Testimonials – on your web site, on LinkedIn, inside written proposals – are very powerful.

They show a prospective client the perspective of someone who, at one point, was in their shoes, wondering if they should hire you.

Two things I’ve noticed…

#1. You have to ask for them.

Your clients may love you (not as much as mine love me, but still), but it rarely occurs to them to put it in writing. So you have to ask.

#2. Even the people you ask have trouble getting around to it.

First, because they are busy and this is a low priority. But mostly, I’ve found, because they don’t know what to say.

So make it easy on them. Wait until they write or say something nice to you and ask if you can use their name and words.

The client I mentioned earlier wrote me a little thank you note yesterday, out of the blue. So I asked. All she had to do was say “yes” and she was done.

Interestingly, I believe that also means I was exactly as old as he is today on the day he was born. (Note: he looks way better than I did.)

It’s natural and obvious to celebrate personal milestones, whether birthdays, anniversaries, or dumb statistical facts about your children.

When you work for yourself, though, it’s easy to blow right past these kinds of things in our never-ending pursuit of the next dollar.

I think that’s a missed opportunity.

Especially when you are just starting out (and maybe a little uncertain about how things are going to go), it’s worth the time to celebrate your achievements, whether that’s a new client, your first (or hundredth) newsletter, or reaching a significant financial goal.

That’s right. A handwritten, stamped and snail-mailed note to someone I may never see again.

Three reasons…

#1. He was terrific. Friendly, knowledgeable, open, eager to listen, etc. It was like chatting with an expert friend who wanted to make sure I understood what was going on and what my options were. I wanted him to know I noticed the difference.

#2. I like doing things in the physical world, given that my work is 100% digital. It’s a nice contrast.

#3. Because you just never know. Maybe he’ll mention it to someone in a week or a month, who just may need help with an email newsletter one day. If you want referrals in the future, you have to get in the habit of planting seeds today.

P.S. Speaking of podiatrists, if you’ve never heard “the podiatrist joke” as told by the late Norm MacDonald, this is worth your time.

A friend told me her son’s high school is using them for tests as a way to combat AI-generated student homework and responses.

A recent Wall Street Journal article said this:

Sales of blue books this school year were up more than 30% at Texas A&M University and nearly 50% at the University of Florida. The improbable growth was even more impressive at the University of California, Berkeley. Over the past two academic years, blue-book sales at the Cal Student Store were up 80%. 

That’s right. The newest technology on the planet is causing a surge in sales of one of the oldest.

And while it’s certainly true that AI will change how we do nearly everything and eliminate lots of jobs in the process, I wonder what other “dying” tools, customs, and practices are likewise going to see a resurgence.

Dave Barry, if you are not familiar, is a fantastically funny and successful author and columnist. He wrote a weekly, syndicated column for the Miami Herald for 20+ years, won a Pulitzer Prize, etc.

He took a 20-year break from weekly columns and is now back on Substack.

Unfortunately, his column this past Friday just wasn’t that good. Fortunately, it came packaged with two important newsletter lessons…

#1. Even a giant like Dave Barry can have an off week.

So stop criticizing your own writing if whatever you are working on today doesn’t feel as good as what you did last month. That’s what they invented “next time” for.

#2. He published anyway.

Dave publishes every Friday. No. Matter. What.

Maybe he also thought what he wrote wasn’t that good. But he sent it anyway.

Likewise, our publishing schedule is for us, not our readers (they are unaware of it). As artist Chuck Close famously said, “Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.”

Do your best. Stay on schedule. Push send. Write the next one.