Hi Reader,

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Last Tuesday will go down as one of the most unproductive days I've had.

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To "blame" was our launch of The Maker's Guide to Awesome Product Hunt Loom Videos on Product Hunt 🚀.

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If you aren't familiar with Product Hunt, it's a website where makers and creators share their new apps, tools, widgets, extensions, guides...you name it.

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When you "launch on Product Hunt," you have 24 hours to drum up excitement for your product and collect upvotes and reviews with the aim to climb up the leaderboard.

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What everyone's after is the prestigious "#1 Product of the Day" badge.

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So, my Tuesday was 50% hitting refresh on the stats to see if the numbers had moved, 30% wondering what else I could do to spread the word, and 20% getting actual work done and replying to comments.

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A big THANK YOU to everyone who supported us! 🙏

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But long story short, we didn't make it to first place, not even close to the top 5 😅.

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Still, it was worth it! And it's likely not going to be our last launch on Product Hunt.

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Principle worth remembering: You can't launch one thing, write one essay, or publish one video and expect it to take off and go viral immediately. Only to then cave in and give up.

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Keep at it!! Most big successes are the result of many iterations with mediocre outcomes.

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Now, here's what I want to share with you this week.

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✍️ Copywriting

Eddie Shleyner @VeryGoodCopy STEP 1: write your copy. STEP 2: cross out any references to your company and its product or service. STEP 3: write in the name of your competitor and their product or service. If the copy still fits, you've a problem — and some rewriting to do: 👇 Eddie Shleyner @VeryGoodCopy “The Cross-Out Test” is a simple, clear way to measure the quality of your #copywriting. [132-word THREAD] Just follow this 3-step process: June 3rd 2021 3 Retweets 14 Likes

Gotta try this out!

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​Stuck writing copy? Try this trick to make the words flow easier ​

Copywriting means having a conversation with your prospect on the page. But for many, writing copy is a monologue. And they get stuck trying to figure out what to say. Instead, try this approach.

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🤓 Online Courses

Aarushi Singhania @singhania_aa What is #1 advice you’ll give to novice course creators building first ever cohort based course and trying to prioritize what to focus on? I will go first 👉 embed marketing and sales into the DNA of your course creation journey from day 0. I would love to hear from others. June 12th 2021 1 Retweets 21 Likes

Check out the replies! Lots of gold in there.

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​Finding your tribe: How online courses and communities change lives​

4 years ago, I was working in Papua New Guinea in an unfulfilling and stressful corporate job. Now I can work for myself from anywhere and directly impact people. What changed my situation? Online learning. (This is me getting more comfortable with sharing my story!)

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​How to accidentally build an online workshop as slowly as possible​

Designer, course creator, and new dad, Nate Kadlac, shares the 7 steps he followed to create a small (paid) workshop. You can still join his next Approachable Design workshop that's running from 26-27 June. I'd recommend at least visiting the landing page...beautifully written and designed!!

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📈 Productivity

Cam Houser @cahouser Downloading a productivity app is like pressing the "close door" button inside the elevator It gives you the feeling that you're getting somewhere faster, but it isn't actually doing anything June 11th 2021 0 Retweets 11 Likes

Wait! The "close door" button doesn't actually do anything?? 🧐

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​You need a break! Here's why 🏝​

Breaks should be a normal part of our workflows. I know I'll do better work by doing less and taking more breaks. Still, I tend to forget how important breaks are (maybe you do, too). Now you and I have this atomic essay to remind us.

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Before I sign off, I have a question for you:

What do you want to see more of in this newsletter? Hit reply and let me know!

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Braving the heat in Durham, NC,

Julia
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Your Copywriter & Online Course Specialist

​https://juliasaxena.com/newsletter/​

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PS: My fellow course creator Ely Apao interviewed me! 🎙

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It was the morning after I'd gotten my second COVID vaccine shot, and after watching the video, I think I held up quite well 😅 considering how bad I felt for the rest of that day.

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We chatted about how it was like creating Minimum Viable Video and nerded out about productivity (interstitial journaling, anyone?).

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​You can watch the 13-min interview on YouTube here. ​

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PPS: Know anybody who would benefit from this newsletter? Send them to this page so they can sign up. That's where you can also find the archive of all previous newsletter editions!