Life and Writing

Abbey Woodcock

Your Guide to Voice: Stand out from the noise in 5 steps

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[VIDEO] How to calm your nerves at events

Yesterday, I told you a story of a successful live event. One that brought me $500K because I was able to build a relationship with an influencer.

Today, let’s talk about the flip side of live events — the nerves, the intimidation, and the overwhelm.

In college I had this dream to become a sports reporter. It seemed perfect. I loved writing, loved sports, and it came with the added perk of being surrounded by athletic guys all the time.

I was the editor of the school newspaper when our basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament. I got to cover it and sit court side with all the big shots in the industry. I convinced the tournament to let me bring an “assistant” who was really just this guy I wanted to date.

Pro tip: courtside seats to NCAA’s, free food, chick that likes sports…ladies, if you want to find a man in college, procure yourself a press pass.

Anyway, right in front of us sits one of my industry idols, Jay Bilas. I watch his whole ESPN game coverage, close enough to lick him. At halftime, my “assistant” starts nudging me to talk to Jay. Finally he gets sick of me refusing, taps Jay on the shoulder and starts to introduce me. I was so embarrassed, I literally turned my back to Jay and hustled away.

Yes, I got up and left.

Why? I have no idea.

I’m not a big believer in regrets in life, but this may be my biggest one. I had the opportunity to start a conversation with someone that could have literally changed my life. Who knows where that conversation may have led if I just said hello?

So many of us have stories like this.

And inside The Business of Copy, we talk about live events to find clients a lot. And I knew it wasn’t fair to the group if the only people that benefited were those that are comfortable in those settings.

So a couple months ago, I reached out to a friend of mine who happens to be a behavioral psychologist and TEDx speaker who focuses on helping people with anxiety.

Today, I want to share part of that interview with you.

In just 10 minutes you’ll learn:

  • [0:45] How to tell if you need work on “social skills” or if something else is holding you back

  • [1:18] The science behind why you’re witty and fun with your friends, but freeze in large groups

  • [3:26] The secret to live event prep that’s hiding in your next burrito

  • [5:54] Why — despite what everyone else tells you — you should never try to “think positive”

  • [6:40] 2 Mind-control secrets you can use on yourself

Check out the video here and let me know what you think:

About Abbey

Abbey Woodcock has been a direct response copywriter since 7th grade when she wrote a 30-page sales letter asking her crush to the dance with dismal results. Since then, she's converted better... writing sales pages and emails you've probably read from some of the biggest names online. Now she helps other copywriters build and grow amazing businesses.

Comments

  1. Barb Shimasaki says

    August 21, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    I just love the idea of a behavior repertoire — that there’s a spectrum of behaviors we operate on and that it’s observable. Looking forward to using the trick of looking at eye color next time I feel overwhelmed.

    Reply

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Recent Musings

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I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of superstars…and one of the copywriters I am placing a big bet on is Abbey

After working with some of the best copywriters who have ever lived throughout my career, I came to the realization that it was not a “given” that there would be a next generation of copywriters who understood direct response like their predecessors. I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of… Read more “I’ve made it one of my missions to find that next generation of superstars…and one of the copywriters I am placing a big bet on is Abbey”

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Abbey Woodcock is one of my favorite copywriters – both to work with and recommend – for 3 reasons:

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Abbey was a key member of my team during a time of explosive growth. I needed to grow my content team and leaned heavily on Abbey to conceptualize, build, implement, test and improve our backend processes. The systems she created to hire, train, and evaluate writers are now a daily part of operations. Writing great… Read more ““The systems she created to hire, train, and evaluate writers are now a daily part of operations.””

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I Will Teach You To Be Rich
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