A Ladder of Metamorphoses
After 18 years as a sheet-rocker, I wanted to improve my life. So I went to the local Junior College at night for three years getting my prerequisites to attend Chiropractic school. I thought it would be fun to go from a being dusty construction worker to a tie-sporting doctor and prove a critical high school teacher wrong. That was back in the mid-1980s.
In my “Creative Writing” class, a part of my college English requirement, I fell in love — with writing! In fact, I loved it so much I wrote a specific goal of practicing chiropractic part of the week and writing during the rest of the week.
But life exercises its own influences on us as it plays with our priorities. The business of getting a practice going and supporting a family overshadowed my love of writing. I did, however, incorporate some writing time on my computer into my daily routine. I wrote to promote my own practice for more than 20 years, honing my skills strictly on a trial-and-error basis.
After self-publishing a few small booklets for my patients and one full-length book on diabetes for national distribution, it looked like writing was just going to remain a sideline hobby and I would be inescapably bound to the physical location of a chiropractic office, day after day, for another 20 years — into my mid-80’s.
Then something magical happened!
I was looking for a publisher for another small booklet when I found some information on AWAI. I subscribed to The Barefoot Writer. Reading story after story about copywriting successes turned an old spark into a new flame. I read all of the material and the bonus materials. I read the emails daily. And I put into practice everything I read. It changed everything for me!
After working with only the materials included free with AWAI membership for two months, I see the entire world differently! Junk mail is now a treasure trove of teaching material. Poor copy jumps out like a snake in my hands. Good copy stands out like glittering gold and I never throw anything away without trying to see why it works or why it won’t. The changes I’ve made in the copy I write for my own business are bringing in more responses than ever! The SEO training has had a major impact on my website visibility, so it’s bringing in noticeably more patients too.
If I can make these small, introductory bits of information produce this well for my own business with no more training than that, I’m confident that I can pursue a freelance career in writing for other people too! With more professional training through the programs offered by AWAI during the coming year, I can realistically see a portal opening wide for me into a long-held dream I’ve nurtured, but held on the back burner for more than 25 years!
