iamjef's Guide to Writing Your Own Ad

The Situation

One of the obstacles in the way of an independent writer seeking clients is the understandable hesitancy clients have to pay someone else to do something they perceive themselves able to do. Writing persuasive copy is completely different from simply being legible, and that is glaringly obvious when you look at local advertisements and brochures. In fact, local ads are so generic that, while occasionally decipherable, they appear to be written using a template. How can I show potential clients that hiring me is a worthwhile investment?

The Solution

With a sarcasm-laced self-promotional piece, of course. Since local ads seem to be written with a template, why not actually create the template? This piece features a perforated page for the actual template, then follows with complete instructions on how to fill it out. By the end, a person has a completely formulated, utterly meaningless advertisement that can be used for any purpose.

The Result

People have fun filling this thing out, although it does lead to an inescapable routine of scrutinizing local ads for the rest of time. When potential clients see this piece, they almost always want to meet to discuss further what I do. And that, obviously, is the goal.