If you’re stuck in “starter mode” and trying to take your business to the next level, consider incorporating tiny habits into your daily routine.
Developed by renowned behavior scientist BJ Fogg, tiny habits are small, achievable actions that help you make significant changes in your behavior.
This post will show you how to unlock the potential of tiny habits, so you can reach your business goals.
What Are Tiny Habits, and How Do They Help You?
Tiny habits are a great way for copywriters to build new habits and stay motivated.
Unlike traditional methods of habit building, tiny habits focus on small goals that can be easily incorporated into daily routines.
Imagine you want to write a book about copywriting. Your goal is to write 2,000 words a day.
But no matter what you do, you can’t meet that goal. Many days, you haven’t written anything because you know you don’t have enough time to write 2,000 words. So you never even start. And because you’ve failed to reach 2,000 words a day, you feel defeated and ready to give up.
With the tiny habits approach, instead of aiming for 2,000 words daily, you might set a small goal of just one paragraph a day.
One paragraph a day might not seem like much, but if you can write one paragraph, chances are you can do two paragraphs. And then maybe three. Or four. Or 10.
Because your goal of one paragraph is so small and doable, you stick with it. And one paragraph at a time, your book comes to fruition.
The tiny habits approach makes it easier to form and maintain habits. And because tiny habits are meant to be ridiculously easy, you skip the overwhelm or frustration that frequently comes from tackling big, new habits.
By incorporating tiny habits into your daily routine, you can make steady progress toward success.
Starter Steps and Scaled-Back Habits
You should definitely read the book for the complete Tiny Habits method because there’s so much more to the methodology than we can cover today.
But for the purposes of this post, we’ll cover the two parts of Tiny Habits called “Starter Steps” and “Scaled-Back Habits.”
Starter Steps
Starter steps are the first actions you take to form a new habit.
Let’s say you’re writing a sales page for a new client and are resistant to getting started. Maybe you don’t have much experience with sales pages, or you’re writing about a product unfamiliar to you.
Your starter step for this project might be as simple as turning your computer on. Or turning the page in your writing notebook.
The idea with the starter step is to choose the first, tiniest step you can take — and then take it. That action builds momentum that helps you carry on to the second step.
Scaled-Back Habits
Scaled-back habits are miniature versions of the habit you want to develop.
An example of a scaled-back habit Fogg uses is the mailbox walk.
If you want to walk a mile every day, but a mile seems overwhelming, try walking to your mailbox daily instead. This scaled-down habit of going to the mailbox is easier than walking a mile. But you’re still practicing the behavior of a person who walks daily.
And often, once you start, it’s easy to keep going. If you walk to your mailbox, maybe you keep going to the end of the street. Or around the block. Maybe you do walk the whole mile.
But even if you don’t go further than your mailbox, you’re still successful. You set a tiny habit of walking to your mailbox, and you did that.
Tiny Habits for Copywriters
To help you put tiny habits into practice, here are some examples you can use to help you build your own arsenal of tiny habits. The viability of these ideas will depend on your business strategies and experience level. But even if these specific steps don’t work for you, they’ll get you thinking about ideas that will work.
Starter Steps for Marketing and Networking
- Open the LinkedIn app.
- Bookmark LinkedIn on your browser bar for easy access.
- Write a working headline for your next blog post.
- Choose one social media channel to use for your business.
- Find cold email templates to use for prospecting.
- Choose one company you might like to email.
Scaled-Back Habits for Marketing and Networking
- Instead of sending 20 prospecting emails each week, send one each week.
- Instead of publishing a new blog post on your blog each week, publish one post a month.
- Instead of posting to all the social channels, be active on one platform where your target audience spends time.
- Instead of posting daily to your social media platform of choice, post once a week.
- Instead of networking for 20 minutes daily, spend five minutes three times a week connecting with others.
- Instead of creating original content for your social media profile, identify an ideal client and interact with their social media posts.
Starter Steps for Writing
- Open a writing document on your computer.
- Write just one sentence about your chosen topic.
- Read one article or other work related to your writing project.
- Draft a working headline.
- Decide where you’ll do your writing (the coffee shop, your desk, the dining room table).
- Schedule a block of writing time on your calendar.
- Set a five-minute timer and write a brain dump of everything you know about the topic.
Scaled-Back Habits for Writing
- Instead of writing for two hours, write for five minutes.
- Instead of writing 2,000 words, aim for 500 words.
- Instead of writing daily, write once a week. For two minutes.
- Instead of writing something new every day, write something new every week.
- Instead of drafting and editing a project on the same day, draft on day one. Edit on day two. Or day three.
- Instead of stressing about perfection, be okay with B+ output.
Starter Steps for Skill Building
- Brainstorm a list of skills you’d like to learn.
- Read one article or watch one video about techniques related to copywriting.
- Ask a copywriting mentor to recommend a skill you should learn.
- Attend an industry event or join an online group related to copywriting.
- Connect with other copywriters and ask for feedback on your work.
- Subscribe to one industry leader’s newsletter.
Scaled-Back Habits for Skill Building
- Instead of trying to keep up with industry news daily, spend five minutes each week researching new copywriting strategies.
- Instead of taking every copywriting class you find, focus on one course and practice everything you learn before you start a new one.
- Instead of rushing through courses, focus on one skill for a year.
- Instead of listening to every industry guru, pick one expert to follow.
- Instead of implementing everything you learn in one go, space things out. Practice your headlines for a month. Then practice your hooks for a month. Then practice your calls-to-action for a month.
- Instead of trying to study for two hours daily, aim for 5-10 minutes.
Conclusion
By breaking down tasks into tiny, achievable steps, you create a system of success that will help you reach your goals. With tiny habits, you can make steady progress toward your goals and stay motivated to keep going.
For more information about using tiny habits to transform your copywriting career, I highly recommend you read BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything.
