Well, whaddya know, another year has slipped by.
Everyone’s done their year in review blog articles (I’ve written a few for others). Because I’m a late adopter, I’m jumping on the bandwagon today.
I’ve written these articles for my clients, and found them super easy to bash out.
But for myself? Much, much harder.
I don’t want to sound braggy or uppity. Plus, It’s hard to cast my mind back to what I even achieved last year, beyond keeping my kids alive and staying married. But, it’s actually worthwhile to think about this stuff.
So here goes.
Highlights
Leaving a permanent retainer job
During a quiet period, when I was starting to panic about lack of income, I accepted an ongoing copywriting job. The people were lovely, the work was great, but the pay was shambolically low. As the months passed, I found my own work dwindling, because I didn’t have time to concentrate on fostering my own business pipeline. I had thought about leaving before. But I always hesitated because the guaranteed income was so appealing. Then, in May, I bit the bullet and resigned.
And it’s been… ace!
I contacted a former client and quickly got myself back on a new retainer (at my preferred rates). The fear of losing income has proven to be unfounded, and I’ve enjoyed a confidence boost knowing that I can back myself as a copywriter and expect to be paid accordingly.
Investing in my own new website
This crummy old 2012 website is soon to disappear, and a lovely new replacement will arrive in its place. Soon.
Working with more digital agencies
I love working with agencies, and I have had the pleasure of completing projects for several Melbourne digital marketing agencies this year.
Agencies give great briefs, manage the client, understand the process and are generally lovely to work with. Also, the websites they produce are so smick.
Saying no
I’ve realised that some jobs are not worth the money, because the client is difficult or evasive, doesn’t like my style or it’s not the right fit. I’ve started saying no to these clients and I’ve never regretted it. My sixth sense for sussing them out at the onset is getting pretty good too.
Lowlights
- Neglecting the aforementioned new website because I am too busy with client work.
- The potential client who wanted four blog posts a month, three at five hundred words and one at one thousand words for $80-$100 per month. Crazy!
- The client who paid a deposit, received a sample from me then disappeared. Update: she’s since come back, and is now ghosting me again. I am such a sucker.
- The difficulty of managing a lovely, lovely client that is so disorganised and chaotic, I doubt they could arrange a pissup in a brewery.
- Seeing my own SEO ranking dwindling because I neglect it in favour of clients. Hoping to address that in 2018.
- Capacity issues, because I said yes to too many projects and then struggled to deliver
Plans for 2018
- Work more hours – with kids in afterschool care I will be working 20 hours a week.
- Blog more – to improve my SEO and because, you know, a copywriter should blog, duh.
- Continue saying no to projects and clients that aren’t the right fit.
- Fire clients – yes, I mean to fire clients who make the process difficult this year. I’d rather hang with my kids.
- Launch my new website and improve my SEO ranking.
- Keep my kids alive and stay married by the end of 2018. Because that’s what truly matters to me, copywriting is just the in-between sort of stuff.
- Using my #controlfreak planner to plan my time more efficiently.
If you’ve been a client of mine in 2017, I thank you for choosing me. I hope you have a butt-kickingly good 2018.
How has your 2017 been? What are your plans for 2018?
