I’ve always loved to write but I never expected that I would one day be earning my living by doing it. Oh sure, I dreamed of being the next Barbara Walters or Oprah Winfrey with mike affixed on the lapel, posing really difficult questions to famous international figures or Hollywood legends. But once I graduated from college, media jobs weren’t exactly easy to come by, so I took a different path: marketing communications. It actually proved to be quite beneficial in showing me a whole world of other ways I could use my love of the written word to make an impact.
So here I am 40 years later.
If you’d asked me 20 years ago if I would be a freelance writer, I would have probably laughed at you. Freelance? Ha! And then of course, my next question would be ‘Blogging – what’s that?’ At that point, I hadn’t even completed my first PowerPoint presentation or christened a newly laid out Excel spreadsheet yet. Oh, the fun places I would soon go…
And now I write, day and night, night and day. When it’s raining, when it’s not. When there’s work to be done, when I simply need to let it be said.
I write for local online magazines like 83DegreesMedia and Tampa Bay Skirt! I gather information and write content for print magazines and newspapers like Tampa Bay Parenting and the occasional Tampa Tribune special section. I also provide blog content development services through a fast-growing Bay area social media services company, Ballywho Interactive and market my writing services to small businesses looking for ways to fine-tune their message or carve out impactful content for promotional, marketing or customer communications.
So what the heck am I doing out here? Well, to be honest with you, I’m still figuring that out, but what I do hope to offer are some pointers for building effective marketing communications, figuring out your own unique story worth telling and then determining the best way to spread the word. And I especially hope that you’ll have a chuckle on me while you’re learning about it out here because while I take my work very seriously, I definitely don’t take myself too seriously. Life’s too short to let the little stuff get to you. It’s taken me 40 years to learn that lesson. Sad, I know.
Here on this new blog of mine, you will find practical tips, local referrals and recommendations, notes from experience and no shortage of opinions.
So hop on. It’s going to be a bumpy road and I don’t have GPS, so we’re bound to get lost here and there, but don’t worry. I’ve got a great sense of direction, and I’m sure to get us back up and headed in the right direction.
But this is a two-way conversation. What do you want to know, what kinds of questions come up when you assess your marketing communications or presence int he press? Oh wait, you say you haven’t assessed this yet? We may have a lot more to talk about than I thought.
Start the coffee. I’m two hazelnut creamers and two blue packets. And decaf please.
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