No matter what kind of project I’m working on – a simple brochure for a painting company, a case study for manufacturing company, a sales letter for a school, you name it – I always ask myself: How can I make this more interesting, more engaging, more attention-getting. I don’t care how prosaic a topic is, you can ALWAYS add spice to it, and that should be your challenge to yourself always. Just reminding yourself to work your darndest to give a client something that doesn’t look like everything else out there will make you a better writer.

And GREAT rescue story, Devon. LOVE being brought into a gig after someone’s messed it up OR just when a client hasn’t planned very well and needs it fast. No better feeling than coming through, and as you say, definitely no better way to build customer loyalty than when you save someone’s butt. The panicked feeling they have at the outset coupled with the relief when it all turns out is a powerful psychological one-two punch.

PB

I turned around an emergency rush job for a client — he offered, without prompting, to triple my usual rush free (anything that has to be turned around in less than three business days gets a rush fee tacked on to it). He needed it done in a matter of hours, and therefore tripled the fee. He was especially desperate because he’d gone with a cheaper-priced writer (who works for mill content sites) who mucked it up royally, and he had tens of thousands of dollars on the line. I let the fee say, “I told you so” rather than saying it myself. If you hire someone who writes for mill content sites or bidding sites, that’s the quality you’re going to get. You get what you pay for. He was ecstatic with the copy I came up with. We’ll see if he’s learned.

One of my first positive comments from an editor was how reliable I was. I was working for the local paper then, and the editor was sick of writers dropping out of sight mid-assignment. I got her attention by showing up. Other comments have been “Your writing just pulls me right into the article/story. I can’t help but read it.” The best was when an advertiser wrote to my editor and thanked him for hiring me because of the balanced writing and the attention to the technical facts. Damn, that felt good!

Being a damn good writer (move over – I’m in the mood to preen a little!) has given me the benefit of others bragging about my work. I don’t have to. I remember sitting at a conference session. The guy beside me was holding our magazine with my story on the cover. He saw my name tag and afterward was just salivating like he’d met a celebrity (hardly – I wrote risk management articles!). That he thought enough to read the byline was like a gift to me. When they tell their friends and clients spread the news, your marketing job becomes that much easier.

Have you always had natural ability, or have you honed initially-less-impressive skills over time?–

Always had it. I was nine years old and “publishing” hand-written newspapers about what our farm animals were up to.

If you’ve demonstrably improved your writing skills over the years, what books, resources or ideas made the difference for you?–

Your book by far was a great resource for notching things up in the marketing department. Also, I learned how to write query letters that went beyond the ordinary with How to Write Irresistable Query Letters by Lisa Collier Cool. That probably dates me, but hers was my Bible for years.

And then I had to work hard to learn the craft of the job, the technical elements, and gain practicality.

One of my biggest strengths is that I’m the Anti-Niche. I can write about almost anything. There are companies/venues for which I choose not to write — if I think the company mission is vile or promoting something dangerous. But I’m CAPABLE of writing almost anything.

Another strength that keeps many clients coming back, along with quality work and extreme reliability, is that I see the world rather differently than many others, so if the need is for something in a unique voice unlike what’s out there — I’m your writer.

Part of it is also in the work I seek out. I’m much happier working for an array of smaller, individual clients across a wide array of topics that actually interest me than settling into a routine with one or two steadier corporate clients. There are plenty of writers who like to write for corporate clients and have X amount of work from each per month — I like the variation from individuals.

I don’t want to set my life up in a mirror image of a corporate style, but in a home office. I want flexibility, variety, and off-the-wall experiences.

The more I focus on my overall vision for my writing life as integrated into my overall life, and the less I worry about the money, the happier i am and the better-paying jobs I land. You can still be a smart business person without being entirely dollar-obsessed. (Besides, I accept euros and Kronas, too)

I personally think that journaling lots helped my writing immensely, as well as forum posting. The three pillars that will make a good writer, in my opinion, are writing often, criticizing your own writings, and seeking outside inspiration. I’ve found that people who do all three inevitably become skilled writers.

It’s all about humanizing and connecting. My copy should feel like a dialogue, not a pitch. Subtle hooks that draw the reader in, not bludgeoning over the head with a club. I don’t know that there’s any resource available to teach this, other than being human, talking to others and listening. And building your client base so you have lots of practice…

I think the other thing they like is that I don’t get sloppy. In one of your books (either TWFW or Back for Seconds?) you said you triple-check everything to make sure there aren’t any type-os. This was SUCH a useful habit to have from early on. I always find something when I read it that third time through! If writing is the “butt” in this analogy, editing is definitely the “kick.”

I remember back when I came to you for mentoring, I didn’t think I was good enough. So, sometimes it just comes down to how much a writer CARES. The good-enough part will take care of itself if you really care about the quality of your work. The books that made a difference for me? Besides yours? Definitely Net Words by Nick Usborne. And the book you recommended in your book–Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! by Luke Sullivan.