Like other introverts, I feel worn down by interacting with people. I love people. I truly do (well, most of them!). But we introverts are wired to get our energy from being alone.

As a result, all the conversations that happen during the week leave me pretty mentally depleted by the time Friday rolls around. So, for the last year or so, I have kept a strict rule: I don’t do any calls or meetings on Fridays.

It has been a massive help knowing that I can do work on Fridays and don’t need to expend emotional energy on conversations. This is my mental “safe zone.”

I used to feel guilty about this, as if being an introvert was a weakness. But I have come to not just accept, but CELEBRATE, the way I’m wired.

It’s important for you to put guard rails around your emotional wiring. If you don’t protect your gift, you will burn out and kill the very thing that makes you so valuable.

I admit that once in a great while, I will do a call on a Friday if it’s absolutely necessary. But I make sure Friday is blocked off on my Calendly calendar. In addition, I always steer clients toward meetings on Mondays or Thursdays if possible.

Even if I’m feeling depleted during the week, I can relax knowing that Friday is a day when I can be my introverted self and can reserve all my energy for writing and other work.

Today’s Challenge: If you’re feeling burned out or mentally depleted, take a look at your schedule. You might need to build a mental safe zone into your week.

The post Do You Have a Mental “Safe Zone”? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

If you, like many writers, label yourself an introvert, you probably think of speaking as something you’d want to avoid. It involves interaction with groups or crowds, standing up in front to deliver a talk, engaging with strangers, and maybe traveling.

As an introvert myself, all of those things drain my energy. For years, I tried not to admit to myself that they do, but it’s true. There are certain activities that, no matter how valuable they might be, simply drain my emotional batteries.

However, that doesn’t mean you should avoid them. It just means you need to take advantage of those opportunities strategically and prepare for them accordingly.

Speaking can be a great way to get in front of groups to test out ideas. You can meet lots of new and interesting people that you otherwise might not connect with. And, of course, you can build new customers, clients, readers, or fans through those speaking opportunities.

I come from the worlds of church ministry and higher education, so I was regularly speaking in front of groups on a daily or weekly basis as part of the job. But as a ghostwriter and author, I haven’t spent nearly as much time speaking. And honestly, it’s not really part of my business strategy right now.

However, that doesn’t mean YOU shouldn’t consider it. Since the pandemic, the world has opened up a lot more and people are hungry for in-person events. If you’re just getting started with speaking, I recommend doing some local events for free. Try business groups, your library, or church events if you’re a person of faith. Or just invite some friends for coffee and do a short presentation. It doesn’t matter HOW you start… it just matters THAT you start.

You might be surprised at how much you enjoy speaking once you get into it. Even though this might not be your primary strategy right now, it can be a great addition to what you’re already offering.

Question: Do you like the idea of getting into speaking? Do you feel it’s something that would give you energy or drain your battery?

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We writers have the well-earned reputation for not being the best at people skills, which is unfortunate because it’s certainly not always true. Writing is a people-centered business even though we spend a good amount of time sitting in front of a screen typing.

Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. Even if you’re an outgoing people person, you can always use a reminder of the basics. Here are four key people skills every writer needs.

1. Look people in the eye when speaking to them. This communicates that you’re engaged. Even if you’re on a Zoom call, look at the camera instead of looking at the person on your screen. It makes a difference in the way the other person perceives your relatability and social skills.

2. Smile when you greet people. Those first few moments of an interaction make a huge difference in how the whole conversation will go. Even if you’re not feeling it, smile anyway and you will start to feel happier soon. This also works on Zoom calls. Those first few seconds of the calls will generally determine how the conversation will go.

3. Be a listener. In our world of short attention spans, it’s hard to listen carefully. But this is an area where we writers excel. It’s been said, “God gave us two ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we speak.” That’s probably true. When you listen and ask good questions, you draw out the best in others.

4. Answer messages quickly. Whether it’s social media messages, text messages, or emails, make sure to get back to people quickly. The standard is 24-48 hours. You will immediately stand out from others when you do this, since many people take a long time to answer messages. It communicates that you are responsive and attentive.

Those are just a few important people skills for writers. When you practice them consistently, you will have better relationships and more success. These little things make a huge difference.

Daily Question: Which one of these is an area where you need the most work?

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There are many advantages to being an introverted writer. You enjoy being alone, which is a big benefit when trying to get your writing done. You’d mostly rather spend your time with books than with people, which can help you dive deeply into literature and learning. You’d rather observe than participate, which can help you approach life like a journalist or researcher.

Those same tendencies can backfire sometimes, though. The very strengths that help you become a great writer can make it hard for you to build an audience—which is something every writer must do.

Here are five quick tips for introverted writers on building an audience.

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself and your writing out there. Life is not all about observing others or writing about other people’s experiences. We want to hear what YOU have experienced and what YOU have to say about your topic.
2. Remember, writing is all about serving people. Don’t get hung up on what you think others think about you. Keep in the forefront of your mind the idea that your writing is helping people.
3. Get out and have real conversations with people. As introverts, we often live in our heads and avoid life in the real world. But this is where the action happens. Don’t think of people as “exhausting”—think of them as your best teachers and the reason you do what you do.
4. Test out material by blogging, podcasting, guest posting, and writing for other websites. The only way to get better is to write consistently. Don’t worry about trying to build a perfect system. Just start writing, test out material in as many places as you can, and then get better by learning from these experiences.
5. Don’t over-analyze this process. Just start writing and course-correct as you go. You have to let go of the need to be perfect and to have it all figured out. Just relax, get to work, and know that you are intelligent and will figure it out as you go along.

Your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Don’t get sucked into the lie that people are the enemy. You’re there to serve them, enjoy them, and learn from them.

Daily Question: Which of these 5 tips do you need to put into practice the most?

The post The Introverted Writer’s Dilemma appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

You’ve probably heard the famous quote by Zig Ziglar: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”   

Success is all about building great relationships and serving other people well. But what if you’re an introverted writer? How can you succeed in a world that is so relationship-driven?  

That was a struggle of mine for most of my life. Back when I was a pastor, this was a real problem. When you’re in ministry, you’re around people all the time. Church work is obviously people-centric. I was a worship pastor, and we had three services on Sunday morning, plus a Sunday night service.     

I was so emotionally drained by the time Sunday night church was over that many times, as soon as the service was done, I would put my guitar away, walk behind the stage, and take a side exit so nobody would see me leave. I was so drained that I literally could not form the words to have a conversation with one more person. (I’m going to offer a blanket apology to anybody at that church in Streator, Illinois.)  

If you’re listening to this episode, there is a high probability you can relate to this since I believe most writers are introverts. Most writers write because that’s the way we love to communicate. We love people, but quite honestly, they sometimes drain us.  

So how can you be successful in a hyper-connected world, or in a business or leadership environment that depends so much on networking and relationships? How do you successfully engage as an introvert without losing your mind?  

I’m not the world’s networking expert. In fact, I’m no expert on this at all. But over the last few years, I have found a few strategies that have worked pretty well for me. In many ways, these strategies are designed for introverts because they involve things where introverts excel: writing, creating content, planning, and paying attention to detail. 

Certainly, there are many extroverts who are great in those areas as well — don’t get me wrong! But, in my experience, introverts are uniquely suited to use these specific strategies for networking.  

Now before I share these five tactics, let’s establish a little context with a very important question: what is the purpose of networking and building these relationships? It’s quite simple and it goes back to the Ziglar quote: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”  

This all comes down to helping people. This is all rooted in service and generosity. If you don’t have those two elements as fundamental ways of living, it won’t work. Please keep that in mind.   

Our success is a by-product of serving other people. We serve and give because we value other people, first and foremost. That means we need to be at the top of our game when we’re serving others. That means we’re excellent and we’re always improving. If we do those things, we will reap the fruit of success.  

Now, let’s dive into five specific networking strategies for introverted writers.    

1. Post reviews for books and podcasts.

An important principle to keep in mind is that people’s #1 need is to feel affirmed and valued. A great way to meet this need is to leave a review for someone’s podcast on iTunes, or leave a review for their book on Amazon and Goodreads. Then, you take a screenshot of your review and send it to the person, or better yet, post it on social media and tag the person. It’s simple, it encourages others, and it establishes a connection.  

Make it a goal to do this for one or two people every day. If you challenge yourself and include this as a part of your social media routine, it’s easy.  

2. Send gifts and handwritten cards to people.

I do this all the time for my podcast guests and many others who I want to thank for any reason. Now, sending a card does take some time and a little bit of money because there’s postage, but the return you get is amazing. People really love getting stuff in the mail.     

Often, I also include a little key in the card — a skeleton key. I write something like: “Here is a little reminder of your power to unlock other people’s creative potential.” People go nuts for it. We all love trinkets and little reminders of important truths.  

I also send out books to people. In fact, I just sent out a bunch of books to podcast guests a few weeks ago. One of the benefits of doing this is that people sometimes post a picture of the book on social media. I don’t do it to get the pics, but it’s great marketing.   

There are all kinds of other gifts you can send, as well. Check out John Ruhlin’s book, Giftology, for lots of great ideas.  

Sending cards and gifts might seem like a hassle, but that’s precisely why you should do it: hardly anybody else is doing it. Your thoughtfulness and intentionality will stand out. 

3. Send personalized videos.

This strategy is something I learned from my friend Aaron Hunt, who is a personal branding expert. He and my friend Andy Storch are masters at sending short, personalized videos to people. 

When you want to forge a deeper connection with someone, use an app like Loom to record a short video where you say what you appreciate about the person, something special you noticed, or some kind of mutual connection you have. Then make sure and title it with their name — i.e. Video for Steven, etc. That way it shows up as a personalized video. Be sure to make it short — just a minute or two.  

This is actually how I got my second ghostwriting book. I sent a personalized video to the person, just to say what I appreciated about their work and how it impacted me. That video led to a phone call to further connect, and the rest is history.  

Now as an introvert, you probably don’t like video, and it’s not my medium of choice, either. But it’s just like a handwritten card — hardly anybody does it. It’s powerful and effective because it’s RARE. I would challenge you to get comfortable on video. Learn to make it your friend. People don’t care if you don’t have a perfectly smooth delivery — the fact that it’s from you and is authentic, makes it powerful.  

This personalized video strategy is very, very, very valuable. It blows people away.  

4. Join a paid community or mastermind.

As with most things, the more you invest, the more you will get out of it.  

Here’s the thing with paid groups, in general — the fact that people are paying to be there means they are more serious about growing and learning. Because payment is a barrier to entry, the quality of the people in the group will likely be higher than in free groups.   

I’m not saying free groups are bad by any means, but if you really want to accelerate your progress, a paid community or mastermind is the way to go.  

I’m currently part of several paid communities. Each of these groups is different in the way we interact with each other, as well as what’s included in the group. But they are all very powerful and beneficial.  

And, of course, I’m also going to take this opportunity to share about our Daily Writer Community. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about it before. This is the writing community I created because I could not find a group with all the features I wanted.  

The Daily Writer Community is literally the group I would join.  

I cannot even begin to tell you how this community has impacted people in the few short months it has existed. We have members connecting with each other, publishing books, shooting for big goals, getting more engaged in their writing, and so many other cool things. It’s really, really inspiring. 

I would highly encourage you to check it out at https://dailywriterlife.com/community.  

5. Start a podcast and interview people in your niche.

This is one of the strategies I have focused on in the last few years. Podcasting is absolutely perfect for introverts because you can do it in your own home or studio, on your time, and in your own way.   

The awesome thing about having your own podcast is that you can invite basically anyone you want onto your show — within reason, of course, but you would be very surprised at the caliber of people who will agree to come on your podcast if you extend an engaging, thought out invitation. Just look at the caliber of guests I’ve had on my show, and you’ll see what I mean. They are some truly stunning achievers, leaders, business people, authors, and creative thinkers.  

But here’s the thing about a podcast — and please hear me very, very clearly on this — IT TAKES TIME. It takes energy. It takes commitment. I dedicated 4-6 hours to my podcast every single week. Sometimes, it’s much more if I’m batch-producing episodes.   

The place where people get hung up podcasting is in the production and editing. Podcasting sounds like a lot of fun until you’ve done a few episodes, and then the reality of the workload sets in. But if you’re willing to commit to it, it’s extremely powerful. I can’t even begin to tell you how this podcast has led to some really cool results and allowed me to meet awesome people.   

OBJECTIONS:  

Now that I’ve covered these strategies, I want to address a few objections you might have that will prevent you from taking action. 

Ready? Here we go.  

Objection #1: I don’t have the time to mess with all this network-building stuff.  

Yes, networking can be time-consuming, but relationships are the most important thing you have in life. The very reason why you must do it is because so few people are putting the time into it. There is virtually no competition because most people are not willing to do the hard work of building a great network over time.  

Objection #2: I don’t have the money to join a paid group or community.  

I get this. I totally do. I was there for a very long time. But then I realized that relationships are the key to success in life. So my question is: what can you do to scrape together a little bit of money to engage in a community of high achievers?   

If that is a stretch, what can you do right now that would give you the money? What can you sell? What freelance work could you do? 

Do whatever it takes because those paid communities are high leverage. This means, if you engage in those groups and use the knowledge you gain correctly, you will get a far bigger return on your investment. 

Here is my challenge: choose one of the strategies I’ve shared above and put it into practice in the next 48 hours.  

When you utilize one of the five strategies I’ve shared, shoot me an email at kent@dailywriterlife.com. I’d love to hear how you use these networking methods in your own life. 

The post Networking Strategies for Introverted Writers appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

The main topic of this podcast focuses on the mindset and habits related to writing. However, a crucial element of our success is generosity. You can have the greatest writing skills in the world, but without good relationships and a giving spirit, it doesn’t mean much. 

That’s why I’m excited to have April Shprintz as my guest today. She has spent over two decades driving growth for companies in a way that creates immense value for their employees, their customers, and their communities. 

A former Air Force non-commissioned officer serving as a broadcast journalist for the American Forces Network, she went on to specialize in sales, operations, and marketing, as she supported Fortune 500 clients and generated over $1 billion dollars in combined additional revenue for the companies she served. 

3½ years ago — after her highest earning, 7-figure year in the corporate world — April left to start her firm, Driven Outcomes, which helps companies around the globe accelerate their businesses. April helps them make their “impossible” possible by using the principles of what she calls, “The Generosity CultureTM” as she shows company leadership how to “pour into their people.” 

April is also the author of the recent book, Magic Blue Rocks, which is a very fun read about principles for personal success. She’s also the host of the Pouring Into Your Business Podcast. 

In this conversation, April shares some fantastic ideas about how writers can be more generous, what generosity looks like in the world of client work, how to be generous while also being profitable, and also how introverted writers can be more generous and relationship-oriented. 

You can connect with April at her website, Pouring Into Your Business Podcast, Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram. Make sure to grab her amazing book, Magic Blue Rocks. 

The post April Shprintz: The Life-Changing Power of Generosity appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

One of the themes that I hear consistently from authors is that they don’t like to market themselves. Of course, this isn’t true for every writer, but it seems to describe an impulse that most creative types have: we love to create, but we have a hard time telling others about our work.

I’m thrilled to have a guest today who can help us with this eternal dilemma. Her name is Jill Lublin, and she is a master strategist on how to position your business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace.

Jill is the CEO of a strategic consulting firm and has over 25 years of experience working with over 100,000 people, as well as national and international media. She teaches a virtual Publicity Crash Course and consults and speaks all over the world. She also helps authors to create book deals with major publishers and agents, and obtain foreign rights deals.

In this conversation, we cover several topics related to publicity, such as why we need it, the most effective ways to get it, how introverted authors can be more assertive, and much more.

After you listen, make sure to visit JillLublin.com, as well as https://publicitycrashcourse.com/freegift.

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