Remember that song by Janet Jackson, Control? It started like this…
“When I was 17 I did what people told me. Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me. But that was a long ago I’m in control, never gonna stop…”
Those lyrics are even better if you knew that Jackson grew up with a tyrannical father. Control resonated with us because so many of us wanted power over our own lives.
As business owners and entrepreneurs we like control too. I’m a recovering control-freak. I get it.
I would write cold emails, and copy for my ads, and sales pages with great words and flashy hooks. I acted like I was in control but I really wasn’t.
Gary Bencivenga said, “If you’re talking to a million people at once, each one of those people has the total power to toss your ad, ignore it, run to the fridge—anything he or she would rather do.”
When I got good at copywriting I kept thinking I could out-fox the fox. I’d keep rewriting ads and posting on social with more flash than substance.
This is like pro sports teams who keep drafting and signing free agents instead of building up the current players on their roster. Focusing on flash (and snazzy tactics) is ok but it makes the long game hard to play.
I should have put just as much time focusing on building relationships with the audience I already had. Sending value and listening if someone was talking.
I can’t control vanity metrics but I can control that stuff. I can send an email a day.
This week don’t forget about the fundamentals and focusing on what you have control over.
Wanna get good at the fundamentals? Go to https://adamstreet.net for free daily emails.
Adam