The festive season is now over. I can finally check myself into a detox programme and ponder on what the new year has in store.
2006 was a fairly major year in the redirection of my career. Towards the end of 2005 I had realised that being a cog in the corporate machine was not for me. With little more than an English degree, and a hastily assembled portfolio, I cleared my desk and took the plunge into the world of freelance copywriting.
Have I regretted losing the regular pay cheque for living by my wits and wordprocessor? Not once. But then I haven’t had to start worrying about paying for my next meal just yet. Hopefully 2007 will be a year of growth for The Write Words as the internet writers market starts to mature.
Over the course of 2006 I had to learn a lot as well as work out my own area of expertise. Writing brochures and leaflets went out the window as I concentrated on the imminent business blogging explosion I had read so much about.
So far this explosion has yet to detonate in the UK. Many marketers still fail to see the value of engagement compared to the steady barrage of one way advertising they are accustomed to. But the stats continue to pile up with online marketers becoming ever more vocal in support of the engagement philosophy. The Copywriter’s Crucible intends to at least be a standard-bearer, if not quite a herald, in the movement’s army.
My prediction for the next year is that the proliferation of forums and places for people to vent their opinions is making business owners anxious. The fear of negative comments will force them to realise that static brochure websites are no longer adequate for managing their profile online. Then the added opportunities of a more fluid online presence will become apparent; websites will become forums for interaction rather than online brochures.
So on to 2007, that has started with a nice little boost to my blog ranking. My much appreciated nomination in the blogger Z-list meme has seen The Crucible climb to the edges of the Technorati top 100k. Thanks to Sandy at The Purple Wren, this collage of the Z-list has found its way onto many of its members’ blogs. The whole gang has been able to benefit from the exchanging of links and a new year’s injection of traffic .
Just twenty-four more letters to go before I can dream of sitting at the table with the blogging A-list. It looks as though 2007 is going to be a busy year.
