General Archives - The Cranky Creative Blog

Marketing disguised as content - whether a webinar, an ebook, a whitepaper, or a blog post - is one sleazy tactic

July 7, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Marketing disguised as content is sleazy AF

Gah, marketing. The land of “free” consultations that turn into high-pressure sales pitches, “thought-leader” articles written by glorified SEO jockeys, and infographics so cluttered with logos they look like a

June 9, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Why Google is not your friend

(AKA, The World Wide Web is neither free nor fair under Google) Remember when Google felt like a helpful search engine, a gateway to all the world’s knowledge? Now, it’s

Out-of-work job seeker frustrated by a difficult job market

April 9, 2024 The Cranky Creative

The Great Creative Layoff: why finding your next job feels impossible

It’s become a bad joke: One moment, I’m reading a LinkedIn “news” story touting a booming jobs market — and the next, I’m doom-scrolling through endless posts from out-of-work creatives.

A young black girl in a business suit prepares for a job interview

February 19, 2024 The Cranky Creative

Forced quotas or fair chance? The debate around ‘racial parity’ in hiring

In the current push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), some businesses are focusing on “racial parity” in their workforce demographics — that is, prioritizing the hiring of people of

July 6, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Sad news as The Cranky Creative blog turns four

I’m sorry, Cranky reader. I’m not in the best mood today. My step-father-in-law passed away last week. He’d been diagnosed with lung cancer. Except he didn’t die of lung cancer.

The Cranky Creative has some confessions to share. Oh, yes he does.

June 26, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Confessions of a cranky creative

In this post, I share a collection of confessions, opinions, and unvarnished random thoughts that may or may not get me in trouble. Enjoy. 1. I was born to do

March 2, 2022 The Cranky Creative

Good, fast, cheap. Pick two.

Creative professionals are talented people. But all too often, we copywriters, graphic designers, animators, videographers, and composers are asked (*cough cough* required) to do the impossible. Worse, we are expected

August 9, 2021 The Cranky Creative

The Cranky Creative blog turns three

In 2011, a manager asked me if I had a blog, or if I’d ever considered writing one. “No,” I snorted dismissively. “I don’t have anything to say.” My, how

July 22, 2020 The Cranky Creative

What’s on your work music playlist?

Listening to music at work helps me to focus and find my groove. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite music genres, artists, songs, and sounds to listen

July 1, 2020 The Cranky Creative

The Cranky Creative blog turns two

As The Cranky Creative toddles headlong into the Terrible Twos, let’s celebrate by taking a look back at some of this blog’s best and most popular posts of the past

freelance writer writing on a laptop at a coffee shop

October 17, 2019 The Cranky Creative

Survival tips for full-time freelancers

I made my first foray into the freelance world in 2010 while working full-time at a job I hated. Copywriting jobs were few and far between where I lived, and