A quick post to announce a recent copywriting project.
Alistair Dodd Consulting (ADC) is a firm of architectural designers. Distinct from architects, ADC provide a range of services to property developers, architects, construction companies and home owners, including:
Oh, dear reader, I was so naive! When I began blogging, all those year ago, I thought that the aim of my endeavours was to develop a large readership. To gradually, through perseverance and good writing, increase the number of people who read my blog.
And although I’m naturally a humble kind of guy, I dared to dream that I would eventually have a loyal following, a steadily increasing band of followers. Careful readers who enjoyed my words, employed my advice and conversed in comments.
So far, that has not happened. I don’t cause controversy, or get many comments. Sometimes I wonder if anyone’s reading at all. But that doesn’t get me down.
My blog doesn’t need to be big to be good. Because this blog is good every time it is read by any one person (like you). If one person reads a sentence or two of my blog and thinks something positive, or gets a nice impression of me, then it’s worthwhile.
One of the web’s biggest problem is its facelessness. The web is anonymous, technological, artificial. It can be cold and scary. Blogs give us a chance to be human, and to chat a bit. We can be less formal, less contained and more revealing about our personalities.
My blog lets me drop my guard and write the way I speak. And that lets people get to know me, which seems to help them decide to employ me.
So even if you only have a handful of subscribers and a trickle of daily traffic, keep it up! A neglected blog is never a good advert for anything.
Kendall Copywriting is one year old! So much has happened in the past year – sometimes it feels like I’ve squashed three years into the space of one. Perhaps because the last year has been so full and fascinating, I didn’t quite know how to write a blog post about it all. Luckily, I’ve got another idea…
Last week I was invited by Julie Stanford (of the Essential Business Guide and the President of Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce) to talk about my experiences as a freelancer on her Radio Reverb show, Business as Usual. Coinciding with my one year anniversary, it was the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on the past year.
This was my first time being interviewed for the radio, and I was quite nervous to begin with. But Julie was a great interviewer and made the whole experience very pleasant.
What follows is Julie Stanford interviewing me, Leif Kendall, about being a freelancer, a copywriter and a small business owner. It seems like the perfect way to wrap up the past year:
After the interview, I remembered all kinds of things that I should have mentioned. Mainly people. People who have helped, guided and supported me during my first full year in business. I really wish I had mentioned the following people and organisations:
I met Michael and Prem at a Vine networking event. It was Michael who gave me the advice I mention about pricing, and together they generously helped me create my first website.
I do mention the Farm, but I don’t mention Paul Silver. Paul runs the Farm (a networking group for Brighton freelancers), and I’m very grateful to him for the priceless resource that this group provides.
The Werks is where I work. It’s a special place full of talented, friendly people. Rosie Sherry first invited me there, and made me feel very welcome.
Working in Brighton, I’m lucky to be surrounded by creative people who love nothing more than helping others. It’s a great place to work.
Last week I did my first bit of proper travel writing. I went to Arnhem, Holland to write about the city and Operation Market Garden.
Travel writing is very new to me, so I’ve been busy reading about what makes great travel writing, and learning the practicalities of being a travel writer.
As with all of my learning experiences, I try to share them as I go. The biggest lesson I learnt from this trip was:
Make sure that important places/sites will be open when you visit.
If you’ve guessed that I didn’t check and that this became a significant problem, then you’re right. I didn’t expect two war museums to be closed in June, so I didn’t check. I should have checked!
(the picture is of my son, who fell asleep at the wheel after driving us around Arnhem)
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