Read This If You Think You Should Read This
So, you may have noticed that I started writing my subject lines a little differently.
For the past few years, it's been clickbaity headline after clickbaity headline.
You know what I'm talking about.
Headlines like:
"One Bulletproof Way To Change Your Life," and "The 5 Little Known Things That Will Make You 150% More Productive," and "Do This Surprisingly Simple Daily Habit To Improve Your Mindset."
I wrote them every day for a year and I still wonder if that helped me gain attention or pushed away readers who would like what I actually had to say.
Either way, I've been focusing on a more simple approach.
I'm not sure it's helping me gain more readers yet, but I do know that it neither adds nor takes away anything from the rest of the content I'm writing.
So, why?
Because I feel better about it.
Yep. That's the big realization.
I feel more straightforward and more honest--and that's been the promise the whole time, right?
I promised simple, to-the-point, no fancy-pants, quickly digestible, mission-critical, delicious, family-friendly, actionable, knowledge-nuggets?
These headlines feel even more stripped down. So, that's what I'm doing.
So, I'll be looking at open rates and read through rates to see what kind of actual, measurable impact this small, seemingly insignificant change has made, but as of right now, it feels like the right thing to do.
How does that relate to you?
Of course, I want to hear your feedback about this, but more importantly, I want to model a behavior for you.
Takeaways:
Change is good if it's good.
If the change you made achieves a desirable result (not necessarily the specific result you initially desired), then it's probably good. Make sure you are on the lookout for unintended consequences, too.
Simpler is usually harder but better.
I write a 7th-grade reading level. Why? The average reading level in America is a 7th-grade reading level. It also helps those above that average get to the point faster and comprehend more. No, I'm not dumbing it down. I'm meeting people where they are.
Measure what matters.
My message won't matter if it doesn't get clicked, opened, and read. My message also won't matter if it falls into the wrong ears. Discerning open rates and audience is the front portion of my battle. Understanding the impact is harder to measure, but also worthwhile. Likes, hearts, and thumbs-ups can be useful in understanding audience attention, but it will only serve your vanity if you don't follow them to the behaviors of the people you are trying to impact. This is also why I include a quick, actionable note in each post.
2 Minute Action
What's something you've been doing for a while but haven't seen much change in? It's probably something important but not urgent, like "fitness" or "writing that novel."
What are your current excuses/reasons for not doing it?
Go ahead, jot them down.
I'll give you a hint, here. No one has the time, money, or the team to make it happen--so you can't let those slow you down.
If you were diagnosed with some terrible disease, you would stop other things and focus on healing. Why? Because it's a priority. Suddenly, things became important AND urgent.
If you're like me, you want to do all the things.
You want to have a huge impact in 20 different disciplines, catch up with your friends and family, be an informed citizen, speak 7 or 8 languages, and play 13 different instruments.
Since you can't do everything, it's going to be up to you to decide what to prioritize. It's going to be up to you to decide what is important AND urgent.
As Derek Sivers says: "hell yes!" or "no!"
Changing/modifying a routine, simplifying/improving an existing routine, and measuring the results are some of the ways to get there.
You can start on one of those things, today.
And I know you can start in 2 minutes or less.
All I did was start writing different headlines.
Daily 1% improvement accumulates into a 100% improvement every 70 days.
[SERIES] 6/7 Unpopular Belief: Get Famous
Famous people are frauds.Famous people are vain.Famous people are selfish.This is post 6 of 7 Unpopular Beliefs Series.
Get Famous!
Influence is power.
We discussed how money can be useful in making change in part 1.Influence is just as powerful.Marketers use celebrities to advertise their products.Why? Because we trust them. We've built a relationship with celebrities over the course of their careers.I'm including politicians in this, as well.The more people you spread your message to, the more you can help people.
"The opposite of getting famous is hiding."- Derek Sivers
Mass media is mass communication.
Fred Rogers did it.Jim Henson did it.Sesame Workshop does it all the time.Getting famous means mastering media and communicating your message. Getting famous means being a practitioner of influence, not merely a wielder of it.
2 Minute Action
What networks do you have now?Instagram? Snapchat? Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter?For me, it's email.What's your message?Today is a great day to publish a random act of kindness or a resource that can help people.And what's great is that it doesn't need to take more than 2 minutes.
[SERIES] 4/7 Unpopular Belief: Say Yes To Everything
But you can't say yes to everything!If you do, you'll just be overwhelmed and out of time!This is partially true, but not completely. Let me explain.This is Part 4 of the 7 Unpopular Beliefs Series.
Say Yes To Everything!
Once you're rich, you can say "no."
Until then, you're working on creating new opportunities and building new relationships.When you have too many and you start to feel overwhelmed, it's time to cut the bottom 20%.Kill the bottom 20% of your projects, relationships, whatever you're spending your time on.If you do this continually, the only way is up.
Diversify your opportunities
By saying "yes," to things you might otherwise reject, you're diversifying--a major principle in investing. Over time, you'll learn what returns on investment and what doesn't. This will also protect you from depending too much on one opportunity.If you work for GE for 25 years and suddenly they decide to lay you off, you now have to find another job. If you develop multiple skills and streams of income over 25 years, it's going to be a lot harder to knock you down.
Reinvest In Your Network
"No one has ever said: 'I'm too well liked and I'm too well respected--I just can't seem to make any money.'"- Seth Godin
By showing your network that you appreciate and value them (by adding value), they will appreciate and value you.This creates more opportunities and keeps you fresh in their minds when new ones arise.You also have the benefit of a strong support network when things go sideways.
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to do one of the following:
- Email/call/text an old colleague and tell them how they made a difference in your life.
- Think of someone who asked you to do something recently. Not a favor like "can you drive me to the airport." I mean more like "hey, do you want to start a really informal podcast about hunting?"
- Say "yes," and commit for a period of time. Have a rule about what will allow you to bail and agree on it with an accountabilibuddy.
- If you're not overloaded, add something to your project list.
- If you're overloaded, kill the bottom 20% of projects you're working on.