Last night I was sitting in the co-ed steam room at my gym, and a man struck up a conversation. His voice had the inflection of one who does not covet people of the opposite sex, so I wasn’t concerned about the
potential pervert factor of talking to a nearly naked man I couldn’t
see in a room full of steam.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I’m a freelance copywriter," I replied.

"Oh. I see," he said before laughing. "I really have no idea what that is."

I’m never sure whether to answer questions like his with "I’m a writer" or "I’m a freelance copywriter." Most people I talk to aren’t sure what copywriting is. Merriam-Webster says the word dates back to 1911 and means "a writer of advertising or publicity copy."

If I say I’m a writer, I think people will think I write books or articles for magazines. I’d love to keep my hand in journalism (I got my master’s in journalism), but it’s tough to pay the bills that way. So I keep the article writing as a side job and focus on the writing that pays.

Since I started my business this summer, I’ve written several web pages, lots of Search Engine Optimization articles, a handful of brochures, a few eNewsletters and an email nurture campaign. I’m about to offer to write a press release for free for people who subscribe to my own eNewsletter.

This is the back of my new business card. Since so many people had trouble understanding what I wrote, I made a list that I usually include on postcards and the like.