Like my friend and client Laura Belgray,* one of my favorite pastimes is overhearing curious conversations.

I mean, is it really eavesdropping if you're already sitting there?

I'm currently minding my own business in the Delta lounge furiously downloading the latest episodes of Bridgerton before I board my long-haul flight.

A dirty plate containing a half-eaten cheese cube and a limp morsel of cole slaw languishes nearby. One of the lounge employees comes by to clear it and a man pops up claiming his wife is still "working on it."

She asks the man why in the world she won't let her take the plate away (apparently the wife's been holding onto it for hours). She keeps saying "help me understand - it's not like she's taking it on the plane with her." (Also, who hangs onto hours-old airport cole slaw?)

The beleaguered husband sighs with resignation. Feels like a battle he's fought before. Because sometimes you don't know when you might want that last little nugget.

Like one of my old clients who left me a voicemail yesterday.

Turns out he let an old domain and site hosting lapse last year (he hadn't used it in over 5 years), but he's decided to start up that side of his business again. And now his old site has disappeared into the ether.

Sometimes you do want to hold onto that last morsel, just in case.

I'm a big believer in domain hoarding and setting your domains to auto-renew. It's one of the least expensive aspects of your business.

But what if you're not sure you want to offer something again?
Here's a few ways to save your nuggets:

1. Set the offer page on your site to draft mode. This hides it from your visitors AND from search engines - but it's easy to flip it back on and make it "live" again.
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2. If you're using a page template, see if you're able save and export the template for safekeeping. Years ago I thought I was done with an offer and deleted my page - but not before I had backed up and exported the page template (this contains the design and the content). When I decided to bring the offer back, I was able to import the template and reinstate the page in minutes.
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3. Copy the content and images to a safe storage location (like a Google doc or your notes app).

And my favorite little hack - if you ever lose site content (either by accidental or intentional deletion) you can often recover it by using the wayback machine. This site takes "snapshots" of your website at various time intervals. While it can be slow to use and it may not capture every page, it's likely the best method to find your old stuff (especially if you're using a site or platform that doesn't save regular backups). It's also a fun way to see what your competitors were up to back in the day.
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you've got this,
Michelle

p.s. I promised myself a few years ago that I would start writing a consistent newsletter (generally sent on Fridays - barring major illness, travel or a contagious case of idontwannaitis) - but only if I could have fun with it.

Laura Belgray and her "email from a bestie" and story-centric methodology is a big reason why writing my newsletter turned from a "have to do this" obligation to a "want to do this" experience. Now my husband hears me mutter the phrase "this would be great for my newsletter" multiple times a week.

Looking to infuse storytelling into your writing and have a bit more fun with your own emails? Laura's signature course Inbox Hero* (ahem, graphics and design by me) is open for enrollment this week. *denotes affiliate link

p.p.s. Thanks for for everyone who sent me all sorts of food, spa and pastry recommendations for Copenhangen in last week's email. You're my kind of people. Stretchy pant city, here I come.