What’s on the iPod: So Long, Sweet Misery by Brett Dennen
If you heard rejoicing yesterday, that would be me. Yesterday was an AMEN day. As I sat trying to get the meat of an article and two small projects completed, a favorite client came knocking with not one, but two projects due by the first week of January. I was marketing myself into a stupor, and this came along at the right time.
Another neat thing came along yesterday – a guide to an upcoming conference. Why I love these – they list presenters and sessions, sure. But they also list exhibitors, and that’s a ready-made list of potential clients in an industry I already work with. Some people see it as junk mail. I see it as a big ol’ pack of opportunity. Merry Christmas to me.
I’ve also decided that yesterday – not January 1st – was my resolution day. Mind you, I’m not a fan of resolutions. I’m a fan of action plans. But since some people’s eyes glaze over at the thought of another “plan”, I’ll call it whatever gets your attention.
Why did I choose yesterday? Because every day is a chance to start anew. Every single day presents the opportunity to refocus your energies, restyle your plans, and head into new areas. If we waited until January 1st, chances are our business plans would look like “I want to double my income – oh, and lose ten pounds.” The business shouldn’t be an afterthought, nor should it be mixed in with personal goals.
Even the “I want to double my income” is sort of a personal goal, isn’t it? It would be better instead if you said something like “I will increase my business income 10 percent by these methods: …. ” Doubling the income – hey, even my mother wants that. Doubling the business income, and attaching a modicum of a plan, keeps you focused on the business, and gives you a headstart on how you’ll do it.
So, instead of waiting until January 1st, tell me right now. What are your resolutions/action plans for your business? See if you can frame it in a business-y way.
My plan is to get more involved with the Chamber of Commerce and land more local business clients, now that I've moved.
As usual, the fiction will take priority, because it does, and I've got a variety of large fiction pieces and plays to work on, but I also want to promote local businesses — the people behind them here are amazing, and they deserve a wider audience.
And I'm the one to introduce them to the world! 😉
There you go! Great idea. 🙂
I want to broaden my client base and find the seemingly illusive (to me, anyway) clients who value writers and our talent. Toward that end, several LOIs will be going out before the new year. My fingers are crossed that my sister is designing a website for my Christmas gift. That would help a lot.
I already have two new potential clients lined up. Neither one pays close to the $1/word mark, but they're blogs that pay at least double what one especially "bragadocious" writing blogger claims is her fee for blog posts. So that's something.
Sounds like a great goal, Paula. And any time you improve your rate, even if it's not $1/word, it's a step in the right direction.
Ten years ago I was getting $1/word from two clients. Seven years ago one paid me $2/word.
In 2001 one of the $1/word magazines folded after something like 28 years in business. The $2/word place eventually cut their rates and started doing the bulk of work in-house. Thankfully the one magazine still pays roughly $1/word, but most of their assignments have shrunk from 800 words to 300-words or less.
Then there's the place that paid 75-cents/word and "temporarily" cut back to 50-cents/word….two years ago.
Sometimes just trying to keep pace is an uphill battle.
Wow. That's rotten luck, Paula! Any way these places are connected, either by industry or market? If so, look elsewhere.
I'm planning to push more into the magazine market. I have a few I'm checking out and researching.I can then see what ideas I can come up with to try and pitch.
I'll have to brush up on how to write query letters, since it's been awhile since I tried it. So, some more researching to do, but I can handle that.
Those are three of the very top publications in my area of specialty, Lori. There's only one other, but they refuse to use the same writers as their biggest competitor (which indeed is one of the markets I mentioned above.)
That's one problem with starting at the top – no bigger markets to tackle.
For more than a year I've been trying to shift some of my work to covering other industries (I've never put all the eggs in one basket), but the trend seems to be starting all "new" writers off on the low end of the pay scale…despite the fact that I've sold more than 600 articles to publications spanning dozens of different subject areas.
Still, I'm better than a friend who specialized in what was a lucrative field until the downturn and lost some major clients. I'm just annoyed that pay rates never seem to go up. She's scrambling to replace longtime clients and a good portion of her income.
A funny thing happened along the way in 2010. I landed several white paper gigs in the health industry. I love them, they pay well, and my plan is to do targeted marketing for them.
I also love, love, love case studies, but haven't landed as many as I'd like. So, those are going to be two main targets for me in 2011.
My plan is to roll out my own white paper to use for marketing purposes.
Hi, i just want to say hello to the community
Go get those case studies, Cathy! And white papers are interesting, aren't they? If they're done properly, they're a chance to inform and show your expertise. Sadly, plenty of clients think they're long advertorials.