Interesting Side Effects of Copywriting
Freelance Writing Experiences
There is no doubt that becoming a copywriter changed my life. I was no longer working for someone else and putting up with all the headaches and hassles. I can structure my work around my life instead of the other way around. For me, this is the single most important benefit of working at home.
I feel particularly empowered by the fact that, for the first time in my life, I can choose my own direction in life. However, I have learned that copywriting has a set of side effects that I hadn’t really thought about before. They aren’t necessarily bad, but you should definitely be aware of them.
I’m A Hermit
Eight hours fly by for me when I have a full day of projects and phone calls ahead of me. I actually prefer wandering around my house in the peace and quiet. Well, the cat does jump up and throw himself on the keyboard when it’s time to take a break and that paper bag he so loves to sleep in makes it hard to talk on the phone. (My cat, Smokey, is not neglected. He just chooses to sleep in the bag instead of the $40 bed I purchased for him. It’s his way of trying to convince me that he should sleep on my bed.)
The fact remains that days go by before I convince myself to leave my house. In fact, the girls at the bank (small town — we have humans to do deposits/withdrawals/pay bills) thought I had died because they hadn’t seen me in three weeks.
I prefer this life, but I would seriously recommend going out to do something each day. If you need to, schedule it in as you would a project.
Advertising Just Isn’t As Effective
Now that I understand the different ways products are advertised or hyped up, I am more conscious of these advertising efforts. When I go to an online store and see reviews and other items, I take them with a grain of salt. In fact, I recently purchased a series of products knowing it was a well structured product launch.
This has made me a better shopper. I wanted those products bad enough that it didn’t matter. I knew they would add value to my life and my business. The products I don’t need are far easier to ignore.
I’m Not Working At Home, It’s Just An Excuse Not To Get Out Of My Jammies
This is a big one for me and the problem is compounded by the fact that I live in a small little town that is still living in the 90s (gee, was it that long ago?). For instance, the editor of the local newspaper and the retired school principle are the only ones in the area who build websites. I am the only one in the area that is willing to provide online content. In fact, most of the businesses in the area don’t have a website or feel they need one.
Make Money At Home And Be Your Own Boss
When someone asks what I’m doing now, I get that look like ‘oh yeah, you’re sitting around doing nothing’. It just isn’t seen as a viable business. It isn’t until they ask ‘well…do you make money doing that?’ that my life seems to be validated in their eyes. I tell them that I make more money now than I ever have before and no longer give the babysitter half my paycheck.
I find it interesting that I don’t necessarily feel like I need their approval, but that look of ’she’s being lazy’ just seems to rub me the wrong way. It even took months for my own husband to realize that I wasn’t treating him like a sugardaddy (I think he liked it even though he’d never admit to it lol)
All in all, I find there is nothing more satisfying than standing up from my computer at the end of the day and thinking ‘I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar’. What interesting effects have you noticed about being your own boss?
Oh yeah, I finally found the answer to the age old question ‘why does my boss have that fancy office chair with the heat/cooling/massaging function that looks more comfortable than my couch’. If anyone knows where I can get one of these with extra padding in the seat for a decent price, message me….
(White chair pic by sdamsgaard, ‘boss’ chair by ljweb)
November 28, 2008 at 9:33 pm | For the Writer | 3 comments
The interesting side effects of becoming a freelancer http://bit.ly/TZPf
I love the last one Angie! I figure that my neighbors must wonder how I manage to “sit around all day without going to work” – I often wonder if they assume I’m doing illegal things… I mean, who can REALLY earn a living from home right?!?! We can!!
I find the neighbors only knock on the door when I’m in the middle of an IM conversation or am yacking on Twitter. This causes me to say what I need to quickly and close the door lol. I figure we’ll be ok till they start peeking in the windows to see what we’re really up to lol I wonder if I could find a fake marijuana plant and start burning incense by the front door….