What Selling Credit Cards Has Taught Me About Writing

Eric Burdon

7 years ago

This is a guest post by Eric S. Burdon. He is a writer, blogger, and published author.

I started my blogging adventure leaving a job that I found myself inching closer to depression the more I worked there. I worked as a salesman of credit cards (yes I was one of “those people” once upon a time.) and clearly I wasn’t too fond of it.

When I left, I probably shouldn’t have left at that moment, however, that experience taught me a lot of things. Things about life and where I was going. But over time, that experience taught me three important lessons about writing.

You May Have To Be “Sneaky”

Part of the process of making the sale was I had to fill out a form. This form was a credit check for that person. Since the average person more than likely doesn’t want a credit check done on them voluntarily I would’ve lost a sale.

As such, I put myself into a position where I needed to be a little sneaky. I needed to provide for myself after all. So I never explicitly told the person it was a credit check form I was filling out. Not only that but I made it easier to get a sale by walking around with a grocery cart filled with cookies (If you signed up you’d get a free coupon for them).

Anyway, my point is, with writing you may have to be a little sneaky as well. Maybe not lower your standards too low levels like that (I did feel terrible and ultimately that’s the reason I left the job). However, you do have to provide some level of attraction.

Whether that’s an eye-catching (not necessarily click bait) headline, or learning additional ‘white hat’ (SEO) tricks to boosts post exposure, don’t be afraid to use those.

You’ll Face Rejection and Disapproval

Considering my “sneaky” methods of my sales approach, rejections and even some level of disapproval occurred. When it comes to sales obviously having a strong will to handle that is challenging.

In writing, there will be cases where you’ll face that. Some times you may be turned down for a blogging opportunity or someone else got your position. Or perhaps you may get some disapproval from your parents, friends, or other family members with your writing.

What matters at the end of the day is what you enjoy doing the most. What does writing mean to you? Use that reasoning to continue to forge forward.

It Prompted Me To Think In Smaller Numbers

I remember the periods where I would feel down about myself during the day at my sales job. However, there was one particular worker I bumped into at a certain store who kept my spirits up. She told me “Make one sale at a time.”

In other words, focus on the obstacle in front of you as opposed to worrying constantly about the bigger picture.

With the amount that I’m writing it can seem overwhelming for me. Like I mentioned in my other post how I manage to write daily, there’s a lot of articles that I write. Over the course of the week, I write 11 that I post to my blog and Medium. Plus I also strive to write 7 other posts for practice.

However, I tackle all of those one at a time. I don’t deviate from them and remain focused on the article I’m writing first. In other words, instead of thinking of 18 minimum 300-word posts, I think of 1 minimum 300-word post.

You Some Times Have To Act Confident

Once I was getting into the job, I knew what it was. Even though I felt bad about it, I knew that I had to be confident. When you don’t believe in your work, it shows. So some times you do have to put on a mask that makes you seem confident. That, in turn, teaches you to be confident in yourself.

Even though at the end I was confident in selling credit cards, there was something else I was far more confident in, or at the very least willing to try. I was confident in my writing and I wanted to try it out.

I admit some of my earlier work isn’t the greatest, but I wore that mask with pride. Now though, I fully believe in my work and my writing abilities. The confidence oozes from my work.