Putting Ideas Into Words

Debra Jason

By Debra Jason
Owner, The Write Direction

Tell us about your business. My best clients are people who are really passionate about their business, whether it’s a product or a service, and they’re so busy running that business they don’t really have time to handle creating marketing materials. So they call me. That, or they really don’t like to write. I know how to write to market their product. My goal is to take their ideas and convert them into words that help them convert their prospects into loyal customers. Clients have been anywhere from catalog companies to companies that sell supplements and vita-mins, to mortgage companies.

How did you get started in this business? I lived in Colorado for about 12 years. I’d gone there for graduate school and was working at a catalog company. I did everything for the company, from planning the catalog from start to finish, and after a few years of doing that, I wanted to write. So I started writing copy blocks for different products in the catalog. I discovered that I really liked to write, but the company I was working for started shrinking and I found myself looking for a job. I ended up going back to New York, where I’m from originally, and worked for a direct-marketing advertising agency. While I was there, I took a class in what was called direct-response copywriting. It made me see that maybe doing something creative was really up my alley. I wasn’t really happy being in New York anymore, so I went back to Colorado in 1989 and that’s when The Write Direction was born. I always wanted my own business, and I never knew what that was going to be.

What motivates you to get up and go to work? Working with many different types of people and businesses. For example, I’m working with a dental practice in San Diego. At the same time, I’m working with a woman who is starting a wedding-planning business on Kaua’i. So everything I do is different, and the beauty I’ve found after all these years is I get to see the finished product. It’s rewarding to be able to see the results in front of you when you’re done, as well as get the positive feedback from your clients.

Do you have a motto or philosophy for doing business? Making sure that my clients trust me and feel like they can partner with me, and that we have an open exchange.

What’s the most challenging aspect of your business? Trying to get a handle on some of the things I really don’t have any experience with, like something really technical – to make sure that I understand it, and if I don’t, to be honest with them. Being able to ascertain what someone wants and needs and be honest about my ability to meet their needs.

What do you find most rewarding about your business? The people I get to work with, and knowing that I’m providing them with a service they don’t feel they can do on their own. The feedback I get from them when I’m done is probably the most rewarding feeling, like I’ve done a good job.

What are your plans for the future? To keep doing what I’m doing, but work smarter, not harder – more focused, so that I can give everyone the attention they deserve, so they can get the product they want from me without feeling like they’re not being attended to. Not increase the number of clients, but increase the quality of clients so they don’t feel like they’re being ignored.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Taking a trip around the world.

writedirection.com 826-1846 debra@writedirection. com