My microwave went kaput not long ago -- the second small, cheap unit to have lived up to its price tag in a matter of months. Since this particular freelance marketing copywriter doesn't have a lot of kitchen expertise, this failure might seem like a major crisis to be resolved with an immediate replacement. But I'm obviously not having much luck with these contrivances, and since I can't afford to take out a membership in the Microwave of the Month Club, I'm content for the moment to steam and bake and boil and broil the old-fashioned way. Everything comes out just as well as it did under radiation. Why, then, are microwaves so popular in households the world over? Here are some reasons:
- Speed - Microwave ovens can drastically reduce the time needed to produce the final result.
- Convenience - Pop the food in, press some buttons, and wait a bit. No muss, no fuss.
- Energy savings - Microwaves don't burn nearly as much as energy as running your burners and oven for an hour or more at a time.
- Redundancy - It's a handy backup to your other cooking appliances.
- Space savings - A microwave is like a little kitchen in a box, doing the job of multiple specialized tools within a single small "footprint."
While I was pondering these benefits, it suddenly hit me that we freelance copywriters are the microwave ovens of the marketing content world. How so? Let's go back over the list again:
- Speed - A skilled, experienced writer can produce top-quality content in a fraction of the time it might take a non-expert.
- Convenience - Pay the fee, hand over the background info, and wait a bit. No muss, no fuss.
- Energy savings - Outsourcing your writing needs frees up your available energy to do a zillion other critical tasks.
- Redundancy - Freelancers are a great backup to whatever writing staff you already have.
- Space savings - Don't want to keep a full-time writer? Hire a freelancer as needed and save "space" on your payroll!
Yes, you can continue to write your own marketing materials, just as I can continue cooking my food using those bulky old appliances. But it's a comparatively wasteful, stressful and tiring process compared to letting the "miracle machine" do all the work. Consider freelance copywriters your "miracle machine" for producing effective marketing content quickly and painlessly.
Well, that did it; I've talked myself into shopping for another microwave. Sure, I'll have to spend a little money, but I've got better things to do than slave over a hot stove. Don't you?
