Getting Unstuck

“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.”
– Winston Churchill

In Issue #174

Getting Unstuck
by Monica Day

We all get stuck. Heck, nine times out of ten, I stare at the first line of this essay every week for an hour or more wondering what the heck to say to you. It’s just that way with writing sometimes – and with life, for that matter. We have an idea of what we want to do, where we want to go, but it takes a while before it really gels.

Quite a few people, myself included, find they have all the enthusiasm in the world for copywriting – until they get to the final assignment of the AWAI’s Accelerated Course in Copywriting – and everything grinds to a screeching halt. But if you leave it sitting on the shelf long enough you’ll discover your dream of becoming a freelance copywriter starts collecting dust, too.

So when I got this letter from a reader this week, I knew right away I had to share it with you. It’s a perfect example of how taking a new step to make your dream real again could be the spark you need to get back in the game.

You’ll also notice that she stumbled across one of the hidden wells of assignments for freelance copywriters – the overworked graphic designer whose clients need copy to finish their website! Read on to learn more:

Dear Krista and Monica,

I was extremely ambitious when I enrolled in the Accelerated Program for six-figure Copywriting. I could imagine myself, at twenty six, running my own successful writing business and never having to take another dull job. But when I started to work on the practice letter, things ground to a halt. I was pregnant (and taking little, pink vitamin supplements – nothing that would unleash my manly potential), about to move to New Mexico, and getting ready to quit my job and change my life completely. I just couldn’t get into the letter.

But last week I decided to take another approach. Even though the letter was still not complete, I made an appointment at the Chamber of Commerce to apply for a business license. If I’m going to make six figures, I might as well do it in a businesslike manner.

I struggled to jam my postnatal body into my old business suit and pushed my new baby downtown in his stroller to meet with the business advisor. During the meeting, a couple of minutes after I started breastfeeding, I realized how incredible it will be to make great money and spend as much time as I want with my family. I truly can have it all as a copywriter.

While I was there she let me in on a wide-open local niche. In her business workshops she helps owners create brochures that explain their companies’ benefits. Most business owners struggle with this step, and there’s no one in town who writes content. It was clear that I should use my writing to help local small businesses succeed.

Even better, she explained that she has a business that does graphic design, but she doesn’t like to write. I like to write, but I don’t like graphic design. After agreeing that we would work together, she told me that I couldn’t actually apply for an LLC until I had a name for my company; I should go home and use a thesaurus to generate words and phrases that capture the benefits of my company.

When I was thinking of a name, something amazing happened. I also started to brainstorm headlines and lead paragraphs for my own brochure and before long phrases and paragraphs for the men’s supplement letter began to form in my mind. On top of that I was coming up with tons of ideas on how to market local businesses! Taking steps to make my writing business a reality dissolved my writer’s block.

Thanks for all the encouraging stories in Copy Protege,
Sincerely,
Mandy Marksteiner

Are you stuck? Maybe it’s time to take a step in another direction, and see if you don’t stumble across your lost enthusiasm and motivation along the way. And by all means, please share your story with us, too – admin@copyprotege.com.

Resource Referral: Going South

In a couple days I’ll be heading to what looks like and incredible resort in Virginia to see old friends and meet new ones at AWAI’s first-ever Writer’s Retreat. Krista is coming, too – and a few Copy Protégé readers we are looking forward to meeting.

In case you have been thinking of going, and can make a last minute decision to join us, I checked with Denise Ford and learned that one or two more people could be squeezed in at the last minute. So if you have a wild hair and want to make the trip, click here and get registered right now. And we’ll see you there!

If you couldn’t get to Virginia this week, you’ll have another chance in November. That’s right, it’s time to grab your space at bootcamp this year – before it sells out.

Krista and I have written extensively here about our bootcamp experiences – and how we both credit this annual gathering with the lion’s share of our success. We even met and conceived of our business partnership there!

The information, the contacts, the spec assignments, the clients hungry for new talent – if you are ready to make the most of this experience, it’s the best way to get a jump start on your career. Take a look at what’s in store there for you this year…

Quick Business Tip: Declaration of Independence

This week, my daughter did her big report of the school year – and she chose to write about the Declaration of Independence. Fitting, for a kid growing up in Philadelphia, with an entrepreneur for a mother, don’t you think?

While helping her find pictures on the internet of the key figures, buildings and the document itself for a poster, I stumbled across a very interesting blog called Escape From Cubicle Nation: How to go from corporate prisoner to thriving entrepreneur. Hmmm…sounds like our kind of blog, doesn’t it?

It came up in my search because the blogger, Pamela Slim, put together a Flash movie called “My Declaration of Independence”– and I remembered putting together something similar when I was first starting my business. Mine was a personal mission statement – but it was the same idea. An enduring statement of who I am and what kind of life I want to create. And every now and then I refer back to it as part reminder, part motivation to stay the course.

This week, try putting together a compilation of truths about yourself and your vision of your life that you hold self-evident. Maybe even make a slide show out of it like Pamela did. It’s a great reminder of why you started this crazy path to begin with – and why you should stay on it even when times get tough.

Check it out…