You're receiving this email because you've either signed up for one of my free giveaways, taken one of my courses or you were curious when someone else recommended my newsletter and you decided to hit the "subscribe" button to check things out. You can unsubscribe any time.

Missed an issue or want to forward to a friend? Find it all right here.

Hello Reader,

I edged my way over to a market stall that was overflowing with books and plants. The plants were all cuttings that had been artfully arranged in water-filled glass containers, their roots floating freely.

There were two ladies chatting at the stall next door and before I could blink, one of them scooted over and said with a laugh,

"Can I put the hard sell on you?"

Her laughter was contagious.

I grinned back and said yes.

She blinked in astonishment.

"Now I don't know what to say," she said.

To be honest, she really didn't need to say anything.

There was no need for a hard sell. I love plants. And I especially love cuttings in glass containers that are just getting a start in life.

So after a brief discussion and a bunch of questions about the care of these particular plants and their uses, I picked out my favourite.

The cuttings it contained were a mix of something she called "Five Spices", sweet potato vine and some groundcover that's supposed to be super hardy.

And because I'm sure I'll be visiting that particular market stall again I decided to introduce myself.

Then belatedly scanned the books in front of me, thinking (correctly) that she must have been the author and I could have picked up her name from there.

She laughed.

"I'm Kim 'Bloody' Scot" she said.

I blinked. And looked again at the name on the book. It said "Kim Vanessa Scot".

She laughed again.

"That's how I always introduce myself to people."

So the next day I looked her up online.

And it turns out she's published 3 books, none of which are available on Amazon, frustratingly.

And that's the bit that stayed with me.

I bought a plant from a woman while standing in front of books she'd written, and I only found that out because I asked for her name.

I'm not having a go at Kim. I do it too. We get busy with the thing in front of us and forget to mention the other thing, the course, the second service, the book we'd love people to read.

Then when someone does go looking, they can't find it either.

Here's a small thing to try this week: pick the offer of yours that fewest people know about. Search for it the way a stranger would, your name plus the thing. If nothing useful comes up, that's not a marketing problem. It's a missing signpost.

Back to Basics Reminder

Take twenty minutes this week and do an offer inventory.

Open a blank document and list every single thing you sell or give away. Services, courses, freebies, waitlists, the workshop you run twice a year, the ebook you wrote in 2022.

Then beside each one, paste the link you'd send someone if they asked about it right now.

The ones with no link are the ones to look at. Not because you've done anything wrong, but because at the moment they only exist in your head.

Fix the easiest one. Even a single page with one paragraph and an email address counts.

A Quick Time-Saving Tip

Here's a fast way to see your business the way a stranger sees it.

Copy the text from your homepage and your About page. Paste it into ChatGPT (or your AI tool of choice) with this:

That second list is the important one. It's the stuff that lives in your head and nowhere else.

And one extra thought while you're in there. Kim introduces herself as Kim "Bloody" Scot and I am never, ever going to forget it.

So if your own introduction is a bit flat, try pasting this into your AI tool:

Pick the one that makes you smile. That's usually the one that works.

Highlight of the Week

Speaking of things nobody can find.

Last week's episode is with Ange Dove, who ran a successful copywriting agency in Singapore for more than twenty years with no website that had her name or her face on it. A coach told her to Google herself. Nothing came up. Not one result.

She reckons it cost her about three times the work she actually got.

I sent you the audio link last week. But this week you can actually watch it on YouTube.

Watch it here: Why Being Invisible Online Is Costing You More Than You Think​

Or have a listen instead if you'd rather have it in your ears while you do something else.

And that's it for this week. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Trudy

P.S. If the offer nobody knows about is you, guest podcasting is one of the least awkward ways to fix that. It's a conversation, not a performance, and someone else does the promoting. Nearly all my guests come to me through PodMatch (affiliate link), and it works the other way round too, connecting you with hosts looking for people to interview.

​
​