Gerard Dawson

08/30/2022

"So what?"

This is my trick for ending any long form writing with power.

I make an outline, getting down every idea that relates to the topic. Then I go through the notes and create some H2s.

At the end I write "Conclusion - so what?"

It is a simple reminder to frame the writing in terms of its benefits to the reader.

What is one detail from your writing process you can share in the comments? I'd love to hear it.

08/29/2022

Embarrassing story:

When I first started freelancing, I took a call after school in my classroom.

Me: For the project we've been discussing, this is my rate.

Prospect: Hmm...Where are you getting that number? We just paid an editor less than that. I wouldn't expect to pay more for this.

Me: Uhh.. uhhh.. ok - what should we do instead??

Prospect: I can do X.

Me: Um, ok, yea that sounds good.

Ramit Sethi talks about “invisible scripts.”

These are stories we tell ourselves, that were imprinted at some point in our lives, and that can have a limiting effect on our actions. Other people have similar terms with similar meanings. The point is that we tell ourselves things, that may or may not be true, but they don’t let us succeed to the extent that might otherwise be possible.

[See my post yesterday on self-actualization for more on that]

As the story above shows, I had an Invisible Script for sales to deal with.

At some point, I learned that sales was risky, difficult, and worst of all - something people were either good at, or not. My Invisible Script told me I was not good at sales and couldn't get better.

Eventually, I discovered a backdoor to sales through copywriting. This led me to study the psychology behind sales but apply it in a way I was more comfortable with, writing words on a screen and not facing people in person, on the phone, or on a video call.

Fortunately, learning basic principles like framing, anchoring, contrast, visual language, pain points, etc. are directly applicable to any kind of sales. So after lots of practice and a little bit of learning, I eventually made some progress.

So going back to the story above, it's not that I necessarily should've been paid more, it's at that time I didn't believe I could take a specific approach on the phone that might avoid that situation all together.

What is an Invisible Script you have or had? Share or ask a question below.

08/28/2022

Job vs. Business, and the path to self-actualization

Getting deep while reflecting this Sunday because the topic has been on my mind.

Many are familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy, and the peak being self-actualization, or becoming the most that one can be. The full expression of the self. As Instagram Moms say, living your best life.

Without a doubt, reaching our needs as a human requires work. So it follows that reaching self-actualization requires A LOT of it.

But can this be achieved through a job, i.e. working for a boss? I'm trying to figure this out. My gut reaction is to say it can happen only when the person doing the job has lots of autonomy and investment in the mission of the business.

Can it be achieved through starting a business, even a one-person endeavor? On this, I'm certain the answer is yes.

The challenges one faces when 100% responsible for getting customers and delivering a product or service push one to maximize strengths and address weaknesses.

Of course there are myriad factors that impact the success of a business, but it still remains true that the person running the show is accountable for the business's performance.

For example, I thought I was bad at sales before starting to freelance. Am I great now? No, but I had to address that and improve to succeed as a freelancer.

This need to identify weaknesses and address them might happen more when you run a business because the stakes are often higher.

What do you think? Especially if you've done both, working as an employee and operating a business, even as one person.

Can a job be a path to self-actualization? Can running a business?

08/25/2022

Picture it... you’re driving by the church and there’s a 3-5 second window to catch your attention.

Whoever’s in charge of the sign has some creative constraints, too:

• Language needs to be church appropriate
• Limited space on the sign
• All text, no images

If the sign succeeds and gets people in the door, then what?

Guests can leave at any time. So what is it that makes them stay? A great sermon of course.

If the sermon is powerful enough, it will get people not only to come back, but to bring family or friends, too.

The church sign and the sermon are the perfect analogy for the two writing skills required for success at work today, whether you are a founder, employee, freelancer, or anywhere in between.

Here are the skills: writing messages that you send to people, and writing messages that send people to you. Yes it’s that simple.

I wrote about my personal stories and tips for developing these skills on Substack this week.

Read it here https://gerard.substack.com/p/why-those-funny-church-signs-explain

08/16/2022

Are you a hunter or a farmer?

If you had to describe the way you market your business or project, which metaphor would you choose?

Don't worry, this isn't a vegan vs. carnivore debate.

As a hunter, you go into the wild, stalk your prey, and bring home the kill. A farmer does the opposite.

You stay home, cultivate your land, and harvest your crops months (even years!) later.

What does hunting and farming have to do with growing your brand through writing?

Strong writing gives you the tools to hunt and farm. The skills and timelines are different. But the outcome is the same.

More clients, More customers, More relationships.

You might see where I'm going, but let me lay it out for you.

A strong writer hunts by writing persuasive outreach messages that people can't help but answer. And she farms by creating valuable content to attract those people on autopilot.

Most people thrive on an omnivore diet. Here's what I mean:

Whether you're writing for a personal project like your Etsy store, Instagram account, or nonprofit volunteer work, or for your business, you'll need to go out and connect with people. Clients, partners, investors, and more.

At the same time, you can't beat the scalability of inbound. When you have opportunities coming to you - whether they are leads, customers, or successful people in your industry - the sky is the limit.

Most important: combining these skills gives you more control of your own destiny.

So again, which of these describes you? Or which one would you like to get better at? Share your response or ask a question below.

08/15/2022

After I tried and failed to change careers around 2015-2016, I realized I needed to build relationships. But this was not a strength.

There was nothing like the LinkedIn community for transitioning teachers that exists now. And I did not stumble on the great resources that I see posted by Daphne Gomez and so many others.

So, over the next 5 years or so, I pieced together my own ways of starting, building, and maintaining relationships.

It did not involve coffee chats, DMing people here with questions, or commenting on others' posts.

Noting wrong with those ideas. But I wrote about a different approach this week.

Read it here https://gerard.substack.com/p/networking-for-introverts-whatever

11/04/2019

If you want to avoid total ruin for your education product or service, you can do it by...

kicking your users in the face (?) The episode below explains what I mean.

Thanks for listening! Learn how to get through to school leaders with the 5-Day Copy Fix. Sign up here: https://TheEdtechShop.com