Keith Goodrum

Back in June I copied this into my notepad, and saved it for a future post. At the time I was having some doubts about what was I doing with this blog, my writing and this whole Internet thing. I was letting self-doubt sneak into my thoughts. I was listening to my fears talking. You know that little voice that whispers in your ear…

“You don’t really think you’re fooling anyone – do you? Others can see right through what you are trying to do… you know that right?”

It’s funny the tricks your mind can play on you when you least expect it. And I had let it get a tight hold on my confidence.

NOT a good idea…

At this point I just grabbed a hold of myself, and made the decision to ignore that little voice. Drive on with what I was doing, and work with what the Good Lord had given me.

At the time I had come across a post by John Carlton talk about overcoming your fears, and doing it anyways. It reminded me that everyone battles these demons, even the people we admire. The same folks we look up to have the same doubts & fears as most normal people.

It lifted my sprits, and reminded me of this lesson I had learned before. Sometimes we all need a little reminder.

Here is the part of the post that really hit home for me… The Wit and Wisdom of Gary Halbert…

But, To many outsiders, he (Gary Halbert) seemed like a super-confident “laugh at death” kinda silver-backed male. And he worked hard to earn his Top Dog title, and keep it.

But, when it was time to kick back, the humility returned. No one conquers life completely, not really. At best, you get one or two shots at achieving something great… or, if you have the fortitude to stay with it, you may get a chance to establish a legacy of good work. A legend, perhaps.

But you will never make life your bitch.

One of the ironies of leadership is that… if you don’t have doubts, you aren’t worthy of leading.

The great leaders just learn to navigate those doubts, and work through them until you can finally say “this is what we’re gonna do”… and be willing to stand behind that decision. Right or wrong.

And this ain’t Hollywood… so you aren’t guaranteed anything. Even good people fail spectacularly, and are ruined.

There’s no safety net out there.

Outsiders seldom see or acknowledge this wrestling match with doubt. They want their leaders to be principled, steadfast, and good at looking confident. They will also pillory any leader they perceive as “weak”.

Back in August when I met Yaro Starak at the NYC 30 Day Challenge meet-up. We were talking about copywriting, and he asked me whose copywriting blogs I follow. I rattled off a few & we started talking about other things.

Sitting on the train I realized there were more than a couple of copywriter’s blogs I follow. It occurred to me to make a list and send them it off to Yaro. So, I whipped out my trusty Moleskine & came up with a short list of copywriting blogs I follow. Then I emailed this list to Yaro with a small explanation of each blog. I thought this would be good list to put here on the blog.

This by no means a comprehensive list, it’s subjective… I’ll admit it up front. It’s based on the blogs I feel given me the most value, enjoy reading and style has made a connection with me. And that’s an important point. You should read people who’ve made that connection with you… not someone you read because you’re suppose to.

Here is the list of the top 5 copywriting blogs I follow:

John Carlton – http://www.john-carlton.com/ John proudly declares he is the most ripped-off copywriter alive… or something like that. Anyhow he is an “A” list copywriter who gets hired by the big boys like Rodale press and Boardroom. What I really like about John is he digs deep into the psychology of sales & marketing. He goes into the motivation, and reasons why people do what they do. I find John to be a very entertaining read, and look forward to each post.

Trevor Crook – http://trevorcrookblog.com/ Trevor is an outstanding copywriter & and excellent teacher. He gives away free his “Copywriting Blueprint Formula”. I wrote about this back in April in a blog post titled: How To Get Trevor Crook’s Copywriting Secrets for Free. The secrets comes as a 10-mp3 recording of his training, and a great resource for anyone wanting to learn copywriting. You can grab a copy here: http://www.trevorcrook.com/.

Michel Fortin – http://www.michelfortin.com/ Michel is considered the best online copywriter around. He has written copy for many of the big guns online, and has probably been responsible for more sales than anyone else online. His blog is loaded with valuable copywriting, marketing, blogging information and much more. Copywriting is only one of the many subjects Michel covers on his blog.

Ryan Healy – http://www.ryanhealy.com http://ryanhealy.typepad.com/ (His old blog – still loaded with valuable content) Ryan is a brilliant copywriter & marketer. I consider him the thinking man’s copywriter. He covers a lot of ground, and gives reasons why it works. The information Ryan provides is based on real world results from his clients & his own work. He is a fanatical tester.

Ben Settle – http://www.bensettle.com Ben’s blog is packed full of outstanding copywriting information. It has great tips, interviews & examples. I believe he could slap a membership script on the front of his blog; start charging a monthly fee & it would be worth every penny.

Well, that ought to keep you busy. This is a good list to start with, and you’ll find plenty of outstanding information. There are scores of sites I could’ve included like; the Gary Halbert letters, Clayton Makepeace, Dan Kennedy, Ray Edwards, Peter Stone, David Garfinkel, Daniel Lewis… But, I included the list I keep a close eye on myself.