How to create a writing practice as a service business
“I'm a writer and, therefore, automatically a suspicious character.” - Alfred Hitchcock
Well, one question is, is, why write? In a world of video, is slow, lethargic, crotchety old writing even worthwhile for the busy service business owner? It’s the videos that go viral. And the videos that build the most trust?
Or is it?
One of the decisions I made a few years back was to focus more on writing. Not to be a ‘writer’ in an ivory tower, but to use it as my medium for communication with businesses. So my main formats are books, articles and emails. Or, writing on an instagram post.
Part of this was because I always liked it. Also I just see it as the most superior. Call it bias, or whatever. But I kind of look at book authors as the top of the communication food chain. Then everyone else kind of falls underneath them. That’s just my view… Sure there are podcasts and TV stars et cetera. But there’s a reason why people know Hemingway’s name even if they never pick up a pen.
Anyway, things have worked out so far.
There’s plenty of trust. The content gets the reach. And, the contrarian in me smiles at the overflow of video out there, knowing that there’s another way, should one choose.
So a ‘writing’ practice versus a speaking practice, or whatever, is a choice.
Another thing I like is training. And, writing and training don’t have a lot in common. In one, you sit on your ass. With the other, you’re lifting weights. But there is one common thread: most people start, but don’t continue, and, on top of that, most of us think that we’re better than we are. In the training world, all we have to do is look at a ten year old weightlifter from Russia or China, and we get humbled pretty fast.
In the writing world, it’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking we’re a writer because we have written something. But in either case, it’s worth having the hubris to realise this whole thing is a lifelong practice.
And, even though it’s a practice, as a business owner, you can start to make more money as you practice.
And this is the trick.
A couple months back, I got an email from one of the creators. And she had started to write articles and send some emails. Well, on her thirteenth email ever, she put in an offer. I think it went out to thirty people or so. And a few people bought the consulting offer. That’s nothing to sneeze at. And, for anyone wanting to write better, that’s the goal. To get paid as the business owner, while you’re getting better as a writer.
So there are a few points to setting up a writing practice that sticks.
1 - Create a Reason to Write
You may say this sounds vague. But it’s key. For me, I’ve found that the more I write, the better I do, the more I can help people et cetera. It also helps me improve my work. On top of this, I look at writing as a long term thing. So that’s part of the reason. Over the years, I’ll build the reputation as a ‘writer’. Which is of course all about the ego. And, I’m totally fine with that.
So the question is, what’s your reason?
Why bother?
How can you believe in a story where it makes sense to actually put the time in?
I used ‘create’ a reason on purpose. Because you get to make this up. My reason to write won’t be the same as yours.
Your writing can be a tool to become a better communicator.
To make more money.
To help you build an audience.
To create marketing assets for your business.
Or maybe you just want to write thriller novels or be a more compelling pen pal. Whatever.
Down the line, we tend to enjoy writing just because it’s fun. And you can create cool stuff. But it takes a bit of pounding away on the keys to get to that. So you want to know your reason beforehand to get some momentum.
2 - Have a ‘Place’ to Write
While back I was reading ‘The Power of Myth’ by Joseph Campbell, and in there he was talking about how going to the cinema was more like a ritual.
So basically, we would enter the cinema, and watch these stories, with the actors et cetera, who were kind of put up on a pedestal. But what happened when Netflix and the other streaming platforms came in, is that ‘ritual’ has kind of shifted. And this is one of the reasons why the trust in celebrities and influencers is down, because the ritual has stopped, by not having to go to that same ‘place.’
And, in all kinds of rituals, the ‘place’ has a lot of importance.
And so it is with writing. Not the ‘place’ as in I’m writing this from a kitchen table now in New Zealand versus my office. But having a ‘place’ that you show up, or where the writing sits, is key.
Personally, as soon as I defined a ‘place’ to write, I started writing. It was that simple. For me, it was a blog. Then each day, the posts would get automatically emailed out to the list. Now I’ve changed that process, and I write for the articles, or the emails. Or a book each year.
But we want to have a ‘place’.
Lately, I’ve seen a lot of people get into the Substack thing. I don’t know why, but it seems to be the rage. Personally, I recommend straight email for most people, or, if they’re already posting on some other platform, just write there. For example, if they’re doing instagram or twitter, then just start using that more, but for writing.
LinkedIn is another one that could be useful. You’ve got to put up with all of the ‘I’d like to humbly announce my new job where I’m so proud to be working…’ posts. But it could still be great.
3 - Create a Rhythm
I was reading a paper a while back by a Russian physiologist, and it was talking about how every ‘system’ in nature, has to have a rhythm. If there ain’t a rhythm to it, then there ain’t a system. And so it is with training, painting, writing… We know the systems are the way that we get to the vision, or mastery, but so many people are afraid to commit to a rhythm.
But if you're writing for marketing. If you don’t have a rhythm, you just end up with start-stop marketing. Everything has a rhythm, or a cycle. The moon. The sun. Music. The working day. Your breathing. Your writing.
So to get a rhythm, we commit to writing with a frequency. Ideally daily. I mean, I came through the whole school system, and university and everything, and there are a lot of flaws with that system. But one strength is that if you want to learn something, you go in each day and you practice it. Same with writing. If you want to get better at this stuff, there’s no reason not to do it every day. But you could write daily, and ship it weekly. Or you could write weekly. Whatever.
I’m at my best with writing when I write daily. Or at least outline something. Or chip away at something. The next book. Or the next article. I would guess that it would be the same for you.
Writing is an attractive skill for a lot of service businesses.
It’s the ‘gateway’ for articles, blogs, emails, books et cetera. And it’s good for introverts or people who can’t be bothered with all the video editing, et cetera.
And there are a lot of things we can learn ‘within’ writing. Setting up articles. Coming up with ideas. Using personality and structure. But it’s helpful to look at the macro too. And really orient the mind towards the writing, if we want to get better at it. Because while it’s fun, and rewarding, it takes work my friend.
It’s more blue collar than anything.
So get clear on why you’re writing, create a place, and a rhythm, sit down and start pounding the keys.
How to use short online articles to build authority and reach
In 2016, the internet was already rammed with articles. The ‘blog phase’ popped ten years prior, and everyone was deep into the ‘Optimise SEO’ stage. It was crowded. And still, it was an article that tipped me into buying my first business coaching program. With a tidy sum of $20k for a one year program at that.
The article was titled “Top Three Mistakes Gym Owners Make”. I already trusted the guy a bit. Then I read the article and booked a call pronto.
At that time, I’d personally been writing for a while, but that experience was a key turning point to start writing for my business.
I started with blog articles for our gym and since then it’s only accelerated. I’ve had written posts go viral on social media, sold hundreds of thousands of dollars with the written word, and have personally grown a lot from pounding the keyboard.
Anyway, now the game has changed, again.
Since the ‘great online shift’ in 2020, there’s AI copywriting bots, ChatGPT, and content seemingly everywhere.
If I open up social media, I’m blasted with the best prompts for AI, or how to get AI to write an entire book.
[Which is ironic, because I’m deep in the throes of writing ‘book two’ now, and the AI thing does sound tempting some days, even though it ain’t for me.]
And we’re largely dealing with this noise the only way we know how - avoiding the whole mess. Or, holding back because we’re told that in short order our ideas or work won’t be worth diddly because of AI.
Anyway, I love a ‘zag’, and this is exactly what I see available to service businesses right now.
While the ‘chaff’ will be neck deep with the AI noise, the high value ‘wheat’ is still rare.
Because when we look deeper, while advances in technology ‘should’ have made producing articles and online content easier, it ain’t always the case.
Personally, I don’t know anyone who has suddenly become a prolific (and effective) creator because of faster computers, AI, or anything else that’s come along.
That paradox isn’t new.
Isaac Asimov, for example, produced around 5000 print-ready words every day (much more, but they were edited down). And this was from attacking the typewriter.
More:
William Blake was a poet another hundred years plus prior. He rabidly produced content - hundreds of poems, books, art and more, through ‘relief etching’. I don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound fast.
And today people struggle to tap out a tweet or instagram post.
The point is, technology isn’t necessarily making people any faster or more prolific.
Because the bottleneck ain’t the typing, it’s the thinking.
Which, unless you’re completely tuned out, isn’t getting replaced any time soon. This means there’s a great opportunity, still, to ‘zag’ using online writing to stand out, build an audience, and create raving fans as a service provider.
Here are a four ways to use online articles to do exactly that.
(And one way not to use it)
Reason why not #1 ‘Do it for the SEO’
SEO is how your website ranks when we search your category. So if you’re a lawyer, and I search ‘lawyer in Sydney’, where do you come up? Truth is, if it ain’t in the top one or two, then one could argue that you’re nowhere.
My friend was telling me about the dating scene with Tinder. He said basically the top five or ten percent of the guys get almost all the girls. And the rest of the guys get nothing. I don’t know if that’s true. That sounds close to SEO to me..
So SEO ‘optimisation’ is choosing to fight tooth and nail to stay at the top.
Part of the theory is, you can produce wordy, ‘seo-friendly’ blog posts on your website, and this will help your case. So I *should* fill this post with the words ‘business coaching’ and ‘service business coaching’ as much as possible.
And all that organic content can help me move up when you search for “business coaching.”
I see that as a bonus. But not the ‘game’ itself.’
The game the Creators are playing in the modern economy, which is built on trust, is to become known specifically. So rather than search ‘business coaching’, I’m relying that you got here because you searched for my name, Creator Club, or, you are already on the email list or social media following.
So the blog thing may still help general SEO. I heard through the grapevine that it does. But to what extent, I’m not sure.
Either way, to me it’s better to use the articles in the three ways as follows.
Reason Why #1 - Populate your site to build a position of ‘helpfulness’
The law of reciprocity says that if you’re hungry, and I give you an apple, at some time in the future you’ll feel like returning the favour. Maybe if you’re generous you give me an orange because I like them more.
The problem is the way a lot of tactical marketers rely on ‘reciprocity’ is broken.
“If they download your lead magnet and you give extra value in a five-email nurture sequence, then they’ll buy”
Maybe. Not usually though.
We are looking much deeper now. And in some cases we even ‘sense and reject’ the attempts at so-called reciprocity.
But still, when I land on the MIT online learning website, and see hundreds of free courses that I can do, it creates a position in the mind. It’s memorable. I’ll go back.
When someone lands on your site and sees that you’ve done some work, and are not just trying to convert every poor soul who clicks on your URL into a sale, it creates a strong position.
I see this with my own articles all the time.
When my articles go out with an email, there are a few click-throughs. But over time, it builds. People notice the value even in the email, and they come back to the article later.
This is the goal, the ‘coming back’ part. We want to position your business in the minds of your customers, so you become the person they want to go back to, in order to go deeper and learn more.
And while we don’t track this, we find that there’s a certain ‘quality’ to the conversation we have with potential clients on the back of reading an article or from podcasts, rather than from social media.
What if people get to your site and just think you’re using AI to populate the blog?
There was an article the other day about how Christopher Nolan said he wouldn’t use CGI in one of his movies:
“I find CGI rarely is able to grab you. It tends to feel safe. Even if it’s impressive and beautify, it’s difficult to make you feel danger.”
And so it is with AI blogs. The discerning customers that you seek to serve are probably going to know the difference. And this gets into all of our character work, and personality marketing which we talk about everywhere.
Populating your site with helpful content shows that you can help, and often creates a ‘sticker’ website.
Not a shabby position at all.
Reason Why #2 - Blast to email, then take them deeper
The average email I send out is around 400 words. Sometimes longer, often shorter. The email is a one-to-one setting, the person opens it up while they’re on the couch, or at the desk. They read through it, get the insight and that’s it…
It’s a closed loop.
But when you write a longer article, focused on a specific idea, you link to it in an email, and give people a chance to go deeper.
Now they can click on the link, and dive into your world.
The trick is to make sure the front end email has enough juice in it. You want to ‘sell the consumption’ of the article, so there’s a clear reason why they would want to click through.
This gives you fodder for your email (summary, or intro to the article), but has a much longer lifecycle, because the article sits on your site for a while.
Reason Why #3 - Use as fodder to approach publications (the modern day CV).
Let’s say you’re a nutritionist, and you want to expand your audience.
One way would be to leverage ‘other people’s audience.’ One woman we work with is a movement coach online, she does this a lot through her podcast. It’s given her access to hundreds of thousands of listeners.
But you can use articles to do this too.
I’ve even had people message me even after doing an instagram post, asking if they can share the writing to their weekly email. Instantly putting more eyeballs on my stuff, which is a good thing.
Let’s say you want to go bigger. You could write to magazines, publishers, or websites to see if they’ll feature your work. But when you do that, they’re going to ask you for samples, or get you to point back to your site or other work that you’ve done.
This is where your articles come in…
If you have three, six, ten helpful articles on your site that you actually put some work into, it will help your case.
They can make a decision then and there if your style of work would suit their platform. And at the very least you’re going to make a real impression with them, rather than just reaching out for a favour out of the blue like most of the cold DM’s that try to flog you things.
If you’ve got that itch to write, and you’ve got a certain level of mastery in your niche, articles can be a great opportunity to connect with more people, and expand your online network.
Your articles don’t have to be long, and even still they can help you stand out dramatically.
Not only that but you can cross-publish to medium, LinkedIn, and any other platform to ‘fatten up’ your whole business world online.
Building your world out to a much deeper level than is possible just on the short form chatter.
Something to think about.
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