Читать книгу Start & Run a Copywriting Business - Steve Slaunwhite - Страница 34

You’ve probably heard of the Shadow Dad for a Day or Visit Mom at Work programs at school. Well, here’s your chance to spend a day with me. Be my shadow, and see for yourself what a typical day may hold for you in the future.

7:00 a.m.

My usual starting time. After having breakfast with my family, I walk upstairs to my home office. As I turn on my computer I can still hear the sometimes distracting sounds of my wife and daughter getting ready for work and daycare. A friend of mine, also self-employed, has actually soundproofed his home office. I’m not willing to go that far. Personally, I enjoy working with the audible nuances of family life playing in the background. Much better, in fact, than the chatter of a busy office.

I check my e-mail and voice mail and review my schedule. I like to plan my work hour by hour as soon as I receive a client project. But a copywriter’s schedule changes constantly. Today, my plans include working on a new brochure for an insurance company for most of the morning. In the afternoon, I will read background materials and make notes on a new website I’m writing for a software firm.

As I look out my home office window, I can see my wife and daughter pulling out of the driveway. I wave.

Now, the house is quieter, and I begin to write. I write about half a page as quickly as I can. Then I go over it, fix it up, polish it here and there, and move on. I use this simple but effective writing system as I make my way through the brochure.

9:00 a.m.

After two hours, I have completed a clean rough draft. It’s far from finished. There is still a lot of improving, editing, and massaging to do. I may completely rewrite entire passages, but the essence of the brochure is there in words — and this is a lot less stressful to work with than a blank screen.

I take a break, stretch, and get a coffee. Jill, the manager of client services for an advertising agency in the city, calls. She’s one of my better clients. “Steve, I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier,” Jill begins, “but we landed a new client last Friday. And they want us to put together a series of brochures. The time frame is tight. Can you possibly make a brainstorm session tomorrow afternoon?”

Off-site meetings with clients are not an everyday occurrence for self-employed copywriters. I attend such meetings no more than three or four times a month. Most project information, in fact, can be exchanged by e-mail, fax, couriers, phone calls, and conference calls. But when I do get a request from a good client to meet, I usually agree.

We set our meeting for 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. I always try to schedule meetings for mid-afternoon, because this maximizes my writing time for the rest of the day. I’ve found that when I attend a meeting any earlier in the day, I have trouble getting back into the writing groove when I return to my office.

9:15 a.m.

I take a few minutes to readjust my plans for the day. Because I feel comfortable with my progress on the brochure, I decide to dedicate the remainder of the morning to reviewing the background materials for a website I’m writing.

As I go through the mountain of documents my client sent me — old brochures, press releases, ads, memos, proposals — I freely highlight, circle, and make side notes while culling the key benefits, unique advantages, and other important information needed to make the website effective.

12:00 noon

I take a break at lunch, go downstairs, and fix myself a sandwich. One of the things I love about being self-employed is working in the comfort of home. I don’t have to line up at a busy restaurant or eat a meal at my desk. I can relax at the kitchen table, read the paper, or watch the news.

12:30 p.m.

A half hour later I return to my office and continue on the website.

1:30 p.m.

The phone rings. The caller is the marketing manager of a mid-sized technology firm. He explains he was given my name by one of my current clients and says, “We have a direct-mail package we need put together to generate leads for our sales staff. But, before we go any further, could you send us some information on your services, and perhaps some samples of your work?”

I thank him for his call and tell him I would be delighted to have an opportunity to quote on his project. I make it a point to put together the information he needs, so it can be mailed today. I also make a note to thank my current client for the referral.

2:00 p.m.

I make some follow-up calls on leads and inquiries I’ve received over the past couple of weeks. I also take some time to review a postcard mailing I’m planning to send to marketing managers of key software firms. Although my workload is generally full, I schedule time each day for marketing and other business activities. I’m busy. And I want to stay busy.

2:30 p.m.

I’ve been working on the website for a while today and my energy level is starting to ebb. I decide to switch gears and begin work on an Internet direct-mail piece I’m writing for a major client. Internet direct mail — which is not to be confused with spam e-mail — is very similar to a sales letter. I love writing these, and enjoy the challenge.

4:00 p.m.

My day is almost over. I clear my desk, sketch out my work plan for tomorrow, and notice that an e-mail has come in. It reads:

“Hi Steve. We all liked the work you did on the sales letter and brochure package. We made some comments on a couple of sections, however. Could you take a look at these and get back to us in the morning? Thanks, Bill.”

There is a file attached. I open it and review the comments Bill and his team have made. Pretty minor, mainly concerning content. I e-mail him back saying I’ll schedule time tomorrow to call them and that I can have a revised version to them within two business days.

On another project — a small sales brochure nearing completion — I make a call to the designer and ask if she can send me a pdf of the layout by e-mail. Portable document format (PDF) files, used with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader, are a common way to view graphic files across different computer platforms. I work on a PC, but most designers use Macs. The designer agrees to send me the file and says, “It’s a work in progress. Please give me your opinion of the layout.” In my experience, the more closely I can work with the designer, the better the results for my client.

4:15 p.m.

Time to pick up my daughter. It’s been a great day.

Typical day? I admit, this one does sound a bit idyllic. Some days are much more hectic, especially if the day includes travel to a client meeting. But it’s not too far off the mark — and similar, I suspect, to the workdays of many busy copywriters.

Can you see yourself spending your day this way? Or do the writing tasks, solitude, and client demands I describe seem overwhelming? Only you can decide.