Yesterday evening I emailed Kinko's to get a price on 50-100 copies of the brochure I had created for the business, just quickly explaining what it is I do. I simply wanted some glossy paper, color copies. They were asking just over $100 for 50 copies! And just over $200 for 100 copies! I thought this was mildly outrageous. Luckily a good pal who is in the graphic design business: www.bversatile.com, referred me to a website he uses: www.gotprint.com, which had much better prices. I could get the same product at 250 copies for $100. Not too shabby.
As the spring moves forward and we move into May, I know I'm going to find it harder to make myself sit in my "home office" and write. Perhaps I'll just have to take my work on the road, to a park, leaning against a tall old tree with steno pad in hand. That sounds like a pretty good idea. That way I'm still letting the creative juices flow, and I'm enjoying the outdoors.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A Long Road Ahead
Trying to break into this business all by myself is frustrating. I guess I just don't really know how to market myself properly.
I've got a website: www.kldocommunications.vpweb.com. Simple and to the point, I still need to work on it some more. I've joined Linked In and got one of their nifty "paid" accounts and tried connecting to professionals that way without any luck whatsoever. I've sent a mass email to most everyone I know letting them know that I'm trying to get in to this business and to please keep me in mind... I've gotten one, somewhat tepid lead. My next tactic is to send out a small mailer with a flyer and short brochure about what it is that I do to the local area businesses. While I like to think that this might give me a lead or two, I'm not feeling good about it. It just seems like whatever I'm trying isn't working. I've read the "self help" books on copy writing and starting up the business, and while they've been mildly helpful, maybe I'm just not using the tools correctly.
In any case, while I'm passionate about all forms of writing, this business of mine is really meant to be my "fall back," something that I can make money doing while I work on manuscripts. I've always had a love for writing stories. From silly little one pagers, to lengthier, in depth pieces, such as I'm working on now.
My problem has been that with my current full time job, by time I get home, I just don't feel like staring at a computer screen any more to do my own work, which shouldn't really stop me at all. I should want to do it because it is my own work and not someone else's.
An old friend of mine suggested that I take my writing to someone who is in publishing, just to see if what I've got so far is any good and has the probability of being published in the long run. While I've gotten decent reviews from the three people I've let read the work so far, I feel they are sort of biased, and aren't really going to tell me if it's garbage or not. So I'm taking this advice to heart and am going to try to seek out someone in the publishing arena.
I've got a website: www.kldocommunications.vpweb.com. Simple and to the point, I still need to work on it some more. I've joined Linked In and got one of their nifty "paid" accounts and tried connecting to professionals that way without any luck whatsoever. I've sent a mass email to most everyone I know letting them know that I'm trying to get in to this business and to please keep me in mind... I've gotten one, somewhat tepid lead. My next tactic is to send out a small mailer with a flyer and short brochure about what it is that I do to the local area businesses. While I like to think that this might give me a lead or two, I'm not feeling good about it. It just seems like whatever I'm trying isn't working. I've read the "self help" books on copy writing and starting up the business, and while they've been mildly helpful, maybe I'm just not using the tools correctly.
In any case, while I'm passionate about all forms of writing, this business of mine is really meant to be my "fall back," something that I can make money doing while I work on manuscripts. I've always had a love for writing stories. From silly little one pagers, to lengthier, in depth pieces, such as I'm working on now.
My problem has been that with my current full time job, by time I get home, I just don't feel like staring at a computer screen any more to do my own work, which shouldn't really stop me at all. I should want to do it because it is my own work and not someone else's.
An old friend of mine suggested that I take my writing to someone who is in publishing, just to see if what I've got so far is any good and has the probability of being published in the long run. While I've gotten decent reviews from the three people I've let read the work so far, I feel they are sort of biased, and aren't really going to tell me if it's garbage or not. So I'm taking this advice to heart and am going to try to seek out someone in the publishing arena.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Advertising
Yesterday I decided to start working on a flyer just to advertise the business and let potential clients what it is I do, maybe tempt someone to give me a call or shoot an email. I thought, I could mail said flyer out to businesses in my area to start. Of course, the great thing about this business is that I can really work with any one, any where, because of the wonderful World Wide Web.
I still need to polish the flyer a bit, I'm sort of a stickler for details, I don't want to look like a fool to potential business connections, I mean who does? They need to be printed of course, postage needs to be acquired, etc. I'm trying to not put all my eggs in one basket on this one, after all, my mass email technique didn't work so well, or I guess I was just sending to the wrong people.
I still have that one lead from an old friend. She followed up with me yesterday, and will be getting back to me shortly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in that aspect as well.
I still need to polish the flyer a bit, I'm sort of a stickler for details, I don't want to look like a fool to potential business connections, I mean who does? They need to be printed of course, postage needs to be acquired, etc. I'm trying to not put all my eggs in one basket on this one, after all, my mass email technique didn't work so well, or I guess I was just sending to the wrong people.
I still have that one lead from an old friend. She followed up with me yesterday, and will be getting back to me shortly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in that aspect as well.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
New Beginnings
Well, I suppose I am going to dedicate this particular blog specifically to my writing. Perhaps it will aid me staying in a writing mindset.
Back in August 2009, I decided I was going to really get on the ball and start my own copy writing business. I've loved writing ever since I was six years old. I'd write silly little short stories and illustrate them with horrible little scribblings, I read constantly, I must have had hundreds of books that I just plowed through throughout my childhood. I continued writing through adolescence, through my teen years, and now into my twenties. It's always something that I've come back to, no matter what situation I've been in, or what job I've held, writing was always lurking in the background, asking to be called upon. So I started thinking... how could I make money doing something I enjoy so much without taking the enjoyment out of it? Then it came to me, perhaps I should try my hand at copy writing. I've already been writing copy in my current job, and dabbling a little in graphic design, and it's something I actually like doing. The best part is, I could work for myself.
However, it's been slow going trying to get my tiny little business off the ground. I currently work full time in an office, and find my energy to promote my own business waning by time I get home at night. I decided to put myself out there to a long list of friends, some of which I've known since grade school and I actually pulled in a lead just the other day.
It's been disheartening at times doing this all by myself. A lot of people don't fully understand what I'm offering. An easy way to look at it is... think of an ad in the newspaper, this ad is selling say an automobile, I'd be the person who wrote the text for said ad essentially. I basically just need to get my name out to the right market. Of course, working during regular business hours doesn't give me much opportunity to search for potential clients, so I've resorted to searching for prospects via websites like: www.linkedin.com. Sadly, I've found no luck there so far.
In the meantime, I'm also trying to let my novel writing passion shine through, just to keep me going. I got the idea for a manuscript about two years ago, and finally started putting it into play a little over a year ago. This has also been slow going because I sometimes let a lot of deterrents come between me and my writing. However, I feel like I've got some real good meat in what I've written so far, and the one outside party that I let read what I've got so far has given me a pretty solid review. I'm trying keep that in mind when I get to thinking that what I'm writing is garbage. I suppose every writer thinks that about their work at least once, if not dozens of times when they're working on a piece.
In any case, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this one little lead from my childhood might come through, and that I'll finish my manuscript one day in the near future and a publisher will pick it up and send it out into the world. Even if it's just a pipe dream, it's still nice to think about.
Back in August 2009, I decided I was going to really get on the ball and start my own copy writing business. I've loved writing ever since I was six years old. I'd write silly little short stories and illustrate them with horrible little scribblings, I read constantly, I must have had hundreds of books that I just plowed through throughout my childhood. I continued writing through adolescence, through my teen years, and now into my twenties. It's always something that I've come back to, no matter what situation I've been in, or what job I've held, writing was always lurking in the background, asking to be called upon. So I started thinking... how could I make money doing something I enjoy so much without taking the enjoyment out of it? Then it came to me, perhaps I should try my hand at copy writing. I've already been writing copy in my current job, and dabbling a little in graphic design, and it's something I actually like doing. The best part is, I could work for myself.
However, it's been slow going trying to get my tiny little business off the ground. I currently work full time in an office, and find my energy to promote my own business waning by time I get home at night. I decided to put myself out there to a long list of friends, some of which I've known since grade school and I actually pulled in a lead just the other day.
It's been disheartening at times doing this all by myself. A lot of people don't fully understand what I'm offering. An easy way to look at it is... think of an ad in the newspaper, this ad is selling say an automobile, I'd be the person who wrote the text for said ad essentially. I basically just need to get my name out to the right market. Of course, working during regular business hours doesn't give me much opportunity to search for potential clients, so I've resorted to searching for prospects via websites like: www.linkedin.com. Sadly, I've found no luck there so far.
In the meantime, I'm also trying to let my novel writing passion shine through, just to keep me going. I got the idea for a manuscript about two years ago, and finally started putting it into play a little over a year ago. This has also been slow going because I sometimes let a lot of deterrents come between me and my writing. However, I feel like I've got some real good meat in what I've written so far, and the one outside party that I let read what I've got so far has given me a pretty solid review. I'm trying keep that in mind when I get to thinking that what I'm writing is garbage. I suppose every writer thinks that about their work at least once, if not dozens of times when they're working on a piece.
In any case, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this one little lead from my childhood might come through, and that I'll finish my manuscript one day in the near future and a publisher will pick it up and send it out into the world. Even if it's just a pipe dream, it's still nice to think about.
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