The 29th Washington Writers Conference
THE WRITING LIFE: Where We Are and Where We Are Going
Sponsored by Washington Independent Writers
The George Washington University
Cafritz Conference Center
Marvin Center Building
800 21st St. N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20052
Saturday, June 14, 2008
PRINT SPEECH (PDF)
Peter Bowerman Speech (cont.)
In any case, over the past four or five years, I’ve picked up more and more work doing
taglines, company slogans, product/company naming, and book titling. Fun stuff. Like a
little puzzle. “We need you to incorporate this idea, and this one, and this, this, this and
this. In four words or less.” Love it. By the way, if you don’t, sent that stuff my way…
Anyway, about 18 months ago, after realizing how many samples of this work I had, I
created a separate portfolio – both an actual hard-copy binder and a PDF for my online
portfolio. See if I couldn’t land more of it.
Well, last November, I got a call from the creative director at a huge specialty marketing
firm for an unusual gig. The company had created a pilot program for a big supermarket
chain that involved creating 150+ sales-driving point-of-purchase displays in one of their
stores, highlighting various tips, values, recipes, and product bundles. Each sign needed a
snappy headline and a one-line snippet of body copy. Right up my alley.
She was trying to replace one of two junior copywriters she’d been working with on
earlier cycles of the program with a more experienced one because she was spending too
much time overseeing their work. She was interviewing three or four writers in all.
Knowing a bit about the project in advance, I’d brought both portfolios – my standard
one and the new one. She starts going through the new one, and I can tell it’s working for
her. A lot of focused nodding and “Oh, this is good,” and “Nice work,” and “Really good
stuff.” I got the job. AND at a most healthy hourly rate.
Clients DON’T want to hunt around endlessly for what they need. She was already
overworked and overextended – hence the reason to hire someone in the first place – and
she wanted the hiring process to go fast and successfully. I come along, show her exactly
what she was looking for, and make it really easy for her to hire me.
Since December, I’ve done two cycles, they loved my work, and I was recently hired by a
completely different division of the company for a totally unrelated project. Word got
around that I was a good, creative, strategic-thinking writer – frankly, a wonderfully
memorable box to be put in.
Total billings with the account so far? Over $15K. All because I took the time to pull out
a specific chunk of my work and showcase it.
Any wheels turning? Given how easy web sites are to create, why not even create a
separate site for a particular specialty? The more a client believes you’re THE expert in a
certain industry or project type, the more likely they are to pick you from the crowd AND
pay you well. Even if you want to KEEP being a generalist.
Another key takeaway of all this is sort of the exact opposite of specializing: Memorable
by Diversity: If you LIKE being a generalist, let your clients and editors know everything
you do! Over time, we can get pigeon-holed: “Oh, he does brochures for us; Oh, she only
writes about parenting,” because that’s all we’ve done for them. Take them out to lunch,
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