Today, however, I came across a video while on Facebook. It was posted by a friend and colleague.

It’s obviously a promotion by Google about some of the new things they are doing in marketing but the story and the how are very cool. I could never do the video justice, so I’ll just say click the link below, sit back and enjoy…

Then let me know what you think about using the old to create the new in the comments below…

“Great productivity isn’t about working all the time.
Great productivity is about being effective when you’re working.”

That got me thinking.
What limits my effectiveness when I work for hours on end?  Why am I not as effecient then?
What can I do to increase my productivity?

I realized something that I’ve known for years.  I need to take time to relax.

In fact, relaxation is the key to productivity.  Let me show you how.

First of all, relaxation reduces your stress.

We have all heard the ill effects stress can have on our bodies, so I won’t go into detail here.  I do think it’s worth mentioning though.

We all want healthy lives.  Why let stress get in the way of that?

On top of the health reasons, there is a host of social ramifications to stress.  Have you ever caught yourself aggravated at your loved ones, for seemingly no reason?  Or have you ever not wanted to go to a party because you “just don’t want to be around people tonight”?

How many times is that anger is stemming from a stressful work situation? Perhaps a client is taking his time paying you when you really need the money.  Or perhaps you just feel overwhelmed because you’ve over-committed a little bit.

Your friends and family doesn’t deserve the heat from your stress.  You know that.

You don’t deserve the heat from your stress either.

It curbs your personal growth.  It kills your happiness.  It limits your social life.

Relaxing will let your mind sort through all the problems you’ve been overwhelmed with.  Taking a break will let the chemicals and hormones in your body balance out.  Take a few minutes to slow your body down and relax.

On top of knocking out your stress, relaxing will increase your energy.

Have you ever caught yourself just staring at your computer screen?  Doesn’t that always happen on the days you have a lot to get done?  Or have you ever read the same page of information multiple times, because you are having trouble grasping the concepts in it?  Or have you ever edited something you’ve written, only to realize you actually added more errors than you’ve corrected?

We’ve all been there—times when we’ve just felt drained.  Without energy.  Dead.

When we get like this, it’s impossible to work effectively.  Our minds won’t work.  We can’t focus.  We lose our confidence in our ability to finish the job or to produce quality work.

Now, all this doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to relax properly.  So let me show you how.

One big way to relax is by creating a peaceful environment where you work.

Personally, I work at home, and I love it.  Others may want to be out of the house, so they rent an office or work at a local coffee shop.  You may love the quietness of a library.  Find where you work best, and work there as often as you can.

Also, curb any frustrations that may come your way in your work environment.  Keep your things organized, so when you need something, you know exactly where to go to get it.  If you work at home, make sure the family knows you’re working and can’t be disturbed.

Play music, light some candles, keep a white-noise machine on.  Actively figure out what helps you relax, and bring those elements into your work environment.

Exercise is a great way to actively relax.

Getting your blood flowing will help your body wash out the toxins that come from negative emotions.

Now, I’m not talking about going to a gym or working out 30 minutes three days a week, though you should be doing that.  I’m talking about taking a moment to get away from your work to do a quick exercise.  Do a few pushups or sit-ups.  Take a walk and get some fresh air.  Do some light yoga.  Do something to take your mind off your stress by moving your body a bit.

Learn some breathing exercises.

The simplest one is to just sit in your chair and actively try to slow your breathing down.  I’ve read that your lungs get more oxygen while your lying on your back—so lay down on the floor and try breathing slowly for a couple minutes.

What makes breathing exercises so effective is how they slow down your heart beat and help your blood absorb oxygen.  Your muscles will relax, and you won’t feel near as tense as you were earlier.

One more thing… keep track of your time when you work.

I don’t do this as often as I should, but it helps to keep a timer on your desk.  Set it to a certain time—an hour, half an hour, 2 hours, whatever you’re comfortable with.  When the timer goes off, stop what you are doing, even mid-sentence, and step away for 10-15 minutes.

When I’ve done this, I’ve found my productivity increases a lot.  It keeps me from feeling overwhelmed, and it keeps my energy level high.

Use the break time to do what we’ve already talked about.  Exercise.  Rearrange something in your office to make it more to your liking.  Grab a snack, or read a magazine.  The point is just step away from what you are doing, then come back to it with a fresh mind.

Don’t forget, great productivity is about being effective when you’re working.  Relax, take a break, and jump into your assignment.  When you feel your stress levels rising or when your energy is waining, it’s time to step away.

-Sean

Now, you may be thinking, “who is this guy?  I’ve never heard of him…”

That’s ok, I’ve never written on here before.

I’m Sean’s research guy.  Which is why he’s letting me take a stab at this post.

We are writers.  We have a grasp of the English language unmatched by others.  We can paint with words, convey thoughts with ease, and persuade other humans to take certain actions.

At least that’s what our clients assume about us.

But how do we gain that ability?  In almost any other field, there are specific methods to develop, specific ways to learn, specific things to know, specific actions to take.  How do we learn in our craft?  How do we grow?

I had seen Finding Forrester before, but this time a concept stuck out to me more than ever.

If you’ve never seen it, it’s about a boy from a rough background and a reclusive author.  They discover each other, and Forrester (the author, played by Sean Connery) takes an interest in the boy, who wants to be a writer as well.  To help the boy develop his skill, Forrester gives him several unpublished essays and tells him to copy them all, word-for-word.  Throughout the story, this is how the boy learns and grows.

We need to be like the boy in the story.  We all need to grow and develop.  There are few ways to do that in our industry, but the best way is to learn directly from a master’s writing.

Why Copy Others

There are several ways to copy others, and it’s quite easy.  In fact, there is a common method of copying that you probably engage in frequently—creating a swipe file.

The main reason for a swipe file is to gain ideas.  You are “swiping” ideas from right out of another’s work.

You are gathering dozens, perhaps hundreds, of successful pieces in your niche.  Have you ever asked yourself why?

Well, on the most practical basis, you need ideas to break through writer’s block.

We’ve all had it—a time where our brains just can’t seem to work.  We stare at the screen for hours, and nothing comes.  It comes whether you’re just starting a piece, or it can come right in the middle.  Either way, it’s devastating, and it cuts down your productivity faster than anything else.

Here’s the thing… I’ve found that few things break through writer’s block faster than taking a thoughtful look through my swipe file.  I read, looking for ideas.  I look for an exceptional headline, or a gripping lead, or a emotionally and intellectually stimulating close.  I look for things I know have worked for others, and try to apply their methods to myself.

Copying also makes us learn.  This is a continual process—and one I’ve found more valuable than any course, lesson, or seminar I’ve taken.  When you copy a successful work and genuinely study it, you naturally pick up what made that work successful.

Something interesting happens in the brain as we go through this process.  We are creating pathways and grooves in our thinking, training our brain to automatically “know” what works and what doesn’t.

Think a moment about what that means… Good copy will become a part of us, flowing naturally onto the page.  Copying others will help your writing more than anything else I know.

How to Copy others

There are several methods to actually go about this process.

The easiest is to just copy—word for word.

In copying the successful work of a master in your niche, you gain a natural understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

As good as word-for-word copying is, you can be much more methodical and organized about the process.  Let’s go back to your swipe file.

To truly learn from your swipe file, you must keep it organized.  If you don’t, it’ll just turn into a huge pile, out of which you may grab a piece or two from time to time as you remember them.  The pile will just get bigger and bigger until you get frustrated with it and throw it all in a box or file, never to look at most of it again.

Just this week I discovered an incredible way of keeping all that information organized by using a spreadsheet.  Let me show you how:

Make a spreadsheet, and label the first page “Headlines”.  Perhaps the second page could be “lead”, the third “closings”, etc.  The first column of each page will be “Original”, the second “Formula”, and the third “source”.  Always keep this file open on your computer.

When a headline (or a lead or a closing, etc.) grabs your attention, whether it be in a book, on a webpage, or in a magazine, write the headline down in the “Original” column and notate the source.  I would suggest typing it out versus using copy and paste, for the reasons listed above about copying word-for-word.  When you have time later, figure out the formula to the headline.

For example, you’re going through your blogs, and a headline jumps out at you: “Give me 3 minutes and I’ll make you a better writer.” (This headline is from Copyblogger, just so you know).  Copy that and paste it into your spreadsheet.  When you have time, look at that headline.  What is it that grabbed your attention?  How can you tweak that to work for any article or promotion you write?  The formula could be “Give me [short amount of time] and I’ll ______ you ______.”  Now you can use that headline for anything:

“Give me a month and I’ll make you lose 30 pounds!”
“Give me a week and I’ll help you speak Spanish!”
“Give me 5 minutes and I’ll show you the best investment opportunity today!”

Think about the value of this.  If you take an extra minute or two to do this every time you add a piece to your swipe file, you will have a massive, yet organized, collection of data in a short amount of time.  You can instantly look a list at successful headlines, closings, P.S.’s, guarantees, etc., along with a formula that can be easily plugged into your work.  It will streamline your writing process, especially during the times you are stuck.

Lastly, keep extensive lists of items you can plug into your writing.  For example, I have within arms reach on my desk a categorized list of emotional words, a list of cliches, and a list of transitional phrases.  I also have several quote books on my shelves.

Normally I use these at the end of my writing process.  After I’ve written the entire copy, and proof-checked it at least once, I’ll pull out these lists.  I’ll try to find ways to enhance my writing with certain words or phrases.  I will add transitions that help the flow of my writing.  I’ll grab a quote or two that fit well with what I’ve written.

Now, I’m not saying you should plagiarize.  I’m saying there is plenty you can learn from the thousands of years of writers that came before us.  Remember, whether it’s learning from their experience, or keeping their writing as a reference, or just being aware of hundreds of little words or phrases that can enhance the flow of your work, there is much to gain from others’ work.

Take a lesson from Finding Forrester.  Develop your skill directly from a master’s hand.

-Sean

You Have a Choice When Writing Copy

As a direct-response copywriter, I am always  looking for ways to improve my writing.  I’ve learned over the years that good writing can be turned into great writing if you concentrate on certain areas:

Brevity

Great copy never wastes a single word. Brevity in our business is a precious jewel.

Maybe you studied Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in school.  Did you realize a preacher spoke before Lincoln?  I only found this out recently.  I think it’s interesting to think about that when you compare their speeches.  The first man spoke for over two hours… Lincoln’s speech was only three hundred words.

Now, that’s not to say there is no room for long copy.  Long copy is great for certain products.  And you have to know when is the best time to use longer copy.

Actually, brevity is probably more important in longer copy.  You can’t afford to waste a single word–the reader will be spending his precious time reading your copy.  If he begins to see you rambling, he might skip over a key part or your argument or put down your letter all together.

Simplicity

Closely connected to brevity is simplicity.  I’m a firm believer that any idea can be expressed in simple, every-day language.

Look at the parable in the Bible.  Often the truths found in the parables are life-changing if you can wrap your head around them.  But look how just a few of them start:

“A man built his house upon the sand.”
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.”
“A certain man had two sons.”

The rest of these stories were told in simple, story-like language that a child could understand.  Yet they powerfully communicate truths the cut deep into our every day lives.

I think Albert Einstein summed it up perfectly, “Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

Sincerity

Lastly, we must be sincere in all our writing.  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying.”  This is a gripping thought, because it is so true.

I think the best way to be sincere in writing copy, especially direct-response, is to be selective in your clients.  If you think the product you are selling is a poor product, or that your client takes advantage of their customers, you are not going to write good copy for them.

Sometimes this making a hard decision.  Sometimes it means saying no to a much-needed pay check.

Before I got into copywriting, I had to make a hard decision like this.  I worked as a salesman, and the more a learned about our product, the more I realized our company was ripping people off.  I couldn’t work for them any more, so I quit.  Now keep in mind, I have a wife and two kids.  We had food to buy, car and house payments to pay for, gas to get.

Oh, I should mention that when I quit, I had $27 in my bank account.  My wife was looking for a job at the time.

And it was probably one of the best decisions I have every made in my life.  I immediately started a business (yes, with only $27 to my name).  In that time, I learned copywriting and was able to jump into this career full force a couple years later.

That tough decision has let me have the confidence to be selective–to choose clients that I can believe in.

And now I am living the writer’s life, and loving it.  All because I had the guts to only accept work that I can be sincere about.

I hope you have the guts to be selective.  It will do wonders for you copy, and your paycheck.  Be brief and simple in your writing.  These are honestly some of the most important pieces of advice I can give you.

I’m interested, do any of you have similar stories?  Any tough decisions that were blessings in disguise?  Tell me about it in the comments!

-Sean

Thought you might like some ideas on how write great opening sentences for your promotional or direct response copy. So, I’m going to do a series of very short posts that offer some great opening lines.

Where do we find great opening lines?

Great writers of course. But not just copywriters. We can learn from all the great writers that have come before us.

So here’s today’s sample opening line:

“It was now lunch time and they were all sitting under the double green fly of the dining tent pretending that nothing had happenned.”

Ooooooh. I wonder what did happen.See how that works? It makes you want to read more. And that’s all the first line of your copy is supposed to do.

This is a classic curiosity and mystery hook. It’s the very first sentence in the classic short story The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway.

How could you add a little mystery and curiosity to your next opening line?

So long for now,

Sean

This is the second print I’ve ordered from them and each time the process has been very easy and straight forward.

But here’s where it gets really unusual…

Earlier today, I got an email from them saying my image was the wrong size for the canvas I ordered. I thought for certain they were emailing me to let me know how stupid I was and that I should resize and re-upload a new photo file.

Nope, not the case at all.

In fact, just the opposite. They are resizing the physical canvas to meet the size of the digital photo I sent.

Here’s the email…

———

Hi Sean,

Regarding your recent order, the image that you submitted does not fit the exact proportions for the size of canvas you have chosen.  In order to assure a good fit, we are going to make your canvas a custom size of 16×24 instead of 16×20.  We will do this at no additional charge to you.  Our goal is for you to be completely satisfied with the finished product, so we just wanted to keep you informed of this modification.  We will get started immediately.  We will do a great job for you!

CanvasOnDemand.com reference #1604558.

Thanks!

Please feel free to call us Mon-Fri 9:00 am to 6:00 pm ET at (800) 801-6312 or e-mail us at service@canvasondemand.com.

——-

I know, incredible right?! Imagine the loyalty they just got from me. I’m sold on using them from now on whenever I need or want a print. I can even feel confident that my order won’t get delayed because of a screwup I make. That’s great if I have a rush gift I want to create.

It just goes to show, selling doesn’t stop after the credit card has been charged. Selling is an ongoing act that shows up as opportunities after the sale… even in customer mistakes.

Thanks,

Sean

P. S. – Got any great customer service stories? I’d love to hear them in the comments below…