Me. Me. Me.

Welcome to the seventh issue of the series!

Ever look in the mirror and think, “Damn, I’m one fine looking person!”

Yes you have. Don’t lie.

It’s good for you.

It’s not so great when you think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, and you start thinking that everyone oughta know it.

That’s when you commit the last sin in this series…being a self-centered prick.

Nobody wants to read stuff that doesn’t make them feel important or have something specifically stated that’s for them.

I’m too sexy…

Ok, before we move along, you’re probably thinking, “Didn’t you just share this last week?”

Last week was about thinking you’re the victim when you’re really a slave to the algorithm.

This one is about focusing too much on yourself and forgetting who you’re really writing to when it comes to social media writing.

It’s about your reader, dummy!

Thanks for coming to my TedX talk…

No, but seriously, self-centered writing has its place and time.

It’s called journaling.

What you do out here on the internet is going to be seen, read, considered, judged, and acted on with various consequences for whoever sees your stuff.

Make it count. It may be your last shot before your audience has had enough of your narcissism and clicks away or unsubscribes from your pity party.

Involve them. Engage with them. Care about them.

I’ll admit, when I first started writing this newsletter, I was completely lost about what I was going to share with you.

Even though I was clueless (fine, I still am), I made an effort to write to you.

Most of you at this point have directly interacted with me at some point.

I haven’t really promoted this much, but that’s the perk.

You came here because you believed I could help you in some way.

I’m doing my best…and it’s why I’ve shared these 7 deadly mistakes to avoid.

What I write to you every week has to be something that is relatable to you.

I can write about my kids, my life, my experiences, and my stories all day now.

But they have to be in context with what you can get out of them.

I’m sharing my content creation journey one issue, one week, one concept at a time.

If you’re here, then you are also on this path and want to know how to improve in the craft.

Those of you who have reached out and responded, I’ve responded back and offered more.

Ava Phoenix (who herself has a fantastic newsletter) comes to mind.

Want a taste? Read her latest one about house hunting and a lesson in happiness here.

We help and encourage each other on our writing endeavors, and she’s provided plenty of feedback on what she wants to learn.

I’m no expert by any measure, but our experiences connect us together and are relatable.

One of the many little perks about being here is that we can grow and realize that we aren’t alone.

In making your writing about your reader in the context of what you’ve experienced, you add value to their lives.

That’s all, folks!

Alright, alright, alriiiiight…

That’s the end of this series covering the 7 deadly sins of writing!

Incidentally, I’m also wrapping up the things that I’ve been challenged on for the past month as well:

1. Kieran Drew’s MCM 30-Day Challenge

2. Daren Chapman’s Craftsmen Creative Challenge

3. Eve Arnold’s Medium Blueprint - awesome writing course!

Let me know what you thought of this series. I’m going to be chewing on what to write about next week.

As my writing patterns have begun to indicate, I like to write about things I’ve learned here covering the four levels of mind mining followed by a series about some aspect of content creation.

So next week will be a discussion of what I’ve realized from this past month from these challenges!

P.S. If you’re still here, then you made the cut (not that there was anyone that really had to be cut anyway). I realized that most of you actually do at least open and skim what I have to say, and I’m grateful for that. As much as I’d like to grow my readership of this newsletter, I want to make sure that it’s aligned with my message and what I like to write about before I put the pedal to the metal on that.