Take Action Copy

www.takeactioncopy.com

I write words that make you money.

Founder, Ghostwriter & Copywriter

CRE Digital

Head of Content & Ghostwriter

AllianceBernstein

Team Lead | Assistant Vice President - Regional Consultant

Assistant Vice President - Regional Consultant

Jackson

Sold variable annuities. Yeah. I know. 



Attained Internal Wholesaler Level 3 status -- the highest level available.  

Was named Internal Wholesaler of the Quarter for quarter 3 in 2017 for the Northeast Region, and was awarded "Top Gun", an internal award given to the top performer in a two-day showcase.

Internal Wholesaler

Grand Valley Lanthorn

Assigned and edited stories, wrote up to four pieces a week, and ran the Lanthorn sports Twitter account. Covered beats for GVSU football, men’s basketball, and baseball.

Sports Editor

Wrote and edited stories and briefs while covering a variety of games and athletic events.

Assistant Sports Editor

Local Sports Journal

At this Muskegon prep website, I wrote feature stories profiling high school athletes and teams. My main focus was football, though I branched into soccer, volleyball, and tennis. I also helped with editing, which involved monitoring our WordPress page, reviewing stories, and posting them to www.localsportsjournal.com.

Sportswriter

FOX 17

With FOX 17, I shot video at local sports events, edited the clips for broadcast and wrote scripts. I covered high school basketball, Grand Rapids Griffins hockey, West Michigan Whitecaps baseball, and various Division I and II sports. I also wrote news releases for the FOX 17 website.

Freelancer

Grand Valley State University

More than 4,000 incoming students went through freshman orientation during summer 2014, and 
I assisted every one. Over the course of 40 orientation dates, I worked closely with faculty members, professional advisers and other student assistants to help freshmen choose courses and ease into college life.

Orientation Assistant

During my time as a staff writer, I covered golf, lacrosse and cross country, as well as club sports like hockey and rowing. I wrote two stories a week, either features or game recaps.

Staff Sportswriter

Getting financial advisors millions of dollars & impressions | $20+ million in capital & AUM raised from LinkedIn | 100+ million client impressions | 400+ meetings booked | $1+ million in client courses sold

If you work in finance or real estate and want to add clients or capital through LinkedIn, send me a DM.

If you want to write a memoir or lead-gen book, send me a DM.

Adam Knorr

Last Wednesday, I knocked on 11 doors and invited 11 strangers to dinner. But the story doesn’t start there. 

In October, I was on a flight from Houston to Austin. 

When I’m on a flight, I like to honor the miracle of air travel by becoming the least approachable human I can be. Hood up, laptop out, headphones over the ears. I’m Simon Cowell with a toothache, Gordon Ramsay judging a toddler bake-off. I’m the Grinch — stuck in economy. 

But on this particular flight, I was sabotaged. 

Her name was Kay, and she was in her 70s. 

Kay caught me with my headphones down and started chatting me up. 

After a few minutes of small talk, Kay looked at me:

“This is nice,” she said. “No one talks on airplanes anymore.”

“Tell me about it,” I beamed. “A travesty.”

Kay went on to tell me how she puts on social events for her friends back home in New Mexico. She talked about how community is dying. How we're all in our phones to stay in touch, forgetting that those phones just keep us out of touch.

Six months before this flight, I had been invited to a dinner in Toronto by Tony Albrecht. 

Tony got some people from LinkedIn together and treated us all to a family-style dinner. 

I told Kay about this — and about how cool it was — and she asked me:

“Do you have anyone you could do that with?”

“Well,” I said. “I have 11 neighbors on my apartment floor, but I never see any of them. I guess I could put together a dinner and knock on their doors.”

So Kay made me promise that I would. She even gave me her personal card — the one she started carrying after she retired and no longer needed a business card — so I could tell her when I did it.

And that’s how, last night, I hosted a dinner with nine new friends. 

Turns out, knocking on doors gives you what tapping on screens promises you.

Gratitude post for all writers who continue to use the em-dash in the face of libelous AI allegations.

We will rightfully protect what's ours.

Do not surrender ground.

I stand with you.

My profile appeared 87,495 times across LinkedIn from Nov. 11-18. 41,018 of those appearances were from comments.

Every week, someone sends me a DM saying:

"How do I get more engagement on my posts?"

And I respond saying:

"How often do you comment? DM? Engage with other people?"

And then, 9 times out of 10, they don't respond.

The irony.

Goodness, gracious.

The irony.

Elementary schools should be teaching personal branding, not biology.

Everyone laughs at Gen Z/Gen Alpha for wanting to be influencers.

Do you realize how much of a cheat code having an audience is?

I made my first post on LinkedIn in October 2022.

Since then, I have:

• Made more than $500,000 from writing.
• Created 5 different income streams.
• Been hired to write books. 
• Charged $400/hour for consulting calls.
• Worked with founders, CEOs, and celebrities.

And most importantly, I have built a distribution network for my future work.

When you build distribution, you create optionality and flexibility for yourself.

If every single one of my clients fired me tomorrow, I'd create a new offer and push it on all 15,259 of you so fast you'd think I was Pablo Escobar at a Korn concert. 

I imagine in 2035, I'll be making money online in a way I never considered in 2025.

And that's a heck of a lot more valuable than learning about peas and some guy named Gregor.

I edited 75 posts from financial advisors.

Here are the 5 most common mistakes: 

1. You're burying your hook. 

So many people bury their best content in paragraph 3. 

I'm constantly telling people to move their most compelling line to the front. 

Most common hook fixes:

• Replace vague statements with specific dollar amounts
• Kill the setup — get straight to the point
• Lead with emotion, not explanation

2. You're posting Google-able content

No one goes to LinkedIn to learn that the 2025 401k limit is $23,500.

Instead, write about the emotional reality of money decisions. 

The client who had $2MM and still couldn′t sleep at night. 
The couple fighting about a $400 purchase.
The specific mistakes you've prevented. 

3. You're not being specific enough. 

Instead of: "I saved a client a lot of money" 

Write: "I saved a client $34,317 in taxes with one phone call in August."

Specific numbers stop the scroll. 

4. You're writing white papers. Stop doing that. 

Most advisor content reads like a braided leather belt gained sentience.

If I ever see you write "strategic plan" again, I am kicking you out of my cohort.

5. You're mixing Impression Content and Lead Content 

Trying to make every post convert kills your reach and makes you sound salesy.

You don't need to shoehorn every personal storytelling post into, "Here's what watching the Ryder Cup with my toddler taught me about Roth Conversions."

It comes off as reallllllllly disingenuous. 

You need to give your audience credit. They're not dumb. They can tell when they're being rope-a-doped into a pitch and when you're sharing a genuine story or thought. 

--

P.S. When's the last time you added an unrelated photo to a hyper-specific post to try to game the system and rack up impressions?

I sold this truck for $2,500 yesterday.

It marks the second business I've failed.

Three years ago, I was a brand new freelance writer.

More accurately, I was calling myself a writer, but I barely had any work. 

So, to sleep better at night, I decided to hedge my bets.

And I started a second business.

I opened an LLC — 616 Event Rentals. I bought a truck, a trailer, tables, chairs, and a dance floor, and started taking calls and emails.

I figured it my writing business failed, I could fall back on this.

Luckily, my writing business didn't fail.

(Knock on wood.)

I started getting more and more business as a writer, so the idea of hauling a 4,000-LB trailer across Grand Rapids at 6 AM to set up 8 tables and 40 chairs by hand all of a sudden didn't appeal like it once did.

So I stopped doing it.

When I stopped, I was $20,420 in the hole.

I had made $434 in revenue.

And I started selling everything.

Took a bath on all of it. And not like the kind of bath you give your newborn in the sink. This was a cannonball into the Roman Baths — during Nero's reign.

And, as of yesterday, 616 Event Rentals is officially dead.

This is the second business I've "failed."

I also once launched a writing service called The Emergency Editor that I made a grand total of $0.00 from.

I also once sunk a couple thousand into potentially buying a landscaping business before bailing. 

This cockamamie writing business thing where I write LinkedIn posts for people happened to work, but  this is the first business venture I've had any success with since I illegally sold candy marked "not for individual sale" in 5th grade. 

I've launched just as many things that have failed as things that have succeeded.

And if I have any sense in me...

I'll keep trying to fail as often as I can.

You should be DMing 10 prospects a day.

But not to get leads.

You should be DMing 10 prospects a day just to start conversations.

Because when you have a conversation with someone in the DMs, LinkedIn makes it more likely that they'll see your content.

And when they see your content, they're more likely to convert. 

I mean, that assumes your content is good, which, well, it's usually not because most of you are just using stock ChatGPT and deluding yourselves into thinking people don't notice because you're the anointed one who can get results with no effort.

But you get where I'm coming from. 

DMing people doesn't have to lead to a booked call immediately to be valuable.

--

P.S. I'm Adam.

I help financial advisors grow & add clients on LinkedIn.
DM me to learn more.

Every year, I work from my dad's office over the holidays. It's a good reminder that I've had more advantages than 99% of freelance writers.

I've been writing professionally three years. I'm finally sort of comfortable claiming I've had a little bit of success — but if I want to claim success, I have to tell the truth about where it came from.

And the truth is, I have had every single advantage.

My dad was a freelance copywriter. It was the first job I knew you could do. Before I ever dreamed about playing shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, I saw myself alone in a quiet office, armed with a red pen and an AP Stylebook.

My parents were both entrepreneurs — my mom in real estate — so I grew up watching early mornings, stress, sacrifice. But because it was all I saw, I didn't realize it was remarkable. It just was. That's how everyone works, right?

As a kid, I wrote a lot. Since the guy who determined my bedtime was also a professional writer, I had access to high-quality feedback. I charge $900/month for that now, but he did it for free.

I'm good at writing. It's what I'm supposed to do with my life. But it certainly doesn't hurt that I got professional guidance before I ever put down a Junie B. Jones book for the last time.

I studied journalism, but took a job in finance. It hurt my heart to stop writing, but it helped my bank account.

Six years later, when I finally walked away to try freelancing, I had the thing most new writers never get: time. Runway. Margin for error.

I knew I could go a full calendar year without making any money and still be OK.

Most people trying to make it as a writer don't have this breathing room. Turns out, it's easier to score goals when you aren't white-knuckling the stick. Yeah, I was still tightrope walking, but my safety net was so close it was scraping the rubber off my soles.

For my first 20 gigs, my dad edited everything before I sent it. He introduced me to his contacts in the industry. 

The first time I charged more than $2,000 for a project came when my sister-in-law put in a good word for me at her company.

Yeah, I've worked hard. But I never had to work scared.

My family wanted to see me win, friends wanted to see me win, and strangers wanted to see me win. And instead of just golf-clapping from the sidelines, they each got in the game and dished me some assists.

So, yeah.

When you're comparing yourself to other people, remember that you're not seeing the invisible advantages baked into someone's default assumptions.

Anthropic (the company that created Claude) is hiring two writers for $255,000-$320,000. 

The ultimate irony:

AI is making the best writers *more* valuable.

The more people lean on AI for writing, the fewer talented writers exist.

The fewer talented writers exist, the more valuable they are. 

The more valuable they are, the more they get paid.

AI is making writing a high-income skillset.

I suggest you learn how to do it.

I have been paid $30,000 in a single day for a writing project, but nothing will ever beat closing my first client for $500.

It was October 2022, and I was living in Basecamp — a one-story, tarp-covered house on the bottom of a Kona coffee farm.

There were eight of us living in the house. At 28 years old, I was the Old Man By the Mango Tree, nearly a decade older than all my roommates. 

Often, I would wake up at 4:00 AM to start my day, fist-bumping a couple of roommates I passed in the hallway on their way to go to bed for the night. 

Between the eight of us, the farm provided two vehicles. I figured if I was going to be living in Hawaii, I didn't want my adventures to be constrained based on vehicle availability, so I found a guy with a car rental business.

I also figured if I was going to wear Hawaiian shirts and sport a mustache, I owed it to Tom Selleck to drive something better than a Hyundai Sonata, so I signed up for a long-term rental on a silver Dodge Challenger.

I met the owner of the rental business in the parking lot of a Shell station in Kealakekua, Hawaii.

When he handed me the keys, I pounced:

"Hey man. I respect what you're doing with your own business. I'm actually self-employed, too. I'm a copywriter — I write websites and things like that. I noticed your website still needs to be written. Would you be down with me sending you a proposal for what I would charge to write it?"

His website existed, but it was full of Lorem Ipsum placeholders. He agreed to take a look at my proposal, so I cruised back to the shack and fired it off.

A day later, my phone rang.

"Hey Adam. Let's do it."

I was breathing like I had just done a Polar Plunge into the Pacific, but I managed to choke out:

"Sounds good. I'll send you the invoice."

Then, I hung up, sprinted out to the living room, and high-fived every 19-year-old roommate I could find.

Since then, the numbers have gotten bigger and the projects more exciting, but I have never felt the same high as that first client — and I don't ever expect to again.

Not everything you post on LinkedIn has to be shoehorned into a fake lesson about what you learned. 

You can just tell good stories because it's fun to tell good stories.

And as a bonus, people won't want to vomit you when they read your content.

If you want to learn how to consistently break 10,000 impressions on LinkedIn, read this:

I’m sending out an email tomorrow to 828 people that breaks down the easiest way to create viral content on LinkedIn.

It’s too long for LinkedIn, so I can’t post it here. 

DM me your email address if you want to be added before it goes out at 9:00 AM EST tomorrow.

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

What would 21,018,197 views do for you?

What about a measly 3,546,825?

These are some screenshots from content performance for myself + clients.

(Note that the ones around 3.5 million are less than a year into working together.)

These are all folks in commercial real estate and finance (and me). 

And before you ask...

Yes, this does lead to results.

-> 500+ booked calls
-> $20+ million invested
-> $1+ million in paid transactions

I'm going to tell you something that risks cannibalizing my business:

This stuff isn't hard.

Writing great LinkedIn content is literally:

• Applying hook formulas
• Understanding topic selection
• Telling stories and sharing controversial opinions

I can teach you how to do all of this in just 30 days.

As of today, enrollment is open for the Q1 2026 cohort of The Advisor GPS starting in January.

If you're a financial advisor who wants to learn how to do this stuff yourself, send me a DM today.

Spots are limited.

--

P.S. From current Advisor GPS students:

"I loved it!!! I thought it was great. Super useful stuff in there and I want to go back through a few times to really sink in a lot of these new ideas about writing content. My only regret is not working with you sooner"

"I thought the program was great! Definitely a lot of information that I will be revisiting."

"Seriously though this course and community is awesome. I am learning so much and stretching my comfort zone more than I thought possible."

Always makes me laugh when people get mad that hooks matter on LinkedIn. No — having “educational insights” isn’t enough. 

Who are you? 
Why should anybody care? 
Why do your ideas deserve to stand out?

(Nobody.)
(They shouldn’t.)
(They don’t.)

You could be Einstein mixed with Ghandi with a touch of Marie Curie thrown in and no one will care what you have to say until you either:

1) Do something that gives you enough clout/fame for your reputation to precede you 

Or 

2) Write great hooks that make them care. 

You are not owed attention. 

You have to earn it.

I've helped people land 1,000+ clients on LinkedIn.

3 simple DMs will book you the most calls:

I'm breaking them down in my newsletter at 9:00 AM EST tomorrow.

Join 821 subscribers here:

(And get a free gift!)

https://lnkd.in/gM87JAVf

Yesterday I taught a session inside Mando Sallavanti III, CFP®'s LinkedIn community — 83 financial advisors who are already investing in their growth on LinkedIn.

If you were there, you got a preview of the system I use to help advisors generate leads and smash impressions in 30–60 days.

If you want to go deeper, I’m opening up 5 new spots for my 30-Day LinkedIn Accelerator in January.

This includes:

• the complete Advisor GPS LinkedIn system
• weekly live coaching with me
• access to our private community
• templates, scripts, and growth frameworks
• and full support for 30 days

DM me "GPS" and I'll send you the details.

Stuff My Clients Say

I've written 4,100+ hooks. One mistake kills engagement more than any other: 

Assuming your audience knows who you are. 

Most creators have a "World Revolves Around Me" mindset.

You think people are paying attention. You think people have been following along. You think people have been reading your stuff, connecting the dots, building a mental map of your expertise, your offer, your point of view.

They haven't.

Most people skim. 
They catch a post here and there. 
They don't remember what you wrote yesterday.

So every single post, you should be starting from scratch.

When you write a hook that skips the authority, skips the context, skips the problem-naming — because you assume your audience already knows — it has zero chance at getting inbound leads.

Yeah, it's going to get comments from the same 15 people who show up every day...

But they were going to be there regardless. It doesn't mean the content was actually good — it just means you successfully clicked "post."

It's an inconvenient truth for 99% of creators, but you actually have to be good at copywriting if you want inbound leads.

You have to understand:

• Audience awareness levels
• Problem awareness levels
• Solution awareness levels 

This is why persuasive writing was destined to become a high-income skillset since Johannes Gutenberg started monkeying with his tiles in the 1440s. 

And this is why most people are deluding themselves into thinking ChatGPT can "write" content well enough to get inbound leads.

If you understand this stuff? 

Sure.

If not? 

You're going to keep showing up for another year wondering why no one is DMing you "financial freedom."

Jonathan Jordan

Wordrobe Media

Book Coach | Ghostwriter | Storyteller. Helping Rebel CEOs turn their Story into Status. 2025 Andy Award nominee for ghostwriting (Business & Thought Leadership). 30+ publishing accolades, including #1 on Audible, Straight-A rating from Publishers Weekly, the Kirkus Star, and more.

Founder | Chief Storyteller

Greenleaf Book Group

Developmental editing and book coach for business nonfiction titles.

Developmental Editor and Book Coach

Kevin Anderson & Associates 

Ghostwriting, book coaching, and editing for Kevin Anderson & Associates, including authors publishing with Big 5 Publishers.

Ghostwriter, Book Coach, and Editor

Amplify Publishing Group

Book Coach and Editor

Forbes Books

Since 2020, ghostwriting, book coaching, and book planning for executive-level authors publishing under both Advantage Media and Forbes imprints.

Ghostwriter, Book Coach, and Book Planner

Scribe Media

Book coach for 2 projects: business and memoir.

Book Coach

RightNow Media

Senior Account Manager

Connect with small business leaders and identify video resources to help them engage their employees, care for their workforce, and develop themselves and other leaders around them.

Account Manager

I connect business leaders with the correct point person of our nonprofit to best fit their needs, whether they are looking for HR tools to best care for their people, partner with us in leadership development, or identify content to help develop and impact other businesses.

Senior Account Coordinator

I connected church leaders across the country and in Canada with our Senior Director of Partnerships for both online and in-person demonstrations of our online media resources and addressed benefits for the church's mission and ministry needs.

Senior Sales Coordinator

New Degree Press

Contract developmental editing and book coaching for semester-long publishing program in collaboration with Georgetown University.

Upbring

I supervised a caseload of foster families and the children in their care through monthly visits, compliance to state and organizational regulations, and regular service plan meetings. I was also on a rotating on-call schedule for emergency placements and ongoing training presentations for foster families.

Family Services Case Manager

Stretch-n-Grow International

My wife and I owned the Frisco Franchise for Stretch-N-Grow International, a children's fitness and nutrition company founded in the early '90s in Galveston, TX. We contracted with preschools, day cares and other child service providers to provide fitness programs for children as young as 18 months up through elementary-aged children. Our programs included general fitness/exercise, dance, sports, and yoga depending on the client's needs. My wife was the day-to-day business runner, and I helped with finances, purchasing, marketing, web content, and meet and greet marketing events.

Franchise Owner

Unleash your Inner Storyteller | Book Coach & LinkedIn Ghostwriter | Let's empower your Story to transform Ideas into Impact.

Billion dollar founders and rebel CEOs trust me with their nonfiction books for one reason:

Because great storytelling leads to great results.

As a former social worker and multi-business owner, I help CEOs and founders tackle their Page Fright, unleash their Inner Storyteller, and turn stories into ROI.

From Silicon Valley CEOs to serial entrepreneurs, my clients have won 7-figure customers, launched courses, gained speaking opportunities, and sold thousands of books.

Here’s how I can help you turn your story into status:
1. Follow me to learn effective writing.
2. DM me about my group book coaching program.
3. Go read "Start With Story." Get it from bookshop.org/a/106317/9798991327008 to support your local bookstore.

Book coaching and editing services.

Remember when "W" coined the term "strategery"?
No, you don't.

Because he never actually said it.

The word came from an SNL skit.
Said by a different W...Will Ferrell.

What's funny is that after the skit came out, even Pres. Bush thought he must have said "strategery" at some point.

Until SNL producer Lorne Michaels admitted their writers coined the term.

So if you're using a quote in:
- A book
- A blog
- An article
- A coffee mug
- A freakin' t-shirt

...you better crosscheck it.
You better source and cite it.

>>>Anyone out there still watch SNL...?

I help rebel CEOs turn stories into status | 2025 Andy Award nominee for ghostwriting l Book coach to billion $ founders

I told my wife to go see “Wicked: For Good” by herself.
[And she was stoked about it.]

My wife works on Saturdays, 10 to 5.
Kids hang with me.
I call it “Dadurday.”
[and outings are Dadventures.]

But this Saturday, I told her to stay out longer than usual.

“Go watch Wicked. Grab a marg.”

She doesn’t get to do much by herself.
Which is tough for an introvert.

And sometimes it’s the little things.
Like a movie alone.
Not worried about the kids.
Or errands.
Or chores.

No lesson here.
Just what I felt like writing.

>>>Feel free to dump any and all Wicked opinions in the comments. I won’t be seeing it unless it gets nominated for Best Picture.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s best writing advice:
Stop using so many !!!!!!!!

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”

3 other cuts to make your writing better:

1. “In order to”
-just say “to” instead of wording your sentence to death.

2. “In other words”
-this sounds like you’re apologizing for having an insight.

3. Semicolons
-they are the devil’s punctuation mark.

Alright, I’m off to fumigate some exclamation points.

>>>semicolon lovers, you’re welcome to make your defense in the comments but you’ll never sway me.

Stephen King says “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
But these 3 writing mistakes are worse:

1. Every day vs. everyday
-“I stub my toe every day.”
-“Stubbing my toe is an everyday occurrence.”

2. Led vs. lead
-“She led the way forward.”
-“She died from lead poisoning.”

3. Anymore vs. any more
-“I’m not hungry anymore.”
-“I don’t want to eat any more turkey.”

All three of these cause me to gnash my teeth.

>>>What would you add?

I’ve been suspended on X.

Apparently for never posting or engaging there.

I’m sure my 5 followers are devastated.

[off to make a sacrificial offering to Grok]

>>>Ever been suspended or banned from a platform?

graphical user interface, text, application

If you have to argue that your writing is good, then your writing isn't good.

[Putting up my shield]

We celebrated our 15th anniversary during my recent NYC trip.
[but we almost didn’t make 7 years]

In 2010, we were two doe-eyed twenty-somethings honeymooning in the Big Apple.

From 2014 to 2016, a series of fear-based decisions and a failure to address my anxiety/depression drove us to the brink.

I came close to ending my life.
She came close to leaving.
We nearly lost everything.

9 years later, we’re still recovering.
But now we plan for the future instead of living in the coulda, shoulda, woulda.

I attend an anxiety/depression group nearly every week.

I no longer give fear the deciding vote.

For years, we’ve longed to get back to NYC.
But money, time, or stress stood in the way.

This trip was healing.
We felt like 20-year-olds again.
[well, mostly…]

And we can’t wait to get back and bring the kids.

>>>married folks, where did you honeymoon? Been back?

It’s still ridonkers that I get to write for a living.
Even more so when pros I look up to invite me to be part of something bigger:

Recently, I said Yes to becoming an elite ghostwriter with MANGUS MEDIA GROUP, an exclusive LIFE-WRITING agency. 

Mangus Media Group: 

World-Class Writers, 
World-Changing Stories. 

Our mission is clear: 
lives written, businesses built, legacies born.

Mangusmediagroup.com

Yeahhhhh boiiiii!

Don’t bust any ghosts.
[we haunt for stories, not screams.]

Today is Gathering of the Ghosts.
A one-of-a-kind conference for ghostwriters.

We typically exist in the shadows.
The “shhhh” in publishing.

And it’s a tough biz.

Many people look down on it.
[even though half of nonfiction titles are ghosted]

A profession shrouded in mystery.
[like ice sculpting]

But authors I’ve worked with have called the process:

- Therapeutic
- Creative
- Magic
- Fun

My business only started scaling when I stopped viewing other ghosts as competition.

So I’m stoked, not spooked.

>>>what do you want to know about ghostwriting? DM me if it’s too chilling to comment here.

How NOT to use LinkedIn DMs:

Received a pitch slap last week.
Showcased their work.

But it was nothing I need or want.
So I let them know.

…and then they replied with what I can only assume is a guilt ploy.

If you’re going to pitch slap…
…don’t do this.

We’re all looking for our next deal.
But you also have to accept “no.”
With grace. Not guilt.

But hey, I’m open to feedback.
So AITA?

Positioning matters.
Just a hair off and you’re lost.

If your writing isn’t from an intentional angle, it’s your fault when people get the wrong idea.

Ask:

- who am I writing for?
- what is their pain point?
- what is their joy point?
- what makes my message different?
- how will the message be best received?

Which is why I now develop “reader avatars” with my clients.

The Who matters more than the Why.
Especially in storytelling.

No position.
No message.
No results.

>>>Apologies to Canal St. in NYC.

I've forfeited my business.
[a happy failure story]

In 2016, I chased after $$$.
Started an outside sales role.
[selling roofs. *shudder*]

Had to set up a business.
Called it "ThreeJ Sales."

In six months, I'd spent around $30,000.
Made maybe $7,500. Maybe.
[Ended up earning only $21K from the business in a year]

For years, I kept doing my state report.
Just in case I ever decided to revive it.

This year, I let the report lapse.
I killed off the failure that nearly killed me.

Last month, the state of TX made it official:
My business is dead.

But that gigantic failure also reignited my foolish idea to write for a living.

Forced me to find my Why.
Forced me to consider success apart from $.

Wordrobe Media LLC was born out of the ashes of ThreeJ Sales.

Today, I've:
- Worked with billion $ CEOs
- Edited books for pro athletes and name brand founders
- Earned an award nomination for myself as a ghostwriter
- Started helping other freelancers trying to grow

A couple weeks ago, I introduced my 12-year-old to Steve Irwin.

I was a fan before he blew up as “The Crocodile Hunter.”

As a kid, I thought he was crazy.

But as an adult, I realize:

- He had an infectious positivity
- He saw opportunity, not obstacles
- He lived life to the fullest

And in a world that wants to complain, argue, and treat every headline as a doomsday announcement:

…that looks crazy.

But he was probably the most sane person on the planet.

>>>Who else misses this guy?

[P.S. sorry for posting and ghosting, Imelda, but I got a flight to catch.]

I said NO for a shot at $42,340. 
More than my social work salary.

3 requests came in yesterday.

I said No to all 3 because:

1. Timeline was too tight for my current slate.
2. I wasn’t interested enough in the topics.
3. None offered what I know I’m worth.

[pssst… that last one’s the most important]

2023 Jonathan would have just said Yes to everything out of fear.

He would have just white-knuckled and found a way to make it work…
-Losing sleep
-Losing temper
-Losing sanity

…for what?

Being able to say No is only possible because I’m learning the right stuff to say Yes to as a writer-preneur.

I’m finishing a new resource to teach freelancers everything I wish I’d known 7 years ago.

[hell, the stuff I wish I’d known just 3 years ago…]

>>>What are you saying Yes to in 2026?

Weird Wednesday:
No one is a better negotiator than my 3-year-old.

My toddler has a unique way of asking for what he wants:

"Chocolate cookie, or yes?"
"Spider-man show, or yes?"
"Read Haunted Mansion book, or yes?"

I mean, he simply can't lose. Yes?

More often than not, it works.
[note to self: am I a pushover? meditate on this later.]

Is there a deeper LinkedInsight here?
No, not really.

[Be on the lookout for his new Masterclass: Negotiate like a Toddler, by MJ Jordan]

Great writing only has 2 rules:
[and they both apply to "brain rot" reality TV]

1. Don't be boring.
2. Make it easy to consume.

That's it.

My wife loves "brain rot" shows:

- "The Bachelor/Bachelorette"
- "Keeping Up with the Kardashians"
- "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives"

Not because she thinks they're great TV.
And not because she's dumb.
[she's pretty freakin' smart]

But because she gets to:

- be entertained
- shut off her busy brain

If you want engaging content, start here:
- pretend you're writing for an 8th grader(age 13)
- worry less what others think

All other writing "rules"?
Totally subjective and worth bending.

>>>What's your guilty pleasure "brain rot" show?

In 2003, I played a juror in “12 Angry Men.”
Last week, I was one in real life.

Last Monday, I reported for jury duty.

I’ve only been summoned 3 times.
[One time I showed up at the wrong courthouse. Oops.]

But this was the first time I was chosen.

7 observations:

1. The people with BS excuses wouldn’t make good jurors anyway.

2. Lots of people are having a much worse day than you.

3. Government buildings are just as efficient as you assume. 
[broken escalator, I got trapped in a stairwell, and bathrooms were out of service one day]

4. Our bailiff literally felt like a movie character.
[Direct quote: “After I retire, I’m gonna live to 150 so I can get every penny out of the county for my pension.”]

5. Sitting in court all day listening to lawyers leaves your brain utterly frazzled and useless by 5 pm.

6. Your heart and your brain can want different things.

7. Life is messy.

Even though it totally derailed my week and put me behind on everything…

…I’m glad I was chosen.

It gave me a new appreciation for our justice system.

As imperfect as it is, it’s still better here than most places.

>>>you ever serve on a jury?

Usually, I ignore the AI email marketers.
Today, I told one he was creepy.

I don't believe for one moment that you were thinking of me so much while ordering your coffee that you told the barista my name instead of yours.

And if that's true...

Then that's weird.
Not a good weird.

A creepy weird.

So yes, you got a response.
But probably not the one you wanted.

I spent 336 hours writing my own book last year.
Messages like this remind me why:

"I bought your book [a] few days back and just finished it...
As someone trying to refine my skills, this book has been a solid guidepost."

And in a follow up message:

"Your book came to me at the right time. I know I'll keep going back to it. It's almost a year since I started ghostwriting, and by God's grace, the journey has been really meaningful."

My book is for you if:
- you don't think you're a storyteller.
- your storytelling feels empty.
- you're helping others tell their stories.

This link gets you 40% off:
https://lnkd.in/gsHazKGX

But only for the first 20 people.

Imposter Syndrome is good for you.
[prove me wrong]

In 1989, R&B duo Milli Vanilli released their debut album.

They sold 7 million albums in the US.
Won Best New Artist at the Grammys.

But in 1990, members Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were revealed as frauds.

A track skipped during a live concert.
Revealing the duo was lip-syncing all along.

They panicked and ran offstage.
They were mocked in the press.
Their Grammy was revoked.

Performers, yes.
But not the way people thought.

See, real imposters don't experience Imposter Syndrome.

So if you do...
Good.

You're not an imposter.

Sincerely,
A fellow sufferer of Imposter Syndrome.

>>>Anyone else wish Taylor Swift had written a song about Milli Vanilli for her album "1989"? Missed opportunity IMHO.

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The Battle

Adam Knorr

Jonathan Jordan

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The Battle

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