I don’t want to get you excited but…
There might be a giveaway in the works.
I woke up this morning and checked my email software and discovered this:
Here’s what I’m thinking…
When/if I get to 400… I’ll have some kind of competition/giveaway.
(Prize TBA, but definitely open for suggestions)
But let’s talk about that number for a second…
Seeing “399”, you’re probably thinking one of two things:
1. “Arrrrggghhh! 399 is soooooo close to 400. My OCD is going crazy!”, or
2. “399? That doesn’t sound like a lot, especially for a copywriter”.
Fortunately, the answer to both of these questions is the same:
I don’t care.
When I was doing magic tricks for drunk folk, I used to compare myself to other magicians A LOT – what tricks they were doing, the gags they used, how much they earned, whether they were also going commando like me…
I can’t remember exactly when it happened, but I remember being at a gig with another magician, looking over, and trying to work out what he was doing…
WHILE I was entertaining a table of people.
What the hell was I doing?
I’ve got ten people captivated (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can dream, can’t I?) and I’m gawping over to see what the other guy’s doing.
So I just stopped caring…
… about the stuff that doesn’t matter.
“Brian’s started doing this trick…”.
Awesome. I couldn’t give a toss.
I seem to have dragged this “selective apathy” over into copywriting, which I’m super happy about.
I don’t care about the number of people NOT on my list…
I care about the people ON it.
People like you.
It’s why I’m pretty transparent and honest about the stuff I’m doing and why I’m doing it.
It’s also why I never think of you as being on a “list”, I prefer to think of this as an “email club”.
Everyone can get on a list. Not everyone gets in the club.
It’s why you won’t see me make a “When I get to 400 subscribers, I’m going to have a giveaway. Can you help…” post on social media, just to help me tip the email odometer over the 400 mark.
What’s the point?
Sure, I might get a few subscribers but, more than likely, as soon as the giveaway is done, they’ll be heading straight for the “bye-bye” link in the footer of the email.
I might not be the best emailer on the planet* but, if you’re in my email club, it’s because being here helps make your life better in some way.
*I’ve just checked and I’m definitely not. Bugger.
That’s really what email is all about – building an engaged audience of folks who want to hear from you, would miss you if you were gone, and see you as a trusted expert.
So, while we might have to wait a while for the “400 GIVEAWAY”, I promise I’ll try and make it worth the wait.
John Holt
P.S. I wasn’t joking about the prize suggestion thing.
If you have any ideas for a good giveaway that won’t have me Googling “how much can I get for my kidney?” so I can pay for it, hit reply and let me know.
(I retain the right to fantasise about – but not reply to – the REALLY weird suggestions. Yep, I’m looking at YOU, John)