Ad Copy – Fearless Ink

Ink-Dipped Advice: Content Calendar Tips

*image courtesy of Myraims-Fotos via Pixabay.com*

Welcome back! I hope you had a lovely summer. Taking regular breaks from content creation (not just creating extra content ahead of time and scheduling to post) is something I find alleviates burnout.

I’ve created and uploaded content for client content calendars for all kinds of projects in my freelance career. But creating and doing them for my own projects this past summer was a revelation.

I had two large projects (each with multiple moving parts) that went live this summer, and I learned a lot about what I, as an individual artist who is also a small business, needs from a content calendar. I’m sharing what I learned, in the hopes that it will help you.

The two big projects I had were the re-released of updated editions of The Topic Workbooks and the launch of my mystery/fantasy/comedy serial LEGERDEMAIN. Both intersected at the end of July into August, and need steady promotion for as long as I can imagine.

The Topic Workbooks consist of seven workbooks, built around writing classes I’ve taught/continue to teach, both in person and online. Six of the workbooks were updated editions, integrating new technology, information, and changes in the industry. Those were: THE SERIES BIBLE, SETTING UP YOUR SUBMISSION SYSTEM, THE GRAVEYARD OF ABANDONED PROJECTS, THE COMPLEX ANTAGONIST, ORGANIZE YOUR WRITING LIFE, and CREATIVE STIMULUS. The seventh workbook was for the class I taught at the beginning of August for the Cape Cod Writers Center Conference, and that was DEVELOPING THE SERIES (for novels, not screen). The workbooks initially re-released over three weeks, and then the promotion continued.

The serial, LEGERDEMAIN, started on Kindle Vella as of July 28, with episodes dropping every Tuesday and Thursday for as long as it’s viable. The initial vision contains three large story arcs. The first story arc is uploaded and scheduled, and runs 41 episodes. The next two will run between 30-40 episodes each. I know it takes several months to gain traction on Vella, unless one comes in with an already huge audience, so those ads had to be geared toward both short and long-term visions. The first three episodes are (and remain) free. The other episodes are read via the purchase of tokens.

The Topic Workbooks are non-fiction, geared toward writers and artists. They’re geared toward writers, but artists in other disciplines have also found them useful. The serial is fiction, geared to a genre audience who loves serials (most important), mystery, fantasy, and likes some odd humor sprinkled in.

Both campaigns had to launch, and then run, simultaneously.

I spent some time in the summer, while off from writing this blog, playing with online scheduling tools. I mixed, matched, and did comparisons of several. None of them fulfilled my needs, integrated the way I need them to, or could handle the fact that, as a freelance juggling multiple projects, things change ALL THE TIME.

So I went back to trusty old paper.

Content Vision

The first thing I had to do was to have a vision for the way I wanted to promote each project. The Topic Workbooks are pretty straightforward. They are consistent. These editions are updated and published, with fresh covers. I keep them priced low, so that they’re budget-friendly, and they’ve always made up in volume what they lack in high prices for individual workbooks. Distinctive ads in a similar style with blurbs and buy links would do the trick. Consistent promotion, albeit changing up the type of promotion, makes the most sense. The Topic Workbooks have their own page on the flagship DevonEllingtonWork site, so links can take interested viewers back to that page on the site, and then the individual buy links for the buyer’s device is readily available, including library sites.

The serial is a little more complicated. Two episodes drop per week. That means each episode needs an individual ad that’s a hook for that specific episode. It also needs more general ads as a draw to the series in general. Also, the hooks can’t give too much away, or someone could just follow the episode ads and feel like they don’t need to read the series. While there’s mention of the serial on the main DevonEllingtonWork site, there’s enough material, and enough tertiary material to build its own subdomain site for Legerdemain. (Note: this site has some content up, but is still under construction at the time of this posting, and has not been widely promoted).

Because of Amazon’s strict rule that content can’t be anywhere other than on their site (and they won’t even let me link the website to the serial), I had to figure out a workaround of additional fun content that didn’t break the Kindle Vella laws, gave readers who follow the serial some fun additional content, and gave potential readers a taste of tone to drive them to start reading.

The Topic Workbook content is fairly static, and will be changed as individual workbooks are updated every few years, and as new workbooks are added (because you didn’t think I was done, did you? I mean, this is me we’re talking about). There’s also a Media Kit in progress, which will go up on both the Workbook page, and in the site’s Media Room.

LEGERDEMAIN’s content will grow as long as the serial grows.

Someday, LEGERDEMAIN will stop being a serial, have to take a breath when it comes off Kindle Vella (I’m thinking at least 3-5 years down the road), and then become something else. The website will be able to support whatever it turns into. Again, that content is created with a vision toward both short and long term.

Frequency

How often to post?

At the launch of each Topic Workbook, I decided to do an intense 13-day campaign of one to two ads per day across social media. After the initial 13-days, I would run one ad per workbook per week. That took me through the end of September. Now that it is September, I am looking at the workbooks and deciding what the vision is for promotion October – December.

With LEGERDEMAIN, each pair of episodes gets an intense campaign during their week, until the next week’s episodes drop. For August and September, I then run day-long weekend campaigns with all episodes to date. On top of that, I pop some general ads in there. Again, in October, I’m changing it up a little, for the overall series, while keeping the intense focus on the ads for episodes as they go live.

*Example of an episode-specific ad for LEGERDEMAIN*

*Ecample of a general ad for LEGERDEMAIN*

*Example of a general ad for LEGERDEMAIN*

I vary the hours for both the workbooks and the serial ads, because I want to take a look at the metrics and then see what works well where.

When I created content for a clothing designer, I scheduled the daily content to post at noon each day, because people were looking at social media during their lunch hour or just before/after, and that got the highest response.

The Content Itself

I create batches of content. I created each workbook ad as soon as the workbook was ready to publish. As soon as the buy links went live, I added them to the ads and to the various websites on which they can be found.

Same with LEGERDEMAIN. I uploaded/scheduled the polished episodes in batches of 10 (although I had most of the first arc written and revised before I uploaded anything, in case I needed to plan something early on for the end). As soon as I uploaded the episode and noted the release date, I create the episode log lines, and then I can create the individual episode ads. Then, I go back through that batch of episodes to see what general ads I can create from the content about other businesses, themes, or jokes that are in those episodes, and where I can expand on information for the website that would drag down the pace and the narrative drive of the serial itself.

Uploading the Content

I block off several hours, and I upload and schedule at least a month of content, preferably two or three, in that time period. If you use a scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite, you can schedule across multiple platforms (provided your subscription allows it). It’s worth it, because then you don’t have to think about it for two or three months.

For the Topic Workbooks, as soon as I got the buy link, I started uploading and scheduling the content I planned through the end of September. When I decide on October – December’s content and frequency, I will block off a few hours and upload/schedule all of that in one go, too.

Because I have the content ready to go (it’s created before I upload), the upload/scheduling time goes relatively quickly. It takes about 2 hours to upload 2-3 months’ worth of daily content.

I also use the weekly calendar sheets broken down into hours by General Blue and write in what ads run where. I can see how the content flows, and where I have room to plug in other projects (because releasing ads for different projects at the same time is often counterproductive). They can run close together, even just a few minutes apart, but not releasing at the same moment.

For the serial, as soon as the episodes are scheduled and I’ve created the episode loglines and episode-specific ads, I block off time and upload that next block of episodes. This is where having the hourly paper calendar comes in handy, because I can see what episodes have promotions scheduled when, and build on themes and images. When the general ads are created, I slot those in around the episode ads. Again, it usually takes a couple of hours to schedule a month or more of content. It’s worth it, because then I don’t have to think about it; I just have to look at metrics later on.

The social media promotions I do are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Ello, Counter Social, and Tumblr. Then, there are other ads or direct mail pieces, depending on the project and budget. Don’t forget the budget! The content calendar integrates all of it.

Metrics

I look at the traffic that’s driven to the various sites by the ads, and then, of course, the sales that result. It’s harder to do with the serial, because Amazon holds their information close to the vest, and doesn’t allow links to individual episodes, or metrics on individual episodes, just to the general page. And I couldn’t build momentum ahead of the launch, because the page on the Vella site for the serial didn’t go live until the serial went live. On top of that, one cannot gift tokens or use Amazon gift cards for tokens for the serial, which affects things like promotional giveaways.

I expect it will be 4-6 months before I get a real sense of how the ads are doing in the bigger picture.

In the smaller picture, I see regular sales reports, and I can also see who and how often colleagues on social media are liking or boosting my work. That figures into my personal metrics. I boost the heck out of the work of friends and colleagues. If I don’t get that in return, or if I suspect they’ve muted the ads or the project, it’s not become a non-reciprocal relationship.

Yes, I know, all that “you have the right to curate your timeline” and “you do you” and all the other palliatives. You DO have the right to curate your timeline for your own purposes and pleasures.

So do I.

Writing is my business, not my hobby. It is how I keep a roof over my head, and the bills paid. I mix and match a wide variety of writing in my profession. But it is my profession, and that means I have to promote my work.

That doesn’t mean I DM people asking them to buy. That’s tacky and unprofessional. And someone who DMs me immediately after a mutual follow to sell me something, anything, is guaranteed to be blocked, and put on the list of “never buy anything from this person ever.”

If I’m promoting the heck of someone’s work and they never promote mine, then they’ve become a drain on my resources and my energy, and I want them off my timeline. I clear out my timeline once or twice a year. It gets out the deadweight, and then I can go back to having actual conversations and interactions. How someone supports or does not support my work affects the place they have (or don’t have) in my life. While I may mute some threads that get overly tangled, I tend not to mute people. I’m either in or out. Either I accept all of someone’s facets, or I’d rather steer clear. And if someone is “muting” me because I promote that which keeps a roof over my head or for any other reason, that means they aren’t accepting all of my different facets, and the further I get away right quick, the better for my life and work.

But hey, “you do you.”

Conclusion

Planning content ahead of time makes a huge difference. A content calendar helps you track what happens where, where there are holes you can turn into opportunities, where content gets crowded and needs a little breathing room.

By making the time to plot out your content, by making the time to create the content, and then batch uploading/scheduling, you take the immediate pressure off the day to day, and that allows you to create more (which you will then have to promote).

The content calendar supports both the plan and the execution. It will help you when you analyze your metrics, and find the best times/days to schedule your content. It will help you see where you need more, and where you can cut back.

It has also taught me how to adjust my rates, should I go back to offering this type of service for clients again in the future. As a solopreneur, I am the creator and the content manager. However, when I take on clients, I am the content WRITER, NOT the graphic designer OR the social media manager. Too often companies are hiring one person to do all three jobs when they are three separate jobs and require different skills, time frames, and headspaces. Not only that, most companies want to pay a single person to do three jobs only a portion of what one job is worth. Don’t sell yourself short. If you CHOOSE to accept a position where you are creating, doing graphics, and managing the content calendar/uploading/metrics, make sure you charge enough to encompass all three sets of skills.

But the calendar is THE tool that eases pressure AND promotes positive engagement, which is good all around! And batch creating and batch uploading/scheduling makes the next few months much calmer.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Do You Live & Work in Scarcity or Abundance?

An article on my Twitter timeline last week pressed some buttons. I didn’t even realize how deep it cut until I started my response. It made sense, after a few minutes, to shut the heck up, think about WHY it caused such a heated response on my part, and set out my argument.

It was an article on having various “calls to action” in newsletters, content, etc. “Calls to action” is another marketspeak term that’s getting overused and overdone, in my opinion, although it makes sense — you’re enlarging your audience and potential customer base and you want them to take the action of buying your product or service.

But one of the CTA points that worked my last nerve was “create a sense of scarcity and urgency.”

As a customer, when I am targeted that way, it angers me, and is more likely to turn me off the product and service than engage me. It makes me feel manipulated in a way I don’t like.

Because, quite frankly, my buying is not decided, for the most part, on missing a trend. If I feel a company is trying to manipulate me into buying something this second or missing it — I’d rather miss it.

Even the word “scarcity” has “scare” in it – a scare tactic. You try to intimidate me into parting with my hard-earned cash, and I’m going to push back.

Obviously, when a store is having a sale or an airline is having one of their special deals, scarcity and urgency are part of the deal. A store can’t have an endless sale, or it becomes the regular price. There has to be a start date and an end date. You don’t shop within that time frame, and you miss it. You wait too long, and they’ve sold through.

Another time that works is with one of my favorite shops, a soap maker who does small batch soaps using natural ingredients. When the batch is sold through, it’s done, and there’s no guarantee it will be made again. She’s up front about that, is good about posting when something is sold out, and that’s that. I don’t feel manipulated. If I miss it, for whatever reason — whether I didn’t see the email in time or forgot or can’t afford it this month — no problem. Her emphasis is on the new products and new batch, not into shaming her customers for missing something. The way she presents her materials — positive, engaging, inviting — means I am more likely to buy as soon as something new comes up, because she INVITES me instead of BERATING or trying to SCARE me.

Some of the struggling chain stores around here seem to think that they can recover by having constant sales in finite hours. You run in and buy something on your way somewhere else. They give you a slip stating you’ll get 20% off your next purchase, but only if you shop between 9-11 AM on Friday, or, even worse, only if you come back and shop again that very day.

No. Just no.

Where I live, people are either retired living on independent income, or struggling with three or four part-time jobs. Few people have the time or the inclination to build their day around a two-hour sale.

As one woman pointed out, “I’ll plan my life around Black Friday, but that’s only once a year.”

Another woman said, “It would cost me more to take off work to attend the sale than I’d save on the sale.”

A third person said, “Sales tactics like this are why I order online from Amazon.”

In other words, the stores are not listening to the people who live here and would shop here. The manipulative “scarcity and urgency” they’re promoting are actually driving customers away from them and to Amazon.

It also speaks to a deeper issue often called “prosperity consciousness” and “poverty consciousness.”

Scarcity is often manipulated in order for specific individuals to profit. If you’re always scrambling because you feel you don’t have “enough” — and many of us, living paycheck to paycheck are scrambling all the time just to pay our bills and survive — you wind up in a downward spiral of panic. You’re afraid the deal will never exist again, so you better buy it at this price at this moment or you’ll lose out forever. Sometimes, you’ll plunge yourself further into poverty in order to get this “deal.”

But do you really need it? What is the worst thing that will happen if you miss the sale and it’s not part of your life?

Part of a marketing campaign is to create the desire for whatever the company is selling. That’s part of the encouragement, of the manipulation — give me your money for this product or service, and your life will be better.

With the subtext being, if you don’t GIVE ME YOUR MONEY for this product or service, your life will be worse.

But is that true?

Or will it keep you in the cycle of poverty consciousness?

This article, by Dawn Demers, talks about developing prosperity consciousness, and how our words have meaning, and how we become what we think about. I don’t agree with everything in this article (“tithing” has a negative religious connotation for me), but I do agree that if we are going to live a healthier life, we have to deal with the fear of not having enough. When you’re working three jobs at minimum wage with no benefits, it’s a very real fear. So when companies try to prey on those fears in order to get you to spend your money ON THEM, you have to be careful.

People talk about living in “prosperity consciousness” or with a sense of abundance or a balanced life. Does missing this sale really mean you won’t achieve it? If you really mean to live your life with the belief that there is enough for all of us, we don’t need to be greedy, we don’t need to hoard, in fact, we can get rid of many of the things we’ve accumulated that we no longer need — do we need to add in this particular thing within these two hours? If you claim you want to live an abundant life, is your definition of “abundance” and “prosperity” the accumulation of items that OTHER PEOPLE judge you need, or things and experiences that actually make you happy? And why would you buy based on being provoked and manipulated by such negativity?

I bet you can count on your fingers the amount of things you bought on sale that actually improved your life beyond a few days.

Yes, they exist. They are different for everyone. But missing most sales isn’t going to damage your life in the long term. You might be disappointed for a few days. You might miss the adrenalin rush that those purchases give us. But it’s rare it will ruin your life.

Further, if you claim you want to live an ethical, balanced life based on prosperity consciousness rather than poverty consciousness, how can you, in all good conscience, create materials that promote “scarcity and urgency” and manipulate people to buy out of panic? Does the money offset any tears on your integrity? Or do you believe it’s not your problem or your business? You’re simply there to create effective materials. If the customer buys, you’ve succeeded.

Where is that line for you?

It’s something to think about and work on. It’s something each of us has to define for ourselves.

I am more and more aware of it as a consumer, and less and less likely to respond to such a “call for action.” My action, more and more often, is to turn away from the company.

As a writer, I am also aware of it. If I feel the materials I’m tasked to create are too predatory, I will fight to rework the materials and word them so they come from a more positive place that still engages and encourages the customer to purchase. And, there are times when I refuse the gig when the client wants predatory or panicky materials created to manipulate the customer with negativity and fear.

I have to define those lines constantly. It’s not easy. But, for me, it’s a necessity.

How do you set your lines? Do you have different boundaries in the work you do for others than the way you live your own life? How do you integrate the two?

Ink-Dipped Advice: An Ad That Attracts

Last week, I talked about ads looking for writers that guarantee I won’t pitch. This week, I’ll talk about common-sense elements to include in your ad, especially if you’re a small business.

Your business. It amazes me how many ads don’t detail the focus of the business. A bit of background on where you were, where you are, where you want to go, helps. Just a sentence or two. I’m too old for that kind of mystery. I want to know what you do. “Fast -paced office” isn’t enough. I want to know if you’re a realtor, a construction business, a landscaper, a dentist — tell me what you do.

Job description. Detail the responsibilities and expectations. Think about what you want. Then do some research on job scopes to see what is realistic. If you want to hire a writer to create advertising, marketing, and promotional materials, you want to hire a writer, not someone who answers the phone and jots down a few things in between calls. If you want something with visuals, bring in a team of writer and graphic designer. Few graphic designers write well. While more and more writers are adding graphic and web skills, that design eye of a graphic artist will take the material to the next level. It may be that what you want and need requires more than one individual. Be clear about perks and benefits included. If none are, state that. You have to know what you want and need, and balance it with realistic skill expectations.

Hours expected per week and work location. Be specific on the hours or hour range you expect every week. Do you expect your writer to work in the office? If you do, make sure you have a place for them to work. Perched on a chair with a laptop across the knees in the garage is not an acceptable work space. Lighting is important. Make sure you have good light for the tasks required. (That doesn’t need to be in the ad, but it’s something to consider when setting up work space). What kind of breaks do you offer? How much time for a meal break? Is the meal break paid or unpaid? Check with your state’s Department of Labor to make sure you follow their guidelines. Is the job remote? Is the job onsite? Are you willing to do a mix of on site and remote? Are there hours outside of normal business hours, and, if so, what are they? What is your policy on holidays?

Your target market. Who is your market? Who is the market you want to reach? What kind of gap is there between them? You’ll expand on this discussion in the interview process.

Length of job. Are you looking for someone to join the staff, or contract for a particular project? Be clear. Don’t dangle “this could lead to more work.” Most skilled writers will roll their eyes and move on. Maybe-somedays don’t cut it. If you wind up being a good match on this project, then suggest working together in a longer-term capacity.

Pay. Is it fixed or is there a range? If you list “negotiable,” listing the range is even more important. If you do the latter, be willing to negotiate. That means, when the prospect comes back with a counteroffer, you give it serious thought and return with another offer. A real one, not re-iterating the original price. If you’re not willing to negotiate, state the rate. Don’t hope a candidate will offer you a lower one. Again, do your research. Look at the salary ranges for the position and don’t assume you can lowball and get quality. Salary.com is a great resource for individuals on both sides of the hiring table.

Contact Information. Email address or mailing address to which materials can be sent. Contact person. If you do not want phone calls, state it in the ad. Candidates who don’t respect your preferred contact method can be tossed.

The above information should be in clean, error-free copy with a tone that matches the tone of the work environment. Is the workplace Formal? Flexible? Don’t call it a “creative” environment when what you mean is “disorganized.” There’s a difference. Read the ad. Would you want to work for this particular business, in this particular environment, if it wasn’t yours? Let an interesting, vivacious ad reflect your business.

Material to Ask From Candidates:
Cover Letter. A cover letter should address the job, why the candidate is interested, relevant experience, and express some of the candidate’s personality. It should also demonstrate grammar, spelling, and writing skill, and be free of typos.

Resume. This gives you an idea of the person’s experience. If the experience is vastly different from the job, go back to the cover letter to see why the candidate wants a change, and see if the reason resonates. The out-of-the-box choice could be the right one. If the candidate doesn’t mention the disparity between resume and reason for pitching for this job, it’s a red flag for you.

Website link. Most professionals have their own website. Many have samples on the site or links to samples. Ask for the link and take a look around.

Samples from portfolio or clip file. Decide if you want links, attachments, and in the format you want them. Do you want .doc? .docx? PDF? Do not expect a candidate to write a sample specific to your company unless you pay for the test. You should be able to read one or two samples and get a sense of the candidate’s style, and see if that works with what you do.

Contact information. Most candidates will have it on their resumes and/or cover letter. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Also, let them know how you plan to contact them to set up an interview.

Where do you post?

Chamber of Commerce. Most chambers allow job postings. You’ll get to support other chamber members and, since it’s a community of businesses and those who want to work for them, a high quality of business-savvy responses.

Your Own Website. You’ll often get a high quality of candidate, because the candidates made the effort to find and research you. They can also look through your site, to see if it’s the right fit. Make sure you put the link to the job on social media.

Media Bistro. A good place to find professionals from all over the country. You’ll get great candidates. They will also expect solid rates well within the range for the position.

Hire Culture. If you’re in Massachusetts, or willing to work remotely with a MA-based writer, Hire Culture is a site that pairs arts-based professionals with business. Arts-related businesses and non-profits in particular can find solid candidates here.

Career Centers. In Massachusetts, the Department of Labor partners with “Career Centers.” Job candidates use these for unemployment filing, resume writing workshops, and career retraining. These sites offer job boards. It’s a good place to find both early-career and mature workers with experience who are looking for a new job because their position was eliminated, or because they want a career change. Check with your state’s Department of Labor for the equivalent.

Indeed and ZipRecruiter are popular, often used by larger companies. It’s a way to get the ad out to a large pool; but you’ll also receive a large pool of unqualified applicants.

What about Craigslist? Many small, local businesses post on Craigslist. It’s hit or miss. I glance through Craigslist here and there if I need a quick fill-in project. It’s rare the ads interest me or the pay meets my range. Every now and again, there’s something that makes me take a second look, but I don’t count on it. Small business owners I know who post on Craigslist complain to me about the low quality candidates who respond. I don’t recommend posting on Craigslist if you want a seasoned, professional writer. As an FYI, the above-mentioned Career Centers in my area warn job seekers they are not allowed to list Craigslist ads in their weekly job search logs that are submitted for unemployment benefits.

As a writer, I am far more likely to pitch to a business who provides the above and asks for the above. If I’m sent to a link that has a form to fill out, unless the job pays well above my normal rate, I usually don’t apply. You’re hiring a person, not an algorithm. Algorithms don’t find creative thinkers. They find people who’ve learned the game of filling in boxes the way the computer wants (which has little to do with the person’s actual skills, other than being able to outwit an algorithm), or whose lives fit into boxes. At a certain point, professional, creative people decide to ditch the boxes and those who use them, because they’ve earned their way beyond the forms. Most forms have little to do with the actual job. You get more from reading a well-written resume. I’d rather create my own pitch packages, relevant to an individual company. I also expect to be treated like an individual. Please don’t expect me to re-key my resume into your form, especially if I’ve attached said resume. That’s insulting.

Next week, I’ll focus more on writers, and where I’ve found the best (for me) jobs.

Ink-Dipped Advice: Find the Right Writer, Don’t Drive That Writer Away! (Part One)

While this post is aimed primarily at businesses who want to hire a writer, I’m sure many of my fellow writers will relate to the material.

Notice that I didn’t title this post “Finding the BEST Writer.” Because “best” has permutations.

A technically brilliant writer can be the less-than-best choice if said writer can’t empathize and then communicate a proprietor’s passion for his/her business, or if the writer doesn’t understand (or isn’t interested) in the business and how to communicate it to the audience. The technique might be there, but if the copy is bloodless, it won’t engage and enlarge the audience.

A passionate writer who is delighted by the business can be the less-than-best-choice if said writer doesn’t have the technical capacity and the craft to sculpt the words into creative, engaging copy.

The “best” writer for any particular project has craft skills, understanding of the business, understanding of the target audience, and knows how to merge those different facets into something unique and wonderful that enchants an audience.

How is this mysterious creature, as elusive as a Unicorn, discovered and enticed? Is there a business/writer matchmaking service?

There are plenty of services who will claim to do just that — weed out the chaff, find you the best writer wheat. Regard their claims with a grain of salt. Don’t just ask for a client list and read those clients” websites. Ask the service which materials their personnel created for those clients, confirm with the client, and ask for samples.

I’ve been on both sides of working with agencies. When I started in theatre, I worked for temp agencies all over the country in various administrative capacities, and I learned how to write copy for a variety of different fields. I’ve also signed with so-called “creative” agencies who claim to pair marketing/business writers with clients. Nine times out of ten, the agency paid no attention to my strengths, my knowledge base, my skills. I was sent to a client because there was an open slot, not because I was the best person on their roster for the slot. I work with words, not numbers. I am not a bookkeeper. I am a writer. When I worked in major cities, I was at least sent out for writing, editing, development, or administrative work. Outside of major cities — far too often, I was told I was being sent to an accounting department. When I reminded the hiring manager that’s not what I do, the answer was “Oh, I’m sure you’ll pick it up.” That is not fair to me or to the client. Match the person to the job.

On the other side of the equation, I’ve been hired by companies after they’ve wound up with a mess because an agency sent in someone who was unqualified for the job. A writer may have shown up, but it wasn’t the right writer for the job. Or the person sent wasn’t a writer, but an administrator or a file clerk or a receptionist or a bookkeeper. Don’t send a writer to do a bookkeeper’s job and don’t send a bookkeeper to a job for press releases and thank you letters written for donations. Pretty basic, but far too many agencies ignore this.

A staffing agency that sends in a writer to work with a company is different than hiring a marketing firm to handle your advertising, marketing, and promotional needs. Those firms usually have (or hire in on contract) a team for each part of the marketing operation. I’ll discuss marketing firms in a future post.

Granted, I am atypical of many marketing and business writers in that I translate audience engagement techniques I use in fiction and scriptwriting to communicate a business’s message and grow their audience. Even though I am a multi-genre, Renaissance writer instead of a niche writer, I’m still a writer. Words are my medium. My approach is not a standard, corporate box style. I approach each client as though they are exciting and fascinating, and I craft marketing campaigns unique to each of them. The plans may share elements, but content and approach is individual.

I read quite a few ads, to have an idea of what’s out there, although I don’t respond to that many any more (details on that in an upcoming post).

How To Turn Off Skilled, Qualified Candidates
What makes me skip over an ad? Besides content-mill scale of work and pay?

“Must be able to multi-task in a fast-paced environment. Job duties include answering the phone, scheduling clients, correspondence, filing, Quickbooks, Photoshop, updating website, blog, social media, Instagram, and writing press releases and marketing materials.”

Of course, the above job pays minimum wage with no benefits. So, I’m supposed to be a photography whiz, a tech whiz, a bookkeeper (see above), a file clerk, general admin, a receptionist, AND carry the marketing and social media load? For minimum wage?

Uh, no.

You want well-written material that actually grows your business? Your writer can’t be interrupted by phone calls every thirty seconds How many blog posts a week do you expect? Is your new hire researching and writing them, ghost-writing them, or fine-tuning ones written by others? Good writing needs uninterrupted work time. Also, you’re not going to get said well-written materials for minimum wage.

Next.

“Must be flexible, energetic, able to move between a variety of marketing tasks. Must have iPhone and laptop with Adobe Creative Suite. Must have own reliable transportation, not reliant on public services.”

This job is a couple of bucks an hour above minimum wage, again, with no benefits. The “flexible” translates to “hours outside of normal business hours.” For someone at the beginning of the career, interested in the company, maybe.

“Moving between variety of tasks” — no problem. Can make things more interesting, although the subtext is that there’s grunt work involved. Hauling boxes, setting up chairs for events, etc.

“Must have iPhone and laptop with Adobe Creative Suite.” Deal breaker #1. An employer does not tell me what equipment I need to own in order to be considered for the job. If special equipment is required for the job, the employer provides it. Period. I am not going to be tied to a type of phone or pay the monthly Adobe fee for the employer. Especially when those items end up costing more than I’d earn.

“Oh, but everyone has an iPhone.”

No. Everyone does not have an iPhone. And a personal phone is different than a business phone.

“Maybe they pay the monthly Adobe fee and you just have to use it on your laptop. They’ll give you the log-in.”

Then state it in the ad.

The exception to the above is if there’s a payment that in theatre and film we used to call a “kit fee.” If we brought in our own kits, our own equipment, we were paid a daily rate on top of our regular pay. Somehow, I don’t think the above employer has ever heard of a kit fee or would pay it.

“Must have own reliable transportation, not reliant on public.” Deal breaker #2. First of all, the subtext is that I have to show up for work in a blizzard or a hurricane. Second, unless you provide me with a company car for “reliable transportation,” you don’t tell me how to get to work, or tell me I can’t use public transportation.

Next.

“Please write a sample piece of 800 words including these topics (lists topics) so we can make sure you understand our business.”

One of the oldest scams in the book, along with the three-card Monte. This is a way a “business” rakes in articles provided as “samples,” tells the candidates the business went in a different direction, and then has months’ worth of content without paying for it.

Next.

“Our client is looking for . . .”

Means there’s a middleman doing the screening and hiring. The client is overpaying, and I’ll be underpaid.

Next. Some writers are okay with this; I’d rather not.

“Fast-paced, flexible environment, dealing with a large variety of personalities.”

Translation: An office full of neurotic, nasty assholes.

Next.

“But if it’s the right writer, it wouldn’t matter anyway. The ‘right’ writer will forgive anything and accept what’s offered.”

No. The desperate writer will forgive anything and accept what’s offered. The fresh, new writer trying to build a portfolio may put up with anything that’s offered for a short period of time. Sometimes, everyone will luck out and it’s the best fit. But the truly talented writers will stay away from the above.

So what should an ad include?

That’s our topic next Wednesday! Stay tuned.