Since taking over PCN at the beginning of April I’ve been thinking about what PCN needs to do and how it needs to do it.
Before I share details of how I want to make PCN sustainable, here’s what I believe PCN should be:
- PCN should be a professional association that supports copywriters and advances our profession.
- PCN should help copywriters find high-quality jobs
- PCN should help other professionals work with copywriters effectively
- PCN should be a resource for anyone who wants to become a copywriter
- PCN should be a voice for all copywriters
The PCN committee…
PCN now has an impressive editorial team, made up entirely of volunteers. Our editors are giving their time to help PCN remain an up-to-date resource. Our committee will also be involved in shaping the direction of PCN, giving us a broader perspective that includes freelancers from around the country, a recent graduate and a couple of in-house / agency copywriters.
Long-term plans
Copywriting conference – we’re keen to see this resume in 2017, but we can’t promise anything! We’ll provide updates on this as soon as we have some news.
Guides and books – PCN has the support of an impressive group of copywriters, so we want to harness our collective knowledge and share our experience with others. This might take the form of guides or books.
Podcasts and videos – I’d like to see PCN offer more than just blog posts. This might include podcasts (e.g. interviews with copywriters or other professionals) or video tutorials.
Resources for students – PCN should have a dedicated section for students who are contemplating a career in copywriting.
Support for in-house and agency copywriters – PCN should support all kinds of copywriters and content people, including copywriters working in agencies and as in-house writers.
Our biggest challenge…
One thing we need to figure out is how to make PCN sustainable. The organisation costs money to run (particularly web hosting, accounting and web development) and we’re currently barely meeting our costs.
I’ll write more on this soon, but one solution is to introduce a small monthly fee for Basic membership. If everyone contributes a little we can all benefit from what PCN offers. Of course, the majority of PCN’s content will always be freely available to all. If we choose this option, we would allow existing Basic members to continue without charge for a period of time.
Introducing a monthly fee (e.g. £3.00) for Basic membership would also help us improve the quality of our directory. At the moment we have quite a few listings that are incomplete, unreachable or just irrelevant. If members were paying each month, they would have an incentive to maintain their profile, or delete it entirely if they were no longer looking for work.
Thanks
Thank you to everyone who has supported PCN during this transition period. And a massive thanks to our editorial committee who are already giving their time to help PCN thrive. I’d also like to thank Joanna Tidball for all of her hard work during her time as PCN’s editor.
Your views…
We’re always looking for ideas and suggestions on how we can make PCN better for copywriters like you. So leave a comment below, email us, or start a discussion in the forum.