Hi Reader

It’s been a week since the moth landed in my ear (If you didn’t read last week’s, you can get the lowdown here).

And every night since then I’ve slept with cotton wool in my ears.

I know the chances of it happening again are extremely low - I don’t know anyone else this has happened to and I’d gone 43 years without a moth falling in my ear before - but now I know it could happen.

While it’s still fresh in my mind, I’m preparing myself against another moth attack - especially as it’s so hot and I’m sleeping with the window open.

Will I always be reaching for the cotton wool at bedtime? No. I don’t think so. But if I hear some buzzing, I’ll be grabbing it in a shot.

As humans, we all carry some baggage. I don’t mean this negatively, just as a fact of life.

We’ve had experiences which shape our actions, behaviour and perspectives.

And that can shape our attitude to risk.

In business, we’re often dealing with people who’ve had previous experiences. There aren’t any blank slates.

And when someone has been disappointed before, they're unlikely to simply forget about it when they're considering working with you.

When budgets are tight and trust is low, there are ways you can help people feel more confident in choosing you. (Think of it as another kind of cotton wool for their ears.)

• Testimonials: Bite-sized insights and recommendations from customers
• Case studies: The fuller story, told from your customers' perspectives to show how you could help them too
• Show your process: Demonstrate that there's thinking and experience behind what you do
• Guarantees: This doesn't have to mean money back. It could be a guarantee about the experience. At Netwalk and Talk, I have a Warm Welcome Guarantee: no one is going to be left on their own

Proof is something I've been getting much more intentional about myself recently.

By interviewing my clients, I’ve discovered use cases that I wasn't aware of.

For example:

​Cloud Construct use case studies I've written in sales presentations and recruitment. Their work is often bespoke, with projects ranging from £5,000 to £150,000, but there's usually some crossover. The case studies give potential clients confidence that they've successfully delivered something similar before.

​Brightside Psychology used the messaging guide I created in their recruitment pack and with AI on a funding application. It helped attract team members who have shared values and secure £3,000 to establish a grief group.

Check out the full case studies here:

• ​Turning Cloud Construct’s technical expertise into customer confidence: https://charlottethecopywriter.com/cloud-construct-messaging-case-study/​
• ​How clearer messaging improved enquiry quality and supported growth for Brightside Psychology​

And if you want to turn your own experience into case studies that help you secure future clients, send me a reply.

I’m off to Spain next week* for a couple of weeks. I’ve made a special space for some cotton wool, just in case... 😉

Reader, what experience has made you more cautious - in life or business?

Best,

Charlotte

How the cover was created

I wanted this cover to continue last week's Sci-Fly attack - but this time the danger isn't actually there. It's the memory of it that's hanging around.

Charl Ex M has retreated to The Refresh, a café-diner she visits when she needs a change of scenery. Sci-Fly appears behind her as a ghostly spectre rather than a physical threat.

Creating it involved quite a bit of art direction. I moved Sci-Fly from left to right, increased its transparency, strengthened the glow behind “THE SPECTRE STILL LOOMS” and reduced the brightness of The Refresh sign so it didn't compete for attention.

That's something I'm learning with AI images: visual hierarchy needs directing too. If everything is interesting, everything competes.

And ChatGPT loves adding things. Especially words. 😂 I repeatedly had to tell it not to invent additional copy.

Being specific about background details helps too. I asked for an android and humanoid dining together rather than leaving the café vaguely populated.

That's also how the world keeps expanding.

The Refresh didn't exist before this issue. Now it's Charl Ex M's café-diner: somewhere she goes with her notebook and pen when she's stuck or preoccupied. Her usual order is a cup of Refreshing R-Oil.

I even sketched the R-Oil logo on a Post-it, photographed it and asked ChatGPT to put it on the cup.

It's in the World Bible now. ⭐