Tag: Portland

Rebranding Your Business

Rebranding Your Business

A business “rebrand” is the most challenging and rewarding inbound query a freelance copywriter can receive. I’ve owned my freelance writing and editing consultancy for five years, and the changes to how businesses market themselves has been nothing short of extraordinary. In the past year, I’ve been approached by three large enterprises to help them

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"I Would Like An Estimate..."

“I Would Like An Estimate…”

I try to keep my initial complimentary consultation focused on the problems of my prospective clients, and the potential ways I can help. Questions about cost can bog the conversation down. Business owners (and marketing managers eyeing their budgets) understandably feel they’re entering uncharted territory when they seek freelance writers or editors. Even in the

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Content and Strategy

A few weeks ago, a financial advisor friend of mine and I had a conversation about the terminology of our respective professions.  I mentioned how a few people seemed ambivalent about calling themselves copywriters, and some had started using the term, “content strategist.” “Copy” is a journalism term and one that evokes smoky newsrooms and

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Light Bulb No. 2 by Chuck Coker

Your Ideal Client

(Image Credit:  “Light Bulb No. 2” by Chuck Coker) My networking group, The Copywriter Conclave of Portland, keeps a regularly updated blog chock full of valuable information for me, my fellow “Conclavists,” and our clients.  I’ve been thinking a lot about what Conclave founder Amber James brought up in April:  the ideal client.   Amber mentions

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Snake plant at my office. Photo by Mahesh Raj Mohan

Your Content Garden

Spring is finally here (well, for some of us), and it’s a great time to focus on your backyard or porch garden.  It’s also the perfect time to attend to to your “content garden.”  Web copy, print collateral, blogs, PR, social media, and even TV or radio commercials all need care and attention to thrive.

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Enlighten Writing Laptop

Search Engines and Your Business

If you own a business with a presence on the Internet – whether you’re a Portland-area freelance writer like me or a process server like my client, VeriServe Solutions – you know the importance of search engine rankings.  Or I hope you do. I wanted to write a blog post to get you up to

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2013

Time Traveling 2013 Year in Review

2013 was … unique, wasn’t it?  It definitely was for me.  I transitioned from a Portland area freelance writer and editor to a branded business complete with a new office, an Oregon registry number, and a city license.   I felt sort of like Dak, Luke Skywalker’s gunner from The Empire Strikes Back.  I felt like

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VeriServe Solutions, Inc. Brochure

Print Marketing and Your Business

We may be transforming into a paperless world, but I will always believe in the power of print.  In my opinion, high screen resolution and pristine digital images will never replace the scent of finely-milled paper or dust jackets as glossy as polished stone. In the marketing realm, you can’t beat the allure of the

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Portland Copywriters and Editors

(I recently wrote a blog post at the Copywriter Conclave of Portland website.  I’ve copied it here for readers of my blog.) A group of copywriters and editors in the same group may seem like a strange idea. After all, aren’t we supposed to be competing for the same pool of clients? If you’re a

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Healthcare Writing and Obamacare

It is the dawn of Obamacare.*  October 1st marked the first day that U.S. citizens, with or without a history of health problems, can log on to state or federal health insurance exchanges and shop for comprehensive health insurance plans.   The law is new, and it’s understandable that there is still confusion, as well as

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