I may just be a copywriter for photographers, but what I aspire to be is a personal writing cheerleader. If I do nothing else on earth, I hope that people feel empowered to write because of me. Writing is necessary for self-discovery and growth. It’s a conversation we get to have with ourselves that other people can’t influence.
You may have noticed that I sign most of my blog posts and every email with the phrase “Write on”. It’s because:
1. I can’t resist a good pun and
2. I mean it. I really want everyone to keep writing.
And I do mean everyone. Writing is not just for authors and bloggers and speakers and CEOs and journalists and poets. Writing is for every single one of us. That’s why it’s the first thing they teach you in school. It’s essential. Language and communication are the gateways to every single thing we want: relationships, connection, self-love, ideas, wealth, progress. I could go on and on and on. None of the good stuff can come without words.
And written words? They give us the space and privacy to get our truth out. Writing provides freedom to explore and organize our feelings. When we speak, there’s usually another person hearing what we have to say. So those words are automatically influenced by that other human what we want them to think of us. But writing? That’s a solitary act. It can be for just you and no one else. There is no pressure to get it right or perfect or even clear. The beauty is in the process.
That is, of course, assuming that you’ll grant yourself permission to write without pressure. Writing for other people is the opposite of that. You might as well be talking to them directly. But writing for just you? That’s when it becomes cathartic. That’s when you find your real emotions, your big goals, and dareIsay your life’s meaning? (Too much? Never.)
When people come to me for help, they always tell me they are terrible writers. But it’s because they assume their writing should be for other people. The golden thoughts come to the surface when we write for just us. There’s no discovery in doing something for someone else. When we remove the motive from writing, we unlock our honesty. We can walk down mental roads previously undiscovered because we were scared what others would think. And it’s on those roads that we might find ourselves for the first time. And we might find something we eventually want to share with the world, too.
So, write! Write on! It’s not for me, or for your clients, or for your mom. It’s for you. It doesn’t have to be good or even legible. It just has to be honest. And it will be, if you let it be for you.
P.S. Here’s an easy way to implement this immediately and make your copy better TODAY …
… write something you have no intention of publishing. Just talk about how you’re feeling today and where that feeling came from. What was the cause of it? What grew that feeling or made it go away? I bet after 10 minutes of writing for no reason, you’ll find something worth publishing. (IF YOU MUST.)
To The Point is a video series posted to my Instagram account where I give you a quick tip to make your copy better in less than 60 seconds. If you would rather watch the video, be my guest: