bring all of my experience to the new service offering.

And I can assure you…it was a lot easier than starting over. A lot less stressful because the change is a minor move in a different direction rather than a full stop and then a full start from the beginning on something.

If you're feeling stuck or bored…if your current path isn't really the direction you want to go…instead of starting over from scratch…click the Reset Button.

Copy Tip

With all sales copy the first draft is not the final.

There's too much information in it. You're giving away too much and you're rambling. Which is great! This means you've gotten it out of your head and on to the page.

Now it's time to remove all the words and sentences that don't matter. To choose different words –

• because they're more impactful…
• because they help the reader to visualize what you're talking about…
• because they're action words that move the reader to the next sentence.

You want to edit your drafts until you can fill in each of these sections:

1. Introduction
2. Information (including evidence/proof)
3. Pitch

Simple, right? Challenging for sure. Especially when you want to get it all in an email.

A sales page allows you room to flesh out each piece of evidence and every benefit.

Not so with an email.

You need to be succinct while saying everything that needs to be said. There's a reason those of us who specialize in writing emails say that shorter copy is much more difficult to write.

Try this on your next piece of copy – email or otherwise.

FYI and Side Note: I edited enough out of this email to write 3 more emails.

Not kidding.

Social Selling Tip

Don’t expect results overnight. You’re playing the long-game with social selling.

First, you want ideal buyers to come to you. Yes, you can do outreach and I’ll offer tips about that later. For now, let’s stay focused on attracting them so they ask to connect with you…so they ask to have a conversation with you.

What value do you offer to them?

Whether you offer that value 1:1 through in-person coffee chats or through your social media posts –

they must feel like you know their challenges and you know how to navigate through those challenges.

Share niche/industry specific content that helps make their life easier. A tip. An insight. A resource.

After you connect immediately follow-up with something of more value.

For instance…would your ideal buyer like to be interviewed on podcasts? If so, you need to connect with podcasters in that market who have a large audience. Then you send your Ideal Buyer connection a message that says…

I was talking with a podcaster friend – NAME who does NAME OF PODCAST – and he/she’s looking for people to interview. I thought you might be a good fit. Let me know if you’d like me to introduce you.

BOOM! You just offered your ideal buyer a tremendous opportunity – something of greater value than a tip or insight.

When they say Yes…introduce them. Then ask that they share the interview link so you can share it with your network.

BOOM! You just offered your ideal buyer and the podcast host something awesome.

Follow-up with your ideal buyer and tell them what you thought of the interview. Ask them a question.

BOOM! You just became a valued connection to your ideal buyer because of your sincere desire to help them succeed.

My Tip: offer value first and you can continue the conversation with your ideal buyer…all the way to a chat on Zoom.

Random Thought of the Day

What does it mean to Listen to Understand?

It means that while I am listening to someone speak I am intentionally looking for moments of similarities…

I am actively seeking to find an experience of my own that I can relate to what they are saying.

It means I am asking questions to get more information or to have them say it another way.

I am repeating what I heard back to them, in my own words, and asking if I heard what they said correctly…

If they say I didn't hear it correctly, I ask them to please say it differently.

If they are unable to reframe their narrative, to explain it another way, to be patient as I am showing that I want to understand…

I interpret that to mean they don't really want me to understand – they only want to speak.

That is when I simply listen, nod, allow them their space to talk, and when they are finished I walk away. Because my need to understand doesn't match their need to be understood.

Understanding requires that one be a speaker, one be a listener. The roles change as the communication occurs. If one isn't willing to play both roles, understanding cannot occur.

Pun of the Day

I want to be cremated as it is my last hope for a smoking hot body.

With Gratitude —

Charlene Burke

Click Here and Let's Connect

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It's their mistake, not my failing.”

― Richard P. Feynman