Reading time: 4.14

1,005 words

Hey Reader,

Last night at The Marketing Meetup in Birmingham, Sophie Blackmore described her book as a Trojan horse and my antennae started tingling.

I hadn’t really thought about books in those words before…

Sophie wrote her book with me this year — It’s Only Bloody Marketing — and it is doing exactly what she wanted it to do.

She didn’t write it with the intention that book sales would make her bags of cash (which is a good thing because most people won’t make bags of cash from book sales alone).

She wrote it to be a crowbar. A door opener. A Trojan horse into her world.

Yesterday, Sophie stood up in front of a roomful of people and gave a brilliant talk about how to get your target audience’s attention with something they’ll actually notice.

Her book is her attention-grabber. She knows her audience well and they’re not obsessed with social media. They don’t post on LinkedIn. They hate the very idea of video.

But they DO read offline.

So, although Sophie obviously loves it when her book sales flow in, she’s more excited about giving it away to people who need it, because those people will pay attention to it, will see how awesome she is, and that attention is much more likely to translate into paying clients.

Which it has done.

The book has also put her on the first of many speaking stages. It got the attention of event organisers, too.

Do you want more clients? More speaking gigs? More attention?

I can’t guarantee anything of course; nobody can.

But your book can open doors for you that you might not otherwise even see.

And writing it doesn’t have to feel impossible.

My whole raison d’être is to show you not just how doable writing a book is, but how joyful — and then get you actually doing it.

Best place to start — my Kickstart Your Book bundle which you can get right here:

And now it’s time for the Friday Goodie Bag! Here’s what I’ve stuffed into a sack for you…

These red squirrels of varying politeness

The RSPB is, somewhat surprisingly, one of the best things on LinkedIn thus proving that it’s not all tech bros and insipid “inspirational” quotes. Honestly, start following them and put a little sunshine into your days. But first go and look at these very polite red squirrels.

This 1950s Eminem styling

Ever wondered what Eminem might have sounded like if he’d been around in the 1950s? Wonder no more. This guy — J Rocko on Insta and TikTok — has reimagined Eminem’s Without You in the style of a 50s crooner and he is magnificent.

These zero-G steak-munching spiders in space

In 1973, two spiders — Anita and Arabella — were sent into space to Skylab 2 to see how they coped with the effects of zero-G. Admirably, it turned out! And the experiment was suggested and designed by high-school student Judith Miles. Rather than let the spiders die, the researchers asked the astronauts to share a housefly-sized piece of steak with each spider so they didn’t starve after the experiment. This makes me happy.

Black Britain over the ages

Think Britain has always been lily white? Think again. Black people and brown people have been a part of British life for a verrrrrry long time, building and shaping it, earning wealth and socialising and working with white people, and getting along fine. Here are a whole bunch of photographs dating from the 1860s to the 1930s. My favourite is the wedding photo in Cardiff, 1917.

Eddie Shleyner’s slow writing

One of my absolute favourite copywriters (and writers in general) is Eddie Shleyner. He’s brilliant, and seemingly a lovely human to boot. Go and follow him on LinkedIn and sign up for his newsletter if you want your copy to convert to sales. But start with this piece on writing slow because — as you probably know by now — I am a huge proponent of slow creativity.

​This piece is a must-read if you want to improve as a writer. And why wouldn’t we all want to do that?

What I’m reading

Coincidentally, I’m reading Eddie’s Very Good Copy because it’s bloody brilliant. I have had to stop underlining bits because I’m underlining everything and that’s not helpful. Reminds me of my exam revision days.

I’ve also just finished Jodi Taylor’s Just One Damned Thing After Another, recommended by brother-in-law. It’s a very silly time-travel book about historians who travel through time dragging chaos in their wake. As long as you don’t pay too much attention to, well, any of it, it’s a very fun read.

What I’m writing

I’m currently writing my 5 minute set for the comedy show I’m part of in Bristol on December 14. I still need to sell four tickets, so if you’re Bristol way and you’d like to spend an afternoon watching some comedy, you can get tickets here! Please put my name into the box when prompted, if you do come along!

Word of the week

skedaddle

This is one of my favourite words and I use it often. I never leave a place, I skedaddle.

Its first documented usage was in 1859 and according to Merriam-Webster, it is “probably an alteration of British dialect scaddle to run off in a fright, from scaddle, adjective, wild, timid, skittish, from Middle English scathel, skadylle harmful, fierce, wild, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skathi harm.”

Use it in an email today!

Quote of the week

It’s fine to have a strong opinion. It’s a good thing! Otherwise we have nothing to say. But we have to know why and be able to back it up, otherwise you’re just a Reform MP.

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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