How to write for your biz without the agony
“I have complete brain shut down and panic any time I try to sit down and write anything about my business (or really anything in general). Would love some guidance on how to just .. make it happen with less agony and pain!”
This was a question that came up in last week’s Craft n’ Copy Hour, and wow could I relate!
Ah pain. Yes, I know it well. Brain shut down, panic, the urge to fight (with people who are wrong on the internet, because I’m procrastinating doing the work) or flee (to Facebook or online shopping…). It’s normal. Or, at least, it’s our new normal. Because I don’t think this is how humans are meant to operate. And I believe that’s why Doing Things Alone is so darn hard.
Can we make it easier to do the writing for our businesses? I think so. I think we just have to take a big picture view of The Human Condition Through The Ages.
(You can take a girl out of Greece, but you can’t take ancient Greece out of the girl!)
Photo of me and my husband in Delphi, Greece
It takes a village to do anything.
From the dawn of time up through the industrial revolution, when humans needed to get something done — hunting, gathering, cooking, washing, sewing, building a barn, building a pyramid — they got a group together to do it. Hunting parties, communal baking, sewing circles, barn-raising. It was all done within the context of the village.
These pyramids took a LOT of villages.
But, as entrepreneurs, we expect ourselves to just be able to do things all by ourselves! Sitting alone (or with fur-friends) in our silent home offices, with our giant mugs of tea.
It’s all on us to get things done.
When that has never, in the course of human history, been a reasonable expectation.
Then we blame ourselves or think we’re broken in some way. “I’m not motivated enough. Maybe I need a new supplement. Maybe I need to see a doctor for a prescription. Maybe I should buy an espresso machine and give up sleeping…”
These are all thoughts I had when I was burnt out earlier this year, by the way.
Repeat after me: It takes a village to do anything.
And we are, by and large, without a village. Which makes everything so much more of a struggle.
So how do we recreate the village?
There are plenty of people, myself included, who will support you in your work for financial compensation (cue shameless plug for The Truer Copy Mastermind - now taking applications for January 2023!). That’s not inherently a bad thing.
But when that feels like your only option, that’s not the village we need - that’s just capitalism separating us from the herd so we’re dependent on buying rather than reciprocating care.
This is one of the reasons I love offering my free Craft n’ Copy Hour. It’s like a sewing circle for business owners, but instead of thread, we’re weaving words. And chatting, and laughing. (You can RSVP for the next one here - they’re at 4pm Pacific every other Wednesday)
But, that’s not your only option for having some company to make work a bit easier.
There’s Focusmate - which is less social, but arguably more productive. You’re on a video call with another person working silently together as accountability buddies. It’s free for up to 3 sessions per week.
There’s The Cabin Club, which is just $24/month, and offers mindful coworking sessions that include movement, meditation, intention setting AND focused work time.
Tad Hargrave (Marketing for Hippies) offers Free First Thursdays - a monthly ‘office hours’ zoom call to ask him anything.
And then there’s my Truer Copy Mastermind - definitely not a free or cheap option, but one where the spirit of The Village is very much present.
Co-working sessions and group support are built in, so it’s not just you staring at the blank page, willing yourself to Do The Work. Basically, I made the resource I need to get things done because I also struggle to do the work alone.
Sure, there are plenty of DIY programs to learn copywriting (maybe not ethical copywriting - that’s still pretty new!), and there are Big Ticket programs with dozens of people vying for attention on group calls, but the ones I’ve seen are missing the heart of the village.
Human connection. Generosity of spirit. Kindness and care.
I think that’s what we need to sit down and do the work without pain - and with so much more joy.
The Truer Copy Mastermind is now taking applications for January 2023. I hope you can join our village!