(If you're reading the "3 ultra-short tips" series for the first time, these are the tips I send out every second week to give you a break from the in-depth stuff)

So, how's that GDPR thing going?

Worried? Stressed out? Confused?

Then you probably haven't read my last email with 4 simple steps that will make you GDPR compliant in 30 minutes (or less).

Unless you have ads, affiliate links and Facebook pixel on your website. Then... my sympathies, and I really don't want to be you right now. 😱

How about a little break from all the stressful stuff?

Today, I have three of short tips for you:

• #1 will make you instantly feel better about yourself as a business owner,
• #2 will teach you something ultra-valuable,
• and #3 will save you from hours of wasted effort.

Shall we?

#1 Next time they tell you it takes 6 months to build an online business, read this.

"How we grew our blog from 0 to 10K in 6 months".

"How I went from 0 to 6-figure copywriting business in a year".

"Go to bed at 2 am and wake up at 6 am, and you'll be rich!"

Ever noticed how all the advice for running your business assumes that you're doing it 24/7? How everybody act as if they don't have family and kids?

If it ever made you feel bad or stressed out, read this awesome article where a business coach Elena Mutonono calls out this BS and gets real on how long it takes to build a business.

At first glance, this seems to be unrelated to improving your website. But as you're the one who has to deal with this monster of words and images on a daily basis, it takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders.

And the better you feel as a person and a business owner, the better your business is doing.

I spoke to Elena the other day, and she told me that she's planing to write more about what it really takes to build a business for people who also want to spend time with their family. Follow her on Medium if you could use some pep talk from time to time.

#2 How to go from blank screen to high converting copy (seriously)

I'm not a fan of podcasts or webinars (too much blah blah, too little substance), but I stumbled over this video and watched it from top to bottom.

This is a presentation of Joel Klettke (@JoelKlettke) who is a conversion copywriter. He dives into what makes a great conversion-oriented copy.

If you aren't an experienced professional copywriter yourself, this video will change the way you look at copy, and you'll write a better sales page for your website next time.

If you're an experienced professional copywriter, watch this video to up your presenting skills and watch how Joel explains things, what slides he uses and how he talks.

Here are a couple of gems from his presentation:

• Copy is not creating from scratch but reassembling.
• Best copy is stolen from your customers' testimonials and interviews.
• As a copywriter, you don't create desire. You channel it.
• Formulas or frameworks are there to make you think, not use them.
• The social proof you display will determine what clients you'll attract. Your prospects need to be able to relate to it.

Click here or on the image below to watch the video:

#3 Don't put your efforts in creating an amazing A+ post if a B- post out there already satisfies searcher's intent.

If you're thinking of writing a post you want to rank in search, google your keyword and see what's out there.

If there is a post within top 3 positions (pretty or ugly, short or long) that already answers that question or solves that problem 100%, drop that idea. You won't be able to rank.

Seems obvious, but the fact that you see a gazillion of posts that repeat each other almost word-by-word shows that many people didn't get the memo.

This tip has been brought to you by Ross Hudgens and his blog post "When and why the skyscraper technique can fail".

***

This would be all from me for the week.

Oh, no, wait. One more thing:

Have you taken my freelancer survey already?

If you haven't done it yet, please spend 1 minute (or 30 sec, if you're a fast clicker) and take this survey that will help me write the next in-depth article for you:

Ok, now that's really all from me for the week.

Slightly cloudy greetings from Germany,

Gill