Hello, and welcome to
your December issue of GOT COPY?!

Thanks to all of you for making 2002 such a successful year for the GOT COPY? newsletter. I wish you all much joy this holiday season and lots of success in the coming year! Your next issue will arrive in January.

~ Stevie Ann Rinehart
Independent Marketing Writer

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GOT COPY? - Issue 13 - December 2002

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IN THIS ISSUE:
(1) READER FEEDBACK
(2) AT ISSUE: What's Going On in the Copywriting Field?
(3) MARKETING/WRITING TIP: Two Little Words...
(4) RECOMMENDED WEB SITE: Bartleby.com/Elements of Style
(5) NECESSARY BLURBS

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(1) READER FEEDBACK: None for this issue. Hope to hear from you next time!

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(2) AT ISSUE: What's Going On in the Copywriting Field?
Ahh, December. That time of year when everyone begins assessing (or lamenting) the year that is coming to a close. Was it a good year financially? Are all my records and projects up to date? How can I improve my services? Am I still happy writing copy?

Say what? Yep. Lately, I've noticed a lot of questioning and reassessment from those in the copywriting field. For instance, a friend of mine told me this morning that she was thrilled to be out of advertising. Another friend breathed a sigh of relief when she landed a 9-5 job because being a freelance writer was too unpredictable. A third one admitted he was burned out by copywriting and was ecstatic to find a position that had nothing to do with writing words for a living.

What's going on here? How many of you are going through the same thing?

I pondered these and other situations I've read about on discussion boards or received myself over the past couple of months. I'll ask you the questions that seem to be cropping up:

How do you do this? Here's the simplified process:

A) Does writing (still) hold value for you?
B) Does writing seem more difficult or labor-intensive?
C) Have you lost some of the joy of copywriting due to evolving technical considerations (writing for search engine optimization, opt-in email, filters, Web site navigation, etc.)?
D) Are you questioning your career? If so, to what degree?
E) What would you do if you didn't write for a living?
F) Is the economy adversely affecting your writing business? How about your attitude about writing? If so, will you plug on or move on to something else?

What do you think? Please take a moment to jot me a note if you're going through this, if you know others who are, and if you/they are doing anything about it. I will, with your permission, post your comments in the next issue. Or, we can chat one-on-one. I hope to hear from you!

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(3) MARKETING/WRITING TIP: Two Little Words...
Two little words can make a big difference in communicating to and for your clients. With the push to tell, to market, to sell, to sign up, to convince, to whatever, there hasn't been enough follow up. Maybe it's because we don't hear the words often enough ourselves. The words? "Thank you."

This occurred to me a couple of weeks ago before the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. What better time is there to send "thank you" messages to my clients to let them know I appreciate their business? Since that holiday has passed, perhaps we can target the New Year - for new beginnings and new business practices.

How many of your clients insist that you write a "thank you" page to appear when a customer signs up for something online? How many ask you to craft a generic thank you letter they can mail or email? How many request that you write their holiday message expressing how much they appreciate their clients? How many do you send?

I'll be the first to admit I don't always remember. Although I do make it a point to send out messages of thanks with every proposal, at the bottom of every invoice, and in a note at the end of every project. But I can do better, perhaps sending personalized messages instead of those that appear in my templates.

It's a good thought to remember this holiday season for ourselves and our clients alike. While you're reading this, write this note to yourself and tape it to your computer monitor: "Remember to say 'thank you.'" I just did. It can make a difference in the course of your writing projects.

Thank you for reading. ;)

Thoughts?

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(4) RECOMMENDED WEB SITE: Bartleby.com/Elements of Style
This is another of those sites that you'll keeping coming back to for those usage questions that make us stumble. It's easy to understand and easy to use - great for those of us who work on deadline! Bookmark this link. And be sure to visit the rest of the Bartleby site while there.

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(5) NECESSARY BLURBS
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Thank you for reading!


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