help me help you (with your writing)

be you a person or a company, a human or an enterprise, a lil guy or a robot -- hi.

Hi. This is gonna be a big week in BAT Country. That’s right, it’s a country. Don’t worry, everyone is good here and no one is a stinker. In fact, those are the only laws:

1. Everyone is good here

2. No one is a stinker

If anyone works at the .gov places, let’s talk.

Like I said - big week in BAT-related announcements. Here’s the first (of many).

I’m available for work!

As this Substack has grown, a number of people have reached out asking me to see if I’m either

1. interested in doing some writing for their company or

2. available to help them with their personal writing / Substack.

Often, they say things like:

“I’m funny in person, but when I try writing funny it blows butt.”

“I want to be more vulnerable on the page.”

“Can you help my brand develop a voice that doesn’t sound like an old alcoholic uncle used car salesman?”

“How do I write in my voice and not end up sounding like a 9th grade English essay?”

“Can you help my company launch a newsletter that’s actually, ya know, good?”

“I want to use Substack Notes without losing my mind. Help!”

“Can you come speak at my company (Google, lol) about how to write genuine, funny, vulnerable stuff?”

Besides that last quote, which didn’t actually happen (but it could?? it honestly should??), I’ve been helping these peeps and ya know what, I fuckin’ love doing it. Like, actually. It’s almost embarrassing how giddy I get working with someone on their essay and helping them get out of their own way and say something that matters — something that feels true or engaging or funny or whatever else they were trying to pull off.

It’s a certain kind of magic so what the hell, why not do some more of it?

Interested?

If you think I could help either you or your company, please reach out and we can talk through whatever you're working on (free of charge obviously).

If things are feeling good and we both want to work together, I'll share some pricing for what I can help with and at what cost. Cool? Cool.

Feel free to reach out at botharetrue@substack.com with some details about what you’re looking for and, if applicable, a budget you’re working with!

More of a button guy? Great - here’s a button you can click with my email:

And now, here’s a lil more on what I do and a bunch of dope testimonials from people who dig my work. Yay.

What I Do

For companies

A lot of people work at or own companies whose voice sounds a bit like this:

“Hey y’all! With summer in the rear-view and fall up ahead, we’re super excited to announce a 3% sale on all purchases over $500. Don’t tell our boss we’re sending you this though. Let’s just keep this a secret between us, okay? You’re our customer, and that means we love you like our grandma. Except without all the cats!

PS - We’re having a little fun today because Janet in HR bought Cold Brew instead of regular coffee. Please know that we do not mean to offend anyone who has a grandma with this message. It is NOT endorsed by our CEO or company as a whole. Just a little fun! We’re sorry.

I get brought in to help them sound more like, well, Both Are True. So if you’re looking for help with this or anything else —

• copywriting across platforms (web, social, whatever)

• content strategy (ugh)

• creating or growing a newsletter

• ghostwriting

• editing

• idk anything with words really just no number stuff

— shoot me an e-mail with your deets — let’s talk!

Here’s a link to my portfolio of past work with ‘brands’.

If any of that sounds interesting, shoot me an e-mail with your deets — let’s talk!

Alex was instrumental in spiffying up my LLC's website.  He really rolled up his sleeves and got his hands dirty to reword, reorganize, and reinvigorate the old copy that I provided to him from a previous version.  Having another pair of eyes gave us the confidence to use his work as a solid foundation for our relaunch.  Not to mention, our LLC is not the funnest of subject matters, but Alex was able to add just the right touch of humor and levity to the verbiage.Be smart and hire Alex for your editing and copywriting needs! 

— Marmi Le CEO, Pie and Donut Analytics

For individuals

The problem Isn’t knowing what to say. The problem is that you prematurely judge your writing as some not enough crap that will be ridiculed by everyone including and especially that one dude from high school who for some reason is a successful artist now even though all of his stuff sucks like objectively sucks ask anyone.

So what's the solve?

I dunno! We'll figure it out together.

Usually, talking through it helps. A lot.

And often, the truth of the piece IS whatever is holding you back from writing it. I’d call it meta but Zuck took that word from us just like he took everything else. Let’s work together to defeat him (or make your writing better whichever).

Editing

Once we’ve got the thing — the core idea — it's a matter of dancing with the written word and/or vomiting out everything that's in your head.

Then, we can shape it into whatever it's meant to be.

I can help you suss out the wheat from the chaff, the useful from the extra, the bad from the whoa, and I’ll also help with all of the nitty gritty stuff - flow, grammar, clarity, cohesion, etc. All that stuff.

If any of that sounds interesting, shoot me an e-mail with your deets — let’s talk!

Gotta post before I chicken out

Ok this is scary to post cuz like what if everyone is like ‘ew no Alex you suck?!’ so I gotta just do it now I’m about to hit post if you’re reading this, I did it.

Kind Words From People I’ve Worked With

Holy moly you’re good.

— Tommy Dixon , Tommy Dixon

I have known Alex for fifteen years, and began working with him in a professional capacity one year ago. At the time, I was just starting to write a newsletter on Substack, and he had already successfully begun to build an audience there. Since then, we have exchanged writing weekly, in addition to discussing strategies for growth. On both fronts, Alex's input has been absolutely transformative.

For each essay he reads, he comes back with insights that cut to the core of what needs work and regularly gives suggestions that help bring the piece to its full potential. This is especially impressive since my writing style and topics are very different from his. Nonetheless, he is able to see what the work needs. Furthermore, it is no exaggeration to say that Alex's input has been the most important factor in my success growing my Substack from zero to over 2,100 subscribers in under a year. I have essentially followed the Alex Dobrenko growth blueprint, and, I'll tell you what, it works.

— Rae Katz , Inner Workings

Alex has one of the most unique styles you'll find on the internet. He seems to be able to masterfully shift between the serious and reflective to the hilarious and absurd with ease. I'm sort of nervous even sending him this testimonial because I sense he could have said it in a more interesting way.

— Paul Millerd , Boundless by Paul Millerd

Alex is a creative unlock - he brings great writing out of you because he understands both the craft itself and the psychological stuff involved in doing great work.

— Alex Michael , A Questionable Life

Alex has helped me untangle my most honest, unfiltered thoughts and point out how I can share these stories in an interesting, funny, and relatable way. He also makes you laugh throughout the whole process, which makes working with him all the more enjoyable.

— Becky Isjwara , Becky Isjwara

-

I wanted to challenge myself to write something with humor and also to discuss a topic that I was excited about but wasn't sure if it had legs...I felt so inspired after our call, I immediately wrote up a draft and sent it to him -- his comments on my draft were thoughtful and he referenced parts of our conversation when giving me feedback. He helped me think through which parts of the piece I wanted to bring out. Once I hit publish, the essay was extremely well received and is one of my best performing pieces. I am so grateful for Alex's editing support! I would never have written my essay without him

— Michelle Varghoose , Michelle Varghoose