The summer before last, I met up with some friends on the Croatian island of Krk, in the town of Baska, where I spent much of my childhood.
One day, with one of those friends — a jolly, bear-like guy — I went to a little beach at the edge of town.
The beach is a rocky lagoon with a small stone pier at one end. If you stand on the pier, you are four feet above the water. Some parts of the sea around the pier are shallow, but other parts are deep, 10-12 feet.
I grew up coming to this beach and so I immediately went up to the pier and dived into the water where it’s safe.
My friend stood on the pier, looking at me, ready to jump in as well.
Then he looked down at the water. “Is it deep enough to jump in here?” he yelled to me.
“Yep, you’re fine.”
My friend took a few steps back on the pier to get a running start. He started, neared the edge of the pier, and stopped.
He smiled at me and shrugged his shoulders.
“Come on,” I yelled at him, “jump in!”
He tried again. Same thing — he ran to the edge, stopped, and peered down at the water below.
I got out of the water, jumped in several more times.
My friend stood there, nearing the edge, peering over, getting ready to jump in. Each time, he stopped short. Then the entire process would begin again.
I got dry in the meantime. I sat in the sunshine making fun of my friend. I gave him encouragement and coaching and advice.
Nope.
People on the little rocky beach started noticing. At first, they were sneaking a peek out of the corners of their eyes. Then they started watching the spectacle full-on and pointing out the miserable non-jumper to their friends and family.
Will he do it? won’t he?
I’m telling you this because yesterday, I got a question from a member of my Copy Riddles program, who is taking advantage of the Copy Oracle privilege. He wrote:
===
Your best advice for positioning or justifying starting a list when in the beginning you’re not a bonafide xpert yet on a particular subject without being a Bullshit Artist, Pretender or just a F.. Liar would be what?
The connection to bullets is I have studied Copywriting and Marketing for years because of the Sales Value they have. But have finally seen the light as to how powerful written direct response is and the leverage it offers or can offer when done correctly.
But its obvious it takes a list to take full advantage.
Mentally Positioning it to yourself as to why the hell should anyone get on the list in the beginning is a Bitch. ( at least to me it is )
===
The justification for starting your own list are the same as with any other valuable project. You do it because the long-term benefit is great, and there’s no way to get there without taking the first step.
But that’s like saying the justification for taking a 4-foot dive into the sea is that it’s fun and refreshing.
That’s obvious.
But still my friend stood there, approaching the edge of the pier a hundred times, each time stopping himself right at the edge.
Eventually, after half an hour, in spite of a hundred short stops, it happened.
My friend went over to the edge of the pier. He looked down at the water. He reassured himself that the water was deep enough.
He took a few steps back, got a running start. He ran to the edge, leaped into the empty air, and splashed down into the water.
He emerged a second later, perfectly fine and even triumphant.
A huge wave of relief passed over the audience on the beach. Well-meaning families of Czechs and Hungarians had become exhausted by my friend’s indecisiveness. Now they could finally relax. A few of them even clapped.
What made my friend jump in? What makes anybody jump in?
It’s a truly mysterious question.
Some people can do it right away. Some people never do it. Some approach the edge a hundred times, and then, in spite of all the previous hesitation and inhibition, they finally leap in.
What makes the difference? And how can you achieve that difference, if you have been hesitating a hundred times?
I have no idea. And nobody else does either. I believe that if anybody truly had a method to force that to happen, he could set himself up as the founder of a new religion that would sweep the world and win billions of converts in five years.
But such a messiah has not yet appeared. And so we’re left with indecision and agonizing and will-he-won’t-he, even when the benefits are clear.
Now let me stop philosophizing and point you to my Most Valuable Email course. It’s meant for people who write about topics like I write about — marketing and influence and writing.
If you’ve already started a list, then my MVE course can help you entertain and engage your readers, while making you a better marketer and writer in the process.
On the other hand, if you do not yet have a list, then it’s a mystery.
Maybe the story I told you above was inspiring. And so you get a running start and you near the edge of the pier and… nothing. Yet again.
Or maybe today will be different for some reason. And you will actually start your list, and you will start writing to it regularly.
If today truly is different, then I suggest getting my Most Valuable Email course, because it can help you get authority and credibility even if you’re entirely new.
Either way: