Hey Reader,

Perfectionist tendencies. *sigh*

Once upon a time, if you had told me that I was a perfectionist, I’d have responded, “That can’t be true - I’ve never done anything perfectly in my life!”

Which just goes to show that I had no idea what that concept was all about. 😆

Now I know better, and I recognize when perfectionism rears its judgy head.

Just recently I was asked by someone I’m working with to produce a little personal video. She was very clear that I was NOT to spend oodles of time on it. It did not need to be perfect.

“Do it in 10 minutes” was the instruction. ⏰

Well, over an hour in, I’m not finished. In my own defense, I will say that it’s more about technical difficulties than trying to make it perfect, but I did have to stop and think about it:

Am I making this harder than it needs to be so that it looks really really good?

I think I’m giving myself a pass this time, and chalking up the extra time to learning a new process, but let’s just say I’m constantly on the lookout for situations in which I’m taking waaaaaaaaay too much time to finish a task in order to make it 1 degree better. 🙄

Not a great use of my time, TBH.

Which brings me to this: Publishing consistently is important. Publishing a masterpiece every week is not.

I probably don’t need to tell you why consistency is important, but here’s a little refresher anyway. Because repetition is also a necessary ingredient of your newsletter strategy! 🔄

Sending an email every week (or every two weeks, if that’s what you can manage):

• Keeps you top of mind - or at least in the top two thirds of your reader's mind, let’s not overinflate our importance. ✅
• Helps your audience get to know you and better understand what you do. ✅
• Lets your readers see that you take yourself seriously and that you can be trusted to show up. ✅
• Helps you stay on track, i.e., provides you with accountability. ✅
• Gives you ample opportunity to sell stuff. Which requires repetition. ✅

There are probably other benefits, but let’s all just agree that sending this thing out regularly is a good idea.

If writing emails is not at the top of your list of riotously fun activities, it may be hard to stick to it. And if you struggle with what to say or how to say it, it might feel like a Herculean task. 🏋🏻‍♀️

(Hint: this is something I can help you with. Hit reply and tell me your woes.)

So - what are some things that will help you publish consistently? Here are a few ideas.

1. A solid publishing schedule. As noted, weekly is great, bi-weekly will work. If you know you’re supposed to publish on Tuesday afternoon then come Tuesday morning (or preferably Friday morning!), you're going to have to get on it. Let yourself send when you’re in the mood or “have time” and it's just not gonna happen. 😎
2. Keeping notes. If you have an idea, or even a fragment of an idea, write it down! There’s nothing less motivating than staring at a blinking cursor on an otherwise empty page. Build an idea file and dig into it if you need help getting started. 🤓
3. Accumulating examples for reference. When you receive an email that's really good, put it in a folder or label it. These can provide inspiration when you need it. 🧐
4. Not overthinking it! If you don't have a specific offer to make, you can write an email about any aspect of your business. Including: What a typical day looks like for you. One single aspect of what you do - how did you become Reiki attuned? What's one small change they can make to live more sustainably? How are you different from most of the people doing the kind of work you do? What does your favorite client say about working with you? Why do you use your specific tools, modality, process? What drew you to the work you do? There are a million things you know about your work that your average reader does not. Illuminate them! 🤩
5. Being okay with keeping it short. Don't just dash it off, but if you're pressed for time you don't have to write an epic with many parts to it. You can on occasion write something smaller, with a single message. It's better to keep sending consistently than to struggle to make each email a lengthy masterpiece. ☺️
6. Asking your clients for ideas. When you're working together, ask your peeps if there are specific things you can include in your emails that would be helpful or inspiring. Remember, your weekly newsletter may be providing them with accountability as well as information. Perhaps getting your email is the thing that reminds them to take the next step on their own path. 🤨
7. Finding an accountability partner. If you work for and by yourself, it’s hard to keep all the flaming torches in the air. Having someone to check in with can help keep you on the path you’ve chosen. ☺️

And then there’s this - believe in yourself! Remember that you’re offering something great to people who need it! And letting them know about your offer is the first step to helping them achieve their goals. 🙌

Ok, see you next week!

xo, Julia

p.s. GGR - IYKYK​

The Overthinking Corner

Are you finding it hard to hit send?

Perfectionism is on the rise, according to my own completely subjective investigation. 🔎

I.e., there is no basis in fact but I still believe it's true.

Maybe it's because we're being inundated with slick marketing emails every damn day making us believe that we, too, must produce the same kinds of missives as a multi-billion dollar corporation with a communications team of 50 experienced copywriters? ☹️☹️☹️

Could be.

But let me take a moment to remind you ONE MORE TIME that your best effort is absolutely good enough.

I was once challenged by a coach to write a newsletter and not edit it at all. 😳

I produced an email that had several typos in it and basically just told the story of why I was sending something I hadn't worked on. At least one person responded to say they didn't even notice the typos. 🤷🏻‍♀️

To be fair, I will always notice typos. But I don't look at them and think, wow, she's really making a mess of things.

No way I'd hire her to help me build better health habits.

I see great newsletters that have grammatical errors, or have done some cutting and pasting and left an extra word in there.

Ideal? No. But I don't then assume that the writers can't do their actual jobs well.

In a perfect world you've got a designer and an editor and proofreader. But in our actual world you may have only yourself, and that is just fine.

You do the best you can and you hit send, knowing that you will judge yourself more harshly than anyone else. 🚨

Honestly, and I say this as someone who is ALWAYS itching to correct poor grammar: If your reader decides you aren't good at your job because your emails are not always perfect gems of brilliance and sparkling diction, eff them anyway.

That person is going to be a nightmare client with ridiculously high expectations. 🙅🏻

Now, if you're looking for an editor and he makes a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes, then that's another kettle of fish entirely. But rest assured that an occasional mistake isn’t going to tank your business.

Long story short, write your email with joy and generosity and hit send.

Need encouragement? Drop me a line, it's one of my specialties. 📣

The Growth Report

This week I attended a networking event and handed out cool business cards that just have my name on one side and a QR code that leads to my sign-up page on the other. Planning to do the same with my subject line lead magnet.

I also did some social media posting.

Results: a 6% increase in readership.

​Prince knows perfection isn't what we're looking for and so does this email. Forward it to someone who is just right, right now.

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