I don’t directly advertise what I do for a living as a copywriter, but when it comes to offering out my writing courses, I have to put stuff out there.

I have a website, of course, and at professional and social occasions alike I’ll tell people what I do, but I don’t run any paid marketing campaigns or advertise many offers. Not directly, anyway, because it’s really not my style.

In going about my marketing in general, I post, share and engage on social media to show the world how I write and what I’m capable of producing in written form, and I’ve found that, having built relationships over time, this process does a way better job of advertising agoodwriteup than I could ever pay anyone to do for me. Through engagement with what I post, potential clients can get an idea if I could be a good fit for what they need and how they work. I like to think that by putting myself ‘out there’ it makes things simple and quick for clients in trying to find the best copywriter for their needs. Similarly, in building those relationships and in posting stuff that perhaps people like to read, I’d like to think that I’ll stick on people’s radar should the option ever come up to make a recommendation or referral. The currency of modern business!

I’ve come to realise that what I post is irrelevant, and instead, it’s about showcasing my talent for writing (enter: trolls with an alternative opinion) and trying to express my personality, values and work ethic through my posts to show that I’m my own brand; this is who you’ll be working with if you hire me. I would think that many freelancers and self-employed folk present themselves in this way, too, but it certainly has to be the case if the basis of your self-employment is to write stuff for money.

So, with my marketing all coming down to simply picking up my phone or firing up my laptop to go ahead and write whatever’s in my head to start a conversation, it feels strange and uncomfortable for me to directly start advertising my writing courses, but it has to be done.

My first open event of the year (which means it’s an event that anyone from any background can attend) is a week on Friday – 18th of January to be precise. It’s a half day workshop on blog writing. I’ve shared a couple of posts about it already, and although the places are filling up, the posts themselves don’t generate a lot of engagement, and this then makes me feel like I’m pissing people off by selling to them. I know people – especially on LinkedIn – perform much harder sells than I ever could or would, but it still makes me uncomfortable that I’ve ‘lost’ an audience.

Comfy or not, though, I have to advertise my training, so every now and then I have to take a break from posting the stuff that I love (mainly just spilling dark thoughts all over the keyboard), to sharing something that basically just gives the date, location and price of my next event, along with something a little bit sales-y to excite people about the course and encourage them to book on to improve their writing.

I hate it. But, I need to get over myself.

Hiring me as a copywriter or editor is something that’s available all year round, where clients can book me in during mutually agreeable times, and we can get to work together on projects within timeframes that suit both parties. The same goes for clients wanting to book me in to work with their teams to deliver training at their base in order to meet their specific needs in written communication. Either of these types of client can do this having been on my website, spoken to a mutual contact and happy customer, or from having taken interest in how and what I write on social media. Running my own independent training events though? Well, they’re a time limited offer, aren’t they? The dates are set (and paid for) between myself and the venue, and are cemented even further when the early bookers secure their sign-up to confirm the fact that the course is viable to go ahead with actual real people on it. I need to make people aware that my writing training is happening, and that I make a point of only working with small group numbers on each course, so that potential clients will move quickly if they want to book on.

This whole concept of shirking self-promotion is slightly ridiculous when I think of how many clients I write successful sales pitches, posts and presentations for…

To sum up, this blog is one of the only times I will ever apologise for clogging up your timeline with my sales pitch posts. The rest of the time, I enjoy being a bit controversial with what I write. Take the apology, but if you don’t take interest in my courses, find me someone who will, because the sooner those writing courses are filled, the sooner we’ll all be out of our misery.

Friday 18th January – Bolton – Book in for blogging!