From Pumping Milk @ My Spa Job to Closing 270k in Sales From the Comfort of My Home — Baby in My Arms. This is My Story in Numbers. This is Why I'm Confident as a Copywriter.
This idea has been pressing itself through the invisible boundary between concept and reality for weeks. But I wasn’t certain I wanted to share my story in numbers.
I recently posted a quick screenshot of my stripe account in one of the business groups I’m in.
The verdict was out, “your clients want to see what you can do for them — not your own numbers.”
I had a hunch that was true, but then — this idea persisted.
This is hard for me to share.
And that’s because my plan was to be way beyond this by now.
It’s because while I am proud, I’m also behind.
My plan wasn’t God’s plan.
I had to take a few years totally off and while I’ve got grit I also have limits.
The #1 reason I want to share this with you today is because these numbers are why I’m confident as a Copywriter. These numbers are why I can roll up my sleeves and make the claims that I make.
Instead of you seeing my claims — I want you to see the foundation beneath them. Here’s the receipt or it ain’t real:
* The numbers above are less than I received in totality because I processed tens of thousands in sales through PayPal in 2017-2019. I decided not to include that here ‘cause I like the simplicity of the Stripe chart.
The timeline:
2014: My son was born peacefully at home. I tried to go back to work when he was 6 months old. I hated leaving him and quit my job (as a massage therapist).
2015: I was determined to work from home. I built my own website on Squarespace. I nearly pulled my hair out with all the domain stuff but I prevailed.
2016: I thought blogging would make us money. It did not. I started developing better offers. I put those offers in front of the women I was blogging to.
2017: I had my first six-figure year and my first five-figure program launch. I ran a combination of high-end 1:1 offers, middle tier group offers, and promoted my then signature program.
2018: This was my second six-figure year with the highest month being 23k cash received. I continued to have success with my high-end 1:1’s, my middle tier groups, and even better success with low-tier 1-time workshops. I co-hosted an in-person retreat in Tulum.
All I needed to do was scale now, right?
2019: Wrong. My daughter was born at home peacefully with just my husband and I present. We had just moved unexpectedly because our home on the lake in NJ was making us sick via mold exposure. The sudden move was traumatic and I still cry my face off for my son and I about this time in our lives.
In terms of business: my programs weren’t filling at the volume I expected them to fill and my expenses required a higher volume of sales.
I had a lead generation problem but I was unable to pinpoint that at the time.
2020: We moved to Louisiana (where my husband is from) right before the psy-op started. I started speaking against the insertion of gender identity ideology into law, against males being able to self-id as female and gain access to women’s spaces, against the medical industrial complex and against transhumanism.
I lost colleagues, friends, and subscribers in droves. I ran mostly low-tier offers. I built a complicated membership site + offer that no one signed up for.
To say my business wobbled is an understatement: it imploded.
2021: I let everything come to a halt. I grieved. You could say I even gave up. I said “God if you want me to surrender my goals and plans, I surrender. I give it all up.”
I eventually decided to make just enough money to keep my software running while I rested and dropped fully into motherhood. I legitimately had a “come to Jesus moment”.
2020-2022: I learned how to garden, use a pressure canner, and started homeschooling. I became “top chef” in my home — I think my family needed me to be top chef this whole time.
2023: I decided to give my goals and plans a go again. My husband’s income by itself covers the basics but the reality in our home is if mama doesn’t do something about it we’ll never retire, nor will we ever buy or build a home that’s up to my standards, nor will we ever own land somewhere that I can truly call home.
It’s no secret in my house that I can’t quite put down roots in Louisiana. No matter how hard I try to bloom where I’m planted my roots resist with a firm no, not here.
This image is my subscriber contact list and this is the second number-related image I want to talk about today.
Instead of looking at the numbers and feeling behind I have decided to lean into something else. And that’s the reality that 270k+ in closed sales was generated with a list of contacts that’s under 2,000 readers.
If I can close 270k with less than 2,000 readers/subscribers… what opportunities can I create with 4,000 subscribers? 6,000 subscribers? 10,000 subscribers?
It’s time to be kind to myself — to reframe being behind as, “This 270k in closed sales has allowed me to stay home with my babies and that’s exactly what I set out to do in the first place.”
Now, I don’t know where you’re at in terms of your numbers right now and how you feel about ‘em. But what I want you to remember most from this post is this:
If you’re serious about growing a business: create systems to nurture new readers (automated email sequences) and then go all in on a clearly defined lead generation plan.
Be kind to yourself, put your hand on your heart and acknowledge what you’ve built to this moment. You don’t acknowledge yourself enough.
You have things to learn and you can’t control the timing of those lessons. Be wise and understanding in your awareness that you are not in control.
Thank you so much for reading!
Please leave a comment for me with your thoughts and take-aways.
I’d so love to hear from you.
Big Love,
P.S. Good copy will stretch you.
It will demand that you stop hiding, playing small, and it will demand that you stop downplaying your strengths, skills, and your hard-earned area of knowledge and expertise.
Stating outright (to your readers) “hey, I get you! I see you! And I’m here to help you [solve X problem] better than [other approach] could!” will stretch you.
The question I have for you today is this: are you ready to stretch?
If so, I’m here to invite you to take your seat inside The Copy Catalyst.
My professional eye is about to completely change the way you communicate the value of (and sell) your heart-felt offers. 🤓🧠⚡️
Learn more here: http://www.jillian-anderson.com/copycatalyst
As soon as you join you’ll be able to submit two of your marketing assets for analysis — and I can’t wait to look ‘em over top-to-bottom and report back to you.
