being your own hype man

Have you ever wondered about this one? Is it possible to go in-house if you haven’t had a copy job before? The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is… that’s exactly what I did. And the good news? I didn’t have any kind of magical formula to follow… I was pretty much making…

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when it feels “easy”, it’s easy to undervalue

“Technically I’ve been writing my own copy for 2 years. But I don’t have any client work…” I see this kind of statement a lot with folks just starting out in business. It doesn’t have to be about copy necessarily… just swap in the field of expertise of your choice and it still makes sense.…

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how to know which mentor is right for you

So in my last post I talked about shortcuts and magic pills, and how they’re rarely the instant boost they claim to be. And then I shared my personal shortcut – mentorship. Now, mentorship doesn’t negate actually showing up and doing the work… but a good mentor can help DRASTICALLY shorten the learning curve (and…

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taking shortcuts

People love a good shortcut – that’s part of what makes the job of a marketer a lot easier. Unethical? Promising a magic pill? You’ll probably get a lot of sales… followed by a lot of  [best case] disappointed/angry customers and [worst case] law suits or even injuries/deaths. Yikes. Not the legacy I want to…

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2 phrases that could be holding you back

So last week I spent way too much time agonizing about sharing my story. In the end, I wrote it up and posted it… and got probably the most powerful reaction I’ve ever had to something I’ve written. If you missed it, you can check it out here. If you don’t have time to check…

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why everyone needs a kudos file

When I was first starting out, there was something that wasn’t really talked about in entrepreneurship and owning your own business: It’s friggin’ lonely. Sure, the bros bragged about Lambos and parties and working from the beach (#laptoplifestyle #douche). A few more genuine folks talked about the freedom and flexibility and fun projects. I was…

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will someone actually pay me for this?

There’s this interesting kneejerk reaction that happens when you’re thinking of ways to get people to give you money. Of course, there are a few exceptional people who either feel no such fear, or feel it and proceed anyway. But for the rest of us, that question of “yeah, but is this something people will…

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the ethical entrepreneur

“Marketing is just a bunch of bullshit from people trying to sell stuff.” It’s interesting when I hear folks say that (or worse, when I tell them what I do for a living and I see that “eww, used car salesman” look on their face). Let’s clear a few things up about legit, ethical marketing,…

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getting advice you didn’t ask for

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there… Screwing up the courage to share something you’ve been working hard on, and ask for feedback. And then that feeling of being sucker-punched when someone reacts critically. This happens often in copy and marketing, so I have seen folks develop an interesting self-defense mechanism to…

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