(A quick heads up: doors close for “Sent.” – my email marketing course – THIS FRIDAY… OR when 40 places get snapped up – whichever happens sooner. If you want in, click here to secure your space so you don’t miss out)
“Who the heck are you to sell a course?”
“You know there are better copywriters than you, right?”
I can’t tell you how many times the imposter in my head (I call her Marjorie) has been yelling questions like these as she wanders around my “Mind Bungalow” over the past few weeks.
Imposter syndrome, in case you haven’t heard (you lucky bastard, you!) is feeling that we’re not quite as good as people say we are, and it’s only a matter of time before someone points a finger at us and yells “FRAUD!”
The good news is… Imposter Syndrome happens to us all.
But that’s a bit of a downer because it paints a picture that there’s no escape. What’s worse, you listen to your idol on your favourite podcast and discover that even with all the awesome things she’s done… she still has Imposter Syndrome too.
“Oh my freaking god, does this ever go away?”
I’ve been feeling a lot of imposter-related stuff recently when talking about “Sent.”.
“You’re not the best person to be teaching this, you know…”
“If this was really a good idea, someone else would have done it”
In a second, I’m going to give you a question that will help keep Imposter Syndrome (is it OK if I call it IS from here on?) at bay for a while, but it’s worth pondering on how IS might actually be useful.
IS stops you from making a fool of yourself.
It’s the one thing stopping you from being one of those deluded folk on Pop Idol who declares themselves to be the next Beyonce… and then open their mouth and sound like a mouse going down a garbage disposal.
IS will stop you from making stupid mistakes like that.
So we need IS… but we need to tweak it a little, so we’re not quite so terrified of hitting “send.”
First off, let’s start with Marjorie:
“You’re not the best person to be teaching this, you know…”
…and let’s talk right back to her.
“Yeah, I know but… I don’t need to be the greatest copywriter in the world to teach business owners how to write an email. I just need to know how to write an email. And I can.”
IS often quick to point out you’re not the “best” at something, but that’s a weak argument.
If we only employed people who were the best, Amanda Holden probably wouldn’t be on TV.
It’s useful to change the emphasis from “best” to “qualified”.
Am I the best person on the planet to teach email marketing?
God no.
Do I know enough, and have enough proven ability, to show business owners how to write a good email?
God yes.
Awesome. I’m good.
So that’s the first tweak – lowering the standard from “intergalactic superhero” to “qualified”.
IS also seems to like generalities. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because specific allegations are easier to answer, so keeping things vague is an easy way for IS to make you feel like a fraud.
If you were launching a membership, for example, it’s easy for your IS to throw a load of vague “you’re not good enough”-esque nonsense at you to stop you in your tracks, but…
If you sat down and interrogated it for a while, it’d crumble:
“You’re not good enough.”
“For what?”
“To sell a course.”
“Why?”
“There are better campanologists out there.”
“I know, but I’ve got my bell ringing blue belt* and have 15 years of experience teaching people how to do it. I’ve seen every mistake there is and I know that this course will save beginners hours of wasted time and effort… at a bargain price.”
“OK… but what’s going on with your hair?”
* It’s at this point I should probably point out that I know nothing about the campanology grading system.
Let me tell you something that Marjorie doesn’t want you to know:
You don’t have to be the best in the world, you just have to answer one question:
“Can I deliver on the specific promises I’m making?”
Yes?
You’re good, dude.
Have a good Monday,
John Holt
P.S. If you’re interested in hearing more about “Sent.” – my email marketing course for business owners who want to learn how to write an email that sounds like them… one their subscribers read, here’s some more info:
“Sent.” is NOT a “complete guide to email marketing/copywriting.
If you’re a copywriter or business owner who’s quite happy sitting down, writing an email, and pimping their shizzle, “Sent.” is NOT for you.
But if you’re looking to up your email game and don’t know where to start… or what to talk about… or worry about people unsubscribing…
“Sent.” will sort you right out.
Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of the things I’ll be sharing:
- Comedy writing techniques that provide you with an endless source of content
- How to “pitch” to your reader… without feeling like a sleazy, slimy pitcher
- The simple step-by-step checklist you’ll follow when writing every email (extra bonus: use this and you’ll NEVER have to face the blank page again!)
- How to finally put an end to worrying about “unsubscribes” (and why you should actively encourage them!)
- Do you struggle with subject lines? No worries, I’ll show you some simple techniques that make coming up with a clickable subject line almost automatic
- How to write emails faster… without actually writing any faster (wait… wut?)
… and much more.
Here’s how it’ll work:
Every day, for 15 days, you’ll get an email from me that’ll guide you from “oh my god, what do I do?” to emailing pro (almost).
Not only that but there’ll be “bite-size” daily tasks AND a LIVE Zoom call to answer any questions you might have, making this as “hands-on” as possible.
Follow the system, and in just 3 weeks (I give you weekends off), you’ll know how to write an email.
At £40, this is the cheapest “Sent.” will ever be.
Also, because I want to make “Sent.” even more awesome, this first time around will be the most interactive it’ll ever be too!
(That’s why I’m limiting it to 40 people)
We start on Monday 26th April, but…
DOORS CLOSE ON FRIDAY 23RD APRIL
Again, if you’re a copywriter or a business owner who’s happy sitting down and writing emails and social posts, “Sent.” is NOT for you.
But… if you want my help to take your email marketing to the next level, this is the link you need: