On being a beginner
I had a delightful e-mail exchange this morning with one Catherine H., a self-described neophyte who sought my advice on marketing her copywriting services.
I was delighted to respond, partly because her e-mail was so polite and articulate (many of the requests I get are not; often they're little more than electronic pokes in the chest -- "I'm a writer. Tell me how to market myself."), and because I keenly remember what it was like to be in her position.
Time for a flash-back:
Way back when I started, I was delighted with a new computer -- a 75Mhz Pentium -- my brother Christopher had been kind enough to give me. Like a kid with unlimited credit in a candy store, I was thrilled with all the new flavors available to me, including this mysterious virtual highway called the Internet. In fact, I discovered this service, Compuserve (remember them?) that even had forums, for people like me, dedicated exclusively to freelance writing.
What a wonderful thing, I thought. A community of like-minded souls, sharing advice, experience, even emotional support.
Talk about naive...
In one of my first posts to the group, I explained that I was a newly minted freelance copywriter examining his marketing options. Given their experience, would the forum participants recommend cold-calling? Mail? Had they any success with advertising?
Within minutes, I got the following message: "I don't mean to seem rude, but if you don't know how to market yourself, how do you expect to market others?"
Bang. Another illusion bites the dust. If the Internet dream was of a virtual community of mutually-supportive citizens, the reality is something else entirely. Often, it's the playground of weak people who use the medium's anonymity to give themselves power they couldn't otherwise acquire.
So today, I make an effort to offer what support I can. If you're new to copywriting, I'm glad to help. I appreciate it when you buy my book, but that's not a prerequisite. Just be nice.
I was delighted to respond, partly because her e-mail was so polite and articulate (many of the requests I get are not; often they're little more than electronic pokes in the chest -- "I'm a writer. Tell me how to market myself."), and because I keenly remember what it was like to be in her position.
Time for a flash-back:
Way back when I started, I was delighted with a new computer -- a 75Mhz Pentium -- my brother Christopher had been kind enough to give me. Like a kid with unlimited credit in a candy store, I was thrilled with all the new flavors available to me, including this mysterious virtual highway called the Internet. In fact, I discovered this service, Compuserve (remember them?) that even had forums, for people like me, dedicated exclusively to freelance writing.
What a wonderful thing, I thought. A community of like-minded souls, sharing advice, experience, even emotional support.
Talk about naive...
In one of my first posts to the group, I explained that I was a newly minted freelance copywriter examining his marketing options. Given their experience, would the forum participants recommend cold-calling? Mail? Had they any success with advertising?
Within minutes, I got the following message: "I don't mean to seem rude, but if you don't know how to market yourself, how do you expect to market others?"
Bang. Another illusion bites the dust. If the Internet dream was of a virtual community of mutually-supportive citizens, the reality is something else entirely. Often, it's the playground of weak people who use the medium's anonymity to give themselves power they couldn't otherwise acquire.
So today, I make an effort to offer what support I can. If you're new to copywriting, I'm glad to help. I appreciate it when you buy my book, but that's not a prerequisite. Just be nice.
4 Comments:
I came across your site, Jonathan, after reading one of your articles on MarketingProfs.com. The article told me a lot about how people choose copywriters, but it also told me a lot about you. When I contacted you, I had already guessed that you might be generous with your advice and kind in your approach to me, because those traits were evident in your writing. And I know what you mean about personalities on the Internet. Here, in this wired world where we all must venture, there are all kinds of folks. Civilization breaks down when everyone is anonymous and no one is accountable. There are nasty, sharp-toothed creatures who strike out from their dusty little burrows and leave you wanting armor of some sort. But there are also people who invite you sit in a comfortable place and listen as they give away for free what it cost them dearly to earn: experience, knowledge, cautions. I'm always afraid to contact the big guns, because I'm afraid they'll be really, really mean to me, and I'll have to run away, but as it turns out, the people who really know what they're doing, who really have something going on, are the ones who give the most, and maybe that's why they've gotten where they are.
Excellent insight Catherine.
I too have noticed a pattern on the web - those writers, web developers and businesses that are committed to making the internet a better place seem to be the most successful.
Offering sound, sage advice from the heart is what moves people, and it seems - moves business. This is a quality I discerned in Jonathan's book and that seems to be why it's one of the most read and re-read books on my office shelf.
Keep fighting the good fight!
A million years ago, when I was a theatre major in college, I saw this phenomenon in a slightly different form. There were people who were conceited, boorish bullies, and there were people who were generous, kind, and always found something nice to say to you no matter how badly your monologue may have sucked. Guess which group was the more talented?
There are trolls on every website, but I'm noticing that on the ones frequented by grownups, they are vastly outnumbered by the people who are happy to give, and I'm thankful for that. I'm hoping to launch my career next spring and I'm currently reading every book I can get my hands on (Jonathan, believe it or not, yours was the first), but the internet forums are filling the small gap between what's in print and what's happenin' NOW. I'm more confident in my knowledge because of the web, and I'm very, *very* glad that Al Gore invented it. ;)
I thought the question was a good one, actually, and the lesson is to overcome the temptation to be offended. The stimulus is always neutral. I would answer the wuestion this way; "By doing what I am doing here, starting with research instead of preconceptions, since each market is differenet, although marketing principles remaint he same."
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