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It’s been a real excercise in frustration splitting up TrainingNOW into three seperate pieces plus (A publisher of online training & books, a creator of information products, and a copywriting, web SEO and SEM, and ghostwriting company plus a seperate course site for writing how to books and information products). Let’s just say that it’s been a difficult birth. And now it’s going to be an even more difficult period raising these poor children!
Just to be mean, some of them don’t seem to want to get born!
We’ve talked about some of the hard parts (see the series: Lessons Learned) mostly in just getting a website up. But I haven’t really talked about one of the other issues … learning to talk about yourself.
You see, the latest site to come up is ContentCreators. Well, hopefully up by the time this is published. Now recognize that ContentCreators is our outlet for selling our writing services — traditional copywriting, web copywriting (including SEO and SEM), ghostwriting, and editing. It’s not like it’s new or anything. I’ve been doing half of it for oh … umm, oh s**t, geez I really am that old! (FYI, I literally learned entrepreneurship at my great-grandfather’s knee – and I was writing copy by age 10. Which was a few years ago). And Paul’s been doing the other half for more than most internet marketers have been alive! But I’ve always done it for other people more than for myself. Check out Can Da Software if you don’t believe me. Even ignoring the fact that it’s needed a graphical redesign for oh, 10 years now. Let’s face it, the copy was iffy when it was written some 15 years ago. Yes, it was as soon as the web hit Toronto – don’t remind me!
But I learned something from this.
I learned that I hate copywriting for myself because it’s just too much like tooting my own horn.
But, as an entrepreneur, it has to be done. And I know it. And I know I’m good at it. You see, the other half of the story, is that I just recently spoke to two of my clients.
One is Newport Funding (I did their website, coached them through SEO selection and coached them through writing their own copy). Even at one remove, I was able to boost their search engine rankings – and the proof is that their new website was able to generate 2 new contracts this week. (That’s a lot in their business).
The other is ThreeO Project Solutions (I co-wrote the AceIt! textbook). I was setting up a deal with him and he mentioned that his customers have complimented the book and that he believes I’m largely to blame!
Now the point is that in both cases, both clients are overjoyed with the work, and have promised that they will write a testimonial. After all, testimonials are the life-blood of the internet marketer.
Do I look like I’m holding my breath?
The sad truth is that less than 10% of the people who promise you testimonials will ever sit down and write one for you. Why? Because it’s too much like work. (Most ask me to write the testimonial and they’ll sign it – which I won’t do).
So where does that leave people like you and me?
Having to toot our own horn. Having to say how good we are and why people want to buy from us. And frankly, yes, it feels like bragging. And, yes, you may be lucky and able to hire someone else to write your copy for you.
But the bottom line is … if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you need to learn to sell. Not just “solution-selling” where you listen to someone with a problem then solve it. But “hey, I’m great, my products are wonderful, and this is why you should buy” selling. If you don’t then you’ll never succeed, and you’ll never get ahead. If you don’t promote yourself then noone else will! That’s the essence of marketing.
Yes, it feels like bragging. Yes, it goes against a life time of hearing your mother say “Nobody likes a braggart”. But if you want to succeed you need to draw attention to yourself. And you need to convince people that you are as good as you are. And that means you need to tell them just how good you really are.
But man it’s hard!
