Words on the Page

Five Things Hockey Teaches You About Marketing

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Strange Girl by The Airborne Toxic Event For a Monday, it was pretty busy yesterday. I had a list waiting from a client, and I managed all but one item, which isn’t back from the client’s client yet. I’m hoping to wrap that up today. I’m also in a holding pattern:…

Writers Worth – Here it Comes….

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Yeah! by Usher How was the weekend? I spent mine outdoors, first at an early-morning wedding (and Jenn looked radiant) then most of Saturday afternoon digging out around the rhubarb and moving plants. I moved a bunch of rudbekia, some daisies, and rerouted the forget-me-nots, which were leaping all over the…

Marketing Ploys That No One Tells You Are Bad: Until Now

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Hypocritical Kiss by Jack White I have never bought anything from any offer coming in over my fax line. There. I’ve said it. Now stop faxing me. In fact, there are any number of marketing tactics that are, for the most part, annoying as hell. Not exactly the best impression to leave…

Open Thread: Getting Them to Yes

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Simple Song by The Shins Hop on over to Jenn Mattern’s All Freelance Writing blog where I’m guest posting today. Give Jenn some comment love. I’m making progress. Yesterday I spent a good bit of time framing in and researching an article. I felt like I was at it all day….

The Efficient Freelancer

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: I’m Shakin’ by Jack White It was one of those days yesterday where the plans to get work done were trumped by other things. Phone calls and emails to clear up details ruled, so I just went with it. I have one hard deadline this week, so there’s still time. I…

Four Teaching Moments

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons I shouldn’t be surprised that my forearms are hurting. I spent seven hours this weekend in the garden, trimming the marjoram into submission, losing the onion grass (and all those buried nodules), buttercups 9and their nodules), vetch (and those miles of roots), and moving sedum, daisies, coreopsis, coneflower, you…

Monthly Assessment: April 2012

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Blunderbuss by Jack White How was your weekend? I finished last week feeling rather proud of myself. I worked on not one, but four client projects Friday alone. One is a client article, so that work is just beginning, but I did a little research and studied the company’s previous newsletters…

Beginning the Career

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Summer Sun by Jukebox the Ghost Good day yesterday. I conducted one interview, one client marketing materials critique and follow-up discussion, and pounded out a customer case study. I love being busy. LOVE it. Today, I’m continuing with the case studies, putting together a proposal for some new client projects, and…

Overcoming the Catch 22

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Bittersweet by Feist Yesterday was an interesting mix of marketing, communications gone awry, and paying out what I don’t have. A few marketing notes back to conference attendees confused the recipients. Can’t go into detail, but let’s just say in one case, my attempt to repeat back a humorous exchange failed…

What They Don’t Teach You in J School

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons That’s more like it — I spent yesterday actually getting out some portfolios to my conference contacts. The morning was nuts; we had a meditation monk staying over and the check-engine light on his car was flashing like mad. Luckily, it was a…

Damaria Senne

I learnt that I will sometimes get it wrong. The trick is to learn to deal with it as graciously as possible and fix it, instead of panicking, blaming someone or wallowing in self-pity. Acknowledge it, fix it, move on. Most clients will appreciate how you handled the mistake instead of dwelling on the fact that there was a mistake in the first place.

Devon Ellington

No one will respect you until you respect yourself. Don't use qualifiers in your speech or pitches — use definitive words. But be sure you can back them up.

Lori

Damaria, that's actually a great lesson. We have to know how to graciously accept fault and quickly fix it.

Devon, exactly the reason I'm here — to show how that self-respect can help you create a fantastic business. Good one!

Jake P

Back in the '80s, my dad refused to sell our old Ford LTD stationwagon for less than $250, if I recall correctly. He parked it in a little notch in the woods next to our driveway…where it became a mouse hotel. Eventually, it got towed away for $50 bucks to the junkyard.

To point #1: One of my newsletter clients has another writer who did exactly what you're talking about. Yesterday, the client received a cease and desist letter to take down a press release that this guy had literally cut and pasted two paragraphs into. I was stunned that my fellow writer, who seems like a decent enough guy from our internet chatter, would do that.

Paula

One thing you learn on the job is people always want to change things, when they're the client it's within their right. When they're the source, it's not.

It's human nature to want to come across in the best light possible, but what some "changers" don't realize is too much change does more harm than if they'd just trusted the writer and editor to do their jobs.

Anne Wayman

I wonder why they don't teach this sort of thing in schools… they're all life lessons, except maybe the cease and desist order – Jake that's just weird.

Of course they don't teach balancing checkbooks in school either…

Ronda Levine

How to run the business side of things, how to take rejection without critique, how to cope when you need to create your own job description (after all, with 1 out of 2 college graduates unemployed, survival skills are necessary) – there's a LOT that wasn't taught that I needed to learn in the survival/life skills arena.

Wade Finnegan

Knowing your own limits and having the confidence to stick up for yourself is crucial. I try very hard to put others first, but that doesn't mean I let people walk all over me. I'm providing a service and if they feel that my service isn' worth my fee, then they have the right to look else where.

I must ask, what is a meditation monk?

Lori

Jake, these monks share the car and it really is a mouse/squirrel hotel. The monks park it for long periods, so the critters just eat whatever they can find.

Stolen content on a press release? That's not just illegal — it's pathetic! How hard are press releases, and honestly, why would you need to steal the content? I'm guessing he stole someone else's descriptors. Geez. That's kind of sad.

Paula, they're leaving their mark on it. In most cases, that's perfectly fine. There are, however, those cases of a committee-reviewed piece that goes through twelve changes because everyone wants to show they contributed. Yuck.

Anne, I suppose because those teaching don't have the real-world experience. How many professors have actually worked as a freelancer? Probably very few.

Actually, I had a tenth-grade English teacher who did teach us how to make out checks and keep the register. She took one class to do it, and it's been serving me well for years. I still thank her every time I balance my accounts. She had good insight into what we'd need in life.

Ronda, it's as if they need to include some kind of real-life boot camp to get us up to speed. You're so right on every point. These are things we have to learn ourselves — sometimes the hard way!

Wade, super comment. Yes, knowing our limits keeps us from devaluing our own businesses and skills.

A meditation monk — the meditation group I belong to (from India) has male and female monks. They're like priests in that they teach meditation and the meaning behind it, along with the lessons of the guru, and they also live a celibate life and are not allowed to conduct commerce, so they rely solely on the charity of others. They're the ones who run the schools in Haiti, Russia, Africa, etc. and who start programs for the homeless, for battered women, to feed people who don't have food…. I don't mind giving to people so actively engaged in service to others. 🙂

Wade Finnegan

Wow, that is amazing work they are doing. I learn something new everyday.

Jake P

Given a monk's sensibilities, he probably doesn't want to harm the animals, but he *should* realize that they'll chew on the wiring, which will be a lot more expensive than $70! 🙂 Maybe the engine compartment is big enough for a Hav-a-heart trap…

And as far as the plagiarist situation, I know–is there anything easier to blah blah out than a press release? Lazy.

Lori

Ah Wade, they even wear orange garb! It really is amazing work they do. They inspire me to do whatever I can in my own area.