2018: A Year in the Life of a Self-Employed Copywriter

Well, well, well…2019 has crept up on us all a bit, hasn’t it?! It seems like only…well, not as long as 12 months ago…that I sat down at my desk, pen in hand (yes, I still always write my to-do lists with pen and paper) on January 1 2018 to map out the year ahead.

I didn’t know it then, but 2018 would turn out to be my busiest year as a self-employed copywriter. I also didn’t evisage it being such a lovely, long, hot and sunny summer and that there would be so many slices of delicious cake to scoff. Okay, I did predict the last one.

I’ve decided to start my year off right by looking back on some of the inspiring projects I’ve been working on over 2018, with some absolutely top notch clients and friends. So without further ado, let’s dig in!

Relaunches and Rebrands

I was chuffed to be selected to work with London-based digital marketing agency Voodoo Park on the total refresh and relaunch of the C2C Trains website. I’m proud of how this project worked out, and I’m thrilled that my copywriting and web content skills were able to bring Voodoo Park - and its client’s - vision to life.

I was also happy to be the copywriter of choice for Leeds-based recruiter, Thorn Baker, as part of its new rebrand. It was a joy to work for a fellow Yorkshire-based company, using copywriting to help their website work exactly the way manager director, Paul, wanted it to.

As well as working with a number of acclaimed marketing and digital agencies in 2018, I also officially launched The Occasional Reporter, with its all-singing, all-dancing website. Shortly after its full launch, I took multiple orders for a fellow marketer for his clients for Christmas/corporate presents.

Excitingly enough, I’m also now in talks with a Premier League football club (I’ll be able to reveal who later this year) about stocking some of my The Occasional Reporter bespoke front pages in their club shop!

Hiring Some Help

I’ve been so busy over the past few months with copywriting, The Occasional Reporter (and scoffing cake!), that I’ve enlisted the professional support of two new freelancers.

Award Wins

In 2018, I was chuffed to win not one but two awards for my work as The Occasional Reporter. The first was a Jacqueline Gold #WOW award, run by entrepreneurial legend Jacqueline Gold, CBE, Chief Executive of Ann Summers’ and Knickerbox.

The second gong I was presented with was a highly sought-after Shooting Stars award. This award is given by Huddersfield Town Football Club Foundation to leading local businesses in the area, and mine was handed over by Sean Jarvis - the Commercial Director of Huddersfield Town.

You can read a bit more about my awards in this blog post, which I posted on The Occasional Reporter’s blog last year.

Getting Technical

Over the past year I very much enjoyed getting my teeth into some technically-focused articles for an engineering client on behalf of H20 Creative.

Engineering is a topic I don’t often get to write about and I relished the challenge of getting each and every detail exactly right. Thankfully, the client was chuffed to bits with the work I provided for them (full testimonial coming soon)

 I Enjoyed 5 Minutes of Fame. Well, Kind Of.

The Yorkshire Post is close to my heart, and I was glad that in 2018 I was able to write a piece for my favourite local newspaper (except the Examiner, of course!) about how my Dad’s love for music inspired my own passion for music and writing.

Brand New Clients

It wouldn’t be right of me to write a blog post about my past year without taking a moment to speak about some of the fantastic clients who’ve hired my services along the way. After all, what would a copywriter be without businesses to write about?

Thank you to Helen Taylor Aesthetics, the Breton Shirt Company, Agile Acoustics, Dental SEM, Ibiza Angels, MA Living and The Stoneacre Group for their support. I look forward to working together again in 2019!

Here’s to the New Year

And, as they say, that’s not all. As 2019 begins with earnest, I’m enthusiastically sending emails and signing off invoices with a flourish. No rest for the wicked! It’s time to knuckle down and get to work for an even better year ahead. I hope you’ll join me?

If you’re looking for a dedicated copywriter with experience in a whole host of industries from recruitment and entertainment to engineering and manufacturing, get in touch. I’d love to speak to you about how we can work together this year.

Until next time…

How to Be a Copywriter (By Those Who Do It for a Living)

You quite fancy becoming a copywriter, eh? I like you already. Copywriting is a great career choice - and all the very best people write for a living. But I would say that, wouldn’t I?

So, don’t just listen to me. Before you bust onto the scene like a pen-toting copywriting machine, take the advice of the people who make up this very blog. Copywriters in various stages of their career, they write for agencies, for themselves, or in-house for a brand - but they all have one thing in common: they worked blinking hard to carve for themselves the life they want. Saw it, wanted it, got it. YES!

You can do it, too. Read on…

Make Some 'Pen' Pals

"Make friends." says freelance copywriter, Elise Dopson. "Whether you're chatting with other copywriters on Twitter, sharing their work or striking up an email conversation about the struggles you're both facing, friends make this job less lonely (which is ironic—we spend most of our time writing for humans on the internet, but still feel lonely in real life). Since making this my top priority since I started freelancing, I feel much less lonelier—and even have a lovely bunch of people who send referrals my way when they're fully booked (and vice versa). The opportunities are endless once you're "in" with people in the industry."

Just 'Go For It'

"So for me, I think the most important thing is to go for it." says André Spiteri of Maverick Words. "Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. It’ll never be. Get a portfolio together and start pitching. The more you work and learn, the more you’ll improve. "

Set Up a Blog

Alex Fassam from The Curly Haired Copywriter is fairly new to the industry, having recently took up a position on the Infinity team.

He says: “I knew I wanted to become a copywriter more than anything but I knew no-one would hire me with little to no experience. The best thing I ever did was set up my blog. It was my way of A) Showing people I could write B) Expanding on ideas I’d learnt about during my studying on copywriting C) Showing prospective employers I could manage a site like WordPress. It worked like a charm and I’ve landed my dream job. I couldn’t be happier!"

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

"Invest time in social media - it's an important part of your marketing, so don't feel guilty about spending (quality) time online. Don't be bamboozled by the jargon, it can make writing seem more complicated than it is. Befriend other copywriters - they're a lovely supportive bunch! And finally, but importantly, know what you're worth and don't undersell yourself." - those are the wise words of Megan Rose, who runs her own freelance copywriting business over here.

Hone Your Craft

“I’ve only just got my first job as a copywriter, so I’m still pretty inexperienced myself.” says Simeon - junior copywriter at Pink Squid. “But one important thing I’ve learnt already is to work on mastering different tones of voice, instead of simply relying on the one that feels most natural to you. It seems obvious, but it’ll give any new copywriter a huge advantage if they start off doing that. “

Put a Portfolio Together

"I’d say there is absolutely no substitute for having a portfolio of relevant work." says Paul French, a copywriter who works at legal firm, Eversheds Sutherland.

"You need to try and work out what sort of copywriter you want to be - creative/long form/jack of all trades and also if there is an industry you want to specialise in. Then either find relevant work experience or work for reduced rates to get some work behind you, which you can use to leverage more work (freelance) or a job (in/house/agency)"

Don't Work for Nothing. EVER.

Rebecca Pearl Messagelab Communications has some sound advice via a piece featured on the Professional Copywriters' Network website.

She says: "I don’t think you need to work for free while you’re building up your portfolio. I didn’t. Of course you won’t be charging the amounts you will with five years’ experience under your belt, but I don’t see any reason to ever work for free. There are always paid opportunities for talented writers. You just need to find them, which is also good practice."

And here’s a tip of my own…

Never Give Up

When it feels like you’re getting nowhere, just keep going. Believe me when I say persistence (and hard work) is key.

Are you a copywriter? Have a tip or two to share? Ping me a message and I’d be happy to add it here. Let’s make this the biggest and best guide for anyone who wants to get into the wonderful world of copywriting.

Until next time…

The Best Tools for Creating Better Web Content

Have you ever looked at your web content and thought that it could be even better? But you can’t work out how?

Sitting down and looking at your content after reading through it hundreds of times can be a fool’s errand, especially if you wrote it in the first place. It’s easy to start glancing over parts you really should be paying attention to - and before you know it, you’ve made very few amends and the whole afternoon’s gone. We’ve all been there.

Web content is difficult to tackle. The fact that you’ve already got a website packed with up-to-date information and written content is a credit to your planning and motivational skills. Plenty of businesses haven’t looked at theirs since their website was created in 2016. While that might work for them (although spoiler alert - it almost definitely isn’t) you know you need to up your content game.

Luckily for you, there are a few trusty tools you can use to help you create attention-grabbing web content. Grab a notepad, or open up a Word doc, and let’s get started.

Get Some Fresh Ideas!

Thinking of great ideas for web content can be a time-drain if you’re not in the right headspace for it. These apps are perfect for brainstorming when it’s just you, yourself and you at the keyboard.

Ideaflip is an ideas machine that helps you sort out your buzzwords into valuable concepts. Think of it like an interactive doodle pad, where your scribbles can be shared by your whole team.

Get to know Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator. You’re not too good for it. Even the greats use this amazing little tool to fashion blog posts out of thin air. Whether you’re having a low-motivation day or you’re just struggling to see how a topic could be flipped a couple more times, this app is a really handy way to quickly get back on track.

Improve Your Style and Sentence Structure with ProWritingAid

If you’d like a bit more feedback on your writing than what Yoast can give you, ProWritingAid is the perfect app for you.

It takes a good look at your writing and suggests improvements, just like your favourite teacher. Unlike your favourite teacher though, instead of using a red Papermate to correct your work, the ProWritingAid app flags errors and suggests improvements that you can instantly change in your document.

 Sort Your Tabs Out With OneTab

Do you ever feel like you’ve got ten thousand tabs open while you search for relevant content online, and you don’t want to let any of them go? But it’s affecting your computer’s performance? And you’re terrified it’ll crash before you’ve had time to take what you need from each of them?

Get started with OneTab and all that terror and glitchy wonkiness goes away.

This useful little app turns all your open tabs into a list of URLs, so you’ve got a workable list to go through and your computer gets to cool down. Everyone’s a winner.

Have you got some different tools you use everyday to help you create sparkling content? I want to hear about them - why not ping me a message?

Five Reasons Your eShot Isn't Being Opened

Using eShots - to create interest for your products, announce news or even shout about special offers - has become second nature to us in 2018.

Need a boost in sales? Send out an eShot. Want to share some amazing new lines with your best customers? Ping them an email. Got a surprise sale going on because of a larger-than-usual shipment? Get the message out quickly using an email newsletter.

But what happens when your eShot open rate…well…takes a nosedive?

Overcoming eShot Fatigue

It’s time to look at why your emails are starting to be ignored. Take a look at your metrics and have a think through these top five reasons your eshot is being left in the spam folder compost heap.

1. You’re sending too many emails

 Subscribers want to hear from you, but there’s a limit to their love. If you’re sending out emails more than once a week, you need to think about whether each of these are relevant to all of the addresses you’re sending them to.Consider all the emails you’re sending and who they’re going out to, and answer the following questions:

●     Does every recipient on your list need to get every email?

●     Why are you sending so many emails?

●     Could you say less and save your emails for really important or exciting news?

If you really feel that you need to be sending more than one eShot a week, it’s wise to make sure each of these emails are visibly different from each other and contain totally unique content each time.

A customer can forgive oversharing if it involves useful nuggets each time. What they can’t forgive is being bombarded with the same old stories over and over again.

2. You’re emailing the wrong people

You might have a long list of email subscribers, but how many of them are active? And how many of those email addresses have ever given you any sort of reciprocal attention?

Take a deep breath and count to 10. Yes, you’re going to have to scout through your subscribers to check their validity. It might take some time. Luckily, if you’re using an email service like Mailchimp, in-built stats and other shortcuts can make this a lot easier than trawling your way through a long list of emails manually.

Maybe they’re not interested in what you have to say anymore. Maybe they only signed up for an offer that’s now expired. Maybe, just maybe, they bought something from you in a previous role, but months later they just aren’t a relevant customer anymore and will never buy any of your products again.

Check for the number of eShots they open, and start getting ruthless. It also pays to check the types of emails they’re opening - move onto our next tip to find out why:

3. You’re giving the right content to the wrong people

Eh? What?

Yes. There’s every chance that your email subscribers are perfect for you, but you’re feeding them info they’re just not interested in. But as they say, “one man’s spam is another woman’s ribeye.”

 Take a look at the types of emails your subscribers are actually opening. It will almost definitely vary.

Now it’s time to separate your followers into relevant lists so you can make sure you’re only sending certain types of emails to the customers who could benefit from them. Here are some list ideas to help you shuffle them around:

●     Special Offer Snoopers: Only interested in sales, discount codes and offer

●     Blog Readers: Only opens emails that promise interesting content, or links to blogs

●     Hype-Hunters: Only wants to know about new and upcoming products

●     Forgetful Customers: Usually clicks on emails that remind them to complete purchases.

4. Your emails are boring

Sorry to say it, but you just might not be making an impact.

It could be a case of the subject-line snoozies, or it could be that your customers have become accustomed to opening your emails and immediately regretting it. Either way, they’ve taken to avoiding you at all costs to quell the boredom.

Your company might not easily lend itself to fun, bright and breezy emails, but even the driest of subjects can be interesting to a customer who’s invested in what you do.

Take the time to think about how you could be putting yourself across in more attention-grabbing ways.

5. It isn’t clear what you’re selling

If you’ve sent a few emails out recently that have fallen flat, take another look at the content.

 How many times do you actively tell your readers to ‘click here’ or ‘do this’ or ‘go there?

People who are quickly scanning an email need a prompt to hook them in. Being able to passively read through an email to get everything they need might be convenient for your customers, but it isn’t doing you any favours.

Drag them through to your website at all costs, where they can easily find products to buy, more information to read and even more ways to be reeled in by your marketing.

 Putting it All to Work

After you’ve worked out what your customers are avoiding and you’ve learned how to get around it, it’s time to get working on improving your emails.

Figuring out what will catch their attention is one thing, but making sure you continue to offer them frequent mailings that keep them hooked and ready to buy from you is another kettle of fish.

●    Check your statistics regularly to make sure you’re getting the opens you need and work with the information you find out to guide your content moving forward

●    Don’t send out emails you wouldn’t read yourself. Stick to one or two important points and keep it snappy.

Still struggling? I’m an email marketing expert with more than 10 years’ experience under my belt. Give me a call or drop me an email today and http://www.laurenholden.co.uk/contact/about how we can collaborate to get your emails working hard for you.

What Your About Page Says About You

Does your website's 'About' page says exactly what you’ve asked it to say? Usually, about pages are fairly simple. Maybe yours has a couple of paragraphs about your brand's views, morals and expertise. You might also have added an FAQ, or even some Meet The Team snippets. At the very least, your page should have a basic description of your business - basically, who you are, what you do and why you do it.

Some businesses don’t bother to do much more than that. I’m here to tell you that they’re missing out. You most definitely should put in a little more effort into this often-overlooked page.

Your About Page Offers Insight About Who - and What - Your Business Is

How does a customer decide how to choose your business for the products or services they’re looking for?

Millions of hours of research has been done on this exact subject, concerning every level of the sales funnel. What remains true for every customer no matter their stage, is that they want to know more about you before they trust you with their money.

In an age of high competition and easy research, the way your portray your brand can make or break your conversions. If you’re selling a similar product to your competitors at the same reasonable shipping cost and with similar additional extras - for example, customer service, warranties and guarantees - your about page can be how you set yourself apart.

How to Use Your About Page Effectively

It might just be a page on your website, but there are many ways you can utilise the space within it to communicate directly with your customers. Your about page should be considered an important part of the inbound marketing journey, and on top of that, it should represent exactly what your brand priorities are.

Think outside of the box. Instead of writing out a few paragraphs lifted from your employee and brand handbooks, try to match the personality you want your brand to have with the way you share that information.

Some ideas for you:

●     Design up an interactive timeline of your business’ history

●     Add videos and team interviews for more unique insights

●     Tell your story creatively.

How Your About Page Can Inform Your Brand’s Tone of Voice

Tone of voice is a vital part of your brand. It might not be something you’ve considered on its own, but if you choose certain words or phrases to describe what you do in any of your literature on in your web content, that’s your tone of voice shining through.

Basically, the words you choose help to build up a picture of who you are. If you use the words 'professional' and 'experience; in the same paragraph, you begin to build up a picture of your business as an outfit people can trust, Using words like 'care' and 'your needs' gives off a different impression; one that shows your business aims to look after and support your customers or clients.

Using these brand-aware words and phrases in your about page will help to build your image psychologically.

Take a look at these successful brands' about pages and you’ll see what I mean.

Jewson: Leading providers, friendly customer service.

Pampers: Care, protection, love.

Edinburgh Zoo: Connection, conservation, experience, research.

Fancy Some Homework?

After taking a look at those three examples and comparing them, how would you improve them? Using that same constructive criticism, take another look at your own about page. Does it need an update?

Finding the Time to Update Your About Page

Of course, updating and refreshing your web content can be another important task in a long list of jobs you have to tackle this quarter.

Why not outsource to a professional copywriter and web content creator? I have experience with working with businesses of all shapes and sizes and in a huge range of industries. Get in touch to find out how I can help you.