Recently, I spoke to one of my friends about email marketing.
He’s a great writer (he’s the author of two best-selling books), but when it comes to writing emails on his list, he chokes.
Well, with that said, he’s actually a great writer and he’s definitely found “his voice.”
But when it comes to finding new ideas to write about, your creativity sometimes comes to a halt.
Personally, I have never had this problem.
Writing an email every day on my list is relatively easy.
(For example, the one you’re reading right now took about 27 minutes to brainstorm, write, edit, and post.)
Or is it because I simply live a more exciting life than most people …
Or maybe it’s because it’s a skill I’ve learned.
I never struggle with writer’s block.
Of course, it took me a while to figure it out, but writer’s block is never a problem for me.
For example, Gary Halbert, the prince of the printing press and one of the greatest copywriters of all time, also had no problem with writer’s block.
I heard an interview with him once, where he talked about “writer’s block.”
He had a pretty nifty solution.
He said, and I’m paraphrasing, that every time he sat down to write, he just wrote … and kept writing … if he got to a point where he didn’t know what to write on paper, he would just keep writing “blah blah blah” until he finally came up with something. His thinking behind this was that he wanted to keep gaining momentum. So by keeping your fingers busy, your brain would continually try to come up with new ideas.
It is not a very sexy solution.
Not even revolutionary.
But, if this was good enough for one of the greatest copywriters of all time, there is probably something about it.
Again, personally, I don’t even need to do things like this.
I’m not saying this to show off.
But I want to show you how easy it can be to write good emails (and content in general) once you master this skill.
My process looks like this:
I sit … I take my notes … I set a fixed timer for 29 minutes … and then I just write.
I think it was Dan Kennedy who once said:
“Money values speed.”
The more you do this and put this kind of “pressure” on yourself, the better off you will become.
So to summarize:
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Block a set time on your calendar where your only goal is to write
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Have notes ready in advance (i.e. different ideas or stories)
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Set a fixed timer to put strategic pressure on yourself (I use 29 minutes, but 33 minutes, as the great late Gene Schwartz recommended is just a perfect fit)
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Write, write and write … and then write some more
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The best way to become a great writer is by writing.
As Stephen King said:
“The fans sit back and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and get down to business.”
