Blog Post #1. I know, it’s about freakin’ time I did a blog, but better (years) late than never, I suppose. Over the past few years, I’d looked around, saw the unending din of cyber-blather filling the airwaves, and asked myself, “Do I have something worthwhile to add or will I just be making more noise”? I guess I decided I could bring some value to the copywriting conversation, but ultimately, you, my readers will make that call.
Speaking of YOU, my readers, just as you’re crucial to the success of my ezine, The Well-Fed EPUB (https://wellfedwriter.com/ezine.shtml), providing me with a steady stream of ideas, tips, strategies and success stories since it kicked off in May 2002, your “in-the-trenches”? experiences will build this blog as well.
Got a good story, a great project outcome, something that’s worked (OR crashed-and-burned), an incandescent epiphany about the business, or any other piece of useful flotsam or jetsam you think your fellow commercial freelancers would dig? AND ideally, help all of us make more money in the biz? Lay it on me at peter@wellfedwriter.com and I’ll throw it out there. And remember: BREVITY. After all, as copywriters, we all know how to write succinctly, right?
I’ll offer up new entries no more than three times a week, but more like two, and I’ll keep ‘em on the short side. Thanks for all your support along the way. Let’s see where this thing goes…
Peter
P.S. Just subscribe in the box at top right or through a reader by clicking the box below that…
As soon as the email came in I clicked and it was your blog. I was going to be the first to congratulate you – but of course there were already 26 comments . . . we’ve been waiting!
Peter!
Great and fantastic! I will lok forward to keeping up with your posts and awaiting TWFW later this year.
tom
http://www.feedcopy.com
Congratulations on the new blog. I started mine as a blogsite and it is going well. Have fun with yours.
Any tips on getting health insurance as a freelancer? (Might as well jump into some meat right off the bat… ;))
In the advertising field, if one consumer comments, they are actually speaking on behalf of twelve. 29 X 12 = …well, you can see how this is going to add up!
I had a conversation, in 1993, with Andreas Schroeder one of the fore-fathers of the micro-novel. Since then, I read many books on freelancing but it was not until I read The Well-Fed Writer that I truly began to seriously market my work. I have been enjoying moderate success as an independent journalist writing articles and both book and movie reviews, in print and online, for not only my space but also for clients in Canada and the USA.
I really enjoy the freedom of blogging. It has helped me develop an online presence with a place to share both my personality, humor and a few of my publishing credits.
Thank you again for your words of practical advice and inspiration that you continue to share with fellow writers.
Best wishes in your new endeavour and…Happy Blogging!
Dear Peter,
I have both of your first books and am looking foward to your blog.
Peter, I ran across Bob Bly’s blog the other day. And I have been a long time subscriber to both his and your ezines… and after I got over the shock of discovering that Bob has been blogging for awhile without my knowing about it, I wondered if you would someday do the same. Lo and behold, here’s your email announcing your new blog. Wow, how weird. I am very excited about it.
Blogging is great for getting immediate feedback from your readers. I’m looking forward to the comment discussions.
Best,
Carolyn
The hardest part is always the first step. Now it gets easier. Congrats and good luck!
It’s about time. This is absolutely awesome…and just a couple posts a week, Peter?
Peter – long over due as has already been established by your fans. And what an impressive collection of readers you have! I’ve loved all three books and also had the opportunity to attend a conference over a year ago – look forward to reading your blog pearls. I’ve been hacking away at a blog focused on web writing – come visit: http://www.websitespeopleread.com In the meantime, I’ll enjoy adding you to my list of daily/weekly reads. Take care and enjoy. Deborah
Peter,
Congratulations! What a great addition to your web site and books. I will eagerly await the interactions – this will be fun and informative!
I just received the Well-Fed Writer sweatshirt I ordered through http://www.CoolStuff4Writers.com and it is a really good deal and helps start conversations when I am out on my daily walk.
May your success continue to blossom!
Sally
Peter, your book inspired me to take the step and become a professional commercial writer. And one thing I like about your work is that you incorporate the experiences of other writers. I look forward not only to your entries, but also to the many people you inspired.
Dear Peter,
Thank you so much for inspiring me to find my true calling at age 65.
Your books, TWFW and Back For Seconds, inspired me to believe that I could actually do what I enjoy (love is a bit strong) for a living. I have discovered that I truly love to have written. The process of writing is exciting, but to peruse my own writing is a great satisfaction. I actually started my first blog, http://www.EmpoweringRelationships.com on January 1, 2008 as a New Years Resolution. Your books inspired me to start a FLCW business called My Staff Writer (www.MyStaffWriter.com) in February 2008. Now I am a veteran writer 🙂 I sincerely look forward to your blog and your community of writers.
Buddy2.0
Hi Peter, glad to see the new blog! To give you a heads-up, you may have trouble with “comment-spam”. I do, and it drives me nuts! All comments to my blog are monitored because of it, so few survive the garbage — none lately. I know the wannabe posters are targeting the SEOs, not me, but that doesn’t lessen the work of manually deleting all the posts. My Host tells me I can’t block an entire domain. They don’t have the capability for me to do that. If you or anyone else finds a solution, please post it. Thanks much!
Congratulations, Mr. Bowerman! It’s a blog! Close, but no cigar!
I look forward to keeping up with whazzup whichoo. Sadly, I don’t always get my monthly feasts digested, so brevity is the soul of this twit.
It was great to finally catch your stand-up act Friday, after being a fan of yours for lo, these six years!
Best to you and yours (and by that I mean all of us!)
Jemille
Hiya Peter!
Been following your career. Like the idea for a blog but you really need to change the type, the font, or the spacing between your letters…it hurts my eyes to see all those words scrunched in together. I know people try to save paper when writing, but jeez, this is the blagosphere…you don’t need to save paper!!!!
In response to Carolyn (Comment #38), I’d say it’s even BETTER. My own website, https://JonMcCulloch.com, was for a long time a blog in the traditional sense. Then I upgraded the WordPress theme and hey presto! It’s a Content Management System.
It’s the same content with just a few tweaks to use the categories and so on to direct the flow of information.
Blogs are also supposed to be loved by the Google algorithms, but I confess I haven’t seen much evidence of that yet.
— Jon
FINALLY! 🙂 I’ve been wondering when you would launch a blog for a LONG time. 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing what you write about here.
Peter!
It’s a miracle!
Welcome to the blogosphere!
All my best!
Mike
I’m excited about the blog, Peter. I’m using your books to help me jumpstart a freelance copywriting business (I’m at ground-level), and now I’m looking forward to comments from community members to hear some success stories and to learn what other freelancers are doing out there.
Congrats on the new blog. I don’t think there’s any doubt it’ll be a success with there being 40 comments on the first post! Or 41 now 🙂
Hey,
Good to see you launch a blog! I’m already enjoying the comments from other people. I’ll be adding you to my blogroll (Bob Bly, too). Like many others, your books inspired me to launch out on my own after my son was born – and he’s almost 3 now.
Joanna
Congratulations on your decision to blog and your execution of it as well! Your material is so helpful and your ideas are easy to implement. Keep up the good work! I look forward to visiting often.
Peter,
Good luck on the blog – I can vouch for the usefulness that a blog brings. Shortly after I began beta-testing a new robotics product for LEGO I began blogging about my research and results as a way for me to share what I was learning not only with LEGO but fans of robotics kits. That was in January 2006 (www.thenxtstep.com) and I now have over 40,000 readers. What has this done for my writing career? Well, I still have my local clients that I work for (I’m a technical writer) but the blog got the attention of publishers and I’ve now got 3 books published and 2 more coming this year. I was also contacted by LEGO Education (a division of LEGO) and we negotiated some workbooks that I wrote for teachers (and continue to do more). So, tell your readers that a blog is a very useful tool for expanding your work as well as demonstrating an expertise or two that you may possess.
Jim Kelly
Congratulations on your launch. I’ve enjoyed your books, and I’m looking forward to your pearls, and other mollusks, of wisdom. One nitpick, from someone who has not yet joined the large-screen revolution of the 1990’s: on first glance, I’m finding this size of this font a bit hard to read against a pale yellow background. Good luck & keep it going!
Hi Peter:
Thrilled to see you taking this step–one that I know is inevitable for me as well, though I’m still stalled asking myself, “Do I have something worthwhile to add or will I just be making more noise?
Hey Peter,
Congrats and good luck! Just started one myself after a long time debating. I’m hoping I’ll also be the “the sound” and not “the noise”.
~Graham
Hey Peter,
Thanks for all you do for the writing and publishing community, and for struggling authors everywhere. I agree with Toddie Downs on the time-suck observation, but it’s a great way to stay in touch. Judging from the response, I guess you didn’t need any help from me!
You’re the best.
Thanks,
Mary Lynn
Congratulations on moving into the blog arena! It has a great impact on search engine rankings and driving traffic. Your newsletter a few years ago covered a woman doing SEO copywriting, and that really got me into internet marketing. Thanks for what you do!