Blog » BRIEF - 1Thing To Review Before 2010
BRIEF - 1Thing To Review Before 2010
Have you noticed there are only 3 kinds of blog posts this week?
- Top 10 lists for 2009
- Top 10 Predictions for 2010 lists
- 3 Things to Do Before the New Year
Since this is a BRIEF post, I’m not making a list. Instead, here's one recommendation based on something I discovered in my own business this week.
1) Review your company profiles – When I launched Global Copywriting last year, I had a clear idea where I fit in the market. With a broad IT background – 15 years in software development followed by 5 years of software sales – I knew I was a natural for writing projects requiring a technical background. I developed profiles for my website, LinkedIn and various company listings reflecting this speciality. Guess what? Most of my business this year has not been related to IT.
John Lennon famously said, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” I had planned to do one thing but the market has pushed my business in another direction. Instead of being tightly focused on a niche market, I’ve had work from many different industries. I’m delighted.
Guess what else? I nearly lost a WoM client because the profile for my company on LinkedIn described Global Copywriting as a company that does technical writing. My profile was out of date and no longer represented my business.
Take Away
Take a couple minutes this holiday season to review your profiles for accuracy, especially the ones stored on social media tools. If it’s been more than a year since you last updated them, you could be compromising your own business opportunities with outdated information. When was the last time your reviewed your own marketing collateral?
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
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Comments
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Hi Jon,
You know, when I was selling software I was disappointed to get stuck on the mainframe product lines. In the late '90s, the talk was all about distributed systems and that, clearly, was the place to be. While the network sales people got a lot of opportunity to speak and present, I had to be content with closing deals and getting big commission checks.
What you say is true about the market. I appreciated your advice earlier this year - stick to interesting projects and let the rest of them pass by. I suspect Gary Barber is doing the same but using this chance to encourage debate.
And, yes, from my perspective you've been a brilliant mentor and advisor. I don't believe, however, that you would miss an opportunity for lively argument regardless of gender.
Now I'm off to offend my American sensibilities by tackling royal icing for the family Christmas cake. I'm sure the revolutionaries threw the recipe for the whole shebang in Boston Harbor the same time they dispensed with tea and the British, in general.Posted by Sarah Mitchell, 23/12/2009 10:52pm (2 years ago)
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Brilliant? Well, I was always taught not to argue with a lady ;-)
Gary - if you don't do what you love, when the going gets tough (as it always does at some point) you'll find it so much harder to stay the distance.
Bugger the market -- with very rare exception there's ALWAYS a market for you.
Consider my own speciality direct mail. Most firms are obsessed with being online and harp on about "web copywriting".
Well, even ignoring the fact it's the same as any other copywriting, there are STILL plenty of business owners who are happy to use direct mail and offline advertising (to the tune of £50,000 -- that's Sterling -- a month for one of my clients).
If you're enthusiastic and knowledgeable about your niche and you can demonstrate results, you can write your own ticket regardless of what the bleating sheep of the "market" tell you.
In fact, to abrade a much overworn phrase even further: "if you're in doubt about what to do in a given situation... look around and see what everyone else is doing and do the opposite".Posted by Jon McCulloch, 23/12/2009 10:15pm (2 years ago)
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Wow, it's obvious I'm not the only small business addressing the issue of where they fit in the market.
Gary -
The best piece of advice I received in 2009 came from a brilliant copywriter named Jon McCulloch, http://www.copywritinglaidbare.com. He told me I would be insane to move my company in a direction I didn't want it to go. I took his advice and started turning down work that didn't interest me. It was a hard decision to make but it's paid off. I'm getting great projects, dream clients and have as much work as I can handle right now.
WoM - Word of Mouth. I hate TLAs too. :)
Bambi-
The most surprising thing in 2009 was how my business seemed to take on a personality of its own. Despite a lot of considered planning, how it looks today is not how I imagined it. It's much better. The lesson for me was it pays to explore new avenues and embrace opportunities of interest. I hadn't even realised how far away I was from my original plan until I had a look at my LinkedIn profile.
Thanks to both of you for stopping by and contributing such thoughtful comments.Posted by Sarah Mitchell, 23/12/2009 5:02am (2 years ago)
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Issue is when you don't want to go in the direction the market is pushing you. What then!
Mind you the point about your company profile is so true!
WoM - Worm of the Moment! ?? I hate acronyms ;)Posted by Gary Barber, 23/12/2009 3:43am (2 years ago)
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Thanks for the post Sarah. As well as the tactical - updating all of our profiles to make sure they are still on track, I think that you have also touched on a strategic issue - what business are you in (which is the one that encompasses the benefit you provide to your customers) vs what you do (your primary function).
Posted by Bambi, 23/12/2009 2:04am (2 years ago)
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