Archive for September 2022

Discipline Made Easy

Why is it so hard to be disciplined?

Why do we find it so hard to switch from junk foods to healthy foods?

Why do we find it so hard to exercise on a regular basis?

Why do we find it so hard to invest 10% of our income each week?

Why do we find it so hard to sit down and write every day?

Why is it so hard to be disciplined, even though all the experts tell us THIS one element is crucial to our success?

Need a book, but no time to write it?  I want to write your book. Books are ghost written all the time by celebrities. Why not you?
Too Busy? Need A Ghost Writer?

For the writers, the mantra is to write content consistently. Send emails consistently. Post content consistently on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Writing a book? Sit down and write for an hour everyday. Or so many pages. Or a chapter.

Little actions, repeated consistently over time, yield great results.

We know logically this is true. We’ve seen the results.

Water, running over rocks for millions of years, carves wonderful tourist sites like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. Soft water. Hard rocks. Nature shows us what consistent action over time creates! And it’s amazing.

We’ve all heard stories of the average Joe who socked away $100 every month from his lifetime postal job, died, and left a million dollars to his cat.

We understand compound interest in theory. Yet it’s so hard to keep saving those dollars today, when on the surface, it seems like nothing is happening.

So hard to keep going to the gym day after day, when we come home, and look the same.

So hard to diet. I ate almost nothing yesterday, starved through hunger pains, but when I look in the mirror, I look the same.

Discipline though, demands that we keep doing, no matter what!

Keep going they say. It takes time, they say.

So if we know discipline works, why is it so hard to do?

For the easy answer, we turn to The Salesman.

Discipline is so hard, because though “we know” we don’t believe in the value.

The salesman knows why people don’t buy. It’s because the prospect doesn’t believe the product or service represents a good value. A fair exchange of money for what the thing is, or will do.

I need a new suit. I KNOW the $2000 suit will last longer, fit better, and probably look better.

But what I need right now is a new suit for my cousin’s wedding. I just need to show up NOT in the same suit I wore to the previous 4 family functions. I don’t believe I need to spend $2000 on a suit now when $500 will get me the result I need. $2000 is not a fair exchange of money now for what I need the suit to do now.

But if my neighbor offered to sell me his Tesla for $2000, I’d buy it on the spot, even if I didn’t need it. I’d beg, borrow, or do whatever I had to do to raise the cash. Why? Because I know it represents a tremendous VALUE. 

You don’t believe that taking an hour today to write is a fair exchange of that hour for your future success. Scrolling Instagram videos or watching another Youtube video on skills development is a better use of your time today. So you put off writing. Until tomorrow.

Until you don’t. Because the time is never right. There’s always something more valuable you could do with your time today. Or so you think.

If you lack discipline, It’s because you lack belief in the value exchange today for the future outcome.

Beliefs are hard to change. But actions are easy. Actions can be changed in an instant.

Anything you are good at today, you are good at because you’ve done the same actions, repeatedly, for a long period of time. Anything that comes easy to you now, was once hard.

Take walking. At one time it was very hard for you. You fell down. You cried. You got up and tried again. Until one day, you could do it. And now, you’re an expert walker. You do it without even thinking.

Lack of belief for babies is never an issue. They just do.

As a baby, you just repeated the actions necessary to walk, until you could finally do it. Until you succeeded.

Same with riding a bicycle. Or driving a car. Any sport. Any hobby. They’re all the same. Belief was not the issue. You just did it. Repeated the successful actions until one day you could do it with ease. Then, you were a success!

Nike had the answer all along. Just do it.

Do the actions of one who has succeeded, and you will succeed too. Just do.

Don’t care why. Or How. Or when. Or if. Just do.

Want to draw better? Draw every day. Even for 5 minutes. Just start.

Want to be a writer? Write every day. Even for 5 minutes. Just start.

Want to be more fit? Exercise every day. Even for 5 minutes. Just start.

Schedule it in. Really! Do it now.

Reasearch has shown that you are more likely to do a thing if you define exactly when (what exact time) and where. Time and Place.

What time, every day, and where will you do your thing?

First thing in the morning is best so there is no excuse to have it get bumped by other “more important”, or “urgent” things.

The first hour of the day should be just for you.

You first. Put on your oxygen mask first. Save yourself. You will never get better at anything without practice. Make that practice priority #1.

So what will you practice today?

Piano? Writing? Drawing? Guitar? Investing? SEO? Marketing? Calligraphy?

Inch by inch, it’s a cinch.

Despite how it’s spelled, DISCIPLINE STARTS WITH DO.

Blinders on. Beliefs be damned. Just Do.

DO will see you through.

To your success,

Bob Schwarztrauber

P.S. If you can muster even 7 days of discipline, I’ll show you how to get your first or next book published by this time next week. Click here to see how!

5 Reasons Why Emails Die

“Half the money I spend on Email Advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Over 100 years ago, John Wannamaker, pioneer in marketing and founder of this country’s first department store, which eventually became part of Macy’s, was heard saying these immortal words of wisdom. Minus the email part, of course. But his eloquent words are none the less accurate today.

More than half of the emails sent are slaughtered. Dead on arrival. Deleted. Why?

Consider this, currently, the average email open rate for all industries is 21.33%

In other words, only 2 out of every 10 emails sent get opened, let alone read. 

8 of 10 are deleted or ignored. 

That’s sad. And wasteful of all the effort and time you spend conceiving, creating, and delivering.

Thinking this percentage of waste was high, I tracked my own email habits for several days and found to my surprise, this percentage was actually quite accurate.

I delete a lot of emails. Daily!

But why? Are email marketers that bad at what they do? Or are there hidden forces at work which are causing this daily inbox slaughter to occur? Can we fix or improve this?

Here’s what I found in my personal study:

Emails are deleted –

  • 1. By FROM Name – This is quick, happens within seconds. I look at who it’s from. If I don’t recognize your name instantly, ‘bang’, you’re gone. 

The Fix – Don’t spam. Don’t buy lists. Be known. Don’t come uninvited to my house. If you don’t talk to me often, I may forget who you are.

  • 2. By Subject Line – Are you saying something of interest to me? What’s this about? Is there any curiosity factor in your subject line? Any surprises?

The Fix – Advertising expert Robert Collier advised, “Always enter the conversation already taking place in the customer’s mind.” If I worry everyday about sales and profits, and you show up in my inbox asking about foot fungus, you’re gone. Bang! Deleted.

Does your subject line address what your prospect is probably thinking about right now?

  • 3. By Opening Line – You have less than 2 seconds to hook me into reading. Go! Does the opening line match the subject line that got me to open? Am I still interested?

The Fix – clickbait is a no-no. Don’t entice me with steak and serve hamburger. There has to be a subject line to message match very quickly. Asking a question is often a good start, especially if it contains the word ‘you’. Ex. “Do you (have this problem).

  • 4. By Length – Everyone’s in a hurry. Burdened by too much to do. If I open and see this is a long email, I have to ask, “Do I have time for this now?” Often the answer is no.

The Fix – Emails aren’t meant to be articles. Brevity is best. Say what you have to say and be done. Link to a blog or other longer content if that’s appropriate. Sometimes long is OK, if your reader finds interest, but not too often. What’s the best email length? I like this old fashioned description attributed to Winston Churchill, “Like a woman’s skirt, long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

  • 5. By Dopamine Rush – Dopamine is a pleasure chemical. A hormone produced in your body when you anticipate something good is about to happen. Sex can trigger it. Heroin and cocaine too. Porn. Praise. And sweet things. Whenever I run into an old friend, I expect something good is about to happen. It makes me feel good inside. Some email senders always get me excited to read their email. I just know there is something good inside. Who makes you excited to see them? Be like them.

The Fix – Be a welcomed inbox friend. Have something good to say about me. Have some good news for me. Help me. Entertain me. Make me laugh. Make me feel smarter. Give me something I can share with my friends or coworkers that makes them go “Cool!” (Notice how many times I wrote “me”. The more you talk about me, the more I like you!)

Email advertising may seem free, but the hidden costs of time, attention, and reputation are large. Send too many unwelcomed emails and you’ll soon incur the wrath of the recipient. Or worse, risk getting banned entirely by internet service providers for spamming.

Since email marketing offers one of the highest ROI’s, it’s an advertising medium that should not be overlooked, taken lightly, or haphazardly assembled. But instead, mastered.

If you haven’t time to master best email marketing practices, but are eager to reap the delicious  rewards of an email campaign done strategically, outsourcing can be a great alternative to the DIY approach.

You don’t do your own lawyering or accounting. Why do you think you can email effectively?

Reach out if you’d like some help with email writing. I have some spots available.