What Kind of Creative are You?

Tags

advertising, agency, corporate, Entrepreneur, freelance, Freelance Copywriter in Columbus Ohio, solopreneur

During an interview, hiring managers often ask cringe-inducing questions. Of course, these questions are designed to get an insight as to how well you’d fit within their organization. If you’ve done your due diligence, you know exactly what they want to hear, but wouldn’t it be liberating if you could be completely honest?

The question I’m referring to in this case is the dreaded question about what kind of work environment you prefer. It’s a pretty straightforward question, but I honestly don’t know why they always seem to ask it. If you’re applying for a corporate job or an agency position, this is obviously the type of environment you want to work in, right?

Creative environments are typically broken down into three archetypes:

Agency

Diehard creatives are usually found here, though the types of agencies vary, based on specialty, size and location. Agencies tend to be looser in their corporate structure than other companies (note: there are exceptions to this), and their dress code tends to be more casual. The work environment is usually designed to foster creativity, so holding a meeting across a foosball table isn’t an unusual occurrence. The work tends to be done on a larger scale and the personalities are often equally large.

Working hours, however, are flexible—rather than working bankers’ hours, expect to stay until the work is finished, which can sometimes be late  (this isn’t good news if you share a car with a spouse and have to pick up a child from daycare by a certain time or else.). Yes, this includes weekends if your agency is the middle of preparing a pitch.

Also, in agency world, the client is king, so expect several rounds of revisions before the client finally approves the project, which, toward the end, looks nothing like what was originally pitched.

Corporate

Corporate environments are usually the exact opposite of an agency setting. Cube farms and the ubiquitous business casual dress code abound, plus the hours are long, but predictable.

Office politics can play a major role as to how the office environment evolves. Departments tend to silo themselves, as do executives from the rank-and-file. In this setting, you have to remember two things: the bosses are not your equals, so don’t expect to go out with them for drinks after work, and always copy everyone involved on a project on every email you send.

Meetings run rampant on the corporate side of things, as do acronyms. PSMs (Project Status Meetings), GSMs (General Status Meetings) and PUs (Pipeline Updates) are often a part of one’s daily vocabulary. Also, the “suits” tend to live and die by spreadsheets, so get used to reading and referring to them constantly.

Freelance

The other place to find diehard creatives is in a freelance setting. They’re usually either forced into freelancing by the economy or they really enjoy the freedom of working for themselves. These folks are usually found in their home offices are coffee shops, but many have also settled into the communal environments found in coworking spaces.

Freelancing can take one of two forms: either working entirely for yourself or temping in one of the aforementioned settings. Temping can be an easy quick-fix when you’re strapped for cash, but understand that you’re expected to do the workload of a full time employee while receiving none of the perks, plus this arrangement typically has a definite shelf life.

Working for yourself can be tough. You’re often starved for human interaction, plus you will spend at least as much time marketing yourself as you do actually doing the work. While your time is flexible enough to accommodate doctor’s visits and school events, a full client load also means that you may find yourself working well into the wee hours. Plus, working for yourself can be a feast or famine situation when it comes to your cash flow. That’s not to say that it can’t be done, but it does require an incredible amount of discipline and strategy.

However, aside from the flexible schedule, the most prominent perk of freelancing is being free to cherry-pick the projects you want to work on and for whom.

So, what kind of creative am I? Truthfully, I’m the type of creative who likes to eat, so I will find a way to make myself happy in whichever arrangement I find myself in. Now, if only I could be that honest in an interview!

What would you love to tell an interviewer, provided you could?

And Now for Something Completely Different

Tags

blog, blogging, Computers and Internet, Girls in Tech, People, Science and Technology, social media, twitter, Women, Young Women (organization)

Last month, I got to speak at Beyond Social 101, which was sponsored by Girls in Tech. True, it was another tech conference, which was primarily focused on blogging. But what made this conference special was that it was created for and by women – in fact, 15 of the 18 presenters were women, which is completely unheard of in tech circles.

I had the privilege of speaking at this conference, as well as getting to know some truly extraordinary women in technology. Of course, I had to put my personal spin on things and present on why I think corporate blogs suck.

 

I’m passionate about Girls in Tech’s mission and I hope you share in my excitement. Thanks, again, to Tiffany Odutoye, my fellow presenters and all of the conference attendees for a truly remarkable experience!

Since We’re on the Subject of Public Speaking

Tags

business, Business Services, Communication, Education and Training, FAQs Help and Tutorials, publicspeaking, TED, Work–life balance

Since I’ve been making the rounds lately at various digital conferences, I’m constantly asked about public speaking. So many people are terrified of it because they’re either:

a.) embarrassed

b.) nervous

c.) Or a combination of the three

Whether you’re presenting at a conference or a status meeting at work, the best thing you can do is to acknowledge your fear and then just go for it. True, you may stammer a bit the first few times, but then, you’ll get the hang of it. What’s the worst thing that can happen? No one is going to get up and walk out, so what do you have to lose?

I have two pieces of advice: First, it’s called public speaking, not public speeching. What I mean by this is that it’s essential to remember that you’re speaking to people and not at them. Invite your audience to join in the conversation, as this should be a dynamic, rather than a passive, experience.

Second, try not to focus on the entire room. Instead, pick out a few people in your audience and speak directly to them. You’ll engage your audience on a much more personal level and it’s a far less intimidating experience once you know you’ve reached one person.

 

If you’d like to see examples of some truly amazing speakers, check out TEDtalks. My favorite presentation is from Nigel Marsh, who spoke at TEDxSydney about the importance of not letting your employer determine your work-life balance.

 

What are your experiences with public speaking? What advice would you give to someone who has to speak in public?

Making the Rounds

Tags

Employment, job seeking, Ohio State University, speaking

I’ve been doing a ton of public speaking lately, and I’m always excited to do so. For some reason, it fascinates me that I can get a room full of people to sit and listen to what I have to say, especially when it comes to social media, which is a topic that I am extremely passionate about.

In the interest of total disclosure, I actually love being invited to speak and have no problem doing it. When I was a teenager and frequent pageant competitor, I usually won or placed very well in speech and interview competitions. In fact, my nickname was Miss Microphone, as in, “give her a microphone and she’ll talk for hours.”

So, without further ado, here are my slides from this weekend’s presentation at Digital Media in a Social World about how to find a job using social media. Thanks to Doug Dangler, the Social Media Society and the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing at THE Ohio State University for being such gracious hosts!

Too Junior, My Aunt Fanny!

Tags

business, Business and Economy, Employment, Freelance Copywriter in Columbus Ohio, Freelancer, Job description, Job interview, Job Search

Many freelancers realize at some point that freelancing just isn’t for them and they’d rather “go corporate.” No harm, no foul, right? Maybe not.

I have reached an interesting point in my career where finding a permanent job is getting to be extremely difficult, and it’s not solely because of the economy. Instead, I’m talking about my level of experience, or lack thereof, according to certain potential employers.

Case study #1: I had an amazing phone interview with a company that manufactures bath products. In fact, the hiring manager and I hit it off so well that she immediately invited me to come in for a face-to-face interview. I met with the entire team for a total of three hours and was sure that I had nailed it. Nope. Instead, I got a call from the recruiter the next day saying that they had decided to pursue other candidates because the team was “concerned about my lack of retail experience.” Apparently, while I can sell the beejeezus out of antidepressants and cancer drugs, I’m not qualified to sell lotion.

Case study #2: I have applied repeatedly for positions with a shoe retailer (if you know me, you also know that I have a slight shoe obsession) and was told today that I’m too junior for their senior copywriter position. Mind you, my qualifications perfectly match their job description, which is why I’m confused.

 

Ironically, when I apply for jobs that might be slightly junior, I get rejected because I’m “clearly a senior creative” and have too much experience. So, no matter what I apply for, I either have too much or not enough experience.

I guess what bothers me most about this is not so much being rejected—it happens. Instead of looking at the depth of a candidate’s experience, employers are looking for much more specific experience. Because the job market is so flooded with candidates, employers can afford to be incredibly picky in making hiring decisions. If you don’t fit the job description to a tee, don’t bother to apply.

So what is a poor (literally, poor!) freelancer to do?

And You Are..?

Tags

business, Entrepreneur, Freelance Copywriter in Columbus Ohio, Freelancer, Julia Roberts, Mystic Pizza, words, writer

As a writer (make that freelance copywriter in Columbus Ohio), words are my obsession. I can’t get enough of them—I love to combine words to generate different meanings, sounds and emotions. Of course, paying this level of attention to words also makes me acutely aware of words that I absolutely can’t stand.

Until recently, that list encompassed just a few words: paradigm, savory, panties, and moist. Capping the list is the mack daddy of all icky words: slacks. Just the sound of the word conjures up memories of the polyester pants my mom used to wear in the 70’s and 80’s. Those suckers had an elastic waistband, came in array of colors not found in nature and tended to make an odd swish-swish sound whenever she walked.

However, since I’ve been freelancing, there is a word that has come to my attention because it annoys and horrifies me at the same time: entrepreneur. I think the reason why this word bothers me so much is that it has become clichéd. Nine times out of ten, if you ask someone who is self-employed what they do for a living, they tell you that they’re an entrepreneur, and they probably won’t give you so much as a hint of what it is that they actually do.

There is also entrepreneur’s evil offspring, solopreneur, which is increasing in popularity. Again, what does a solopreneur do, other than work for themselves? I have no idea. What I do know is that the word reeks with pretention.

There’s a quote about pretentiousness that I have always loved—“an ounce of pretention is worth a pound of manure.” It comes from the 1980’s Julia Roberts movie Mystic Pizza (Watch it on cable sometime. You’ll love it.), and it’s a reminder that the more pretentious we are, the more likely it is that we’re also full of crap.

I think that, as freelancers, we become wrapped up in trying to describe what it is that we do. For example, I tend to describe myself as a freelance writer and digital content specialist. People in marketing, advertising and PR immediately understand what this means. There have also been times when I have also been on interviews with befuddled HR people from a different industry who just don’t “get it.” This, of course, has led me to whine afterward, “they just don’t get me!”

Maybe we try to come up important-sounding titles to get people to take us more seriously as freelancers. Then again, maybe it’s time to let go of titles and just get back to work.

All I Need to Know About Marketing, I Can Learn From Lady Gaga

Tags

Branding, copywriter, copywriter in columbus ohio, facebook, Freelance Copywriter in Columbus Ohio, Freelance Writer in Columbus Ohio, lady gaga, Little Monsters, oprah, social media, twitter

Love her or loathe her, let’s face it—Lady Gaga is a genius when it comes to marketing herself. Always relevant and provocative, she’s constantly being talked about, and isn’t that what you want for your brand, whether it’s a client or your personal brand? Here’s how you can claim a little Gaga magic for yourself.

Have an Opinion

Lady Gaga isn’t exactly shy when it comes to speaking her mind about issues she feels strongly about, which keeps her in the public eye. Don’t be namby-pamby—pick a side and speak up. This will help you focus on who you want to eventually evangelize your brand. As a freelance copywriter, this is something I struggle with – I don’t want to piss people off since I’m ultimately looking for a permanent gig.

 

Social Media is Your Friend

Lady Gaga has done an amazing job driving loyalty with social media—she has more than 5 million fans on Twitter and 14 million Facebook fans. Even better is the way she directly messages her friends on a timely basis. Can’t you do the same?

 

Be Different

Be different, but selectively so, and make sure people know about it. However, there’s an art to doing this: a writing teacher I had in high school would constantly tell us, “show me, don’t tell me.” In other words, rather than blathering on about how great you are, live it and let people discover it for themselves.

 

There’s Nothing Wrong with Commerce

Let’s be honest—poverty sucks. It took me a while to figure this out: making money while plying your trade is not a sin. It’s actually kind of the point of working. When I first started freelancing, I was almost embarrassed to ask for a living wage from clients because I was afraid that I would drive away clients by asking for a decent rate. Turns out I did, but I only seemed to scare off the bad clients.

 

Kiss Their Three Heads and Tuck Them in at Night

Lady Gaga’s fans are called Little Monsters and they even have their own official greeting/gang sign. Even Oprah knows it. So how are you connecting with your fans? What are you doing to add value beyond the initial transaction?

 

Don’t be Afraid to Piss People Off

You can’t please everyone, right? Someone isn’t going to like you because your rate is just outside of their price range, or they don’t like your approach to concepting, or whatever. Lady Gaga realizes that the people she ticks off probably aren’t her fan base, anyway, and she’s okay with that. Trying to please everyone is exhausting and it eats up the time you should be spending on work.

 

Have the Right People on Your Side

Lady Gaga has a long string of celebrity supporters. You also need your own star-studded entourage who will sing your praises, let you know about job openings, and maybe even throw some business your way every now and then. Of course, this has to be a give-and-take relationship. Very few people will flat-out worship you if there’s nothing in it for them.

 

Produce Great Work. Always

Even if you’re not a pop music fan, Lady Gaga writes amazingly good songs. She doesn’t produce a huge amount of them, but what she does produce is flawless. This is how you should run your business—take on work selectively and don’t take on so much that your finished product isn’t your best work.

 

Stop Shooting Fish in a Barrel

The Gaga brand is very calculated and deliberate, thanks to her talented team of publicists. Team Gaga didn’t do anything revolutionary – they simply took the tools that work today and used them to their advantage within the parameters that define her brand’s attributes. In other words, figure out who and what you/your brand want(s) to be when you/it grow(s) up and act accordingly.

Don’t Name the Puppy (and Other Rules for Freelancers)

Tags

business, Business Services, Columbus Ohio Copywriter, Consulting, Employment, Freelance Copywriter in Columbus Ohio, Freelance Writer in Columbus Ohio, Freelancer, Job Search

Women who were single in the 90’s will remember a book called the Rules – this book had a simple premise: position yourself in such a way that he has to have you. Admittedly, I read this dating guide, in the vain hope that my boyfriend at the time would finally man up and make a commitment. Although the book turned me into a neurotic lunatic who would only answer the phone every third time He called, I did take away some valuable life lessons that I believe apply more to your career than to your love life.

 

Be a Creature Unlike Any Other

This is what is referred to as the Unique Value Proposition. Assess your personal brand: what services and experience do you bring to the table that no one else does? Discover this nugget of information and exploit it the way you would a great pair of legs or broad shoulders—showcase your greatest assets to your advantage.

 

Be Available, but Not Too Available

Accommodate your clients as best you can, but not at the sacrifice of time with your family or sleep. I was once at a point where I was working a 40 hour/week contract job, on top of juggling 3 additional freelance clients. Working until 4 am was a common occurrence and I was a sleep deprived wreck because I needed the money. It wasn’t pretty.

 

Only Love Those Who Love You Back

I once had a client with whom I had, essentially, an Ike-and-Tina relationship: the office environment was extremely unpleasant and stressful, the pace was frantic, and, despite my desperate bids for them to hire me, they didn’t, even though I was working 50 hour weeks for them on key projects for several months at a time. Yet, they continued to ask me to come back for repeat engagements, and I would happily go along with it. I have since learned to say no to clients who only emotionally and mentally drain me.

 

Never Say Never

Not every freelance opportunity will be a love match, and that’s okay. However, make sure to stay in contact with clients. They may refer you to a friend who has a similar need, which could lead to something big down the road. You just never know.

 

Insist on a Commitment

You love the job and your co-workers, and you’ve already mentally decorated your cube. Uh oh, you’ve named the puppy and fallen in love with something that doesn’t belong to you. Here’s the simple truth—until there’s a commitment (in other words, an actual written offer), the job isn’t actually yours.

What’s a freelancer to do? On the upside, you’re not required to work the crazy hours that your co-workers are obligated to keep. You are entitled to take a lunch hour (even if your co-workers are eating at their desks and muttering). Your only obligation is to do the job you were hired to do. But, the downside is that until you’re hired, you are, for all intents and purposes, a (gasp!) vendor—you provide services at a set rate for a set period of time and there is no further obligation to you. Sadly, no one will cry and light candles in your cube the day after your contract ends. They will move on, as must you.

During your freelance period, you must continue to network and apply for jobs, even if you’re sure that this job is The One. In a perfect world, employers would line up to wage a bidding war over us, but they can’t do that if they’ve never heard of you. Weirdly, jobs always seem to come to those who already have them, so work that mojo while you have it.

 

Close the Deal or Move On

If you want to get hired, you have to make it known. In this economy, employers love working with freelancers because we don’t get benefits or unemployment. They have no future obligation to us, and they’re okay with that.

But let’s say you’re not okay with that. You need to make it known that you want to be hired, but you can’t appear desperate.

In other words, keep it in your pants.

A Freelancer’s Manifesto

Tags

advertising, business, Business and Economy, Business Services, copywriter in columbus ohio, Employment, Freelancer, marketing, Nike

Ask a roomful of creative professionals why they freelance and you’ll get a wide array of answers that boil down to one of two reasons:

1. They were forced into it by the economy and freelancing beats starvation
2. They couldn’t stand working for “the man” anymore and decided there had to be something better “out there”

Whatever the reason, more and more people are freelancing. Sure, we could have picked a more “respectable” career path that’s more or less recession-proof, but we’re a passionate group of people who are driven to do what we love—create. Working for ourselves allows creative freedom, flexibility, and the opportunity to meet some great people along the way.

Of course, while blazing your own path, you’re bound to hit a few speed bumps, so here are some of my observations from the trenches.

Just do it. Yes, I re-purposed that line from Nike, but it’s true. Freelancing is not for everyone and you get out of it what you put into it. I frequently say that I spend as much time marketing myself as I do actually doing the work. While I still want a full-time permanent position, freelancing is helping me gain the experience I need to get the job I want.

It could be worse. So many companies regularly demonstrate how little they value creativity. A few examples:

• The company that’s looking for a bilingual copywriter with at least 8 years of agency experience and a portfolio that contains national brand experience. The pay is $20K. I wish I was making this up.
• The advertising agency that has a CEO who micromanages the entire organization, and undermines the entire creative department by submarining their efforts and pitching his “vision” instead.
• The Creative Director who is extremely quick to tell team members why their ideas suck and/or won’t work.

Is this a company you want to work for? Me neither.

Your ass is the one on the line. Once you start freelancing, you don’t have a Creative Director to answer to and to be the buffer between you and the client. Step up your game—do some truly amazing work and develop a solid relationship with your client.

Be selective. Tons of freelancers are taken advantage of. Clients claim that the check is in the mail, but they don’t actually pay. Writers are often faced with potential clients who need a ton of copy written, but they’re only willing to pay what amounts to pennies for each piece. Know who you’re working for – do they have a good reputation? Do they follow through on their promises? Is this a client with whom you would be proud to be associated?

But be Practical. Maintain your creative standards, but keep in mind that ideals don’t put food on the table or keep the electricity flowing. Sometimes, you have to take assignments you’re less than thrilled about.

How to Find the Time to Write

Tags

freelance, time, time management, working mother, writer, writing

As a freelance writer, the thing that bothers me the most is my inability to find the time to write. But let me clarify: the majority of my time is spent doing client work, with non-working time divided up between spending time with my husband and daughter, and slaying the messy beast I lovingly refer to as my house. I love what I do, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I was able to sit down and write something for the fun of it. Sure, I can write award-winning ad copy and crank out blogs for clients, but notice the date of the last entry on this blog. I rest my case.

I’ve been doing some research on the subject of how to find more free time, and have decided to road test those ideas. So here goes.

Theory #1: If you have time to watch TV, you have time to do something productive.

I admit it – I’m a TV junkie, but, in my defense, I think it’s actually an asset to my profession. My husband is dismayed by my passion for morally reprehensible reality TV, and, really, the more offensive,the better. The way I see it is simple—as a writer, particularly as someone who frequent write highly technical copy—there are times when I just need to get outside of my head and tune out, in order to decompress and trashy TV works for me. Sue me.

But, for the sake of research, I gave it a try. I came home from work and had some family time, per usual. Once we put our daughter to bed, I tried turning off the TV. I fired up our ancient and wheezy PC, sure that this was all I needed to finally get started on that e-book I’ve been meaning to write. With fingers hovering over the keyboard, I found myself staring at the blank screen, wondering what to write. My thoughts began to ping-pong between the stack of laundry waiting to be folded, my neglected twitter feed, and my mental inventory of things I needed to do that weekend. After 15 minutes, I started squirming, wondering what was going on during that night’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen. At least I tried.

Now that I think about it, why should I give up TV? I’m more than willing to give up housework for the sake of my craft.

Theory #2: Prioritize and only do those projects you find meaningful. This will free up time for you to do the things you want to do.

Obviously, this strategy was created by someone who’s never met me. I am extremely Type-A—you know the type: driven—plus, I love to dabble. My career is a perfect example of that. Currently, in addition to freelancing for an agency, I am also doing side projects that include web content for one client and a number of blogs each week for another client. This is in addition to other writing commitments for projects I find interesting. Where to cut?

I gave this idea a spin. I came home one night and sat on the couch, notepad in hand, determined to prioritize my projects and eliminate the ones that I don’t find meaningful. I started with my client work—nope, they pay me and I happen to enjoy eating, so cutting clients isn’t going to work. I looked at my side projects—I’ve already let a few go by the wayside, but I finally had the opportunity to recognize that I’m not doing them anymore. Crossing them off of my list was strangely cathartic because it enabled me to let go of the guilt. Lack of time has a lot in common with Natural Selection, now that I think about it. You learn to let go of the things that aren’t that meaningful—letting go of the guilt is the hard part.

Theory #3: Be more selective about what client work you take on.

Sure, this idea looks great on paper, but so did Spandex, communism, and New Coke at one time or another. I think that, as a freelancer, work tends to come and go in waves, and I’m not about to turn away income, especially when it’s hard to predict where the next project will come. And, really, I’m already pretty selective about what clients I work with, so this theory doesn’t help me at all.

Theory #4: Don’t worry about it. You’ll write when you’re inspired.

This is probably my favorite idea. Think about it: guilt is to creativity what hurrying is to cooking. Yes, they both work in a pinch, but the end result will suck a lot less if you let these happen on their own.