In my last post, I talked about stepping out after almost twenty years of pretty solitary working and what a daunting prospect that was. I wrote that post some time ago and only recently plucked up the courage to post it.
Since then, I've actually stepped out quite a bit, well virtually at least!
Since then, I've actually stepped out quite a bit, well virtually at least!
I cobbled together a website with my very limited knowledge and LOTS of research! Yay go me, I have joined the 21st century!
[Quick disclaimer: although I am sounding positively ancient right about now, I am not actually that old. Although my children ("You were born in the 1900's? Whoah!") and my few grey hairs may tell you otherwise]
Anyway, I digress.
So, website sort of done, I set about putting myself on social media.
First Twitter, then Facebook, and I've recently joined Instagram and Pinterest too because, well, in for a penny, in for a pound as they say.
Twitter has been by far my most successful attempt and 3 months later, I have amassed over 600 followers.
Pinterest is the most fun and possibly a little addictive!
Instagram is the hardest because it requires a certain amount of visual creativity I'm not sure I have vast quantities of - but I'm learning.
Facebook is the only one I don't feel like I am making any headway with at all but I will keep trying.
So, as you can see, I have taken steps.
Giant steps compared to where I was. As I take these steps though, I am learning more and more all the time, which brings me to the real point of this post.
The more I learned, the more dissatisfied I became with what I had done, particularly the website. When I looked back at it with fresh eyes, it looked unprofessional. The copy was stilted and, quite frankly, I was boring myself! So I set to thinking about why.
Then it dawned on me.
I had spent all my time researching what I "should" be putting on the site and tried to replicate that.
I am nothing if not unconventional however and "should" really wasn't working for me.
As usual, I was trying to be a square peg in a round hole.
"Tell a story", they said. Well I don't really have a story that anyone would find that interesting.
I tried creating an "About Me" page and a "FAQ" because I thought that is what I needed to do.
They were dull. And yes, I do say so myself!
That's not me. I am very professional in my work but I do harbour a suspicion that a lot of translators (present company excluded, of course!) take themselves far too seriously.
Left to my own devices, I am down-to-earth and I love nothing more than injecting a little humour into my workday. So why am I behaving like this mechanical marketing drone?
I have had a go at revamping the website now. It's a work in progress but I am much happier with it. Why? Because it's actually starting to sound like me rather than some bland spiel.
I am finding my voice.
My advice to anyone else struggling to move forward: stop overthinking it and just find your voice.
The rest will follow on later.
How about you? Did you have difficulty with the copy for your website? Any top tips?
[Quick disclaimer: although I am sounding positively ancient right about now, I am not actually that old. Although my children ("You were born in the 1900's? Whoah!") and my few grey hairs may tell you otherwise]
Anyway, I digress.
So, website sort of done, I set about putting myself on social media.
First Twitter, then Facebook, and I've recently joined Instagram and Pinterest too because, well, in for a penny, in for a pound as they say.
Twitter has been by far my most successful attempt and 3 months later, I have amassed over 600 followers.
Pinterest is the most fun and possibly a little addictive!
Instagram is the hardest because it requires a certain amount of visual creativity I'm not sure I have vast quantities of - but I'm learning.
Facebook is the only one I don't feel like I am making any headway with at all but I will keep trying.
So, as you can see, I have taken steps.
Giant steps compared to where I was. As I take these steps though, I am learning more and more all the time, which brings me to the real point of this post.
The more I learned, the more dissatisfied I became with what I had done, particularly the website. When I looked back at it with fresh eyes, it looked unprofessional. The copy was stilted and, quite frankly, I was boring myself! So I set to thinking about why.
Then it dawned on me.
I had spent all my time researching what I "should" be putting on the site and tried to replicate that.
I am nothing if not unconventional however and "should" really wasn't working for me.
As usual, I was trying to be a square peg in a round hole.
"Tell a story", they said. Well I don't really have a story that anyone would find that interesting.
I tried creating an "About Me" page and a "FAQ" because I thought that is what I needed to do.
They were dull. And yes, I do say so myself!
That's not me. I am very professional in my work but I do harbour a suspicion that a lot of translators (present company excluded, of course!) take themselves far too seriously.
Left to my own devices, I am down-to-earth and I love nothing more than injecting a little humour into my workday. So why am I behaving like this mechanical marketing drone?
I have had a go at revamping the website now. It's a work in progress but I am much happier with it. Why? Because it's actually starting to sound like me rather than some bland spiel.
I am finding my voice.
My advice to anyone else struggling to move forward: stop overthinking it and just find your voice.
The rest will follow on later.
How about you? Did you have difficulty with the copy for your website? Any top tips?
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