10 Simple Ways to Get More Leads and Clients from Everything You Write

Every week, I deliver a pep talk to our community. And this week, the theme was: get more rejection faster.

If you aren’t getting rejected multiple times a day, you probably don’t have enough clients (or you are an established business owner who may be feeling like you’ve been coasting for awhile, and you’re getting bored).

How can we get more rejection faster in our content and copy?

And just as important, why would we, as self-employed professionals, coaches, and business owners actively seek out rejection?

Let’s answer the second question first.

We must actively seek out rejection because the alternative is death. Think about it. If we are getting rejected, it means we are trying. We are actively putting a question into the world, and waiting for a reply.

Most people fear rejection, so they spend their lives trying to avoid and protect themselves from it.

But not us.

We know that more rejection means that we have increased the number of invitations and questions we are putting out before other people – potential clients, possible collaborative partners…

In other words, we have picked up and moved house to the land of possibility.

Most people, fearing rejection, don’t visit the land of possibility, let alone live there.

Which is why their inner narratives sound something like:

“Life happens to me.”
“I’m just unlucky.”
“This is how it’s always going to be.”
“I’m too old/poor/sick/overweight/unloved/unworthy.”

These narratives are songs of hopelessness.

But I digress.

We must make getting more rejection faster our aim, if we intend to learn from our lives – both what goes according to plan, and what doesn’t. Experience, and our own trust in ourselves, is what teaches us to become the best possible version of ourselves. No internet program, despite its glamorous or exciting testimonials, can give that to you. It’s an inside job.

Step 1: Unhook the wiring in your head that says rejection is bad.

Step 2: Hook up a new meaning in your head, namely that rejection = good, because you are asking more.

Step 3: Get more rejection faster.

Sound like your kind of party? Weirdo.

Glad to have you with us in the land of possibility.

So, here are 10 ways to get more rejection faster in your writing for your business:

1. Seed – Mention what you are up to, drop the name of a program or service you offer as part of your content.

2. Tell stories of clients who got results – tell a story about a client who came to you with a certain problem, had an AHA moment, and got results.

3. Add a blurb – write a quick description of an offer you are excited about, and add it to all your communication channels for the month (e.g. your newsletter, bottom of blog articles, YouTube channel, Facebook posts, email signature). Be sure to include a call to action that tells them what to do next!

4. Invite them do something else with you – If they are enjoying one bit of content from you, invite them to set up an initial session or take a quiz about the topic. Remember to give them a compelling ‘reason why’ they should take that action.

5. Give them more great free content – If they liked an article, maybe they want your Awesome Free Gift?

6. Ask for their business – Tell them what your offer does for them, describe the problem that it solves, and then invite them to buy it (or talk to you about it).

7. Tell the truth – in marketing, as in life, the truth is disarming. Write a ‘ranticle’ about something that is driving you nuts or breaking your heart – and then ask your reader to comment, share, hit reply, or talk with you more about it.

8. Relentlessly describe the new possibility – Remember, most people don’t live in the land of possibility. They have all kinds of stories about why they can’t have what they want, and much of that is self-imposed, leaving way more room for alternatives. Don’t stop talking about the possibilities you see for others, and for the world. It’s highly magnetic, and the world needs more of this.

9. Do a mini-campaign for initial sessions – Send 2-3 emails ‘selling’ your initial sessions (which are free). This works best if you have been regularly sending great content to your mailing list, and understand how to connect with your reader’s ‘wake up in the morning problem’ (in contrast to how most people write these emails, which have all the allure of cleaning toilets). I’ve also had students post to Facebook and get great response and a few clients this way as well.

10. Don’t let your writing do all the work – Leaving your sales to writing alone is rarely a smart strategy. Even internet marketers are out talking to people, making connections and hanging out with colleagues and partners. You cannot expect to fill your business with clients just from hanging out behind your computer, writing opt in pages. You need to learn how to talk to people, listen to them, and invite them to buy from you. If you need help with this, Matthew Kimberly has a great ebook here.

Bottom line – we get what we ask for. Most of us need to be asking for action and business more in our writing, but we can’t stop there. Too many aspirational business owners are hiding behind their computer screens, mistakenly believing that writing alone can make their dream of financial freedom and location independence a reality.

I reject that premise. And instead, I invite you to get more rejection faster – in your writing, and in real, one-on-one conversations with potential clients.

Stella Orange is a copywriter who helps people put their work into words. For eight years, she wrote email campaigns that resulted in more than a million dollars in sales for her clients. In that time, Stella also taught popular marketing writing workshops to business owners on both sides of the Atlantic -- and a few in Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, Stella cofounded a creative and consulting shop offering a complete and slightly unorthodox line of business advising and marketing services. She continues to write copy and advise clients on customer delight, how to resonate with more sophisticated, discerning clientele in your marketing, and just who, exactly, your ideal clients are. Stella is the founder of Show Up And Write, a weekly writing group and writes a letter every two weeks or so (here’s the sign-up). She lives with the Philosopher and their two kiddos in Buffalo, New York, a fifteen-minute bike ride to the Canadian border.

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