The Classic Referral - Know Your Limits
Anyone else remember the classic Harry Enfield “Women Know Your Limits” sketch? If not, spare 2 mins to catch up.
Fast forward a decade and although I’m capable of discussing more than just “fluffy kittens” (mine featured, photo creds: my son!) there is a limit to my expertise. And yours!
So once you’ve defined your limits, how do you know when to pull in the experts?
That’s definitely been me over the last few weeks. Although I make my living as a copywriter, I know my own limitations. I know when to ask for help and I know when to pull in the experts in their particular fields.
Networking. Yes, that dreaded word, networking has enabled me to scout around and find those experts. Because, if you’re like me, you don’t want to work with just anyone. You want to work with individuals who really know their stuff. We are nothing without people. People who make you look good because they’re truly great at what they do! I’ve enjoyed real successes by collaborating within a great network. My network of choice; the Onle Network.
With the potential unpredictability of incoming work over lockdown (which in reality never materialised!) I set myself the task of learning something new every week! Who doesn’t like a challenge?
Firstly, I had a really enlightening Instagram webinar with the very talented Emily Jagger at Jagger Design Services - turns out I’d been using only about 20% of Instagram’s capacity! Then having seen the fabulous Andy Wood at Pulse 8 smashing video clips all over Linked In, I was lucky enough to be introduced to Georgina Ash at Grub Productions who was teaching a group of lovely ladies basic video content tips from their smart phones.
Having a great virtual and actual support network around me, Linked In was next. Could I be posting, sharing, tagging and utilising the platform smarter? Cue stage left the fabulous and super talented social media guru Kate Porteous from New Forest Creative who customised her Linked In training session specifically for me and the current state and objective of my profile!
As a copywriter, I blog for lots of clients in varying sectors, so I’ve got to stay up to date with the latest Google ranking algorithm preferences. Now I know a bit about keywords and the inner workings of Google, but it’s constantly changing right?
It occurred to me that by taking a brief from the client I wasn’t giving the web designer or keyword analyst the chance to have an input. How would a keyword analyst, hell bent on improving keyword rankings ideally want the content to look? I approached none other than super-powered, results-focused Jack Manley at Freestyle Digital.
When it came to my recent brand refresh, I turned to graphic designer Graham Bell at Absolute Graphics who did a great job, listening patiently to my very specific brief and giving me lots of logo options until we got to the final version which I love. Next on the to-do list was applying the new logo to my website and applying true techno expertise by updating my Squarespace website and email address - well beyond my capabilities! Thank you to James West, the Squarespace expert at Clean Slate Websites for making it all seem so easy.
These guys and gals are my chosen experts in their respective fields. Their capabilities and specialisms enable me to offer my clients a more well rounded service offering and for that I’m grateful.
Thank you all!
Find your experts. Refer your experts and smash those targets.
We are indeed #strongertogether2020