“A smartphone can demand its user’s attention even when the person isn’t using it or consciously thinking about it. Even if a phone’s out of sight in a bag, even if it’s set to silent, even if it’s powered off, its mere presence will reduce someone’s working memory and problem-solving skills.”
“Conflict. No good story is complete without it. That means you have to share tough moments — even moments when you failed. This is tough for everyone. The objective, though, is not to relive memories you’d rather forget; it’s for you to provide another avenue for your audience to connect with you.”
“Focus on one hour at the time. From the moment you wake up, even though your goal should be to do the best you can for the day, your focus should be in the hour that’s ahead of you.”
“Maintain a beginner’s mind. We live in a culture that places a high priority on expertise and productivity. If you want to live a rich, creative, and fun life, you need to expose yourself to new endeavors — where you’ll obviously be a beginner.”
“If wearing the same thing, choosing what to eat and deciding what to watch, read, and listen to leads to more mental clarity — and more brain power to tackle the decisions that really matter — isn’t it worth the 15 minutes of planning it would take on a Sunday night?”
“Amateurs don’t have any idea what improves the odds of achieving good outcomes. Professionals do.”
“Try to be an interesting individual, able to hold a conversation on topics outside of work. People tend to do business with someone they like. They like those, who are similar to them, are engaging conversation partners and have a life outside of work.”
“When selling a personal service, the goal of content marketing is not ‘content.’ It’s to create an emotional connection to people over time through that content (and any other means) that leads to awareness, trust, and loyalty.”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou
It’s not easy to get somebody to give you their email address.
Most people wage an ongoing war with their inbox and the last thing they want is to invite more incoming missives into their life.
But, with the right approach you can still build a large and engaged subscriber base.
Here are five simple keys to getting people to hit that subscribe button, based on my experience growing the For The Interested newsletter to 25,000 subscribers.