In Buenos Aires (and probably most cities?), there are pretty clear-cut categories for bars and restaurants.

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There are specific places you’d go for breakfast, lunch, and merienda (the deliciously relaxed tea time that lasts anywhere from 4-8 pm).

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And then there are dinner-only places.

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And bars are a separate category.

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But you can get even more specific than that:

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There are craft beer bars that would be great for a casual get together. And intimate wine bars. And drinks-and-dancing places. And intense electronic dancing places.

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The good bars and restaurants make it easy to know when to visit them, with whom, at what time, and on what occasion.

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They don't leave you wondering about what kind of food they offer or what kind of vibe they have.
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Then there’s this random place I walk by every day that’s almost always empty. On the sign, it says “bar coffee wine drinks” and they serve pizza, beer, breakfast and a gazillion other things.

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AND ALSO they have karaoke, and they host parties but also have bright lights and sell healthy lunches. It’s all very confusing.
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Without knowing anything about their strategy, my best guess is that they’re so deathly afraid of alienating any one group of eaters or drinkers that they've tried to be everything to everyone.

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I imagine the owners of this mishmash of a restaurant saying “but what if someone wants to sing karaoke while they’re sipping coffee, we have to offer that too!”

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Or maybe they're saying “we have a better chance of getting customers if we offer pizza AND fancy wine tastings.”

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But...the place is always empty. And it makes sense why: If I want to go to a karaoke place, I'd go to a karaoke-specific bar. Not a bar-that-also-has-a-karaoke-machine.

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This happens all the time in the copywriting space

I see the same thing happening with copywriters and creatives.

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Afraid of alienating any potential group of customers, a copywriter might say:

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“I do emails and websites and product copy for any industry! Healthcare or e-commerce or beauty products or software, I’ll do it all."

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Yes, this makes it difficult for potential clients to understand who you serve.

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AND guess who else has a really hard time understanding who you serve? Potential referrers!

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It's no secret that other copywriters are the best source of referrals for many copywriters. (I assume this works the same way with other creatives — we only have so much availability, so we end up referring leads to other professionals in our space.)
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So when you try to be everything to everyone (like the karaoke-bar-slash-cafe), it's hard to refer work to you, because there's no good way to remember what kind of services you offer.

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For example, I don't usually do email for e-commerce companies. So when a lead comes to me and says, “can you recommend a good e-commerce email copywriter?" I’ll refer them to one of the two copywriters I know who don’t stop talking about emails and e-commerce.

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When I'm thinking about who to recommend to a lead, I automatically think of the people who have specifically staked their claim in a specific category. I probably won't remember the long list of people who said “I’ll do anything!" even though they'd probably be happy to do e-commerce emails.
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This is just like how if someone asks me for a good wine bar recommendation, I’ll send them to a place that specializes in wine.
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This is why I say “B2B SaaS copy for websites and case studies.” And I consistently get referrals for B2B SaaS website and case study projects from copywriters who don't offer those services.

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So Reader, have you claimed a category? Or are you a karaoke-wine-bar-cafe?

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Take care of yourself (and claim your space!),

Annie