Another mistake!?!

It’s part of the process … [The Writer’ s Life]( January 29, 2024 "Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes." – John Dewey Happy Monday, {NAME} … My first big project as a newly trained marketer was to increase the response rate of a direct-mail package that sold an expensive scientific newsletter to engineers. I was told to add a premium to boost sales. So, I did — and it was successful! 🙌 But I made two of my first big mistakes (many more would follow) … Apparently, when using premiums, you're supposed to pick something with high perceived value, but a low cost to fulfill. I chose a Montblanc pen (mistake #1). 😊 If you're not familiar, they're very expensive pens. The one I chose was around $150 at the time (looking at the website now, it looks like the cheapest is $270!). The pen DID boost response rates. But not enough to cover the cost. I also learned that you need to put a deadline or expiration date on special offers (mistake #2). 🙈 That's right … To this day, an engineer with that letter can still call up and request the Montblanc pen. Mistakes happen. And while we hate to experience them … mistakes are how we learn the lessons. Some are bigger like the ones above … Others are smaller like the time I learned not to write "I literally fell out of my chair" when expressing surprise. Or learning the difference between infer and imply while being publicly humiliated after using the wrong word. (I'll never use the wrong one again!) When I joined AWAI, Co-Founder Mark Ford gave me some great advice … He said if you want to become a great writer, you must be willing to make mistakes. And you need to make the most of your mistakes in the beginning of your career, and then immediately correct them. It felt freeing … And to this day, I teach the same lesson to copywriters and marketers who work for me. You WILL make mistakes. Just make sure you find them fast, get over the emotion they cause, and then work to understand what happened and why. The lesson is what makes you better. [AWAI Monday Morning Jumpstart Making Mistakes featuring Jade Trueblood and Nick Usborne]( In today's Monday Morning Jumpstart, Nick Usborne takes it a step further by saying, "If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough." He also admits he's made MORE mistakes than successes … Mistakes in choice of clients … Mistakes in projects … Mistakes trying something new … Yet he's managed to hold a successful writing career for over 40 years. Failure is a fear we writers know all too well … And when you're new to the world of paid writing, it can paralyze you from even getting started in the first place. But today Nick and Jade will give you numerous insights on accepting and even embracing your mistakes … by helping you handle them when they happen. Companies make mistakes with their copy and content all the time too … I'm sure you've seen or experienced a few by now (or hundreds). It's one of the many interesting things about this profession … the more we learn about copywriting, the more we see the world around us in a new way. I have to literally (proper use!) stop myself from offering to help companies when I encounter their mistakes. There aren't enough hours in the day to fix them all. But it's also a HUGE opportunity for you … Getting paid to spot the mistakes. [I walk you through the process here.]( And also show you how to get paid twice — once for pointing out the mistakes and a second time for fixing them! This is one of my favorite ways to make money as a writer. [Check it out …]( And then be sure to [listen to today's Monday Morning Jumpstart](! We usually hear what people did "right" … yet hearing what they did "wrong" has just as much power in moving you forward (possibly even more!). I see a new series for The Writer's Life in our future. 😉 Here's to a great week, Rebecca Matter President AWAI CLOSING: Only Accepting New Writers Until Midnight Tonight! Get accepted into the Barefoot Writer Club by MIDNIGHT tonight to claim your "Getting Started" writing gifts, worth $363 – FREE! You're a good fit for the Barefoot Writer Club if … - You enjoy writing. - You want to make great money doing it. - You want control over what you write about and who you write for. But hurry … You only have until midnight tonight! [Get Accepted Here]( Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to this exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … All the success roadmaps … All the writing templates … All the articles … All the how-to videos All 150+ training webinars … The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … And much more! [Details here.]( What's Hot at AWAI … 👉 [Check out our Site Audit Certification here!]( 😄 Did you watch today's Monday Morning Jumpstart? [If not, catch it here!]( 🤩 [Teacher-turned-copywriter finds happiness.]( Anyone can do it … Pam knows her stuff. I loved the way she presented this program. It was very organized. My biggest takeaway is that this program is so organized, I feel confident to go out and do site audits for clients. This program was so well organized and put together, anyone could do a site content audit with Pam's checklist and instruction. – Yvonne Audi Yvonne, we agree that the structure of the Site Audit can put you in the best position to succeed! Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! GAME TIME! Join our Learning Chief, Pam Foster on Wednesday, January 31 at 11 a.m. ET for an hour of fun … And learn how to get your foot in the door with ANY company in ANY niche! You'll also learn how to turn this fun activity into a $2,000 paycheck any time you do it in the future. [Join for FREE Here]( Featured Jobs You can find these jobs and thousands more on [WritersWanted.com](: --------------------------------------------------------------- UX Writer – Creative Circle Full-time, Cupertino, CA Boiling down complex systems into coherent, concise, and compelling interface copy. --------------------------------------------------------------- Copywriter – The Judge Group Full-time, Atlanta, GA Develop healthcare content for diverse channels with a focus on accuracy and audience engagement. --------------------------------------------------------------- Marketing Copywriter – Sollis Health Full-time, New York, NY Partner with the communications team to create consistency and strength in brand storytelling and in developing connective, engaging messaging to tell the Sollis story. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. 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