This is one of nature's perverse little jokes: The worse the situation... the better the copywriter or marketer.
We all need crucibles to bounce against to trigger our best work.
One of the more common trouble spots of many marketers... especially in the Information Age... centers on the uncomfortable fact that, often, you have to talk about yourself.
You're part of the package. The author, the expert, the coach, the guru, the whatever. In order to make your case, you gotta stand up and essentially do some world-class self-aggrandizing.
Some might call it bragging.
Regardless, it's often the toughest job you'll ever have as a marketer and copywriter. I've known some Hall Of Fame braggarts in my time (my late, great mentor counted finding new ways of self-aggrandizement as one of his top hobbies)... but mostly, marketers and copywriters run into a brick wall of doubt and shyness when they discover they've got to tout themselves.
Here is what I wrote to a student who was frozen by fear over the need to go there:
Ahem.
We ALL have trouble writing for our own stuff. I HATE writing for my own products. It's a pain to examine myself the same brutal way I examine clients... because it's tough to get out of your own box.
The answer, however, is frustratingly simple: You CAN do it.
You just try.
And you try again. Until you get it right.
And then you challenge what you believe you've discovered. Take a nap or a walk or a shower (I use all of these to let things "work themselves out in my unconscious")... and come back and be hard-core on yourself and everything you've written. Not knocking yourself down - just digging past the easy answers, for the good stuff.
This is why we say -- with honesty-- that great salesmen lead better lives. They engage in the Zen arts of self-reflection and meditation (even if they have no idea they're doing it)... and they seek self awareness and the clear, brutal honestly of reality.
You can do this.
Just know that it's tough for all of us... but once you find that elusive, groove, you're off to the races. You literally explode from your box, and the stuff just flows.
I've been doing this all my adult life. I've taught people who loathed any kind of self examination to do it anyway.
You can do this. Stay with it.
That's the tip: Few can talk about themselves easily.
You just get over your fear... and find your groove.
And I'll tell you something else: Once you do get past your fears and reluctance... it's like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
Marketing -- especially in today's Web 2.0 confession-fest-- thrives on honesty and self-discovery and openness. That's not the image outsiders have of marketers and copywriters... but it's true.
This simple piece of advice has been the foundation of my success ever since I left my old slacker-self (who is still sitting on that slacker couch deep in my unconscious, somewhere, wondering when I'm gonna stop all this ambition nonsense and get back to terminal goofing off): I can do it.
I didn't believe it. I did it anyway, despite my disbelief.
And as I gained confidence, I started doing everything that had seemed so elusive to me before.
Doing rocks.
Give it a try.
About this Author
John Carlton's 25-year career is legendary... as an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. To read more from John (including accessing the 5-years-deep archive of hard-core tactics and insight and advice, for free) just dive into his globally-read blog:
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