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Carlos Lara (left) and Jimmy Young (right) from Bootleg Rascal.
Australia has no shortage of solo musical talent: Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Peter Andre (hey, he still counts!) … However, as we groove along and tap our feet to their sublime sounds, we also have to realise that these are musos living off their craft; in the same way an accountant, copywriter or graphic designer lives off theirs.
In business, you have to have a plan. Because in business, we all have goals to hit. Writing content for your website should also have plan – and a goal. When it comes to content, you should be strategic about it. Having a long-term plan informed by real intelligence which exists to achieve a chosen objective doesn’t just work for armies and business, it works for your marketing. Though some people feel that marketing and content writing is a creative endeavour, the framework that your content sits on must have some kind of strategic direction.
So how do you write a content strategy, even if you’ve never written one before in 2022?
A strategy needs a broad goal: do I want to increase page views? Do I want to expand my social media following? Do I want to sell more products? What is the point of my content, and how – in an ideal sense – will my content get me to where my business going?
Your content should be linked to a goal – a SMART goal, or a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Limited goal. This could be summed up in a sentence or a statement: “To become the premier resource on novelty straws within five years.” Then the objectives sit underneath that – “To gain 100,000 page views for my novelty straw content within three months,” or “Rank on the first page of Google for ‘novelty straws’ by the end of 2023.” If you need help setting marketing goals, Neil Patel has some great quotes about goal setting by some leading marketing experts on his site.
Your content in part will be informed by your audience. Your audience is almost like a persona or character you’re pitching to – 25–34-year-old women who enjoy socialising – and naming that persona “Social Butterfly Jane.” You can determine where they are hanging out online and what other content they consume through analytics.
Using that data, you can establish a voice or tone that is authentically matched to that persona. To that end, you can read similar websites, looking for affinities with similar products or services, or doing boots-on-the-ground market research: your content has to engage your audience specifically lest you risk turning them off. When making content, just like in fiction when fleshing out character, you need to ask: “Would Jane actually enjoy this?”
A style guide is a must, especially if many hands are involved in the content writing project. This ensures brand consistency across all your media. This includes style such as whether you spell out numbers from one to ten; but also tone and certain words that your brand will use (or never use) as part of meeting the expectations of your audience.
This is the next part you need to weigh up – which apps is your persona or audience spending most of their attention? If you are a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, a visual medium such as Instagram or Facebook works best. If you are a B2B rope company (my favourite analogy ever) then LinkedIn and EDMs would probably make more sense. Don’t just create content and shoehorn it into media and expect people to love it – tailor it for the personas you are trying to target.
At this stage, you need to set up data collection and analytics. This may be Facebook Business Suite, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other data gathering tools. This will enable you to do keyword research, find when your most traffic is active, and other drilldowns such as already popular content. This will help you re-evaluate your strategy later on.
Strategy is a byword for planning in advance to achieve a goal later. At this stage, you should have an overall plan of “attack” for your content strategy – how often you will post, where, and at what time. You should also have themes for your content – brand awareness, product highlights, community stories, insights & tips, “hard sales,” etc. This is dependent on your personas, message, and brand voice. Splitting your posts up into themes help you determine what kind of posts work best.
Staring at a blank piece of paper is far more daunting than having a topic to write about. Creativity happens within limitation – and idea generation should have the same sort of parameters. The strategy you’ve created for yourself so far should inform your ideas. What do people need to know? What will be high impact and high performance? If you’re really stuck, you can use idea generation software such as Blog About by Impact – it spits out ideas which you can run with or modify as you see fit.
If you’re a small business and tight on time, you need to set up a workflow from start to finish – who will come up with the creative? Who will write the copy? Who’s responsibility is it to program or schedule the posts? Make sure you delineate each task and give clear direction over who does what – it prevents “too many cooks” and also saves a lot of time and angst. Using a workflow tracking tool like Teams, Monday, or Asana can also help smooth out any potential hang-ups.
After about three months, you need to reconvene your team and look at the data you’ve collected. What’s working? What isn’t? Are the people looking at the content still in the persona we created, or do we need to pivot? Are they clamouring for longer form content, or are they enjoying videos more? A content strategy should be a living, breathing document and process – and continuous improvement means a better return on investment!
If you need a killer content strategy created by someone who’s done it all before and can do it all again, contact me!
Copywriting is to the eye what a salesperson is to the ear.
What does that mean?
That if you’re in business, you need to market your product or service in order to make sales and profit.
Copywriting marketing is the art and science of enticing, engaging, and persuading people to choose your product or service over all others. Copywriting, as I’ve mentioned before, is any piece of writing that is written for the sole purpose of encouraging someone to act – buy, inquire, sign up, etc. The catch all phrase describing this is a conversion – converting a passive on-looker to an actor.
Why is copywriting marketing so important for your business? Here’s why:
Have you ever seen a shop with bright flashing lights and colourful signs only to be greeted by a drab, beige, and uninspiring interior? It’s jarring – because it’s inconsistent. A brand, as the great semanticist S.I. Hayakawa once said, is a symbol of reliability – that each can labelled “Coca Cola” for example will contain refreshing, sweet, bubbly cola. One example of the product is all examples of the product. If your message is inconsistent, wishy-washy, and devoid of intent, visitors will be turned off. People need to connect with your business, and that is your brand identity. Copywriters are integral to establishing that brand and consistency for your business.
It’s all about the SEO – Search Engine Optimisation. If no one can see your site when it comes up in search engine results pages, customers will pass you by. Producing engaging and informative content that search engines find worthy and persuades customers is difficult for someone who isn’t practiced. Copywriting marketing ensures you get the best shot at ranking higher for your business’ keywords and keyword phrases, so you gain more visitors and ultimately, more conversions.
Copywriters are unacknowledged psychologists – like all good authors – they need to understand your target market by stepping into their skin. Just like authors or scriptwriters flesh out ‘real’ characters with solid and identifiable motivations, copywriters speak to those “avatars” or segments of your market. They need to figure out what they need, what they want, what pain points you can solve, and what will drive them to your brand above all others. This might mean an expansion of your market – and finding niche or “blue ocean” or uncontested markets you may not have considered!
One blog post in isolation is fine – but a comprehensive content strategy as part of your entire digital marketing helps your business grow. Ongoing storytelling with compelling content through multiple channels such as social media, blogs, video, and other interactive web elements increases rapport and builds community with your customers. Pre-emptive crisis communication can also help smooth out times when your business falls short of the mark. Copywriters are your friend to roll on the good times – but also ride out the bad.
Not everyone is a copywriter – and it might take a couple of years before you can call yourself one, as I’ve said here – and that’s okay! I’m no accountant (I couldn’t think of anything worse to do, no offense to my accountant friends) so I get someone to help me with my books and tax because it’s not my core business. Outsourcing your copywriting marketing to an expert is an investment in your business’ sustained growth; so why not make the most of it?
Want the advantage of great and engaging copywriting marketing for your business? Contact me!
People often ask me how I became a copywriter in the first place. I half-jokingly say that I “printed up a bunch of business cards, put my name on them, then added ‘copywriter’ underneath.”
It’s a bit of an oversimplification, but that’s essentially how I began my business as a freelance copywriter.
There is no standard definition of “copywriter.” A technical copywriter may focus on documentation and processes, while a creative copywriter writes for marketing and advertising purposes. More on that in my blog about technical vs. creative copywriting here.
There exists copywriters who write exclusively for advertising; others that write direct response or sales letters; some are website copywriters, who may also be called “content writers” interchangeably.
If you are thinking about becoming a copywriter as a career, here are some things to consider.
Unlike other jobs, copywriting is a profession with a low barrier of entry – copywriting is not regulated, nor is it self-regulated or gate-kept by a guild or union. Anyone with an internet connection and a laptop can set up a website or register for a job board such as Upwork or Fiverr and ply their trade.
Training as a copywriter isn’t standardised, nor is it essential. You can read books about copywriting and attempt to emulate the greats such as David Ogilvy or Dan Kennedy. If you have a good – and I mean being in the top ten to five percent of the population - command of English (or your home language) you can “make it” as a copywriter.
The main suite of skills you’ll need to be a copywriter are:
Written communication
Creativity or lateral thinking
Problem solving
Oral communication
Time management
Editing
Business management - if you are going freelance
Studying some type of business finance or management is essential. I recommend the Finance Academy course Managing Business Finance by Chinmay Ananda to get you up to speed.
In Australia, if you absolutely love learning in an academic setting (and I did), you could study a Bachelor of Arts concentrating in English or Media and Communication. A Bachelor of Business or a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing may also include units on copywriting.
However, if you find you need to hone your skills without spending thousands of dollars (and hours) at university, I personally recommend you study a Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing. This teaches you the fundamentals of written English communication in a work context.
If you have your heart set on copywriting as a career, try to apply for as much work experience as you can at your high school or TAFE. Try to get work experience at as many types of agencies or houses as possible – advertising agencies, marketing firms, content writing houses, communications, or PR agencies – so you get a feel for what type of copywriting and editing you are strong at; and what needs work.
In this work context, you should also be able to work to tight deadlines and confusing, sometimes contradictory briefs. You’ll also learn not to take criticism personally and learn from your mistakes. Letting go of attachment to your work is also a must; in the content writing world especially, you are giving voice to someone else!
As mentioned before, the barrier to entry for a copywriter is low. You ideally need a website to show off your portfolio and act as a lead magnet. If you don’t have a portfolio, approach friends and family and offer to refresh their resumes or websites for them.
However, you need to write ads that not only advertise your proficiency as a copywriter, but act as a “free sample” of your work for other businesses. If it can convince them, chances are you can convince their audience their product or service is worth buying too.
Because you are just starting out, you will be tempted by offers from start-ups or ne’er-do-wells asking you to work for “exposure.”
Ignore these people. They are choosing beggars at the very least.
Working for free is not only illegal in Australia, but it also makes it worse for everyone else in the industry.
The number of emails I get saying “I’ll get my cousin/friend/best mate’s brother’s wife to do it for free” would make the average person blush. I simply tell them – if they’re so good, why are you bothering me?
A 400-word blog post may take me 20 minutes to write. However, just like the mechanic who knows exactly where to strike his tiny hammer to fix a car in five seconds – you’re not paying for my time, you’re paying for my expertise.
Even if you hit up family and friends for work, set a price. A junior, fresh out of uni/TAFE/beginner should be able to earn $25-30/hr if they can demonstrate a good level of professionalism and proficiency.
As I always say, be “uneditable” - the less work you make for editors, the more you jobs you’re picked for.
With all that in mind, will you make copywriting your career?
Want to know more? Want a professional to write your copy and content? Get award-winning copywriting from I Sell Words.
How afraid are you of the word No?
Nein. Non. Iie. Nyet. No. (That last one was Spanish and Italian, that one.)
Is your blood running cold? Are you breaking out into a sweat?
As business owners, we don't like the word No. No signals the end of a conversation.
However, as a writer and a grammarian (is that a thing? It is now) the definition of a word isn't the end of an argument, it's the beginning of one.
No, we ain’t gonna take it, the battle cry of the hair metaller can be applied to subjugated populations. No - we don't deserve this treatment. We want to be free.
In a rhetorical sense, not saying yes is a powerful persuasion tool. We might construe it for wit - "How about grabbing that drink with me?"
"Well, I wouldn't say no."
Hey, hang on a sec...
Almost every time you approach someone in sales, you get a guy or gal trying to get you to agree with everything they say.
Imagine this - buying a car. The salesperson strides up to you and bumps the bonnet with an open palm. "She's a beaut, ain't she?"
Well, we don't want to sound rude. We agree. Enough "yes" responses and the prospect is ripe for closing.
But are they?
Presenting a ring to a woman on bended knee and waiting for her "yes" is light years apart from asking the same woman if they enjoy chocolate ice-cream. They exist on two different logical levels; even if we can't articulate it fully. Human communication is context dependent. One size rarely, if ever, fits all.
In business, the Cult of Yes began in 1981, when Harvard Negotiation Project fellows Roger Fisher and William Ury published Getting To YES: Negotiating an agreement without giving in. I own this book. I studied it. Didn't get as many "yes-es" as I'd hoped.
In fact, it reinforced my death-like fear of the word "No." My father stands at about 6'4' (and a half, gotta remember that half) and if he was in a foul mood, I'd loathe asking him for anything as a kid. He was a negotiator by trade. Sometimes I think he just wanted to tell me "no" after acquiescing to "yes" all day. I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission at that point. Just so I didn’t hear the “no.”
Enter former FBI Hostage Negotiator Chris Voss and Never Split The Difference, who emphasises getting to "no" as a way of life. The first thing you should hear is "no." Hearing "no" is fine. It's an obstacle, sure. But as the Stoics say, the obstacle is the way.
"No" isn't the end of the negotiation - at least not always. In the same way that "yes" isn't a commitment to anything.
We need to stop being afraid of the word "no."
It's a compliment to everything affirmative in our vocabulary - not the enemy.
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Image by Peter H from Pixabay
We’ve all been there. The emails, texts, and calls just stop from a promising business lead. We’ve been professionally “ghosted.” How can we cope and how can we prevent it from happening again?
Read MoreToday marks my 1542nd day of self-isolation. I’m not sick or anything. Unless you count full-time freelancing as an illness of the mind.
As much as I love freelancing, it isn’t for everyone. I’m a natural born introvert (and some say, misanthrope) and am most energised when I’m writing instead of talking.
Others are the opposite. I get that too.
So here are some ways to stay sane and be productive at the same time – both of which go hand in hand.
“This is my fifteenth cup of coffee and I’m still not done reorganising my folders.”
1. Be at your desk when you’re meant to
This one is a crucial one. It establishes a routine which you can follow. If you usually start work at 9am, be at your desk at 9am. Even if it is just a shuffle from your bedroom to your new ersatz office setup. Which it should be: don’t work in pyjamas from your bedroom.
If you work from a desk, set up a desk, even if it’s at your kitchen table. Ensure a continuity of your habits at your home. If you sit in a beanbag at work…why?
2. You’re still on company time – remember that
The urge to watch YouTube and play video games on your computer with 1440p screen and GTX 1070 graphics card can overwhelm you at times; but that’s not why you’re at your desk. A quick round of Battlefield 1 or side quest of Kingdom Come: Deliverance may not hurt anyone, but you’re being paid to sit there. Honour the commitment. Play games during your lunch break, or better yet, after knockoff time.
Don’t disappear from your desk for long stretches without explanation. You wouldn’t do it at work, so don’t do it here.
3. Lonely? Use talking heads in the background
Hungarian-American author and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said that every human being can enter a state of “flow” or effortless connectedness to their work, brought on by setting goals and devoting oneself to a challenge. You’ve felt it before when you felt “in the zone” or “switched on.” This means your brain is allocating mental resources to the task above all others.
However, as our brains want to do, ruminate. Some of us feel anxiety when we are isolated. (I’m not one of them. Then again, I’m weird.)
In order to regulate your mental resources and flow state, it’s helpful to have familiar noise in the background such as human voices. They aren’t substitute for the real thing when you’re concentrated on it but will suffice when you’re in a “flow” state. No, I don’t recommend the news at the moment.
I recommend death metal at ear-splitting volume, but that’s just me.
4. Stop eating everything
Seriously, stop that. Don’t order in. Make your own stuff. It’s not only better for you, it’s cheaper. My coffee bill is about $15 per month, because I make my own using a drip filter. Most office working people hit that in about two days.
Go for walks in the afternoon, too. Keep up your gym routine – this is just as important for your mental health as much as it is your physical health.
5. Do your job and do it right
The temptation to do your job half-assed unsupervised is tremendous; but character is what you are in the dark and who you are behind a screen when no-one (you know of) is looking.
Sir Henry Royce said “whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.”
I also say that adulthood is the feeling when, as a kid, you clean your room from top to bottom and your parents (who usually bug you about it) don’t even notice. You do what must be done because it must be done. The mature person does not lust after praise.
In these trying times, hard work, honesty, and helping others are the three elements that will ensure we bring out the best in ourselves and each other.
Let’s get to work.
As a copywriter, I have clients and friends ask me, "How do I improve my writing?" I always say that clarity and concision are the key to making communicatio...
Clients and friends come to me asking about how they can improve their writing? I say that clarity and concision is the best way to communicate. To start with, concentrate on these three things:
1. Read examples
2. Edit yourself
3. Swimmers swim, writers write.
Here is a short video discussing these tips. Got tips of your own? Comment below!
Camera by Dave Kenyon
My latest guest post for Flying Solo:
As soloists, we’ve all heard it before. We’re sitting around at a social event and the topic turns to work. “I couldn’t do what you do.” Or, “How do you cope without the steady pay cheque?” Maybe, “I wish I could wear pyjamas to work!” Sigh.
Then our other friend who’s been gritting their teeth pipes up. The “closet solo.” The one who starts describing their own business idea after only a whisper of prodding. They set their drink on a nearby table (coaster be damned) and they’re off. They’re off mapping out the intricacies of what they’d do, how they’d do it, and how it would help people. Their arms fly like a mad conductor as their vision materialises in their mind’s eye. They might even take to their feet, possessed of the spirit of Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. Then reality sets in. Sinking into their chair and grabbing their drink, they mutter, “I doubt I’d ever get it off the ground.”
According to a report by the Australian Banking Association, nine million Australians have the same desire.
60% of those cited “access to money” as the reason they don’t take their first giant leap into business-kind. That’s five point four million people. Again, with an M.
This breaks down into 55% of men and 65% of women. Two-thirds of those who pine for the soloist life are in the 18-34 age bracket; which is prime “solo time” to shine.
This perception is pervasive, but the fact is, there’s more support out there than you think. Despite a 33% drop in applications for loans, business loan approvals hover around 94%.
So why the reluctance? What’s really stopping us?
I’ve been featured in the blog of business lender Prospa on Small business veterans’ tips for chasing unpaid invoices.
Though some of my clients might think I’m a thorn in their side when invoices become overdue, the fact remains: I’ve done the work. In my view, I’m entitled to payment! One doesn’t order fast food and slip the cashier an “IOU,” so why do it in business?
Read the entire blog, with some tips from other veterans, here.
Seneca The Younger, Stoic Philosopher. (4 BC - 65 CE)
“A man who follows someone else not only does not find anything, he is not even looking. But surely you are going to walk in your predecessors footsteps? Yes indeed, I shall use the old road, but if I find a shorter and easier one I shall open it up. The men who pioneered the old routes are leaders, not our masters. Truth lies open to everyone. There has yet to be a monopoly of truth. And there is plenty of it left for future generations too.”
The world of words we inhabit is so continuous and ever-changing, it is near inseparable from the world of non-words, or things. Sometimes we call this reality. Reality, as author Philip K. Dick defines it, is the “part of life that doesn’t go away when you stop believing in it.” It was this I was pondering when reading Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic the other day. Leaders are made, not born. They are believed in, which gives them their power.
Mastery over others can follow leadership, this is true. The charisma and cunning of leaders throughout history have moved nations into greatness; others have led them straight into a firing line. Once we have accepted someone as leader and master, is there any resolve left to carve our own path? Can we all be leaders? Can we be leaders without being masters?
In my previous blog on mastery, I talked about mastery as the command of a subject or process to it’s highest degree, not mastery as a person having dominion over others. The dominion is a voluntary process; there is no natural law that decrees one person having control over another, at least not in this day and age. Leaders as Masters may use rhetoric, “fear, uncertainty, and doubt” and other tricks to get others under their thumb. Living in a “post-truth” world, they purport to have a monopoly on truth, the same monopoly Seneca denies to any one person.
In business, some think of “leadership” as “mastery” - that they are the boss, they know better, and others should do what they say. This is not leadership, let alone mastery. Mastery, as I discussed earlier, is the attitude that one has achieved so much that there is nothing more to be learned. This too is folly.
I think that leaders can be learned from. Leaders who have both succeeded and failed in their pursuits are excellent learning tools. They led the way into a new market, a new field of study, a new path; and right now is the time we push the frontier of what’s unknown back a little more.
As humans, we are the only creatures we know of that bind time; that is, project our knowledge into the future through our children and (hopefully) build upon it. This is what Seneca means by “there is plenty left for future generations.” Their chase for wisdom has only just begun, and may teach us something in the process.
When I see “thought leaders” and “business leaders” in print, my mind turns to the “mastery” definition of leaders - that they must have followers to be leaders. I don’t think that definition, at least for me, cuts it any more. Perhaps we should think of leaders as those who got their first, or those who are trying something new, or those who speak truth when it falls on deaf ears. Leaders need not be sitting atop piles of riches to be leaders. Military leaders can charge into battle and be forced to retreat. In the absence of anyone willing, leadership appears when someone says “I’ll do it.”
All can be leaders, if we live in accordance with nature; that is, seek truth and concern ourselves with “what is going on” instead of “what’s inside our heads.” Following the majority will lead to mediocrity after all, as Seneca once wrote in his Letters.
Leaders only have mastery over us if we give it to them.
Homer Simpson winning the NASA astronaut contest by default. Courtesy Frinkiac
Last year, I was pitted against a client turned enemy - someone I’d trusted until one day…he simply refused to pay.
Until a business owner is faced with a bad debtor, it’s hard figuring out what to do. Thanks to some help from friends, family, and the good people over at Flying Solo, I tried my hardest to recover what was owed to me.
Client X, as I’ll describe him, was something of an entrepreneur himself. He had a few fingers in more than a few pies. He dabbled in marketing, lead generation, and sales of parts in the construction industry. He hired me to bolster his personal brand. This was in August of last year.
I wrote some blogs based on his opinions, which he supplied to me. He also asked me to come up with some “inspirational quotes” for his Instagram. The type successful people never post on Instagram, because they’re too busy chasing the next opportunity. I digress.
As usual, I sent my invoices out with 14 day terms.
As the 14th day arrived, I sent out a reminder. Then an overdue reminder. And another. Then another.
After about a week or two, Client X confessed he was having trouble with his own debtors. I sympathised, and suggested we work out a payment plan. He paid about 20% of the invoice and promised to pay the rest off over the next four weeks.
The payments never came.
What to do? My only real recourse was to send him a Letter of Demand. This came back “return to sender” and “no such address.” Something I didn’t expect, since I gained the details from an ASIC extract.
So I had to go down the legal route. I told Client X by way of my assistant I’d take the case before VCAT.
I did.
I won (plus the VCAT fee.)
It wasn’t enough.
He came back with a laundry list of excuses as to why he wouldn’t pay. He said the company had no assets, and all he’d be willing to give me was another 20% of what I was owed.
I told him that was unacceptable.
The drama dragged on into December. I was at a wits’s end. I turned to the Flying Solo forums. Many offered a bit of camraderie, but similar head scratching. Until Tracy Fowler replied:
There are a couple of things you can do. You can list a default against him with a credit reporting agency... this will affect his credit rating for a period of 5 years whenever he goes for finance, as he is a director, it will affect his personal rating as well. You must give adequate notice of your intent to list a default... I usually send 3 emails or letters giving 7 days to respond, with the fourth contact 3 days later, and the fifth and final notice on the day I intend on listing the default. For the default, I would recommend using Creditorwatch, there is a $20 or $30 monthly fee for joining, but it gives you up to 5 credit reports, (which everyone should use prior to giving credit terms) and listing defaults are free. Creditorwatch are only for B2B transactions and the debt has to be over $150.00…
I have had debtors come back 2 years after a default and pay the debt and costs to have the default amended to paid, so that they can obtain finance. There are no guarantees, but at least it is a warning to others.
The other thing you can do is take yourself off to the local magistrates court and use the VCAT order to obtain judgement. This also stays on their credit file for 5 years, and affects their ability to obtain finance in the future.
I knew about filing defaults against individuals from my finance copywriting, but not about companies - this was golden advice.
Once I wielded the word default aloft like Excalibur, the fur started to fly.
Client X was dogged in his determination to hold on to his money. When I said I’d lodge a default against his company through CreditorWatch, he was furious.
He ranted and raved that he’d sue me for “deformation” (I think he meant defamation) even though I’d dotted every “i” when it came to getting what I was owed. He said he’d get my default “removed within a day”. I retorted (perhaps cheekily) that if he had enough money to pay for a lawyer, he had enough money to pay me the full amount.
December rolled into January 2019, and I did indeed register a default against his company. This company is now in voluntary administration. Will I ever see the money? I doubt I have a Cuba Gooding, Jr. like confidence to shout it at anyone in particular.
Some friends asked why I just didn’t take the money and settle it. At one point, I tried. He wasn’t acting in good faith, and I rescinded the offer. He was trying to get this monkey off his back by any way possible.
What Client X owed me wasn’t a massive amount (less than $500), but it was significant. Either way, it was the principle of the thing. If I allow myself to get fleeced, have my boundaries violated, then who else might take advantage? As a solo business owner, I value my time, which is why I dare make a living off it.
I think as a professional communicator, the meta-communication in this says “If you value my product, you must also value my time - and I trade my time for money.” I hope other soloists and small business owners can learn from my experience. As frustrating as they were.
Paul from the FS forums summed it up best: “Order work, then pay for it.”
Special thanks to Tracy at BDM Credit Management for all her help and advice!
Imagine this scenario. You’re at the gym with your good friend, and you wince as you get up from a particularly gnarly stretch. Grabbing your back, your friend tells you, “You should see my chiropractor. She’s great.”
Of course, your friend hasn’t captured this hapless medical professional and stored her in the attic, just in case. But the language around who we trust with our business is that of ownership.
Owning our opinions, choices, and mistakes is an integral part of maturity. It is one reason “I” statements demonstrate that willingness to “own our shit.”
Owning whom we place our sacred trust in is vital to our business experience.
When I first started out in journalism, my first ever piece was published in Buzz Magazine, the "biggest" street press in South-East Australia (it asked you to take out a ruler and measure.) I remember holding it in my hands, proud as a father taking home his newborn. Of course, as time marched on, the afterglow of publication dimmed. (When you're an editor, you sell the dark lightbulb for ad space.)
I'm chuffed to say I experienced it again over the weekend, as Pascall published a social post I helped create (the post ideas and action copy) for their Better Together campaign. It was a lot of fun to make with the entire Online Circle Digital team - I'm so grateful for my time there and how it turned out! See it below:
Rely on friends to warm up your winter moments. Get cosy with our delicious duo - Pascall Marshmallows and Cadbury Hot Chocolate! #Pascall #Cadbury #lollies #NewZealand #BetterTogether
12 Likes, 1 Comments - Pascall (@pascalllollies) on Instagram: "Rely on friends to warm up your winter moments. Get cosy with our delicious duo - Pascall..."
What feels normal to us, seems extraordinary to most others.
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John, a man in his late 20s, well-educated, and from a loving family home is sitting across from two executives in a modern, fishbowl-style boardroom. We hear the faint murmur of keyboards clacking, phones warbling and footsteps on carpet. John has hung up his suit jacket on his chair. Amanda is looking through his crisp white resume, scribbling notes and lines on it every so often. Peter, who is wearing an open collar chequer shirt, has his hands clasped in front of him on the oak table. John is angling to be their next communications manager.
John feels that the interview is going well. He’s answered all their questions without so much as a stumble, and the vibe in the room is upbeat, positive. He has a strong rapport with both Amanda and Peter, and they seem to be warm to him.
“So,” Peter says, “Do you have anything you want to ask us?” Amanda places the resume on the table and meets John’s gaze.
“I do,” John says, smiling. “What happens if you don’t find a suitable candidate?”
Both stare him a blank.
John clears his throat and shuffles around in his chair. “For this job, I mean. What happens next?”
Amanda narrows her eyes and cocks her head. “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“Well, do you each have a boss? Someone you both report to?”
“Yes, of course,” Peter replies.
“So, let’s say you don’t find the right person. What happens next?”
Amanda and Peter turn to each other. Wheels are turning in Amanda’s head as she begins her reply at John
“Well, we’d have a meeting with our senior partner in charge of recruitment,” she says. “We’d outlay all the candidates and provide reasons why they were unsuccessful.”
John nods his head. “Yes, go on.”
Peter leans back, easing himself into the hypothetical.
“Then we would plan for how to fill the position.”
“I see,” John says. He searches his lap for a moment, and asks another question.
“So how would you find new candidates?”
“Oh, we’d ask the recruitment company to conduct a wider search. Cast a wider net.”
“Would you offer more money? More benefits?” John asks.
Peter cracks a wry smile. “That’s up to our senior partner,” he says with a smirk of pride.
A beat of silence follows. John is lost in thought for a moment.
“And who would be responsible?”
Without hesitation, Peter answers.
“Oh, the recruitment company. They should have done their job, considering we’ve paid for a service.”
Amanda agrees. “Absolutely. If they don’t perform again, we’ll probably find another recruitment company who will.”
“Yes, I see,” John says. “Would the senior partner get upset?”
Peter clears his throat again. “Kevin can be a hot-head at times, but I can’t see him getting that upset about it.”
“No,” Amanda clarifies, “I doubt he’d call for our heads, or anything like that,” she laughs. Peter laughs too, though John can see he’s a bit nervous.
“Cool,” John says. “Well, I can tell both of you right now how you can avoid that meeting, if you’d like. Just a complimentary thing,” he holds up his hands in mock surrender. “No strings attached.”
The pair both lean forward to listen. “Shoot,” Peter says, smiling.
“You could hire me right now, and you wouldn’t ever have to schedule that meeting. Just saying.”
John smiles as both Peter and Amanda chuckle.
A little later, John shakes both Peter and Amanda’s hand and thanks them for their time. He wishes them the best of luck in their search. Peter and Amanda are puzzled.
Evaluate the following:
Why did John decline the position?
What did the hypothetical meeting tell John about the company?
Would you work for this company, given the information provided?
I'm delighted to formally announce my seminar for the Bayside Business Network Seminar Series! Here are the details:
What’s the secret to a great turn of phrase? Can you learn to think different? Or can you Just do it? Can a simple clutch of words turn a brand from meh into I’m Lovin’ It?
Turning Phrases, Turning Heads takes the mystery out of words – business’ most powerful ally and most fearsome foe. Learn simple ways to turn drab prose into clear, concise and dynamic writing. Enhance your business by mastering the basics of rhetoric, persuasion and cutting through to customers (well, metaphorically of course.) Spur your thoughts into intention, your intention into action and your action into success. (I’ll also teach you the term for that rhetorical turn of phrase, too!) Learn the best tips for keeping people on your site, buying from you and coming back for more.
Lapsed writers, nervous scribblers and maths nerds all – you too can coin masterful phrases and turn heads in this fun, engaging and enlightening seminar!
Cost: FREE for members, $25 for non-members.
I've always wanted to say I write "award-winning" copy. Now I can! I've won the 2015 APAC Insider Business Award for Best Copywriting in Melbourne!
According to the mag, "It is the job of the 2015 APAC Insider Business Awards to seek out the very best firms, departments, individuals and initiatives from across the Asia Pacific region and to reward their innovation, client care and, it goes without saying, stellar performance over the past 12 months.
"[APAC Insider] takes rewarding the top performers in this region very seriously and each award programme and category has been meticulously tailored to provide a comprehensive overview of the very best each market, industry and sector has to offer."
A great Christmas present for I Sell Words copywriting, no?
I've been copywriting for one of my dearest clients, Savvy Finance, for over a year and a half. Like every business reliant on technology, I back up. Everything. Once to the cloud and again on an external hard drive. Looking all the content I've written for Savvy, I've chalked up 330 articles at the time of writing. Without giving too much away, that's 138,600 words. That's over ten times as long as my master's thesis. The U.S. National Novel Writing Month sets a 50,000 word benchmark - and that's an entire novel. In essence, I've written 2 and a bit books' worth for that great company, and I'm happy to have done it.
So why can't we all write that book? Or at least, something of equal or greater length. It seems that I've already written a few "books" since I started my business all those months ago. Speaking from my own perspective...well, it's all about perspective.
Writing a book or a long-form piece can feel like a task that will take the better part of your life to complete. It's a supertask - a task which takes infinite time to complete. Sort of like writing down the history of your life in pinpoint detail. It can't be done.
Writing a book can, especially if you break it down into chunks. Or, don't even think about it like a book. A book I'm currently reading, Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard. It's based on his boyhood, growing up amid World War II in Shanghai. Delving deeper, it reads like a series of vignettes tied together by a common theme. Unconventional, but it works. It won him the James Tait Memorial Prize and a Man Booker Prize shortlisting for his efforts, too.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking about sending a reply text to someone only to realise you haven't actually done it? Talking about doing things is a form of action in and of itself, although it produces nothing of value. Even subvocalising is a form of "action" for some people. A little less conversation and more action. In fact, this blog post is a product of that - I didn't just think about writing this blog post - I actually did it!
What's the difference between you and a novel writer? The novel writer was once in your position, now they're published.
If you're writing for the celebrity and the riches, don't. Writing creatively is one of my "rewards" for a day's job well done. It's up there with exercising, cooking a tasty meal and hanging out with friends. Writing should be its own reward. Doing it for others seldom yields good results.
What is your experience with these sorts of writing tasks?
Andrew W.K. by Jonathan Thorpe, courtesy Metro Times. My "king" of authenticity.
It's been a whirlwind few months at ISW, with plenty of new projects coming in. One aspect they all share in common is authenticity.
Authenticity is hard to come by in this day and age. The paragon of "authentic" media in the face of "stodgy old fossils" is the VICE brand. VICE was founded in Montreal in 1994. VICE was and still is printing a free "edgy" and in your face magazine, satirising and promoting new trends, music and underground culture. By the end of the decade, they had local editions in the US, UK, Australia.
In the late 2000s, they moved into new media, producing documentaries on topics the "old media" found unprofitable. Now they have a weekly documentary series screened on premium cable channel HBO. They're also launching a half-hour daily news bulletin. It was transformed from a locally funded zine into a $915 million (US) digital media empire. Though they've reined in their brash and often controversial style, they've made a killing by staying true to their authentic roots - even if their success is underpinned by commercialism.
Businesses, like individuals, believe they can achieve greatness by "faking it" until they make it. For VICE, being who they are without apology launched them to unsurpassed heights while comparable media companies fell.
Do you strive for authenticity? Do you know a business or company that might benefit from a dose of authenticity? Let me know! I'd love to have a conversation with them.