We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather Jefferson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather , thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Well, the big trend right now is the emergence of AI. There is a division in the content writing industry. Understandably, when AI is used to replace the human authentication, then you are left with a piece that can be soulless and stale. Lacking in character or personality. While at the same time, more and more software and online programs are going to some form of AI to increase not only the efficiency of media, but to decrease the time it takes to produce it.

At the beginning of this new direction in online content development I tried to avoid anything that has to do with AI. To no avail of course. Inevitably I had to learn to work with it.

The way I see it now, is that AI is a tool we can use much like having an assistant. We still need to put the written into training and teaching the bot assistant to help with developing an outline or gathering research and tracking down resources. I still need to direct what voice/style, and tone I want the piece to speak in. I input all of my work and writing into the software and ask it to revise specific areas I need help with.

For me AI is not something to run from or avoid, and it is not a replacement for genuine and integral work. It should be embraced as a welcomed assistant to help me get past those mental blocks, help to organize my ideas, and even provide inspiration at times when I need a jumping off point to begin a piece.

If we as creatives will learn how to work AI just as we learned how to use a thesaurus, then it would be a powerful tool to producing efficient work in a more timely manner. A lot less frustration and more overcoming those writer’s block moments.

Heather , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure! For 14 years I owned and ran my portrait photography business Quilted Hearts Photography. In those last 3 years I began to wonder if there was something more I can do. At one time I had dreams to open my own portrait studio and even began to run one out of my home. Over that 14 years I learned how to employ social media to drive traffic to my website and connect with customers. This type of marketing served me well and kept the revenue flowing steadily. Eventually, I had a heart change and decided I wanted to focus more on writing, so I went back to school to finish the visual communications degree I started over a decade prior. During this journey, I discovered that the professional development I had invested in while trying to grow my photography business actually served in my courses for Professional Writing for New Media. It has taken some time to figure out my strengths so I can choose a niche. Now I know that content and copywriting is my specialty.

Blessed Desert Press provides small businesses, nonprofits, and even indie authors with written content for websites, ghostwriting, blogs, email campaigns like newsletters, white pages ect. As well as social media copy, and sales enablement material for marketing and sales teams.

The genuine desire to help someone solve a problem is my passion for writing content. The online market is inundated with adds, articles, and sales material. It’s overwhelming, really. When a business can personally connect with their target market and clearly conveys that their product or service can help solve their problem, it’s a wonderful thing! By helping give that business the templates/material they need to share their brand story and open the line of communication to their potential customers, I’m not only taking some of the burden of running a business, so the owner can focus on what they’re best at, providing a product or service, but the customer is helped too by having their problem solved. It truly feels like putting to work the blessings that have been giv÷en to me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building my audience and following on social media took time and perseverance since it is organic. It was a combination of consistent posting that initiated engagement, polls, asking questions, even sharing relevant articles and content that asked for my followers to share their ideas and opinions. Also attending online networking events, and connecting genuinely with people every opportunity I got. I would take advantage of “pay-it-forward” opportunities as well. There were times when someone needed my services and they did not have the means yet to purchase or to pay in full. This took a lot of praying and employing wisdom, but it’s good to offer a hand to others at times without having any expectation of return. That takes having faith. Be genuine in your interest in others and their lives. Have a heart that cares for others’ well being.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is watching the process of development into fruition. It’s also often the most frustrating part because it can seem like wrong turn after wrong turn sometimes. Or dead end after dead end. But keep pressing forward. Keep walking in faith and you will see the needle moving in time. If your passionate about what you’re doing then you won’t be anxiously watching the numbers go up or down. Instead you will enjoy the process and appreciate the transformation. All creatives know that mistakes are made along the way. That’s just part of it. Perfection is the enemy of progression. And it helps to remember that a healthy helping of grace and mercy goes a long way throughout the journey. But boy, when the creation is realized, the goal has been accomplished and you see that it has blessed someone in one way or another, it motivates you to do more. To want to create more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.blesseddesertpressllc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherjefferson_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.jefferson.58
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hljefferson
• Other: https://Www.blessingsinthedesert.com

Image Credits

Sandra Santos Clark