Be a Decent Freakin’ Person: Self-Revealing Case Studies on Growth and Success

Is he a good dude who deserves a chance?

That was the question posed by Jerod Morris — VP of Marketing for Copyblogger Media — to Demian Farnworth — Copyblogger’s Chief Copywriter.

I had just submitted my very first guest post to one of the largest, most well-respected copywriting blogs online and — as crazy as this may sound — that question was the question everything came down to.

Wild, right?

Not, “Do you like the article?” Not, “Is it a fit for our readers?”

Not even, “What’s the payoff?”

Now, of course, all those questions weighed in. But what it finally came down to was, “Is he a good dude who deserves a chance?”

I’ve written about my love of Demian before.

Today I want to pull back the curtain even more and show you …

Early last year, I connected with Demian Farnworth. After a few months of Twitter banter, link sharing, and emails, I finally mustered up the courage to submit a guest post to Copyblogger.

When I did that, I sent the article both through their online submission process as well as a direct email to Demian himself.

From the first — their online process — all I got back was a “Thanks for submitting … but we aren’t accepting unsolicited articles at this time.”

Door = Shut

It was the second route — the relationship route — that swung the whole thing open.

After about a week, came the response.

Actually, what came was way more than just the response.

Somehow, Demian and Jerod’s entire email chain — their whole back-and-forth about me and my article — got included in the confirmation email.

Here’s Demian’s first take.

And Jerod’s relpy.

Notice what he said:

I like it, BUT … “we’ve hit it many times” and “there isn’t really anything new in.”

So why move forward?

“I think there is value in it. Is he a good dude who deserves a chance?”

Demian’s answer?

Simple. Straightforward. No fluff.

“He seems standup, and he’s got a pretty good blog.”

Amazing, right? Who knew that’s what it was all gonna come down to?

Here’s the post that eventually went live: “6 Steps for Writing Simple Copy That Sells.”

Let me boil this down to two takeaways:

Focus on the Relationship

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the difference between “yes” and “no” isn’t the pitch, the product, or the price … it’s the person. Connection, consistency, and track record will make or break your career, not to mention your personal relationships as well.

What You’re Selling Can’t Suck.

Sure the relationship might be strong, but you still have to cover the basics: is it actually valuable?

So … my question to you is: are you a decent freakin’ person?

I’d love to hear your own anecdotes in the comments.