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My first copywriting hack of 2019

Ok, so the holidays are over, the kids went back to school yesterday, it’s January the 8th and I’m back in the saddle.

How were your holidays?

I hope they were good. 

Maybe you took an Amish day or two and shut down all the technology and gave yourself a breather from social media?

I hope you also got to spend time with the family, no matter how annoying they can be at times.

It’s weird how when you stick people with the same DNA in the same house together for any period of time there’s this “magnets effect” that happens.

At times, there’s this intense, loving bonding. Then at other times, there’s a repulsion where you can’t get far enough away from each other. 😛

It’s funny, because other than the occasional fight over the video game controllers, the kids don’t seem to have this problem.

The biggest thing I hope is that you took some time for yourself and de-stressed, unwound and got your balance back.

It’s weird. Especially when you’re writing copy. 

Sometimes, maybe most times, you do your best work when you don’t have any stress bearing down on you.

Of course, there are other times when intense pressure to get something done or achieve a specific result carries the day.

But for the most part, I think killing yourself to get the job done is overplayed.

And that goes triple if you’re using alcohol or drugs to get the job done.

I know old timers will tell you tales of their copywriting exploits when they had a bottle of wine in hand to help conjure the muses.

But we know now in 2019, that’s unsustainable.

You’re better off factoring in some free time to unwind into your day rather than plowing through it with a bottle of Jack at your side.

It seems my research work these days is always uncovering strange connections between disease and stress.

In other words, you don’t just get sick for no reason. What’s usually the catalyst? 

A bout of stress.

Now this is a hard lesson to learn. Or a habit to break, even for me.

I used to have this mantra I say to myself when things got intense…

“The more pressure I can take, the more pressure I can take.”

And then I’d look at the most successful men and women in business and think about all the pressure those guys were under.

If they could handle all that pressure of running a Fortune 500 business, surely I could.

Now, I have nothing against hustling.

Hustling is the art of getting stuff done. And it’s essential to business.

Instead, I’m talking about stress. Worry. Concern over things that are pretty much out of your control or influence.
 

When it comes to stress, the biggest thing you can do for your health in 2019 is get some quality sleep every night.

I read somewhere that “sleep is your greatest physician.”

Based upon my scientific research, I truly believe that.

(I’ve done multiple offers over the years for infoproducts which helped people get a rejuvenating sleep. The success stories are phenomenal.)

And yet as a culture, we’re perpetually in a sleep deficit.

But I’ll tell you a personal secret.

Sleep is an incredible source of copywriting inspiration.

I can’t tell you the number of times I go to bed with a marketing problem or a challenge… and wake up with the perfect bit of copy or a novel solution for it.

So much so, I keep a notebook.

Not to mention all the business generating ideas I wake up with for my clients. I seem to throw them off like sparks in the morning.

In the afternoon? Not so much. 😉

But the morning is incredible.

My point is in business, there’s a line of thinking that says “sleep is for wimps.”

Like if you sleep, then you’re not serious about success.

I take a contrarian approach.

Your body needs sleep. Give it as much sleep as your body needs, when it needs it.

In Victorian times, Charles Dickens talked about a “second sleep”. A second time to sleep each day.

I say if you need it, then take it. Your body will thank you. I believe your business will prosper as well.

And you’ll write better copy.

Consider this my first copywriting hack for 2019.

And it’ll lead to a better quality of life. Besides making making you less grumpy and more agreeable. 🙂

Nil Obstat (“Let nothing stand in your way”) and Have a Stress-free, Prosperous New Year,

–Matt

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