Got a sec to do me a favor?
Today, I’m asking you to do me a favor. Will you email me and tell me what you need?
I want to make sure that I’m still on track to help your 2010 live up to its fullest potential. See, I’ve got a bunch of irons in the fire:
- We’ve got a new version of the Thrive Your Tribe website that’s *thisclose* to being done if I’d just get busy and put the finishing touches on the writing.
- There’s also this Something New (and really, really different) that’s being introduced (by snail mail) in the next week or two.
- A new office space to organize and decorate.
- A new team member to train.
- A bunch of programs that I have all mapped out (pain-free copywriting, for instance) that I need to actually put on the schedule so you can participate.
I’m officially overwhelmed. As I knew I would be last month when I looked at everything I intended to accomplish this year 
.
So, anyway, I have a bunch of ideas, a bunch of content, and a bunch of options for what might be next for you and me together. Case studies? More info on how to use your Signature Spotlight archetype? More photos of Izzy?
Tell me, truthfully: what could I do for you right now that would be hugely, hugely helpful? What tools, lessons, strategies, do you need, right now?
Also, tell me what the heck you’re up to, what’s new, what huge projects you have on your list, and how you’re going to do things your way this year.
Whatever comes to mind. I trust you. Thoughts for newsletter content, blog content, future classes, it’s all fair game.
In other words, “Wanted: Your thoughts.” Just click here and send ‘em to me.
As always, sending you my best,
Jessica
P.S. Yes, technically, I should be asking you specific questions. So, when you ask your people what they want, you might want to do that. But, the truth is, after many years writing a (really fantastic) newsletter about surveying, I find writing unbiased survey questions to be a Big Scary Task. Besides, I want to give you plenty of space to share what’s on your mind.
P.P.S. This is one time when comments on the blog are closed. I want you to send these answers just to me (by email). So, click here and send ‘em my way.
P.P.P.S. You have upgraded your WordPress, right? (You should be on 2.9.1.)
Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times
Today I’m re-running an article I wrote just after Hurricane Katrina called Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times.
It’s below.
The reason that I decided to re-run it is because I got a lot of emails from readers wondering what the Haitian earthquake meant when it came to writing their newsletters–did they need to talk about the donation they’d made? If they did, did that look like marketing? If they didn’t, did that mean their readers would assume they were heartless and hadn’t made a donation at all?
And then, you have the folks who move resolutely on with their launches or blogs or newsletters without addressing the devastation at all, and I know for many of *my* readers (because y’all are such a wonderful mix of caring, compassionate types) that feels all wrong.
Personally, here’s what I’m thinking: I’m erring on the side of assuming *everyone* has made at least one donation and that any choice they make to publicize or not is very personally made, not out of a need to boast, but out of a deep desire to feel like they’re doing *something*. And, in a time like this, when giving money surely does not feel like doing near enough, I think a lot of people feel like giving money *and* publicizing that they’ve given money is doing that little bit extra.
If you pay much attention to the Blogosphere or to Twitter, there’s been a lot of backlash about businesses/speakers/authors “using” this to promote their latest whatever. And I think that backlash comes just as much from that feeling that whatever we may do, it won’t feel like enough–it won’t fix things fast enough, or offer enough comfort, or repair enough hurt. We’re all frustrated that there’s no magic wand to fix such devastation.
I’m sending you much love today, and am basking in gratitude for *you*. And, if you have thoughts to share on how you or other folks are publicly handling their concern for the people of Haiti, feel free to post them below. Of course, thoughts on how to write with compassion during times of crisis are welcome as well.
…
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published September 4, 2005. My editor’s note in that issue read:
I’ve been sitting here at the keyboard for over an hour–completely unsure of how to write today’s issue. What do I say in light of the disaster left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? How should I “behave”? Are you, my reader, even really up to read about newsletters today?
Perhaps you’ve experienced this same difficulty in writing your own newsletter in the past week–deciding how to balance professionalism, and compassion. It’s a fine line between hand-wringing and sympathy-extending!
And that line is made all the more difficult when you make your newsletter your own. After all, if you’re just the Corporate Voice, you don’t *have* to extend any sympathy. You don’t have to be human.
In today’s issue, I’ll share with you the only technique I know for making the writing a bit easier at a time like this.
As I said in the introduction, today’s issue has been very difficult to write. I’ve been sitting here, flipping through other websites (mostly cnn.com), trying to gather my thoughts.
One thing that keeps coming up for me is that being human in your newsletter is one thing when times are good, when business is rolling along, when life is full of joy…
And, yet, when something frightening, or awful, or just-plain-bad happens, we are often left at a loss for words.
Something that sometimes helps is to see if there’s a way to connect what’s happened to what you usually write about–the way I’m offering you an approach for writing your own newsletter in a time of difficulty. That can make it a bit easier to write your issue, because you can keep your focus on helping your readers.
When that’s not possible, or when that feels insincere, there’s only one thing you can do: acknowledge the difficulty and do your best.
Some people are gifted with astounding eloquence, they have an ability to write or speak in times like this with such compassion and wisdom that they make people feel significantly better.
The rest of us can simply do the best we can.
So, in this coming week, that’s your “assignment.” If you have a newsletter issue coming out, simply do your best, and know that even the smallest step in the right direction is still a step that makes a difference.
Your challenge: Don’t be afraid to be at a loss for words in your newsletter. If that’s where you’re at, then that’s where you’re at. Simply do your best this week, and every week thereafter.
How to write less
I resolutely believe more writing makes you a better writer–it’s a skill that must be practiced if you intend to communicate clearly and well. And, heck, last year, I wrote a post on how to write 20,000 words in a weekend.
But, when it comes to an individual piece of writing, it’s important not to fall too madly in love with your words and be entirely unwilling to give any of them up–or you risk sacrificing clarity for your “flourish.”
About a month ago, I became obsessed with finding a very particular tool. I was convinced this new tool would help me cull my writing and write *less* so that I was communicating more. Several broken nails later… I can confirm that yes, my new tool indeed made a huge difference in the quality of what I was writing. I tried it out on a sales letter and what usually would have taken me at least 8 pages to explain was whittled down to three and a half.
What was this miraculous tool? A 1939 Royal Aristocrat. It’s just hard enough to type on that I have to really think through what I’m going to say before I type it. Usually, my method on the keyboard is to start a sentence and keep typing until I arrive at its end (or find myself on a detour I didn’t mean to go on–causing me to backspace my way out of trouble). With the typewriter, there is no backspace. And, sure, I can xxxx things out, but that makes the page messy. So, I have to think through entire sentences, entire paragraphs! before I start striking the keys.
The other advantage is that while I type a little over 100 wpm these days on a keyboard… I type about 20 wpm on the typewriter. Yipes! But, if I type any faster, I strike two keys at once, jamming the machine, and having to stop to fix things before continuing with my sentence. So I go slower. And while slow typing will not get you to a 20,000 words in a weekend goal, it will get you to a goal of richer, more meaningful language, more carefully crafted paragraphs, and… more broken nails.
(And for tips on how to embellish less in your writing without wrecking your manicure, check out this Copyblogger post: Does Your Writing Suffer from Purple Overload?)
