The Rejected Writing That Wins Customers

Ever been rejected?

I have. When it happened, it stung. I used to write for a large publisher who eventually told me that one of my articles wasn’t good enough to be published. I had written roughly 200 pieces for this publisher when suddenly, they said ‘no.’

As a part of their declining my articles, they offered no discussion, no re-write, no conversation. Just a ‘declined.’

I’m not sure if it’s because of my ego, my busy schedule, or because I’ve lost my way, but I haven’t written much since, despite my love for writing good content. Either way, I have no excuse.

Can you relate? Have you ever wanted to do something that you love, but didn’t pursue it out of fear, timing, or any other number of reasons? But, why wouldn’t you go after what you love to do?

“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” —Nelson Mandela

To Boldly Go or To Go Boldly? Writing is Hard.

I often hear people say ‘I’m a good listener.’

Usually, this means they’re not. Let’s be honest. When someone has to announce they’re an “expert” at something, it’s typically a telltale sign they’re not.

On the other hand, I talk with a lot of people who say they are writers, but in fact, they’re not. They journal, which isn’t really the same. Often, blogs end up being more like public journals. But writing something that’s helpful, compelling, and useful to the reader is hard, blogs included.

When writing (especially writing blogs), I want my words to be bold. I want the content I create to be remembered. I want it to flow through the reader’s mind, and for them to recall the material they just read minutes and even hours later. I want the stuff I write to be impactful.

You should, too.

The Keyword is Try

So, how do you write like that?

I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

  1. Whether you’re writing a book or a blog (I’ve done both), you need to be able to tell a compelling story where the character or the cause shadows you for days, and the dialogue tumbles through your mind.
  2. Realize that not everyone can do this successfully. I was writing a book once and decided to delete it after about five chapters in. I hit the delete key, and it was gone. No more. Gone forever. Why? Because it was rubbish and I didn’t like it. And if I didn’t like it, how could I expect a reader to like it and be inspired by it?

Remember, sometimes your writing will pour forth powerfully and effectively and other times, you’ll straight up call it garbage when you see it.

The point is that you pursue it. The point is that you try.

To (Print) Business and Beyond

When growing your print business, you need to focus your writing on marketing that gets your print buyers’ attention because it’s good, because it’s impactful, and because it’s helpful.

With all the noise being published today on the web and via direct mail, your content can’t afford to be ordinary. That’s what everyone else does. That’s not my goal, and it shouldn’t be yours either. With the content I write, I want it to encourage others and change the world.

Shouldn’t we all feel this way? Shouldn’t we all want to change the world with our words and deeds?

Even though change is hard (really hard), write to impact others. Learn to adapt your sales and marketing and change with the times and technologies that come your way. I may still want to be a New York Times Best Seller, but I’m not going to let my old-school ways hinder me from what I love to do. You shouldn’t either.

Learn to embrace change not because you fear being left behind, but because you want to embarrass the future.

Embracing writing and blogging will help you do precisely that.

Not Perfect. Just Inspired.

I want to push my company and my employees to become better versions of themselves through improvement. I’m not perfect at this and could be accused of being a hypocrite, but growth is critical to impact and inspire others.

Even if you think you’re not a blogger like me, use your words to inspire your readers and print buyers to action.

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