small sustainable notes

For the past month, I've been reading Seth Godin's book “This is Marketing.” I picked it up because I wanted to get a meta-perspective on the new way to do marketing and thus infuse that ethical ideology into my copy.

We each have unique stories and motivations but in the same breath we are all the same, with the same desires and needs. Tapping into that is what copywriting aspires to do.

I learned that, for a while, marketing was advertising. Marketers just bought ads. But then, at one point in time, it changed. Now, anyone can be a marketer. Marketing morphed into aligning with tribes, creating ideas and promoting them in a shameless way, and learning to see through another person's eyes.

And the idea of getting the word out is the wrong way to go about marketing. No spam, no ads, no hype.

The alternative is to persistently and consistently create frequent stories and messages for the smallest viable market, getting these people in sync, thereby earning their attention, trust, and action. Messages and stories that they actually want to hear.

With an empathic approach, marketers don't expect consumers to solve their company's problem. It's more like they use marketing to solve others' problems. So it's understanding and unselfish in that aspect.

One point that stood out to me the most what that people don't really want about what you make. They are focused on how it will make them feel and what it will do for them. Focusing on the tactics and not on the outcome of assisting the aligned market achieve those emotions is the wrong street to go down. The right questions are “Who's it for” and “What's it for.”

But my favorite part so far is where Godin talks about story-telling and creating connections. Stories that resonate with our market, connections which help the market feel seen and heard. Actions that engage with the product and service create stories, connections, and experiences.

I'm halfway through the book. Excited to learn more.

After completing the copywriting courses in July, I realized that I would like to start becoming a writer by first practicing story-telling techniques using my own personal experiences. Since the end of July and the whole of August, I have messily drafted eight stories. I sketched out and attempted to express the emotions I had in those experiences. I referred back to the notes/lists that I've taken since 2018 when I wrote down the activities that I did that year and onward. Everything was disorganized, words and phrases in a discombobulated timeline. After writing those eight drafts, I decided to go back to the drawing board and actually organize all those notes.

I did this writing prep project for two weeks. Glancing at all the “I did” lists that I've made since 2018, I wrote onto another sheet of paper, a general list of all the activities that I did each year. A meta-perspective. Logging and listing in order to see what I've accomplished gives me a sense of perspective with where I am. Purging papers filled with overstuffed notes felt good, as if I was giving up on those outdated feelings, thoughts, and goals. I need white space to be a minimalist copywriter or any other writer that I want to be in the sustainable space.

At one point, I was looking at my “I did” list of the year 2021 at a cafe with an outdoor patio, complete with the wonderfully western haze of the mountainous landscape. Suddenly, I had a euphoric feeling. I remembered that all the actions I took in Utah for the past three years was so that I could learn how to take care of myself and improve myself in a whole new environment and use that novelty of the new environment to make a change in career/start an online business/practice self-improvement. Because of this positive perspective, I noticed that all the actions that I accomplished here were in service of getting back to the intention of moving to a new state in the first place. Not all of them were, for I got distracted in my original intention. Recalling my xenophile penchant, desire for a location independent lifestyle, interest in business, flair for writing, enthusiasm for languages, I remembered this place of pines and dry mountains and snowbound slopes is just a transitory phase. All the things I tried and which didn't work here helped me.

At the start of August, I attended a Lead Generation Marketing Workshop on Zoom hosted by a solopreneur and solo business consultant. I was still doing my local accelerated-learning business building project, but after the five-day intensive workshop, I decided to build it long-term, solely internet-based, and use myself as a test-subject, documenting my usage of these accelerated-learning strategies. After this workshop, I also realized that I want to place my business within the sustainability space and cater it to professionals looking to upskill in green skills. I created a six-part skill-learning system out of the accelerated skill-learning notes I wrote down back in May. Why not marry the futuristic workplace/skill-training with sustainability and accelerated-learning?

So now I resume my personal story writing. After writing out more first drafts, second drafts, I will edit them and post a few on here as well.

A couple days ago, I completed three copywriting courses that I began two months ago, including writing down ideas [from my notes] about how I can practice these techniques.

In the course I discovered on 'Skillshare,' “60 Copywriting Lessons: Actionable Tips to Build a Career as a Copywriter,” I learned the concept of clarity and that it is better to be clear than creative. If my reader, your client, does not understand the 'call to action' at the end, then I've defeated the purpose of copywriting. Copywriting is not about self-expression, rather it is about communication and I want my readers to take action based on my persuasive “power words” and choice of wording. There's the conversational tone, focusing on genuine connection with the reader. The reader is more important than the creator of the copy. There are copy hacks and formulas that I learned about, such as the 'AIDA' writing structure, the mid-story start, the big idea and a few more. Another concept I learned about is to constrain the scope. Readers have short attention spans. Short meta-descriptions, short headlines, short paragraphs of 200-500 words. I also learned the '30 Psychological Triggers' that Joe Sugarman talks about in addition to Robert Cialdini's “6 Principles of Persuasion.” Will be using both while practicing this psychological and persuasive prose.

After the second read of my notes, I inserted a fun emoji [in my course notes] next to all the ideas that I could use to practice copy concepts and techniques [in order to use as a marker for my 'practice loops'].

Practice Loops for this course: using the 6 Principles of Persuasion in an imaginary or real story that I could write down, writing the five story-telling structures I learned about, getting ideas from my own experiences or an imaginary dramatic event, and using “power words” and sensory words in those stories.

For the Udemy Course: “How to Become a Certified Direct-Response Copywriter, there were also a lot of actionable takeaways but it was more introductory, with PDF resources after some of the videos. I learned about how it is better to write about benefits, not features [a lot of beginner copywriters and mainstream copywriters emphasize features but don't tap into the benefit that the audience will get], knowing the client comes first before becoming knowledgable about the product or service, potential headline ideas, the importance of a good headline, and the difference between sales pages and sales letters.

Practice Loops for this course: doing an exercise in benefits and features writing, writing an imaginary sales letter for a task that my customer who purchased something from me wants, and then offering another product for them, implementing the email template ideas in order to write an imaginary email.

In “Genuine Copywriting: Effective Copywriting that Gets Results,” on Udemy, the course emphasized market research before starting to write copy. I learned that you get the copy from the actual market research, that there's a difference between market study and audience study, and that surprisingly, clients don't need to be persuaded if it is good copy.

Practice Loops for this course: Using the copywriting template learned in this course to write sample copy, writing an imaginary sales page, and implementing the 17 steps to write an authentic landing page.

Now, this month, primarily offline, penning on paper, I plan on performing these practice loops. I've downloaded a lot of articles about copywriting onto my MacBook [which I will be referring to] so I don't have the buzz of the net to distract me as I write.

It's been a month and a half since I logged out of Instagram and Facebook. In addition to these socials, I haven't even been listening to podcasts because of the yearly accumulation of information overwhelm and opinion overload [I usually listen to podcasts at work and now I am allowing my brain to breathe]. Enjoying it so much that I am exploring ways to spend even less time online. I feel like my work steals time from me, Instagram and Facebook attempt to get my attention, and I remember so many hours wasted at school learning useless topics that it seems like a radical rebellion to aim my attention elsewhere.

Wrote down two columns composed of what I used to do online and then what I am honestly doing on it [with overlap because some I am still doing]. But with other activities, I crossed those off so that I can focus on more important activities that will get me closer to my ideal day.

I have a goal of 6 hours a day screen-time [learning a language, searching/downloading/printing piano sheet music, & copywriting]. I don't read as many blogs or articles anymore. The only online reading material I want to consume right now is related to copywriting and sustainability, specifically eco-lifestyle and ecotourism. I have a stack of books in my room, on my Apple Books TBR list, and recommended titles from a few of my favorite writers that I would rather consume. Last year and at the start of this year, I read blog posts & articles I saved on Pocket when I was still on social media. And I have exposed myself to so much information and possibilities through podcast listening [since 2017], that I just want to implement what I've learned instead of stagnating in a continual consumption cycle. For music, I still listen to synthwave, foreign pop music, and ambient tunes on Spotify.

I was actually off of social media before [sometime in 2021 until the summer of 2022] but I went back on it to follow what a couple people I had just met were posting. Now I would rather have them just tell me what is going on in their lives. For me, it's exciting to share perspectives, imagine their story, and feel special because what they are disclosing to me is personalized.

On the net, I want to be writing copy for eco-conscious brands the majority of the time. Primarily copywrite for my clients offline in plain-text file. Taking notes in plain text files is something that I am experimenting with. I know I will be having to do research for copywriting, further extending my time on the net. Upping my language levels & building up 'Small Sustainable Learning' and 'Small Sustainable Notes' [including its presence on LinkedIn] are the secondary and third activities.

But I want to get even more radical and take a break from films & tv right now as well. This detox has made me realize just how much of the internet buzz in my life that I have allowed before does not appear to matter as much to my personal life as I originally thought. I am enjoying the feeling of missing out, but I want to miss out even more by not even being in the loop of what is playing in the theaters, streaming on tv, streaming on free movie sites. I enjoy not knowing the trends on social media, and I don't miss the emotion of disappointment when I didn't see comments & likes on my photos, not getting direct messages.

I am not saying the internet & podcasts should not exist, but based on what I know about myself, it's better for me to cut out the internet clutter in an extreme manner.

I feel proud of the progress I've made in my personal tasks and projects since being off of Instagram and Facebook. Spending 10+hrs consuming 3 online copywriting courses so far, attending local meetups, blogging, discovering my personal motivations for reducing screen time [burnout, information overwhelm, decision fatigue], starting to commute by bike to work, reading a paper book from the library, audiobook listening, organizing iCloud files and folders, practicing piano.

Currently in the process of a decision detox. For almost three years, since moving to Salt Lake, I've chosen to make several small decisions about how to operate in my new life. For example, how I want to live, what kind of products I want to buy, what stores to support. Last winter, I moved out of a less than ideal living & job situation.

It would be an understatement to say that I've experienced a bit of burnout. In fact, it's a little much. Too much.

Especially because I am shaking up my life again, by studying & skill-learning.

For the past week, I've implemented a number of dopamine & decision detox practices... Finishing one material/task/project before moving onto another. This looks like finishing one show before starting another one [Hulu's “The Great”], finishing one audiobook before starting another [right now it is romance/vacation-minded/foreign setting rom-coms], reading one paper book [just fiction right now because I read non-fiction before] Task-switching is off limits. No switching between podcast topics/shows, switching between unrelated tasks, switching between projects Focusing on sustainability-related/green skills/green jobs content & reading one blog at a time[no article reading unless it relates to this] Honing in on learning the skill of copywriting while ignoring others' successes [the main reason why I am off of social media for the summer] Choosing to listen to audiobooks on Libby and not Apple Books right now Choosing to read only the books that I have currently purchased/checked out from the library before starting others Keeping the phone on 'do not disturb' & 'airplane mode' until 11 am ['do not disturb runs from 7-11 am but I'm still testing this schedule out] Sleeping longer [and jumping into bed right when I come home from my 8-hour shift], taking a watermelon CBD tincture to calm myself, performing breathwork for 2 minutes [implementing 'the 2 minute rule'] Choosing to only have 'bulletproof coffee' at home [instead of making a decision to go a nearby coffee shop and then having to choose a drink based on what I feel like] Not having many tabs open on my browser as before Already deciding my 'offline activities' Already deciding the products I will buy locally & online & the brands I will support Not having certain apps on my phone to avoid information overload

Hoping that these practices will seep the stress out of my brain, reset my dopamine levels, and assist me in getting into the state of being laser-focused.

First week of learning copywriting. I started a study routine where as soon as I wake up I make my 'bulletproof coffee,' walk to my standing desk, mason jar or clear thrifted coffee mug in hand, open up a safari tab for the Udemy Copywriting Course I've chosen to take [it helps to have it open from the day before or to have the exact link bookmarked in 'Favorites'], imbibe my buttery beverage, and set my Toggl Tracker and 25 minute timer on Mac. I have chosen 'Toggl Tracker' as my designated time log app where I will be recording and tracking all of my learning time. It has both a desktop Mac feature and a mobile app.

Eased into copywriting by clicked on the course 5 minutes a day for two days a week before [when I was prioritizing another project and couldn't focus more than 5 minutes on learning]. Then the following week when I completed that project, I could extend it to 25-50 minutes.

The 25 minute timer beeps [the 'cosmic' ringtone on Mac], I either clean my room, memorize a Anna Sedokova song alongside the prepared lyrics [bookmarked and set on my phone Home Screen], wash the dishes, or clean my face with Paula's Choice 2% BHA Exfoliator. Or I go outside on porch, streaming with sunshine, & write down ten ideas [a practice I got from the blogger James Altucher and what I've been doing off and on since 2017]. Another alternative is I read a few pages of my current romance read on the steps. Then I go back to my standing desk to proceed with my study practice.

I don't wake up at the same time and that's something I will be working on. Because I will be marking my progress based not on hours completed, but on tasks completed I haven't thought about waking up at the same time. Plus, I hate the sound of alarms but if I set it to synth or something space-like then it will not be as grading.

My morning learning schedule consists of duration, not studying set hours. For example, I do two 50 minute sessions of learning [broken up into 25 minute segments where I take a five minute break] but I haven't been learning from 7 to 9 am or 8 to 10 am [as I haven't been waking up at the same time].

I set my timer for 25 minutes & log the time in my time tracker app Toggl Tracker. Also, I will be checking off if I do indeed do three 50 minute sessions [I actually haven't been recording that part] I think I will be choosing Apple Notes Checklist Note as my place to record.

As for learning, I have enjoyed it so far! Progressing through the modules, seeing my visual progress thanks to the Udemy platform features, taking plain text notes alongside the videos, all the time in the back of my mind wondering how I can implement the information to solve my personal problems. When an idea pops into my head, I quickly jot it down in Apple Notes [or under the 'Notes' tab in the course] so I don't lose focus on what the instructor is saying.

A little after starting the first course module [I should have done this in my prep time], I looked at the course curriculum, read the objectives, and noted down what I want to personally get out of this course and ways I can use the information in a practical way in both my business and as a profession. One of the tenants of accelerated-learning is having a very clear and specific purpose of why you are learning [allowing you to also skip over information that might not be relevant to your 'why,'], how the information might be applied later etc….

I learned that the first thing to do in writing authentic copy that sells is doing market research [as it is ethical & the best approach to sell what people ACTUALLY want and not what I think they should want] and I got some ideas of how to approach it. I had to pause for half an hour and write out why I was learning about market research when what I really wanted to learn was the skill of copywriting. How will I actually apply these ideas and concepts of market research to my situation? Do I really need to do market research for 'Small Sustainable Learning'? [both the short-term and the long-term version?] or can I skip right to copywriting [which I know I will learn how to do later in the course?]

I am glad I took that pause to decide on those questions before continuing my mountainous climb into more unknown terrain to be a certified, authentic & ethical copywriter. I pinpointed a more specific area of “Small Sustainable Learning” that I want to focus on [memorization strategies & skill-building strategies applied to language-learning!] and this question and answer came up thanks to trying to figure out if I should do market research.

I learned how to do polls [and skipped the ones that were not relevant to my situation], I learned that it is important to get opinions from the right people for your market research [not necessarily your friends and family], what questions to ask when doing market research, what methods to employ, I learned how to approach people or your audience to talk with them one-on-one to get more clarity on what they would actually pay for [to pay attention to their buying actions and not really what they say they would buy], & how to study your own style before you actually start writing copy.

As I jump into the style of copywriting, I can use the concept of practice-looping to practice this form of persuasive prose, speeding up the loops & spacing out my practice. Deciding to write 'learning documentary' blog posts is a form of fast feedback as I write down the main points so far or realize I don't quite remember what I wanted to in the course.

Within the last month, I've been working on getting 'Small Sustainable Learning' up and ready for both local and non-local learners [I will be doing Zoom calls for both]

I've categorized and organized and stripped my notes [in a plain-text file] of fluff [leaving only essential, streamlined, & simple directives] and that has produced four categories of learning that I have experience in: learning to understand a topic deeper, learning to acquire a skill, learning a language, and learning to memorize [not only do these newly-improved categorized notes help me to quickly explain the concept & detail to the client, but it also helps me as I will apply this knowledge each time with each future project!]

I've come up with my own hashtags & icons for categorizing these points [in each category of my notes which are in a plain text file]

I wrote out my own personal learning project plan that I will use within three months to a year [complete with my how-tos and resources] based on accelerated-learning notes I've refreshed my memory with over the last three weeks [copywriting, content writing+blogging, sustainable travel, jazz piano…]

Created a page on this site where one can book a 30-min meeting with me

Created a page on this site for the testimonials I've collected

I've come up with a lot of ideas about how to get leads for both the short-term and the long-term version of 'Small Sustainable Learning'

I've shared my knowledge with four people so far, two of them students, and the other two wanting to learn the tools to learn a language quickly. It has been exciting to explain these concepts to a newbie!

I've organized my files and folders on iCloud Drive so that I can easily access them for my copywriting learning project. A lot my notes that I previously had in Apple Pages or a Microsoft Word Doc I have converted into a plain text file

I've joined an online entrepreneurship community called “Peak Entrepreneurship” [https://community.peakentrepreneurship.com] where I can bounce ideas off of successful solopreneurs

I set up a Calendly page

signed up for a Testimonial Platform where I can direct people to share how their session went with me

I progressed through a 5-day intensive lead-generation marketing workshop where I specified which professional I would market to, which specific distribution channel I would use, honed in on the green skills/green economy/green jobs market, created a PDF checklist [using Apple Pages & Canva] and a landing page [using Systeme.io] and email-opt-in offer for that freebie in case a future reader would like to get on my email list. I've created a Dropbox account where I can share all of these future PDF freebies.

The last thing I will need to do in order to get 'Small Sustainable Learning' ready is to answer the questions that I have been popping up with the short sessions I have done so far, points and explanations that I need to look up further in order to explain rapid learning better [and for my own learning project]. I call it my 'Questions List' and will just be checking that off in two 50 minute sessions soon.

Also, within the last two weeks, I pressed play on the first module of the copywriting course on Udemy that I said I would start this learning project with. In addition to the online course, I've progressed through a copywriting training from Anna Powers' “Clickworthy Copywriting” [since I signed up for her email list!]. I realized that I haven't done a learning project since 2019 [when I was going through a python course [that I started in 2018] for a month at my makeshift standing desk in Virginia].

Within this month, I will continue to go through the copywriting course & email training, find people for 'Small Sustainable Learning, and blog once a week on Fridays.

It's been a month and a half since I logged out of Instagram and Facebook. In addition to these socials, I haven't even been listening to podcasts because of the yearly accumulation of information overwhelm and opinion overload [I usually listen to podcasts at work and now I am allowing my brain to breathe]. Enjoying it so much that I am exploring ways to spend even less time online. I feel like my work steals time from me, Instagram and Facebook attempt to get my attention, and I remember so many hours wasted at school learning useless topics that it seems like a radical rebellion to aim my attention elsewhere.

Wrote down two columns composed of what I used to do online and then what I am honestly doing on it [with overlap because some I am still doing]. But with other activities, I crossed those off so that I can focus on more important activities that will get me closer to my ideal day.

I have a goal of 6 hours a day screen-time [learning a language, searching/downloading/printing piano sheet music, & copywriting]. I don't read as many blogs or articles anymore. The only online reading material I want to consume right now is related to copywriting and sustainability, specifically eco-lifestyle and ecotourism. I have a stack of books in my room, on my Apple Books TBR list, and recommended titles from a few of my favorite writers that I would rather consume. Last year and at the start of this year, I read blog posts & articles I saved on Pocket when I was still on social media. And I have exposed myself to so much information and possibilities through podcast listening [since 2017], that I just want to implement what I've learned instead of stagnating in a continual consumption cycle. For music, I still listen to synthwave, foreign pop music, and ambient tunes on Spotify.

I was actually off of social media before [sometime in 2021 until the summer of 2022] but I went back on it to follow what a couple people I had just met were posting. Now I would rather have them just tell me what is going on in their lives. For me, it's exciting to share perspectives, imagine their story, and feel special because what they are disclosing to me is personalized.

On the net, I want to be writing copy for eco-conscious brands the majority of the time. Primarily copywrite for my clients offline in plain-text file. Taking notes in plain text files is something that I am experimenting with. I know I will be having to do research for copywriting, further extending my time on the net. Upping my language levels & building up 'Small Sustainable Learning' and 'Small Sustainable Notes' [including its presence on LinkedIn] are the secondary and third activities.

But I want to get even more radical and take a break from films & tv right now as well. This detox has made me realize just how much of the internet buzz in my life that I have allowed before does not appear to matter as much to my personal life as I originally thought. I am enjoying the feeling of missing out, but I want to miss out even more by not even being in the loop of what is playing in the theaters, streaming on tv, streaming on free movie sites. I enjoy not knowing the trends on social media, and I don't miss the emotion of disappointment when I didn't see comments & likes on my photos, not getting direct messages.

I am not saying the internet & podcasts should not exist, but based on what I know about myself, it's better for me to cut out the internet clutter in an extreme manner.

I feel proud of the progress I've made in my personal tasks and projects since being off of Instagram and Facebook. Spending 10+hrs consuming 3 online copywriting courses so far, attending local meetups, blogging, discovering my personal motivations for reducing screen time [burnout, information overwhelm, decision fatigue], starting to commute by bike to work, reading a paper book from the library, audiobook listening, organizing iCloud files and folders, practicing piano.

I've realized that I have been in the on & off process of acquiring skills in different phases of my life, not necessarily becoming this or that person.

I don't really look at becoming anything because I think of the future so much. In ten years, my job might be obsolete or there might be an entirely new way of working. Or I might take a new “job of the future” or perform a new solopreneur project that has not come down the line yet in 2023.

I also like the idea of combining different skills & knowledge in a project. Maybe my skill in python programming [which I was working on acquiring in 2018], could work with a personal money management, female health/fertility/menstrual cycle, or sustainable travel project [provided I have enough understanding of those subjects].

Or my skill in speaking french could be combined with my skill in coding an AR app, writing direct-response copy, or playing jazz piano.

Now I focus on accelerating my rare & marketable skill acquiring and only choosing a specialization after that process.

85% of the way through the process of gaining a deeper understanding of these techniques [my goal being to share my knowledge with interested humans!]. Looked at the notes that I had written out a year ago, on Apple Pages. It was covered in cobwebs, random and unorganized.

One afternoon, after an impulsive decision, I shared a mnemonic language-learning hack with a co-worker. The best way to self-test is to explain it to another person.

Eased myself into this “refreshing phase” by listening to podcast episodes that I’ve saved before as well as episodes from a Spotify playlist I curated before. I put the notes [into different categories by theme & from the different blog posts that I had read before] into an offline plain-text file instead of Apple Pages.

Also listened to articles in audio format, listening to an AI, [sometimes three times] while working at my day job.

Some of these strategies [that I’ve written about in posts before] I’ve applied to this so-called “accelerated-learning refresher learning-project.” Before work in the afternoon, after I drove on the freeway and arrived in the downtown parking lot, I implemented the ‘two-min rule’ by starting ‘retrieval-practice’ and ‘free recall’ and then leaving it there, uncompleted. I did this by writing down everything [on a blank page in my composition book I got from Savers] that I retained in my memory about what I had just looked at in my new and updated plain-text notes.

On the page were the notes that I had drugged up from my memory. At least I wrote something down for two minutes.

A few days later, I walked on an avenue I really like near my house in Millcreek Utah; Stratford Ave in Highland Park. Feet hit the pavement leisurely while reviewing my notes again [for one more free-recall sesh outside]. I really enjoy walking on Statford Ave, seeing the ivy-streamed fences, the color-covered houses. It reminded me of the time back in 2018 when I would walk in the Fan District in Richmond, Virginia, pretty much doing the same activity that I was doing here.

When I was reviewing my notes, saying out loud the concepts that confused me, there came up a lot of questions. These questions are in another plain-text file. I’ve decided to write all of my content first in plain-text files.

These questions are awaiting answers, but they are there for now, in checklist form [‘a concept checklist’]. The important thing is taking imperfect action. I don’t have expertise in this specific sphere of self-education, but I have semi-expertise which I can use for my own learning-projects down the line and to share with the goal of assisting others with theirs.