Building Your Army of One

Hey there, it's Tim here with your weekly dose of Copyblogger. It's been a busy week over here, because [Copyblogger Pro](=) is off to an amazing start. We have almost 600 members so far, and I hope you'll consider joining us. Enjoy this week's newsletter. 1. [Try This to Find an Extra 30 Minutes to Write, Even on Your Busiest Days]( If you want to find more time to write, you first have to review all of the activities you do each day so that you can plan better. It’s not an accident when you get a lot done one day, and then get behind on your work the following day. There’s something you do on days you get a lot done that you might overlook. I’ll get to that smart habit in a bit, but let’s first differentiate the art of waiting from procrastinating. The benefits of having 30 extra minutes a day are particularly clear when you look at what you could potentially complete over a five-day period. - Day 1, 30 minutes: Brainstorm article topics - Day 2, 30 minutes: Outline one of the article topics - Day 3, 30 minutes: Perform research for your first draft - Day 4, 30 minutes: Write a draft of the article - Day 5, 30 minutes: Finish draft of article Imagine how far those 30 minutes a day could take you over the course of a year. 2. [The Growth Machine Podcast is Back](=) The folks at Growth Machine are good friends of Copyblogger. Nat Eliason, Growth Machine's founder and CEO, has built a team and a culture that is obsessed with great writing that drives organic traffic and generates new sales. I was thrilled to learn that Growth Machine was creating a podcast. I highly recommend you subscribe. The Growth Machine podcast will feature some of the world's brightest minds in online writing and business success. P.S. - I'll be a guest on the show on Oct 2nd, so be sure to subscribe. 3. [How Morning Brew's Referral Program Built an Audience of 1.5 Million Subscribers]( Everywhere I look, I'm seeing examples of "The Killer and the Poet." In this article, you'll get a step by step breakdown of the strategy the team at Morning Brew implemented to build such a massive brand. Step 1 - Have an awesome product. The Morning Brew team had an advantage because they invested in themselves and spent time perfecting the tone and voice of their writing as well as intentionally choosing an audience to lead and serve. Step 2 - Write every day and be consistent. Step 3 - Build a custom software platform that leverages the audience and create an effective referral program that rewards fans and increases subscribers. Step 4 - Repeat. The intersection of great writing and software will be the catalyst for millions of independent writers and content creators to build 7-figure businesses. 4. [How Polinia Marinova Pompliano is Building a One Person Media Empire by Going All In]( Polina is a writer, an entrepreneur, and creator of The Profile -- a media company that allows you to “Learn from the most successful people & companies every Sunday morning.” Polina and I first met each other during an exclusive mastermind session that was put together by “The Hustle.” Once I discovered Polina’s work, I instantly became hooked and I subscribed to her newsletter. This was my favorite conversion I’ve had yet on the podcast. I walked away from this interview inspired and ready to take action in my own work. In this episode, we talk about: - How she built up the courage to quit her safe, respectable job at Fortune magazine to go all in on The Profile - Why Polina compares writing to jigsaw puzzles - How Polina is successful at monetizing her company through a membership model - And why great content leaves an aftertaste. It's easier than ever to start a company and succeed without needing a heavy infrastructure. With leverage, (code and media) you can create scale. With scale, you can build a high margin business without slaving away at 80 hours a week. This is an ideal scenario. There has never been a better time to build a solo business. 5. [Hide Your Work]( Dave Parrell writes a short and insightful piece about the beauty of clear messaging and the exhaustive process of removing unnecessary words, sentences and concepts. Easy reading is hard writing. To write well, you must accept that you will only publish a small percentage of what you type. As Hans Hoffman once said: “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Writing begins with a creation phase and ends with a deletion one. Removal is the essence of a final draft. "If I had more time, I would have wrote a shorter letter." Closing Thoughts - "Building an Army of One" Yesterday morning, I was working on a video that I was editing. There's a window next to my desk and as I gazed our, I saw that my neighbor had hired a mobile car wash. A man had a work van packed in my neighbors driveway, and he was detailing her car. I quickly ran outside and asked if he had time to do my car as well. Two hours later, he pulled into my driveway and we had a quick chat. I made the assumption that his business had slowed down because of Covid, and I asked him if things were picking back up for him. He told me that while things slowed down, he took the opportunity to build a website, create an online business listing, and submit content to local media sites such as Nashville Scene. He said that he cancelled the lease in his office and runs his entire business through a homemade CRM that he developed on Google Drive. My mind was blown. We are witnessing a transformation. You wouldn't typically think of a mobile car detail service as the kind of business that fits the "killer and the poet" model. But that's exactly what he did. He combined content creation with hard work, sales skills, and a great service. Now his business is more profitable and successful than ever. Imagine how much more growth he'll see if he dedicated an hour a week into creating content that tells his story and spreads his message even further. The sky's the limit. It doesn't matter what your business is or what your experience is. You have an amazing opportunity to build business as an army of one. Will you take advantage of the opportunity, or will you let it pass you by? Tim Stoddart Copyblogger Media [Follow Copyblogger on Twitter](=) P.S. I love to hear from you. Feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think about the newsletter format, or ask a question. 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