In this episode of the Show Up Real Podcast, Cat discusses overcoming writing blocks, emphasizing the need for simplicity and speed in content creation.
Cat shares the significance of empathy in marketing, focusing on one person and one problem, and crafting effective calls to action. She challenges listeners to embrace content creation challenges and trust their instincts in writing.
If you want to write more copy that converts, listen to this episode.
Learn more about Show Up Real, my Content Marketing Group Program.
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Follow @catdelcarmen and @showuprealpodcast on Instagram.
Learn more at catdelcarmen.com.
Summary Transcript:
Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back to Show Up Real Podcast. How y’all doing? I feel like it’s been so long because I had so many amazing guests on the show and I haven’t personally recorded a podcast episode, like a solo episode in so long. So I’m so excited to be here. Y’all, I gotta be honest, I’ve been struggling.
Not with my life or business. I just mean specifically the podcast. ⁓ I have been struggling to get on a cadence of recording this podcast episode every week. It is a struggle and I’m kind of just letting myself struggle through it until I learn the lesson here. But regardless,
I am feeling very excited about my upcoming launch and just excited about some of the things happening within Show Up Real. My clients are getting insane results, which is really, really exciting. And I’m going to be doing a lot of my work during my upcoming launch that is coming up next month. A lot of that work, one of the things I’m challenging myself to is to share more of my client stories. I’ve always…
literally throughout my entire business, I’ve struggled to share my client results. And I always struggle with it because I feel like I don’t want to take ownership over it. But the reality is like, I’m not taking ownership of the results alone. I’m just sharing what my clients are doing, who they are, what type of people they are, the badassery that they are taking action on. And it’s so important.
to share those stories. just wrote a piece of content about this. But it is so important to share those stories. And your business needs it. Your business needs you to share your client stories. So I am challenging myself to that. I have a plan. I have a plan for my podcast. And we’re going to try this again. Because I keep missing podcast episodes.
This is not like me, I talk my shit when it comes to consistency. on this podcast, I feel like I’ve been the last, I don’t know, six to eight months. There’s been a little bit of, I mean, I’m showing up for the most part, but there’s been little bit of inconsistencies. And I don’t want to do that. That’s not fair to you. So we’re starting over. I’m trying. I’m trying again. Okay.
We’re starting from scratch, regardless, I hope you’re having a good day. I hope you’re doing well. I’m doing well. ⁓ Life is good. Business is good. I will say I live in LA and the ice raids that are happening in Los Angeles are so…
Devastating. So disgusting.
I have a lot of feelings about it. And I think, you know, I’m doing my best to process it through movement, nervous system regulation, taking care of myself, whatever. But I have to be honest. It’s so, it’s just, it enrages me. And it’s also scary. I mean, this is a hundred, they, just to be clear, I don’t know. I mean, I have assumptions of who my audience is, but they are not.
taking criminals. They are taking families. They are taking regular folks and they are very much, very much racial profiling regularly. Over 70 US citizens have been detained. I have to check if that number is in LA or total, but it’s ridiculous. My neighbor, my neighbor. very, me and my, both of my neighbors on each side of my house were very ⁓
talkative and close, would say. I wouldn’t say we were close, but like, we’re very talkative. Like, I didn’t grow up knowing my neighbors that much, but like where I live, like we know our neighbors. And I was talking to one of my neighbors and she was telling me that her, one of her best friends, son was detained by ICE for 20 plus hours purely because he’s a Latino.
And he looks Latino and he didn’t have his quote paperwork. He’s a US citizen. I’m a US citizen. Like she was telling me this story and she was like, yeah, he was detained for 20 hours. He’s a nurse fucking practitioner. Not that that should matter, but like, I just want to give you perspective of what’s really happening in LA. It’s horrible. And I don’t know. It’s just very scary. And I think for me,
I don’t have a ton of Latinos. We actually, I live in an area where there are lots of immigrants. There’s just a lot of Asian immigrants. ⁓ but like just the city next door, there there’s lots of Latinos. ⁓ and LA itself is like a hub for Latinos. Like literally my husband and I moved to LA because we wanted to be around Mexican people. We wanted to be around Latinos.
We loved being in that environment.
So it’s really horrific what this person, this person, this president is doing in his administration. It’s illegal, it’s wrong, it’s disgusting, and that definitely affects me along with everything else happening in this world. But besides that, doing well. All right, I want to get to the podcast episode. Before that, I want to give you a couple heads up. Number one.
I have an upcoming launch that we are going to start promoting more on the podcast. So if it’s not like 100 % prepped right now, but I will be the next episodes will be sharing more. But if you want to get the first kind of insight around what’s happening with the next launch in our next webinar, make sure to get on my email list. I’ll make sure to put it in the podcast show notes below.
Get on my email list and or follow me on Instagram at Kat Del Carmen Because I’ll be talking about it on there soon. Okay. All right, y’all. Let’s get into today’s episode. I want to share The I was having a conversation with one of my clients one of my one-on-one clients and she was telling me we had already like planned her content plan and she was telling me that she was having a really hard time writing and
creating, like implementing the plan and specifically writing. Because one of the things that I challenged her to do was to write more. And she was like, I feel like I don’t have anything to say. And then if I do have something to say, it just feels like it’s repetitive. And I don’t, I really just get stuck because, you know, la la la, which I completely empathize with. Like, yeah, same. But.
I wanted to create an episode. So I ended up giving her like a whole, you know, on our one-on-one call, we broke it down. I actually had her right on the call and I kind of coached her through one piece of writing and I wanted to share that with you on the podcast. So that’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to talk about how to, or the hack to writing more emails and captions without overthinking every
single word, okay, without overthinking every single word. So let’s get started. All right, so before we get into like the how, I just want to be clear for who this is for. This is for people who are like open a Google Doc or open wherever they’re writing and they just freeze. This is for you if you are just finding it very, very hard to
write captions and write content lately or write emails I should say. By the way, this is like very much me too, but still getting things out and getting things moving. I just want to do it at a bigger scale, like more numbers. But for the most part, this is for the person who takes too long or they think they take too long to write a piece of content. You get stuck when you’re writing content, you over strategize, you overthink, and you just want to create
more content, wanna have more emails sent out or more captions or carousels or whatever the case is, this is going to help you do that without like working a ton more, okay? This is not about you just like doubling and tripling your effort as well. ⁓
All right, so.
At the end of the day, you don’t need more time. You just need to learn how to write faster and simpler and with a little bit more focus. So that’s what I’m going to go through today so that you don’t get burnt out and start rewriting the same sentence on a Google Doc over and over again. OK, let’s get into the hack. All right, so number one.
The real hack is just getting good at writing quickly and simply. Writing is not about perfect sentences. It’s not about you making it sound very professional or making it sound very this or that, or even making it sound authentic, which you know I talk about often, right? Like, when you are writing content, I want you to remember that the goal…
is to do it quickly and simply. Okay? Quickly and simply. That is the skill. You’re not trying to write the best email in the world. You’re not trying to write the most strategic carousel in the world. You’re just trying to write simply and write quickly. You want to get the message across. You want it to be understandable.
and then you want to keep moving.
And here’s the real problem that happens when you’re writing content and you freeze or you just find it really difficult. The block is that you’re interrupting your flow. You’re interrupting the process, like the creativity that’s coming out of you, or maybe it doesn’t feel like creativity, but you’re interrupting what your brain has to say instead of just accepting that this is what your brain has to say.
instead of just accepting that the first couple sentences are going to sound wildly simple.
They’re not, they don’t have to have like a special perfect little hook.
The work is learning how to stop interrupting your flow when you are writing, when you are creating.
So writing fast does not mean rushing the process. It means trusting your thoughts. It means trusting what your brain has to say about the topic that you are talking about. That’s what I mean by quickly. It’s not about rushing through. It’s about actually trusting what your brain has to say.
So I’m going to give you some tips, but first I kind of want to break down an example. So let’s say the scenario is that you want to write a caption or an email about what someone needs to retire early. ⁓ So step one, ask your brain, what do I know about this? I actually like starting with, who am I writing this for?
Who am I writing this for? And I try to think of a specific person or, no, I try to think, actually think of a specific person, even if they’re not my clients. Sometimes I’ll think about like family or someone who could really just benefit from this conversation or whatever I’m trying to write. But I think of one specific person.
And then from there, I asked myself, what do I know about this?
And I want you, when you ask yourself that, or what do I have to say about this?
I want you to learn how to accept the simple answers.
except the simple answers. So for example, it could sound something like, here are the three biggest decisions that help me retire early or that I do regularly to retire early.
I cut my expenses, I increase my income, I invest every extra dollar I have. Like sometimes it’s going to come out that simple. And what I want you to do is accept the simplicity. Keep going. And I’ll give you like a little mini framework, like keep, just accept. Like if you can’t think of a fancy way to say something, which you shouldn’t even try that hard to do, then just.
Write down the obvious. I wanted to talk about retiring early. Here’s a couple things I want you to consider. Like, you could just literally write what you think. OK? Write what you think. And then once you’re writing, you don’t want to stop yourself every sentence. You want to actually continue writing and letting
the thoughts and ideas move through your mind without needing to make it fancy or convertible or make it more likely to whatever.
I want you to practice just writing.
want you to practice just writing. let’s go through a couple things that I want you to. Let’s see, how many do we have here? One, two, three. Three things. I think it’s three things. Kind of three points I’m trying to make here that are going to help you create very unique content that sells your offer.
but also you can do it quickly. Okay? That’s what we’re going to go through. Here’s what slows, and we’ll do that in just a second, but here’s what slows people down. You’re editing mid-thought. You’re trying to edit your copy. You’re trying to edit your writing mid-thought. You’re trying to make it perfect before you even make it clear.
You’re worried about the judgment or the performance or the likes or the sounding smart. Everyone’s a little different.
Right? We’re all a little different. And just, just you worrying about that. Just you giving those thoughts energy around like, this, you want to make it sound this way or you want to make it sound that way, or this is, this is getting a little too long, or this is getting, this is very long winded. Right? Like your brain will tell you all the things so that you could just stop writing and put your, you know, laptop away or put your pencil down. Pencil. Who uses a pencil?
But your job is to not let your brain run the show.
And I say that from like a place of don’t let your thoughts of needing to edit mid thought or needing to slow down or needing to make this sound whatever, don’t let that stop you. For the moment that you are writing, let it just be about your ideal client and their problem. You giving them some value around it.
When you do this, when you edit mid-thought, when you’re worried about how it sounds, this is what turns your writing into more of a performance than an actual service.
So this is what I want you to, so when you’re writing copy, I really, really, really, really want to encourage you to be slow and get curious, I should say, about your brain when it wants you to make something sound better, when it wants you to make it sound more whatever.
Be curious that when your brain tells you these things, slow down just so you could hear what your brain is saying. And then actively tell your brain. Literally slow down. Say, ⁓ that’s interesting. My brain is trying to make this sound really X, Y, Z before I’ve even finished. Let me put you aside. I will look at you later. But for right now, I need to focus on finishing this. So what are we going to say? Then you go back to writing.
That’s the process you’re trying to stop is like the over, the over-strategizing, overthinking, editing mid-thought, not trying to sound to this or that. That is what dilutes quality writing, what dilutes quality content. So here are the three things that I want you to focus on to help your, not only to help your content really stick and attract,
to your ideal client, but also to do it quickly. To do it quickly and simply and without overthinking. So number one is daily empathy practice. I teach this inside Show Up Real, but the reality is the best, best, best marketers understand their ideal client extremely well.
They understand their ideal client extremely well. So when you’re writing one piece of content, what I want you to do, especially if you feel stuck or you don’t know what to say or whatever the case is, I want you to remember that the point of this content is to help someone think and believe something different. Think and believe something different. Now you’re the…
expert at what you do, or you just know more in general. So your ideal client’s problems or challenges might seem a little annoying. Might seem like, come on, don’t you just like know what to do? And I really want you to resist the part of your brain that wants to make it easy.
I said to make it simple, not easy. And there will be thinking that’s involved. And this is the way I want you to think. So when you’re writing and you get stuck and your brain’s like, this is whatever, or this sounds whatever, or you’ve written something just like this, or whatever the case is, then I want you to go back to empathy and be like, wait, wait, wait. What is my person feeling today? What decision are they afraid to make?
What would make them feel seen right now? What do they need to hear to get closer to that result? Most of you all are already naturally deeply empathetic. Start using it for your marketing. Start using it in your marketing. So when you’re writing, right, when you’re talking about the problem, put yourself in their shoes, right? Put yourself in their shoes. If this was the problem,
and I was taking XYZ action and not seeing the results I want and I’m frustrated about it, what can I help them see? What can I say that’ll help them see that it is not as complicated as they think?
Now it could be teaching, could be sharing a story, it could be whatever, but at the end of the day, you want to empathize with them so that you get into the headspace of what it feels like to have that challenge or problem, or what it feels like to do the work and not see the results.
All right, and just remember, like when you are, and we’ll talk about selling in a second, but like when you are, like selling with service is rooted in understanding people and understanding your people. The businesses that know their ideal client, like the back of their hand, are the businesses that do very well and are very successful because they know their people and they have an offer that helps them. Okay, second one.
When you’re writing, I want you to stick to one person and one problem. Don’t try to speak to everyone in one post. That is what makes one piece of content very general.
People don’t feel like you’re speaking directly to them, so they’re just going to ignore it. Don’t try to speak to everyone. Speak to one person and one problem they have, or one belief to shift. One person, one problem. We can even add one solution if you want.
Now, the method you could use could go something like this. One, speak directly to, so choose a problem and choose a person. Do those two things. A specific person, specific problem. One, speak directly to the problem. Two, explain why it’s a problem. Three, show them what changes when they fix the problem and keep it simple and human.
Keep it simple and human. Don’t try to do gymnastics with your words or try to be like a fancy, schmancy creative writer.
just write simply. could be like most content that is just straight, simple and straightforward is the content that sells. And the more you do this, the better you’ll get at it. And the more you’ll learn kind of like, kind of infuse your personality into it and your strengths into it. And it will become something better and better and more unique and more unique.
So stick to one problem and one person. Make sure that you are practicing daily empathy for your ideal client. And then the last piece here is having a call to action, an intentional call to action. This is not about being salesy. It’s not about being pushy. It’s about inviting someone to change their life. It’s just inviting someone to the party.
That is it. A lot of people get very, just, they make call to actions just like extremely overcomplicated. And it’s, it’s not, it’s so simple. It could be as simple as I help women go from five pounds. Five pounds. I’m making, I’m trying to think of an example. Let’s see, I help women.
Okay, I have a client who’s a sex coach, so I’ll use her as an example. I women, I think she helps with, works with other people besides women, but regardless, I help women go from boring sex to mind blowing sex and multiple orgasms. If you want that, I have free trainings, weekly emails and offers that help you get there faster.
go to my link in bio or check the link and blah, blah, or click here to do, you know, to listen to XYZ, to book a sales call with me, whatever, but it could be as simple as that.
The call to action is just the right thing to do as an expert in your field and as a coach. So I don’t want you to overthink this. just want you to be straightforward about who should probably work with you, who should listen to your stuff, and then inviting them to actually work with you, inviting them to join your email list, inviting them to watch your free training.
That’s it.
point them in a direction of your offer or another piece of value, like another platform that you’re on that they could get more value from.
It is not that complicated. And that’s really it. Like if you could take action on these things, just stick to one person and one problem, write quickly when you get stuck, empathize with your person and their problem, put yourself in the problem, and then write how you would get yourself out.
It is that simple. So if you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to DM me on Instagram. I am challenging my clients to this right now on today’s call inside of Show Up Real. Before we even got started with the call, I had everyone write an entire piece of copy in 10 minutes. Some of them finished, some of them didn’t, but I’m…
always wanting to challenge my clients to like, let’s just see what happens if we don’t overthink. It’s why we, it’s why I created cringe challenge. By the way, if you don’t know what cringe challenge is, cringe challenge is a challenge that I put my clients to, to create more pieces of content in a limited amount of time, purely just to practice self-trust, to practice not being so attached to your content and really just break the marketing rules.
and remind yourself that you are the rulemaker in your business. And that if you create a whole bunch of content because you feel like it, it’s not a problem and it’s okay and it’s safe and you’re gonna be fine. So I hope this was helpful. Go write content. Right now I challenge you to just pick one person, pick one problem and…
Take a moment to empathize what it feels like to be in that problem and write a piece of content. Write a piece of content explaining the problem, explaining why it’s a problem, explaining why it’s normal, and giving them a solution that you have done or that you’ve seen done or regardless. Trust your brain. Don’t try to make it sound pretty. Don’t try to make it sound fancy. Just write the way it comes out of your brain.
Don’t mess with it until it’s after. After the fact, then sure, edit it. But I will say, most of the time, it won’t even need that much editing. And you could easily put it into ChatGPT and just be like, can you edit this extremely lightly? Do not change my words or add any filler words that are not on brand for me. And instead, I just want you to make minor edits.
and let me know if you have any feedback, something like that.
But I would not, I really don’t recommend putting your content through ChatGBT because it really does dilute the personality sometimes unless you’re being extremely clear about what you’re telling it to do. So I would challenge you to just edit it yourself and post it and put it into the world and focus on your next freaking piece of content. You’re gonna be putting out a lot more content the rest of this year. Don’t be attached to one piece of content.
All right, y’all. I hope this was helpful. Make sure to follow me on Instagram at KatzelCarmen. And I am wrapping up one-on-one coaching at the end of this month, which is pretty soon this week. So if you are someone who is so ready to start selling intentionally in their business, show up authentically, create content,
that and systems, create content and systems that are going to help them scale, that are going to help you scale and grow and take on more clients while also streamlining some things behind the scenes. I want to help you do that. I want to be your partner. I have many clients who are killing it right now. Via one-on-one, I have a handful and then also within my group. But if you work with me, I will 100 % help you troubleshoot
the day-to-day things that happen when you get booked out. Okay. All right. One-on-one coaching is closing this week and then we are prepping for our upcoming launch and I think that’s it for right now. All right. I will see you later. I send you a big hug. Bye.
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