Category: Uncategorized

What is it with “N” words? How they are just so… negative? Have you noticed this? Yesterday I was looking for an “N” word to use in an acronym for a product I’m developing. So I yanked out John Carlton’s list of “Power Words”… And fossicked my way through. What did I find? Nada. Well……

“He looks like Uncle Fester!” exclaimed Leah, my youngest daughter, while stabbing a finger toward my head. “O my gosh, yes!” chimed in Sarah, our middle child… choking back a laugh. “Oh, no!” sighed Vicki… Who was just returning home to once again take up the role of Chris’s horrified wife… as she discovered the…

There’s a thing creative types like to do. Especially writers. And I’ve been guilty. It’s… Getting creative… when you should be getting clear. Case in point yesterday… A writer on Facebook said their business name was related to “tea” (as in the kind you drink). So they were working on a slogan to put in…

Yep. It’s possible to run a thriving internet business without social media. 😲 “Chris, you’ve finally blown a gasket! What are you talking about? Everyone knows you can’t do business online without social media!” Daniel Throssell or Ben Settle would beg to differ. Both either don’t, or barely touch, social media… yet are some of…

Although there’s an art to writing Upwork proposals… It’s also a strategy and numbers game. There’s NEVER a 100% hit rate for writing proposals and landing jobs. It’s just… the better you write proposals. And the more you send. The more likely you are to land work. One of the secrets of my strategy is…

You know that déjà vu feeling? Like Neo in the Matrix, spotting the two black cats walking past? It’s happening again… Feeling like I’ve swum out too far. Too fast. Before I had gained enough strength to be confident playing in the shallows. I’m talking about adding things into my business that look helpful but…

The typical advice to freelancers who want to free themselves from the hamster-wheel of hustling is… get retainers. So you have steady work from a small handful of clients. And you’re not burning yourself out chasing new work month after month. Or it’s suggested you just hang in there. Because eventually you’ll build a network.…

One thing I’ve found that really starts to get me down is… Comparing myself to others. I’m picking you’ve probably experienced that at times too. I mean… It’s so easy to look at other peoples’ success and wonder… “why not me?” Why aren’t the clients banging on my door like they are for them? Why…

When I started learning email marketing there were two key metrics to track: Open rates and click-through rates. Yeah, there are others, like conversion rate. But they’re dependent on the first two. Metrics like unsubscribes and spam rates play more of a back-seat role. But things have changed. Open rates no longer tell you what…

A friend shared the story of her email copywriting win. She was doing an email course run by an A-list copywriter. (Names withheld to protect the innocent 😉) This copywriter said they LOVED her emails. It was because of her writing style. And they were uber-engaging. My friend told me… “I’ve been thinking that they…