From 2015 until early 2020, my career exploded.

I went from working as a writer for local magazines, making a measly sum per word, to a well-established copywriter with a huge following on LinkedIn who spoke at a major NY conference for Jewish female entrepreneurs.​

Then a lot of things happened, starting with COVID (3 kids home for months in a small Brooklyn apartment while at the beginning of a pregnancy.) This followed with other difficult personal challenges, namely my son's illness and death and all the chaos surrounding that.​ When life finally calmed down, I took a look around me and discovered something disheartening.

All those copywriters and marketers who were growing their businesses with me back in 2020 were in a COMPLETELY different place. They were giving courses, going onto podcasts, working with dream brands… while I was stuck in the same place I’d been in 2020. Or rather, I’d regressed from where I’d been then.​ This bothered me a lot. So I tried to force myself back onto that path.

I started working on rebranding myself. I laid out the idea for an info product to sell. I began writing a new lead magnet and a very strategic welcome email series.​ But these things all stalled. They sit in my files, unfinished.​

Not because I don’t have the skill and knowledge to create those things. But because I couldn't FORCE myself to where I thought I should be.

The reality is that my life challenges put me on a different rung.​Does that mean I won’t ever finish that new lead magnet or sell a course? Of course not. Those can - and with G-d's help, will - still happen. But I wasn’t finishing it because I was trying to skip a bunch of steps in the ladder. ​It doesn't matter that back in 2020, I was there and perfectly positioned to launch a course or info product. What mattered was my current position. And I'd have to work from there.​ I would have to wait for a different path to open up for me.

One that felt natural and aligned with my current needs. And that path presented itself to me with the Daily Email Habit program.

I’m on a lot of copywriter and marketing email lists.

And these people are very good at selling stuff. That’s their expertise, after all.

All of them have sold some really fascinating products and courses on topics that really interested me. So why, for the last few years, did I not buy any of them?

​- They were sold by the very people who triggered the inferiority complex I spoke about in yesterday's post. Why is THAT copywriter selling a course on this topic? Why is he so much more successful than me if I have just as much knowledge and skill?

- They were offering more knowledge. Which is great! But at this time, I didn’t need knowledge – I needed a way to get back on track.​

‍

What was different about John Bejakovic’s program?

- His entire persona is super low-key, down to earth, and non-glamourous. He’s not “Spain’s Best Copywriter”. He’s not the “#1 Branding Authority”. He’s not the “World Expert on Voice”. He presents himself as just a marketer, doing his thing in his way, trying to earn money and grow his business.

- John was offering not knowledge, but accountability, structure and support. Just what I needed. I needed a way to get back out there, to remind people that I exist and have the skills and expertise they need.​Now how does that relate to your business? You might compare yourself to your competitors. And then you try to copy them, in your desire to reach the illusory goal of being like them. It won’t work.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from creating brand voice and copy for companies, it’s this - inauthenticity always fails. Not only does it fail to convince others. It fails on a personal level.​

You can’t accomplish the things you want to do by doing it the way others do it. You can’t get to new places or reach new customers if you aren’t honest about where you are right now.​

You need to dig down.

Sit quietly.

Listen to the wise inner voice that knows where you’re really at or what your company is really about.​ It sounds all hokey-pokey, but it’s not. It’s just good business strategy. Because it allows you to access the voice that will attract the buyers you want, instead of falling flat. ​I can tell you from personal experience. After I posted the first half of this blog on LinkedIn - in all its raw authenticity - I got a whole slew of new email subscribers for the first time in a long while. Without even offering a lead magnet.​

In future posts, I hope to give some insight into how I help clients access that voice - and how you can do it as well.