The Problem With Digital Marketing Agencies

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If you're just here for the crafts and not the blah, blah, blah, you can click this photo to be transported to my page of Christmas craft project ideas. Happy holidays!

If you’re just here for the crafts and not the blah, blah, blah, you can click this photo to be transported to my page of Christmas craft project ideas. Happy holidays!

Digital Marketing Agencies Are Useful for Selling Degree Programs, Pet Food and Lipstick, But Not So Great for Marketing Specialized B2B Technology Products.

I’ve been earning my full-time living online as a content creator since 2009, and was doing it part-time for long before then.


I put my own by-line on my personal projects (mostly craft projects) and occasional other projects, but other than that, I typically ghostwrite.


I’m thinking of making a pivot in the types of clients I seek out.


I used to do most of my work for digital marketing agencies, but lately I’m finding that type of work is no longer the right fit for the way I work.


One of my greatest frustrations, lately, is the barriers that I encounter when trying to do digital marketing work for tech companies — in particular, SaaS companies.


My process goes something like this:


I’ll get a brief from my contact at a digital marketing agency that says,


Client: SaaSStartupCompanySite.com


Assignment: Write a 1,000+ word article that provides value to readers and builds awareness for XYZ Software Product


Publishing Site: SomeRandomTechSite.com


Link to: SaaSStartupCompanySite.com/XYZSoftware

Anchor Text: XYZ Software


So I’ll look carefully at SomeRandomTechSite.com and read at least half a dozen articles at their site to see what topics they typically cover and get a feel for what their readers might be interested in learning about; then I’ll also carefully scrutinize SaaSStartupCompanySite.com and SaaSStartupCompanySite.com/XYZSoftware in hopes of figuring out what XYZ Software does, and why prospects at SomeRandomTechSite.com might want to use it.


My primary goal for this process is to figure out what I could write that would be valuable and actionable to readers at SomeRandomTechSite.com but would also serve the interests of the team at SaaSStartupCompany.


When I do this, 9 times out of 10, I’ll find a page about XYZ Software that says


XYZ Software — Coming soon!


Or, maybe I’ll find something that says,


“XYZ Software is SaaS technology empowering digital innovation for the next generation of leaders.”


Great! That at least gives me something to go on. “Digital innovation” and “leaders” is a fantastic start.


But which leaders in which industry would use this software? Is this a product that’ll be marketed to C-suite executives? What problem does it solve for them?


So I email my contact, and I ask him,


“Can I get a download of XYZ Software? I’d like to kick the tires on this thing and see what it does so I can help visitors at somerandomtechsite.com understand why they might be interested in this software and tell them about the problems the software would solve for them.”


To which my contact will respond something like,


“Sorry, Amy. XYZ Software isn’t ready to ship yet. I’ve been trying to land this account for a few months now, and they finally agreed to work with us before launch so we could generate some pre-launch buzz. But the software won’t actually be ready to ship until July of 2025.


Me: “Okay, I understand. Can you please at least tell me what XYZ software is supposed to do for its users?


Him: “Sorry, I have no idea what the software does.


At this point in the exchange, I feel like throwing my laptop into Lake Buchanan. Or maybe going back to my previous career in textile product development. At least it is fairly easy to explain to prospects in the fashion industry what they might expect from this fabric or that fabric or that other fabric over there.


With cutting-edge tech products, it takes specialized knowledge, or at least solid interviewing skills, to figure out how to market the products — and if there are barriers in between the content creator and the knowledge, the work can’t effectively happen.


In the past, more times than not, I used to turn down assignments like this. I don’t want to take on work unless I can actually get results for the client, and in situations like this, there’s no credible way to help the client accomplish their objective. I’m a content creator, not a mind reader and not a miracle worker.


Thankfully, I’m at the stage in my career where I can turn down work. But this is really a dumb and frustrating problem to have, and I’m tired of having it.


And I came to the conclusion that maybe the problem is really me, seeking the wrong sorts of clients. Maybe I shouldn’t be working for digital marketing agencies.


Speaking for myself as a content creator, the problem isn’t that I’m incapable of understanding the tech. On the contrary; I’m good at tire-kicking and figuring out how tech products work without a lot of hand-holding.


That said, as tech gets increasingly more specialized, I realize that it would be prudent for me to also get more specialized and to build a knowledge base that supports a specific niche market. So I’ve been giving that a massive amount of thought.


But beyond that, it occurs to me that what really needs to happen in those situations is that I need to be able to interview someone at the client’s company to get the information I need. I’d need to interview the founder, or one of the engineers, or whichever exec is heading up the XYZ Software project.

.

So I’m not sure I want to keep working for digital marketing agencies, unless those digital marketing agencies trust me enough to put me in touch with the client’s subject matter experts.


So it occurs to me that what I need to do is skip working with the digital marketing agencies, and ghostwrite directly for founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs and department heads.


Interestingly, within my very own sphere of influence is the founder of a tech startup.


Michael Solovay, Founder of 4BIZapp

Michael Solovay, Founder of 4BIZapp


I married him. He’s the love of my life. I’d cross oceans with him. I HAVE crossed oceans with him.


I’ve been working on various copywriting assignments for his tech startup for more than a year now.


And from that experience, I can honestly say that I think he’s a thought leader within his space. There is no one else on this planet who has his vision and his skill.


But pinning down his actual thought process to, first of all, understand it myself; second, to explain it to others; and third, to demonstrate his thought leadership, well this isn’t such an easy thing to do.


So it dawned on me: I’m already ghostwriting for a startup founder, and that founder (my husband) chose my verticals for me.


The initial rollout of his SaaS tech product sits at the intersection of proptech, insuretech and telecom, but his patent doesn’t limit the product to use in only those verticals.


Looking ahead to the future, it’s a product that anyone, anywhere could benefit from in the long term (sort of like mobile technology; in the early days of mobile tech, it was prohibitively expensive, but now even people in remote locations all over the globe have it.)


Anyway, my husband is really an expert at telecom. So even though I’m not, I’ve been interviewing him to understand what it is that makes his product compelling and why his prosects will want it — and also why it’s a bargain to them at its asking price.


And I realized: There is absolutely no way that my husband could hire a digital marketing agency and expect that random freelancers there would be able to understand his product well enough to explain it to his prospects and get them onboard with using it.


Not a chance!


If he didn’t have me, he’d have to hire someone in house, and it would have to be their mission in life to figure out the tech and then figure out how to sell the tech to the people who would most benefit from it.


So that’s the problem with digital marketing agencies, in a nutshell. An outstanding digital marketing agency will do an excellent job at helping you sell products or services that everyone already understands — fabrics, shoes, shirts, cars, cosmetic dentistry and coaching services.


But that model totally falls apart when it comes to brand new, cutting-edge, specialized products that nobody understands yet. These days, I don’t think companies with that kind of product are best served by hiring a digital marketing agency. I think companies in that situation should hire smart ghostwriters to handle their content marketing.


That’s it for today! Thanks for checking out my blog. I appreciate your interest.



Love and hugs,

Amy Solovay


If you found this page interesting, I invite you to return to this site often for more insights into the life of a content creator; plus crochet patterns, craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration. You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .



Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!

By Amy Solovay

Please Visit My Ko-Fi Shop HERE to Find My Sample Sale, Destash Sale and Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

Please Visit My Ravelry Store HERE to Find Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

About the Author:

Amy Solovay

Amy Solovay


Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.


Amy learned to crochet and craft as a small child, and she still enjoys a broad variety of crafting techniques all these years later.


As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.


I'm excited about this book, Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman! I am super proud of the 2 patterns I contributed to this pattern collection. I hope you'll check out the fingerless gloves and the beaded necklace I designed for this book. Thanks for taking a look at them!

I’m excited about this book, Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman! ! I am super proud of the 2 patterns I contributed to this pattern collection. I hope you’ll check out the fingerless gloves and the beaded necklace I designed for this book. Thanks for taking a look at them!

So, Amy, What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

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These crocheted fingerless gloves are available for sale in my Ko-Fi shop.

These crocheted fingerless gloves are available for sale in my Ko-Fi shop.

You can do anything. But you can’t do everything!

What?


What do you mean, I can’t do everything?


Of course I can do everything!


Didn’t anybody explain to you that I’m Wonder Woman?!


*FacePalm*


I’ve enjoyed a varied and interesting career that started with hospitality; diverted to retail management; segued into textile design, product development and textile manufacturing; veered into academia and teaching; transitioned into freelance journalism and content strategy; and then morphed into email marketing, copywriting, content marketing, search engine optimization and ghostwriting.


Up until now, all my past work experience and life experience have empowered me to succeed as a generalist freelance writer. I’ve written articles about a vast diversity of topics ranging from investing to ed tech to proptech to ecommerce to supply chain logistics to human resources management.


However, lately I’ve noticed that it’s getting increasingly challenging to keep on top of the tech and the trends in each of the verticals I’ve been writing about. Each of these niches now requires an increasingly more specialized focus.


And I came to a startling realization: I’m trying to do too much.


The problem is, I’m interested in everything.


I place a high value on education, knowledge and learning.

And I want to learn everything; know everything; understand everything.


Freelance writing has massively helped me with this, because the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.


So, in the last 15+ years I’ve been earning a living as a content creator, I’ve been able to learn a substantial amount about all of the industries my digital marketing agency clients and ghostwriting clients do business in. Thanks to this experience, I’m knowledgeable about trends in investing, personal finance, fintech, cybersecurity, data science, healthcare, SaaS, ed tech, education, proptech, insurtech, HR, and the list goes on — because I’m proactive about understanding what my clients and clients’ clients in these industries are doing. Then I take that knowledge and apply it by educating interested prospects about how my clients’ offerings will enhance their lives.


But, looking into my crystal ball (just kidding. I’m not into soothsaying at all — only trend forecasting) I can see that the generalist freelance writer will soon go the way of the dodo bird. The only content creators who’ll succeed are those who are experts at what they’re creating content about. They’ll need to have personal experience and truly be thought leaders in their respective niches.


So, going forward, if I’m going to keep working as a content creator, I need to figure out just one thing to specialize in — because it is getting fairly impossible to understand ALL the fintech, and ALL the ed tech, and ALL the proptech, and ALL the latest Google algorithm updates, and ALL the social media marketing trends, and and and and and and….


It’s just endless.


So, it’s time for me to pivot.


But where to focus?


I’m still in the process of thinking this over.


Tunisian Crochet Mesh Fingerless Gloves in an Earthy Colorway Featuring Beige, Blue and Green Wool Yarn -- These fingeless gloves are available for sale in my Ko-Fi shop.

Tunisian Crochet Mesh Fingerless Gloves in an Earthy Colorway Featuring Beige, Blue and Green Cascade 220 Wool Yarn


Thinking this through to its logical conclusion, I realize that, if I want to keep working as a writer for clients in any tech vertical, I will need to stop ghostwriting long enough to create a specialized portfolio of writing samples that I put my own name on.


Because, on paper, I don’t look like a tech writer.


I have a degree in textile design.


And, I have about a decade’s worth of experience working in the textile industry.


And, even when I was working in education, I got the job because of my textile industry experience. I taught college courses on textile design, trend forecasting and apparel marketing to fashion design majors at design school.


And then I transitioned into freelance writing by spending 5+ years writing about crochet (and, later, knitting.)


It was only from there that I transitioned into writing about tech and other topics.


So it doesn’t appear to matter that I’ve built a massive knowledge base about technology by accepting writing assignments for clients in the tech sector; and it also doesn’t matter that I’ve written hundreds of tech articles, because those all have my clients’ by-lines on them rather than mine. (Because I ghostwrite.)

And I fiercely protect my ghostwriting clients’ privacy, so I also can’t use them as references when seeking new clients.


Which means that I can’t prove I did any of that.


So it seems that the way forward is to stop pursuing generalist work, pick a niche, build my real-world experience to become an expert in it and make it my area of specialization.


But I keep getting overwhelmed trying to pick a niche, because there are so many interesting things to learn about on this amazing planet.


So I’m at a crossroads. All the possible paths ahead look intriguing and enticing. Which one to choose?


I don’t yet have the answer, but my long-term plan is to stop trying to do everything, and to make it my top priority to pick a niche and become the absolute best at it.


Thanks so much for checking out my blog today! I appreciate your interest.




XOXOXOXO,


Amy

I’ve Released These Ruffled Crochet Fingerless Gloves as a PDF Pattern Download

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Ruffled Crochet Fingerless Gloves + Daily Planner Layout + Sakura Metallic Gelly Roll Pen

Ruffled Crochet Fingerless Gloves + Daily Planner Layout + Sakura Metallic Gelly Roll Pen

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you might remember that I designed these ruffled fingerless gloves for publication in Sharon Hernes Silverman’s lovely crochet pattern book called Delicate Crochet. Stackpole Books is the publisher.

Ruffled Fingerless Gloves Pattern by Amy Solovay, Originally Published in the Book Delicate Crochet by Sharon Silverman -- Published by Stackpole Books

You can now get a standalone digital PDF pattern for crocheting these ruffled fingerless gloves!

I’m excited to announce that I’ve released a standalone digital PDF download of this pattern for sale. A few of the details:

  • The pattern was tested and professionally tech edited.
  • It includes international symbol crochet charts, text instructions, color photographs and a schematic.
  • This is an easy crochet pattern!

Where to Download This Fingerless Gloves Pattern:

There are 3 different places where you can download the pattern for crocheting these fingerless gloves:

Or if you prefer to work from physical pattern books rather than downloads, you’re covered there, too. You can pick up a copy of Delicate Crochet from many different book dealers. This pattern is included in the book, along with my bead crochet necklace pattern and a bunch of other truly stunning patterns submitted by many of the rock stars of crochet — Sharon Silverman, Kristin Omdahl, Robyn Chachula, Vashti Braha, Karen McKenna and other truly talented designers! I think you are going to LOVE this book!!!

Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman, published by Stackpole Books

Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman, published by Stackpole Books

Thanks so much for considering this pattern! I appreciate your interest in my work.

I’ve Released the Elegant Trios Bead Crochet Necklace as a PDF Pattern Download

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You can now get a standalone digital PDF pattern for crocheting the Elegant Trios necklace!

You can now get a standalone digital PDF pattern for crocheting the Elegant Trios necklace!

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you might remember that I designed this crochet necklace for publication in Sharon Hernes Silverman’s lovely crochet pattern book called Delicate Crochet. Stackpole Books is the publisher.

Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman, published by Stackpole Books

Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman, published by Stackpole Books


I’m excited to announce that I’ve released a standalone digital PDF download of this pattern for sale. A few of the details:

  • The pattern was tested and professionally tech edited.
  • It includes international symbol crochet charts and a step-by-step tutorial for stringing the beads.

Where to Download This Necklace Pattern:

There are two places you can download this necklace pattern:

Thanks so much for considering this pattern! I appreciate your interest in my work.

September 2024 in Review

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Pink Posy Heather Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn by Knit Picks, Pictured With Other Craft Supplies: My Happy Planner Notebook and Sakura Gelly Roll Pens for Writing Down My Crochet Pattern Notes; and a Susan Bates Silvalume Crochet Hook With Bamboo Handle.

Pink Posy Heather Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight Yarn by Knit Picks, Pictured With Other Craft Supplies: My Happy Planner Notebook and Sakura Gelly Roll Pens for Writing Down My Crochet Pattern Notes; and a Susan Bates Silvalume Crochet Hook With Bamboo Handle.

I dedicated most of my productive work hours this month to my husband Mike’s tech startup. Let’s hope that someday we we will be billionaires as a result of that effort.


Right now, the tech startup is a cash-eating animal that costs money rather than earning it.


The worst part is that it is also a time-eating animal that is gobbling up every moment of every day and not leaving me with much time left over for anything else (like showering, or prospecting for content marketing jobs / writing gigs that pay in 30 days rather than “someday, maybe, hopefully”).


All this to say that I don’t have much progress to report on any of my own projects. Bummer!


But I did get a few things done this month. Here’s a list of the most important things I accomplished so far in September, 2024 at my craft site:

My September Posts at KnittingCrochetCrafts.com

New Pages at KnittingCrochetCrafts.com:

Day-To-Day Planner Stamps by Maggie Holmes

Day-To-Day Planner Stamps by Maggie Holmes

Stamperia's Blue Dream Paper Collection Features a Mediterranean Travel Theme. Images include sailboats, ocean views, beachside cafes, lazy cats, lemons, bouganvillea, seagulls, potted succulents, lighthouses, boats, Mediterranean tiles, and more. Paco Nunez designed this paper collection for Stamperia.

Stamperia’s Blue Dream Paper Collection Features a Mediterranean Travel Theme. Images include sailboats, ocean views, beachside cafes, lazy cats, lemons, bouganvillea, seagulls, potted succulents, lighthouses, boats, Mediterranean tiles, and more. Paco Nunez designed this paper collection for Stamperia.

I created a bunch of new pages about art and craft supplies by Stamperia, including this list of Stamperia Stencils I have owned and used. Spoiler alert: Some of them are more durable than others.


My all-time favorite patterned paper collection is Blue Dream by Paco Nunez for Stamperia. “All time” as in, all time, in the history of ever. That would be since 2006ish when I started scrapbooking.

I also reviewed Scrapbook.com’s double-sided adhesive foam strips, which I enjoy using to make scrapbooking layouts and handmade cards.


There were some other pages I updated, expanded and / or reposted, but I am out of time for this blog post because it’s back to the startup grind. Wish us luck with that?


I hope your September was lovely, creative and productive! Here’s wishing you a magnificent month of October.


Love and hugs,

Amy Solovay

September 24, 2024 — My Current Work in Progress: Crocheted Fingerless Gloves and Paper Craft Projects With Stamperia Craft Supplies

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My Current Work in Progress: Crocheting Fingerless Gloves Using Wool of the Andes Yarn by Knit Picks

My Current Work in Progress: Crocheting Fingerless Gloves Using Wool of the Andes Yarn by Knit Picks

There was a time in the past when I used to blog daily — but never at my own website(s). I did this for clients’ websites, but not for my own.


Looking back at my past mistakes (which are numerous!), I can say that that failing to maintain my own blog was one of them. I’m much like the proverbial cobbler who had no shoes and the proverbial doctor whose children were chronically sick.


I’m the content creator whose blog has nothing but out-of-date posts in it.


Yikes!


Okay, so let’s fix that.


Years ago, when I was living aboard a sailboat and cruising the Mediterranean Sea, I attempted to write daily blog posts using a “today in review” format.


That didn’t work out for the long term because, at the time, I didn’t have reliable internet access and therefore couldn’t publish the posts daily.


I don’t know if it’ll work out this time around, either. But I think trying it is better than not trying it. So, here goes.

Lately, I’ve Been Working on…

…crocheted fingerless gloves. I have some new patterns in the works that I hope to share soon. Please stay tuned for details!

I’ve also been working on updating older fingerless glove patterns that could really use improvements.


I'm working on updating and improving this free crochet pattern for crocheted fingerless gloves. Please drop me a comment if you want to help me test updated sizes of this pattern!

I’m working on updating and improving this free crochet pattern for crocheted fingerless gloves. Please drop me a comment if you want to help me test updated sizes of this pattern!

My Plan for Today

Today, my major goal is to continue working on copywriting projects for my husband, Mike’s, tech startup.


As I write this, it is about 8:30 a.m.; I’ve been up since 4:30 a.m., and I already spent a couple of hours working on that project.


I also spent a couple of hours updating stuff at my craft website.


I’m posting this early because I doubt I’ll get back to blogging at any point after we eat breakfast.

So Far Today, I Published…

Paco Nunez Designed the Blue Dream Paper Collection for Stamperia. This is my all-time favorite paper collection in the history of ever!

Paco Nunez Designed the Blue Dream Paper Collection for Stamperia. This is my all-time favorite paper collection in the history of ever.

…this page about Stamperia’s Blue Dream paper collection.

I also published this page about my favorite primer for mixed media art and paper craft projects.

Today I Updated…

…this page at KnittingCrochetCrafts.com about Stamperia, which is one of my favorite manufacturers of craft supplies.

Today I Thought About (And Read About)…

…all the problems with customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Today I Learned…

…too much to convey in the brief amount of time I have to write this blog post…


but, to summarize briefly, I made a start at learning about where CRM software needs improvements. I was specifically hoping to learn more about this in the context of real estate transactions.

Over to You:

Which craft projects are you interested in working on next? Let’s talk about it in the comments.


If you found this blog post interesting, I invite you to return to this site often for more insights into the life of a content creator, plus more craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .



Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!


That’s it for now.


Thanks for dropping by my blog today! I appreciate your interest.



Hugs,

Amy

By Amy Solovay

Please Visit My Ko-Fi Shop HERE to Find My Sample Sale, Destash Sale and Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

Please Visit My Ravelry Store HERE to Find Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

About the Author:

Amy Solovay

Amy Solovay


Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write the blog posts for this blog or the articles she submits to her ghostwriting clients.


Amy learned to craft as a small child, and she still enjoys crafting techniques all these years later.


I'm excited about this book, Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman! I am super proud of the 2 patterns I contributed to this pattern collection. I hope you'll check out the fingerless gloves and the beaded necklace I designed for this book. Thanks for taking a look at them!

I’m excited about this book, Delicate Crochet by Sharon Hernes Silverman! ! I am super proud of the 2 patterns I contributed to this pattern collection. I hope you’ll check out the fingerless gloves and the beaded necklace I designed for this book. Thanks for taking a look at them!


As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles. Nowadays she uses online platforms for sharing her knowledge about textiles, crafts, current color trends and current design trends.

Craft Ideas for Mother’s Day

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If your mom wears jewelry, you could make her a lovely new piece as a Mother's Day gift this year. You're invited to check out our jewelry making project ideas for tutorials, instructions and inspiration.

If your mom wears jewelry, you could make her a lovely new piece as a Mother’s Day gift this year. You’re invited to check out our jewelry making project ideas for tutorials, instructions and inspiration.

What are you planning to do for your mom (and / or other mother figures) this Mother’s Day? Are you cooking a meal, taking your mom out, or getting her a special gift?


If you want to give your mom a gift that’s more personalized than anything you can buy at the stores, I invite you to check out this list of Mother’s Day craft ideas. The ideas on the list range from ultra-simple projects that are easy enough for beginners, to more involved projects that require a bit of planning. If you’re the DIY type, but you don’t already have your Mother’s Day project ideas finalized yet, I hope you will find the list useful.


Pictured above is a grouping of jewelry making project ideas. Some moms love wearing jewelry, and if your mom does, you might also find suitable gift ideas amongst our list of jewelry crafts. Free patterns are available for most of these designs; you can click the photo above to be magically transported to the list, which also includes other ideas that aren’t pictured.


Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, stepmoms, godmothers and grandmothers out there!




Best wishes,

Amy

Happy Planner Daily Layout for March 2024

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Happy Planner Daily Layout for March 2024

Happy Planner Daily Layout for March 2024

Hello friends! I’m planning my coming week, and it’s going to be a busy one. On my to-do list:

  • Content writing and link building for my latest personal project; I’m excited about this one! Details will be forthcoming soon.
  • Copywriting for my husband Mike’s SaaS startup
  • Reading up on affiliate marketing management, because that type of role could be a possibility in my future
  • Updating my Linkedin and my main pages at this website, which have gone out of date
  • Marking up a few more priority pages with structured data across the websites I manage (maybe — I don’t think I’m realistically going to have time for it, but it’s on the list as something I need to get done ASAP. My sites have more than 900 pages all together, so this process is a marathon, not a sprint.)

What do you have planned for this coming week? Whether you’re working, playing or both, I hope your week will be an enjoyable and productive one.



Continued success,

Amy

Learn More About Planners and Find Inspiration for Creating Your Own Planner Layouts:

See Also: Craft Ideas for the Month of March | Spring Crafts

Weekly Planner Layout for February 2024 in the Inkwell Press / Blue Sky Planners Spiral-Bound Planner

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Amy Solovay's Weekly Planner Layout for the Week of February 4, 2024, Before the Pen

Amy Solovay’s Weekly Planner Layout for rhe Week of February 4, 2024, Before the Pen

Pictured here is my weekly planner layout from last week. Those of you who pay attention to planner details are probably surprised to see that I’m using a spiral-bound planner and not a discbound planner right now.

I used Happy Planners in 2022 – 2023 and was about 75% satisfied with the experience. There are things I love about Happy Planner. However, there is one thing that drives me bonkers about the way Happy Planners are laid out: Each month’s main overview page that comes stock with the planner is always on the wrong side of that month’s tab.

That one page isn’t ever enough to actually get my monthly goal setting and habit tracking done, so I routinely add a few other habit tracker and goal-setting pages to that lone, stock monthly overview page. The most logical place to put them is right beside the stock overview page, so these added pages also end up being on the wrong side of that month’s tab. There is no other way that I can see to add them before the monthly calendar spread. I’d rather have them come AFTER the monthly calendar spread, but there is no practical way to do that, because the way Happy Planners are laid out, the page after that is half of a weekly spread. So I’d rather have those monthly overview pages come before the monthly calendar rather than stuck somewhere in the middle of weekly layouts. But I’d much rather have them come AFTER the calendar spread, BEFORE the weekly layouts, and on the correct side of that month’s tab.

Two years in, I never fully got used to this. It is still counter-intuitive to the way I want to have my planner laid out, and there is no fixing it. I have repeatedly tried to make it work, and failed. When I look back at these pages from the past 2 years, I can see that I often set them up and then forgot to use them, because I suffer from out of sight / out of mind syndrome, and these pages, being on the wrong side of the tab, were always out of sight.

This is not what I want.

Despite all the other things I love about Happy Planner, I felt frustrated enough with that situation that it warranted looking around at alternatives. I knew far in advance in 2023 that I was planning a change in 2024. However, finding that magical alternative hasn’t been so easy.
I have temporarily reverted back to using a spiral-bound planner because this planner’s layout is EXACTLY, precisely what I want. I couldn’t believe my good luck to find this planner design. So far, I have been totally thrilled with it!!

This is a collaboration between Inkwell Press and Blue Sky Planners. I have used Blue Sky Planners in the past, back in the days when I was a habitual spiral-bound planner user.

The pictured planner is really a temporary solution because it’s a student planner that ends in June 2024. So, in another few months, I am going to need a new planner again.

I originally started using discbound planners because I loved the idea of being able to add pages to my planner wherever I need them. So I thought it would drive me bonkers to revert back to using a spiral-bound planner and not being able to add pages. However, this has largely become a non-issue because I haven’t needed to add pages. This planner design has all the pages I need it to have, and they are all in exactly the right place where I need them to be. So overall, this planner is working a lot better for me than my previous Happy Planners did.

This leaves me with bunches of questions:

  • Is the collaboration between Inkwell Press and Blue Sky an ongoing thing? Will I be able to get another one of these planners in the future?
  • If they’ll continue to be available, should I continue down that road? Or should I make the switch to the discbound version of Inkwell Press?
  • Could I use Inkwell Press inserts with the Happy Planner covers and metal discs I already bought? Or do I need to start over from scratch and get all new covers, all new discs, all new folders, all new dashboards, stencils, punches, etc??
  • I have 2 discbound edge punches; one is the Happy Planner 9-hole punch, and the other is the We R Makers Crop-A-Dile disc punch. Are either of those compatible with the Inkwell Press discs?

The floor is open for comments, so if you have insights to share, I invite you to post! Thanks so much!
And, thanks for dropping by my blog today. I appreciate your interest!
XOXOXOXO,
Amy

A New Phase in My Life: From Journaler to Writer to Video Content Creator

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Nautical Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layouts for 6x8 Album

Nautical Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layouts for 6×8 Album

Updated 2-17-2024: I originally shared this blog post a few months ago with the intention of also posting the photos to go along with it at Instagram. However, my life around that time got crazy, and I never actually posted the pics on Instagram. So I am sharing them today and bumping this up to the top of my blog in case any of my Instagram friends want to check out the video link. Thanks so much for visiting!


6x8 Sailing Themed Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layout Featuring Supplies by Graphic 45, Altenew, Pinkfresh Studio, Simple Stories and Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries

6×8 Sailing Themed Pocket Page Scrapbooking Layout Featuring Supplies by Graphic 45, Altenew, Pinkfresh Studio, Simple Stories and Tim Holtz for Ranger Industries

I have been a journaler and writer for almost as long as I can remember. I started daily journaling when I was around 11 or 12 years old; I don’t remember my age at the time, exactly. I tore up my earliest journals, so I don’t have a record of the exact date when I started; my oldest intact journals are from when I was a teenager.


The precise timeframe doesn’t matter. The point is, I’ve been at it for a long time.


I continued with daily journaling until the time I graduated from high school. When I started college, I stuck with journaling but couldn’t manage to do it daily; I usually made a few entries every week, but the pace of my journaling definitely slowed.


After Mike and I met and I started working full-time in the textile industry, my journaling became even more sporadic and basically stopped, although I have several random entries per year from those years.


Then when I discovered scrapbooking around 2006, I decided that my journaling and scrapbooking should be merged. I wish this idea had occurred to me earlier than it did. I am still in the process of going back through old scrapbooks and merging my journaling with my photos. This project is not my highest priority, so it is taking a long time. It might take the rest of my life to finish, and I am at peace with that understanding.


And I am now working as a freelance writer, although most of my writing now takes the form of digital marketing for paying clients.


All this to say that being a writer is a central component of my identity. I see myself as being a journaler and writer. I have held other jobs in my life: restaurant server, theatre costume assistant, retail store sales associate, assistant store manager, textile designer, director of design, search engine optimizer, content marketer, digital marketer and freelance writer. In hindsight, I realize that ALL those other roles have been essential to my success as a writer, because writers need solid, real-world experiences to draw from, or they have nothing to write about.


Through every role change, I have never ceased to think of myself as a writer…


…until this past month when I was doing my planning for the months ahead, and I had a startling realization.


In the long term, writing does not appear to be the smartest path forward for my personal projects as a content creator — and, in particular, for my crochet patterns and other craft projects.


I believe I am an exceptional writer; I have devoted a sizable portion of my life to improving my proficiency at the craft of writing. I really don’t want to stop being a writer, and I don’t plan to give up writing. I am blessed (and sincerely grateful!) to have an amazing lineup of freelance writing clients who still value human writers in general; in particular, they value the life experience and insights I bring to the table as a writer.


But considering that robots are now able to write passably well, it seems inevitable that my skills will need to evolve if I hope to stay relevant as a content creator in the long term.


Up until now, I have not really thought of myself as being a videographer. However, I have all the skills required to excel at videography, so there is no earthly reason that I shouldn’t think of myself as being a videographer.


That’s because Mike, my husband and the love of my life, is an exceptionally talented videographer, and he has been super generous about teaching me how to film, edit, and attend to all the little details that successful videography requires. He used to work in the Hollywood film industry and was involved with the filming of many impressive productions; he also founded and managed a local TV channel. I picked up the basics of videography along the way by helping him make the videos he needs for his businesses, which are heavily reliant on audio-visuals.


One of the first things Mike taught me about videography: A video will only be as successful as the script it is based on. Outstanding script => Outstanding video. Mediocre script => Mediocre video. Terrible script => Terrible video.


I am excited and hopeful at this thought, because, if this is really true, there will be a time in the future when I will be able to call myself an exceptional videographer. I am not there yet, but my script writing skills are solid (I know this because I write some of the video scripts for Mike’s productions).


So I basically just need to make a shift in mindset and also a shift in my day-to-day habits; from here on out, I plan to start incorporating videography into my usual, daily content creation process.


I am announcing this intention to the world now: You can all now start thinking of me as being both a writer and a video content creator.


So let’s get this party started with a brand new video, shall we? It’s a video I made about the sailing-themed pocket page scrapbooking layout pictured above. You can find more pics plus the video and supply list posted at my craft website. I hope you will be forgiving enough to overlook the mistakes in this video, which are numerous. I learned a thousand things from making this, and I promise you, it will only get better from here.


Thanks so much for checking out this post and spending a portion of your day with me. I appreciate your interest in this project!


P.S. Did you notice that there’s a lot of space devoted to journaling in this scrapbooking layout? By now, you’ve probably deduced that it’s not a coincidence. 😀 The photos and video show you how the journaling blocks look “before the pen.” I will have to transfer the actual journaling I have from this trip onto the page at some point in the future, because right now, my old journals are packed up in moving boxes and not easily accessible.