Yeah, the dad in me couldn’t resist the email subject line. You’ll see why.
So… the sun’s just starting to go down behind the mountain range.
And I’m out here in my garden making the most of the last fleeting minutes of sunlight.
For the past two hours I’ve been hacking away at a massive blackberry patch that got intertwined with a rambling rose.
Not the best combination of plants to go into cahoots with each other.
So I’m standing here for a breather. My arms all bloodied and scratched.
As much as I’ve tried to stay away from anything spiky. It’s just so flippin’ hard. Random thorny tentacles are EVERYWHERE!
There’s blood patches. And a couple of nice deep punctures. But on the whole, I’m intact. I think?!
The biggest thing I’m thankful for is the calfskin gloves that I invested in a few months back.
They have been brilliant! Barely a thorn tip has got through when I’ve been grabbing the branches and yanking them. And chopping away at them with my clippers.
But it’s a bit of a battle left to go. I’ve only got about one fifth of the way towards obliterating it.
The reason it’s such a big battle is… [hangs head in shame]…
I left it sooo long.
I’m like, “It’s okay. It’s just a little patch of blackberry.”
But of course blackberry doesn’t stop it’s onward march just because I’d like it to. It doesn’t pause for another year while I “get around” to chopping it back.
Hence I’m faced with today’s challenge.
And the same goes when it comes to our copywriting businesses.
If we leave things that are challenging and difficult, and don’t address them when we should, then they can become pretty thorny issues.
For example, if we’re constantly coming up against the same objection by clients. But we’re not delving in to find the root cause.
You know, if it’s something like… they’re constantly questioning us on price?
And we’re thinking, oh, it’s always because they’re price shoppers. Or “I keep picking the wrong clients.” Or something like that.
But could it be that we’ve not shown them the value of the service that we provide?
That they’re not linking the relatively small amount they’re paying, to the likely return on investment they’re making?
So maybe it’s on us to do some more research and homework. And work on developing the offer that we present to them.
Or maybe it’s a challenge like me with my expenses.
Oh my goodness! I waited till the 11th hour thinking, oh, it’s all cool. I’ve collected all the receipts and whatnot.
But of course I had to enter them into my accounting system.
Oh… my… gosh! Not… fun!
Okay. I learned that doing it that way, just adds to the stress. And takes time and energy away from other things that I want to be ticking along with.
So these are things that you kind of know when you make decisions not to do them. But it’s like, “Yep… tomorrow… no worries…”
But as they say, tomorrow never comes.
So better to plan it, fit it in, and do it earlier rather than later.
I’m saying this here to give myself the jolly good reminder I need. Because… of course, I know you know how to plan things well.
And I’m probably speaking about stuff you know already.
But maybe there’s something you can still learn from my scarred and bloodied arms today.
That leaving things, just because it doesn’t look so bad at the moment, without thinking ahead to the repercussions, can leave you a bit battered and bruised.
So that’s my few words for today. And using my little break time to record this email on my phone. While I eye up my nemesis for round two.
So what you will receive is the edited version that I’ll sit down and work on tonight. Just so it’s a little bit easier for you to digest. And you won’t get all my ums and aahs.
And in that is a good little tip…
Because If you want to get something written, and you’re outside pulling out blackberry plants, AI transcription is your friend.
It can make your life a hell of a lot easier sometimes.
That said, I do like sitting down and typing my emails most of the time.
Well, I’m gonna leave you there.
And if you’re struggling with any of those client-related things. Like finding them! Figuring out your niche. Managing discovery calls.
Could a little coaching, from someone (me) who’s already got some of the scratches and scrapes, be what you need? And I can help you avoid getting unnecessary ones yourself. Just reply if you’d like to chat about that.
All the very best for the coming week!
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Chris Milham