Writer Wednesday — Elspeth Taylor — "it’s not enough to think that you have a way with words"

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Writer Wednesday has featured a lot of freelancers, but most of them have been at it for a while. London copywriter Elspeth Taylor offers a different perspective as she's just made the transition to being her own boss.

Website: http://weedle.com/elspeth.taylor
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/elspethctaylor

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

Well, I’m really just starting out at the whole freelance writing thing so I’m keen to not pigeonhole myself just yet. Not to mention the fact that a good copywriter needs to have plenty of strings to their bow to be a success. My background is in fashion and retail, so I guess these would be my specialist areas. I can make the ugliest of outfits sound like your wardrobe will shrivel up and die without it! I also have SEO experience, so writing for the web is another key area for me. But I’m trying to keep my hand in at all sorts of writing—to keep my brain active and to give myself the best possible chance of making enough money to be able to eat! I report for a local niche-interest paper, write articles for their website, help people with their blogs and submit speculative features to magazines and weekend papers. Plus, I do article rewriting and proof-reading for various private and corporate clients.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

All my jobs have been in publishing/media type companies and all my roles have been to do with writing and editing. My last job was as a copywriter for a big UK department store and after about 18 months of working there I realised I wanted more variety in my working day. I enjoyed getting into the mind of the customer, really working out what makes them tick, what specific words and language will really engage them and so on... but I wanted more! I decided to branch out on my own to see if I could gain a more varied client base that would allow me to get involved in other areas of copywriting and to take on more challenging projects. And of course, I like the freedom of deciding the times of my working day! What other job allows you to work around walking the dog, popping to the shops or meeting friends for brunch?!

Tell us a little about your creative process.

I wouldn’t say that I have a set ‘creative process’, not as such. It’s more about doing solid ground work — I do plenty of research into the brief I’ve been given, who I need to target and how best to reach out and speak to that type of person, how to make them sit up and take notice. I also make sure I talk to the client about what they are trying to achieve, what main points they are trying to put across and then use all of that info to bat around a few ideas. I try to get a few sentences and key words down on screen (or paper!), even if they are incomplete; just so I don’t have a big, blank expanse of white in front of me, and then I see what I can put together from there.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I find that the best thing to do if you’re stuck is to (deadline allowing!) go away and try not to think about the piece of work for a while, possibly even leave it over night. Then come back to it fresh and read through what you have. You will often have a fresh perspective. Sometimes I come back to pieces of work and delete whole sections in a frenzy of “what on earth was I thinking”. On the other hand, sometimes I find that bits that I have agonised over just fall into place.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

As I mentioned, I do some editing, feature writing and reporting on the side. I also have a little dog that’s a bit of a handful! Training her is almost a whole project in itself! Making time for everything isn’t really an issue at the moment, because I‘m so new to freelancing. I have plenty of time for my small client base as well as the bits and bobs I do alongside. Hopefully, once I’m more established, setting myself timelines and prioritising workloads will become more imperative!

I’m also studying a course with the London School of Journalism, which is great for days when I don’t have any paid work on. It helps keep my writing flowing and stops me watching too much Diagnosis Murder!

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

That it’s not enough to think that you have ‘a way with words’, a good copywriter needs plenty of commercial awareness and a good listening ear to really be a success.

What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

A small, boisterous dog is not the best companion to have around in a quiet home office!

Seriously though, I would say it’s that setting up on your own, taking on clients and building up relationships etc... it all takes far, FAR longer than you think it will. Even though I felt I’d prepared myself for how long it might take to make this work, it still seems painfully slow! I guess I’m a bit of a workaholic, I like having something to do every hour of every day and when this doesn’t happen it can be tough to feel like I’m getting somewhere. Still, I’ve learnt to cut myself some slack. I’ve achieved some good things so far and I have plenty of time to achieve plenty more! (So long as the food rations don’t run out!)

Writer Wednesday — Therese Pope — “...walk outside in nature and take a few deep breaths.”

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Therese Pope is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant in Northern California, a perfect location given her focus on wellness and holistic practitioners. Her company, Zenful Communications, takes what she calls a “wholistic” approach to marketing that looks at the whole of a company to find the heart of it’s message and branding.


Website: http://zenfulcommunications.blogspot.com
Twitter: @TheresePope

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

I've worked with a lot of different niches — some of them include: the hospitality industry, business, online marketing, and holistic/wellness and health

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

I have a VERY different background than most copywriters who have traditional agency experience. I am a freelance copywriter and online marketing consultant with a BA degree in Journalism (option: Public Relations) from California State University, Chico. I've been a freelancer for three years. I worked as a special events director/fundraiser for public health non-profits (American Cancer Society and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation). I worked in publicity/PR for Barnes & Noble after college and also worked for a real estate trade association and small publishing company in the Sacramento, CA, area.

However, I've always been a one-woman marketing/PR "show" and wrote my own newsletters, marketing and event collateral. When I worked in non-profit, my co-workers joked that I was the in-house ghostwriter since I always edited co-workers and directors' writing. I have always loved to write (why I pursued a journalism degree) and was an English geek in high school. I did a bit of freelance writing on the side during my non-profit career but always pushed it to the side since I was so busy. I was drawn to starting my own business because I wanted to be a freelancer and have always had a strong entrepreneurial drive. It felt natural to move in the direction of copywriting and marketing consulting because of my strong writing skills and my flair for writing marketing-focused copy. 


Tell us a little about your creative process.

As for my creative process, I partner and work with a lot of amazing project managers and web and graphic designers. They are always involved in the creative process because we work together as a team (especially on web copywriting projects). We usually sit down and have a creative meeting and hammer out all the marketing goals and objectives related to the campaign/project - which also involves my role as the copywriter. 



They usually write a creative brief and I write a copywriting strategy that clearly outlines my copy goals and objectives of their project. Each project is different so it really depends on the scope of the project and what the client needs. Bottom line — I want the client to have a clear understanding of their copy goals and objectives so everyone is on the same page (and I also ask them to sign off on the directives so there aren't any surprise). 


What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I take a breather and do yoga (have been a student of yoga for 10 plus years). Yoga is a huge stress reliever for me and helps clear my mind and find my writing focus again. I think anyone who works in a creative field would highly benefit from yoga. Exercise is the best medicine for me and love to walk and hike. I highly encourage all copywriters to get away from their computers and walk outside in nature and take a few deep breaths. It does wonder to clear the tired brain — especially when you have writer's block! A glass of vino also does the trick (but after hours, of course!)

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

I'm always working on side projects since I'm a freelancer and always drumming up ways to earn income and promote my business. I'd love to teach more teleclasses about social media, and write more articles geared towards helping female entrepreneurs. I'd like to get my name out there and help more female small business owners - especially with their online marketing projects. I don't want to just be seen as a copywriter. Since my other specialty is online marketing, I want my clients to feel like they can trust me and come to me for advice about any online marketing problems or issues that arise. I sometimes feel like small female business owners are lost when it comes to marketing in general, and they really need help and support - so that's one of my biggest goals.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

The best advice I could give is DO NOT listen to the negative naysayers out there who tell you'll never make it as a writer (whether you're a copywriter or journalist). Forge ahead and learn everything you can about writing (even if you have to go back to school and take more writing classes). Stay positive and focused, and don't give into the negative self-talk that creeps into your brain (especially if you are a freelancer). Always believe in your talents and skills and stick up for yourself - you are a valuable asset! 


What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I had taken the plunge to be a freelance copywriter/consultant years ago, but I don't regret my non-profit career path in the least. I learned a lot about networking and how to build strong relationship with my clients as a result of my fundraising/event planning background and working with my incredible volunteers over the years.

There's more to just copywriting than the actual writing part. You need to understand people and how they think and act. You need to be able to dig into their brains and psyche and get to the heart of their message and branding. Anyone can write copy but if you don't understand people, you'll be floundering. You have to be part psychoanalyst, part researcher and part salesperson. You also have to be VERY flexible, open-minded and roll with the punches. A sense of humor doesn't hurt either. You deal with all kinds of client personalities and backgrounds and you never know what to expect — just take each day as it comes (my motto!) 


Writer Wednesday — Andy White of whitewriting — “If you believe in an idea, fight for it.”

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Andy White is a freelance copywriter with a very amusing blog. (You can also find him on Facebook.) He’s based in Stockport, Manchester, England, and did his time at advertising behemoths like McCann Erickson and Publicis before going out on his own. And, now he’s doing his time here, giving advice to me and my readers. Thanks, Andy!

Website: whitewriting.com
Twitter: @thatandywhite


What’s your writing focus or specialty?
I don't really have a specialty these days, Leigh. I've been a copywriter for over 20 years now and I've covered just about every discipline in that time. If I focus on anything, it's having fun with the job. It keeps me happy and my clients seem to like having someone to work with who can have a few laughs while getting the work done. If there's one thing I'm known for it's probably writing in a conversational style and finding the right “tone of voice” for a piece.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

After leaving school I did a degree course in Graphic Design and Visual Communication. As I reached the end of that, I realised that what I really enjoyed was coming up with ideas, headlines and concepts, rather than perfect design. At the same time a Creative team from a London Ad agency visited the University to see our work and one of them suggested I started taking copywriting seriously. From that point on I basically knocked on doors and phoned every creative director I could get the number for. After a couple of months I was lucky enough to get to see a copywriter called Lynn Crooks at McCann Erickson, she didn't have a job for me but sent me away with a “copy test”, a set of fictitious briefs for non-existent clients. Stuff like “create a press campaign to sell tap water to compete with Perrier”, “Write a radio ad publicising the mime artist Marcel Marceau live at The Talk of The Town”, that kind of thing.

I spent another few months just creating my own campaigns and trying to get them seen at agencies. Eventually I got a couple of paid jobs from a small local agency and the third time they asked me to write something for them, I said I'd only do it if they gave me a full-time job. Fortunately they said yes. I'd been there about a year when Lynn from McCann's called me (I'd continued to harass her, naturally), and told me that they were now interviewing for writers. Went for the interview, got the job. After two years at McCann Erickson I felt that I was getting a little trapped so moved on and continued moving for a few years. About 15 years ago, tired of ad agency politics and wanting a bit more freedom, I decided to go freelance.

Tell us a little about your creative process.

The creative process for me is just looking at a brief and trying to get into the mindset of whomever the work will be talking to. Once I've got that, I'm happy.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

I put some music on, wander around the house, smoke a cigarette (sorry) and try to get back into it. Sometimes I'll write “joke copy”. Basically throwing every ad cliche I can think of at the job and having fun with it. Once I've cleared my head, I try again.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

For the past couple of years I've been playing with an idea for a series of children's books, (I know, I know, everyone's got a kids' book in them). There's always time to write, it's motivation that's the tricky bit. When you've been sitting at the pc writing about bollard renovation or producing a welcome letter for a mail order catalogue, it can be a bit hard to start writing again in your “own time”. With the books, I find myself coming up with pieces of dialogue or little scenarios when I'm watching TV or listening to music. I'll write them down, come back to them later and try to give them some kind of structure. The important thing to remember is that I'm doing it for me, (and my daughter), and that I do actually enjoy writing.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

The best lesson in writing I've ever had came from Lynn Crooks of McCann's. I'd been a “professional copywriter” for about a year by this point and felt that I was pretty hot stuff. I'd written a piece that utilised all my best tricks and cleverest thoughts and showed it to Lynn. This was of course in the days before we all had PCs so it was a neatly typed A4 page. Lynn took it, read it then crossed out almost every alternate line.

All the tricky bits had gone and what remained was brief, punchy and effective. Half the words, twice as good.

Thanks Lynn.

What’s one thing you know now that you’d wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

That self belief is hugely important. Not to the exclusion of learning from others of course but not to let every piece of criticism sting or affect your confidence or your style. I spent some of my early years in advertising believing that everyone who'd been in the business longer than me would always be somehow more “right” than me.

No matter how long you've been writing, if you believe in an idea, fight for it. Keep your ears open to criticism as there's every chance you're wrong. Equally though, there's every chance that you're right.

Oh, and never throw an idea away. Keep them all “on file”, what doesn't work on a particular day for a particular job may be perfect in another time and place.

Writer Wednesday — Anthony Hewson of AH Copy

Each Wednesday I feature a fellow writer, and not just ad folks. I’m interested in anyone who makes a living stringing together words. Their answers are unfiltered, so I may not always agree with every last bit of advice. After all, what works for one writer may not work for another. But we all need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep growing. Interested? Please email leigh@leighwritescopy.com.

Anthony Hewson is a freelance copywriter based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire (about an hour north of London), and trading under the moniker AH Copy. When the call went out for interviewees, Anthony responded to my questions quickly—and offered a bit of editing advice for which I am very thankful.

Website: www.ahcopy.co.uk
Twitter: @ahcopywriter

What’s your writing focus or specialty?

I’m really a generalist writer. I do a fair amount of writing for architectural and construction firms simply because I spent a number of years working in PR and communications for one of the UK’s leading construction groups; but my freelance copywriting clients range from personal development specialists to helicopter charter companies, from management consultants to software houses.

Writers often take winding career paths. What led you here?

Aaah. Well, I went to university to study drama (acting and writing being my two main loves at school), but had to leave because of financial difficulties. I spent a few years working in IT recruitment for my parents’ company, doing a spot of freelance writing on the side, before landing a role at Kier Group, the UK construction and services company, working in the PR and communications department. That was always a stepping stone in my mind, while I continued to build up a decent freelance client base. I struck out on my own full-time a little over two years ago.

Tell us a little about your creative process.

The first step is of course to get under the skin of the client. Get to grips with their service offering or products; what distinguishes them from their competitors; what their ethos is and who they really are as people.

Then move on to who they want to talk to, attract and engage with. At this point, unless the client has already been hugely organised, I’m in a much better position to establish a detailed brief for the job.

After that there’ll be a spot of research, including their rivals, their industry as a whole, and SEO keyword analysis if appropriate.

Then it’s pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and see which words fall out of my head! A single round of revisions is usually enough to achieve a finished piece.

What do you do when you’re stuck? Any tricks for getting unstuck?

Depends on the nature of the ”stuck”. If it’s finding the right word, digging out Roget’s Thesaurus might loosen the blockage. If it’s more than that, perhaps some more research or just getting away from the job. It’s surprising how many ideas come to you when you’re doing something mundane like the washing-up.

Any side projects? If so, how do you make time for them?

Several. And the answer for the most part is that I don’t. I came up with a charity concept a couple of years ago: www.small-change.org.uk, which gets my attention any time I’m nowhere near the computer, and very little when I am. There are a couple of novels I started a long time back, feeling unloved and untouched, and I’ve done a couple of voiceover jobs too.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

“Make your sentences shorter.” I love rhythmic language, setting a scene, emotion, passion and telling a story. There’s not actually room in copywriting for a lot of that; most of the best copywriting is actually very plain, simple and direct. Note that I say best copywriting, not best writing — so feature articles and longer pieces demand a very different, and for me at any rate, more natural style of writing.