There's busy then there's busy...

January has been a tad mental. I'm not the only one who was swamped with new projects, 2013 looks like it's shaping up to be a good 'un for all.

Had a flurry of eclectic projects, I'm a lucky gal. Many are pretty hush hush until launching so I can't say too much other than keep your peepers peeled. Typically the majority of them are launching around the same time so it's all pretty exciting around here.

Each launch will be accompanied by a detailed case study of my process and approach to the project.

Right, I'm getting back to work. Follow me on Twitter - @distilco for updates, general musings and procrastinations.

Meet, Chat, Create.

New Year means maintaining good practice, old and new.

First thing on my 2013 list is a move to Toad's Caravan, an eclectic studio space home to Glasgow's creative professionals. I'm all moved in, with my own lamp and everything, and am enjoying the chat and company.

My year will be kicking off with some big launches with TrueNorth and Neri Karra Talks both going live over the next month or so.

An old/new practice that needs some love this year is 'networking'. As I've discussed before, I hate this word, too contrived and impersonal. I want to make an effort to get out there and talk to some genuinely interesting folk about what they do.

This is where 'Creative Coffee' has come from. As a wee side project, I'm going to invite creative types to meet me for nothing more than a drink and good, wholesome chat. Perhaps with the idea of creating a 'blog bank' of stories, experiences and inspirations, CC will hopefully get people actually talking.

If you are interested in CC'ing - let's talk.

The 'Pitch Response'

Before I begin this post I need to make something clear. As a copywriter I'm here to tell you to most definitely hire a professional if you require quality content. This post is a tip of my hat to my copywriter comrades, as well as a research piece for potential clients.

I'm sure I'm not alone is my deliverance of what I like to call the 'Pitch Response' to the familiar question I get asked on pretty much a daily basis - why hire a copywriter?

It's not the question I have a problem with at all, it's a fantastic question, especially if you haven't worked with a professional writer before. More often than not I get asked this question in a context that requires an explanation as to why this is a profession in the first place. Here lies my issue.

I think I can offer both insight into my personal beef while providing soild answers to a very relevant question.

The DIY attitude

Sometimes needs must and hey, if you think you can have a bash at your own copy then go for it! I'm sure I don't have to point out what the differences in quality would be. It all depends what you want.

Would you think twice about hiring a designer and sacrifice the look of your product, site etc? I suspect not. It is all under the umbrella of content and I believe great copy goes hand in hand with great design.

A professional service, not a hobby

When you hire a good copywriter, you get more than the right words. I'm an expert that has spend years honing my craft and basing all my knowledge and craft in the wider context of the creative industry.

A copywriter doesn't just magic up words. We use the right language the right way, whether you want to sell, inform, entertain, all of these objectives require different skills and grammar which often require multiple levels of understanding.

You want to drive traffic your way? Let's talk SEO. This is an intergral part of most of the copy I produce and something a lot of clients have no understanding of.

Don't mess around with your business

Like I said at the start of this post, this is your call. It's your business and you have control of how it's perceived and received. What I remind people of is the importance of first impressions and getting it right. There is never a guarantee someone will read or visit your site, newsletter, whatever, more than once. It only takes one word to turn people off.

New Projects landing soon.

So finally I can begin to talk about one of the most exciting projects I've worked on yet. It's been hush hush but all will be revealed by the end of this month.

For now here's a sneak peek. Welcome to INCH - Scotland's first 'Socially Responsive' architectural practice.

The full site, plus details of my approach to the project, coming soon.

Networking - Right place, time, people....

Being a freelancer in any industry is tough. Whether you've flown the agency nest or are branching out into a new career, sourcing contacts and making connections is a tricky business.

'Networking' is a horrible word. I don't like it, it conjures up images of 80s mobile phones and awkward handshakes for me. Maybe I don't equate the traditional notions of 'networking' with the creative sphere.

Although I work within a competitive business industry where being current and highly professional in your field is integral to your success, I feel a lot more comfortable with my status as a 'creative' when it comes to undertaking the imperative business process of networking. It becomes more about a natural conversation about what you like to do rather than a pitch about what you need to do.

Before starting any 'networking' the first step should always be Research.

I started out as a freelancer, I didn't have those agency contacts or habits. It made basic common sense to me to learn what folk in my field were working on, where they were working, what events they were talking about, who else they worked with, anything that could give me a chance to get talking to them.

Investigate the wider field and related industries. When I launched the new Distil site, designed and developed by LiamR, I was surprised at the amount of comments I received about how rare it was to find a copywriter with great aesthetics. I know the words are the moneymakers and, being a writer how it reads is more important than how it looks, but having an awareness and appreciation for design, graphics and function is highly relevant.

Glasgow is a great city for creativity, innovation and celebration of new ideas and collaborations. Use this. Find out what's going on whether it be open studio events, annual events such as Social Media Week, networking events such as Long Lunch or related talks and exhibitions. Utilise your social media links to maximise this coverage.

So, you know who to talk to about what. Now's the time to start putting yourself in the right place at the right time. This step should be shadowed by the most valuable asset you have - your work. Throughout this process produce work, good work. Create a business card, something you can have on hand as a lot of people don't pick up names on first meeting, never mind remember them.

Location, location, location. You'd be a mug not to implement your social media links to reach out and get involved however if you are using these mediums, commit and be consistent.

Get off your arse and put yourself a position to actually talk to people. If you work from home, as a lot of freelancers do, look into Co-Space office sharing. There are a power of collaboration/space initiatives out there for people to meet and work together. Events such as Social Media Week are invaluable in terms of networking. An array of creatives, initiatives, agencies and industry professionals are on hand under one roof.

Meeting new connections and prospective clients or collaborators isn't just a business move. Speaking to other professionals helps you establish what makes you different and interesting. I've acquired clients by strategic business card placement, volunteering at Social Media Week and blogging, among many many others. Get involved and don't be shy.

Doing things my way?...

When it comes to my job the only detail I've paid much attention to is it's title - Copywriter. My status as freelance has mostly been an afterthought. I've never approached my projects or potential clients any differently.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about my slightly unconventional beginnings and approach to my career as a wordsmith. 'Easier said than written' got a mixed response, most in agreement with my attitude to utilising my already established skill and ability to write, and teaming it with a dedication to learning the individual industries I write within. However, some were not quite as open to new approaches.

These repsonses lead me to delve into articles, blogs and forums and see what other ways and means, advice and stories others had about the world of freelancing, and how they started. The majority had taken the plunge into freelancing after years at various agencies and companies.

I'm not sure if it's naivety or confidence that has lead me not to dwell on the fact that I don't have that solid 'stint' at an agency behind me. As a freelancer, I've worked with a mixture of small and big creative, marketing and advertising agencies from Glasgow and further afield. Collaboration is one of my favourite aspects of my work, and my personal experiences and approach as a freelance writer has allowed me to utilise my status to really get involved in the whole process and project.

I've worked alongside designers, marketers, charity officials, all sorts of professionals and creatives. During these projects I've learnt the constraints and budgetary limitations, funding protocol and regulations, effective timescales for all contibutors to any given project, past experiences with collaborators and much more. This information is invaluable.

I've been able to work from client's offices', get involved in the daily chat and be on hand to contribute directly, not to mention meeting and networking with all manners of creatives from an array of agencies, this has landed me a fair chunk of continued trade.

At the end of the day, my job is to write. The bits in-between and how I learn along the way all contribute to the next project.

Great times...

So, it's been a crazy few weeks/month. Being featured on SiteInspire, DesignFridge and a few others, has been most lovely indeed and I've had some awesome feedback.

The designer of the Distil site is Liam Rutherford, LiamR, he's a Glasgow based designer/developer and is a very talented individual. He understood I wanted to create a great copywriting site that showcased my writing and style alongside some sweet aesthetics. So many are bogged down with copious amounts of sell, sell, sell copy that no real character comes through, plus the more words there are on the page, the less likely you are to read the important ones.

I wanted to post up a wee rundown of what's been happening. I'm at that floaty, pre-launch stage with a lot of the projects I have on the go at the moment.

So, remember remember the 15th November. A project I produced all original site copy for is launching mid-November and I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished product, it's all been quite hush hush but it's been a first for me and hopefully, Scotland.

In other news, I produced original copy for TrueNorth, an Icelandic film production company. Designed by Berg Studios, developed by LiamR, the site looks amazing and it was a real pleasure to write copy for such an exciting company. TrueNorth have worked on Batman and Bond movies so yeah, pretty cool. I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider telling them I needed to be in Iceland to complete the project. The images they produce are nothing short of spectacular.

Alongside this I'm starting to work with a wonderful Danish designer, Jord, on his design site. His logo work is pretty awesome and I always enjoy producing copy for the designers themselves. So, keep your eyes peeled.

I'm also starting to collect all my projects and create an extensive portfolio that I hope to put on the Distil site as a downloadable PDF. I've been meaning to get all my wordy adventures together sooner than this but they just keep comin'!

Well, that about the long and short of things at the moment. I'll keep you posted.

D.

Just Write?...

This week has been a corker. A flurry of lovely folk have featured the new Distil site on their web emporiums such as Site Inspire and CSS Brigit.

Perhaps even more wonderful than these mentions and recognitions are the emails and tweets I've received from budding copywriters looking for some pearls of wisdom.

Creative writer by previous trade, I knew how to craft a story, however as outlined in my previous blog post 'Creative Writing (Creative Optional)', my ability to reign in this creative impulse has developed into a craft all of it's own. Copywriting is just as much, if not even more so, about technique and formula as it is about creative prose.

This is something I've had to develop and maintain throughout my projects at Distil. Devouring blogs and forums galore on the subject. Progressing or starting as a freelance copywriter is a much blogged topic obviously however the usual steps of read, connect, write are all in order and correct, but for me have been a difficult process to swallow.

In light of these recent requests for tips/advice, I thought I'd give my very genuine, personal take and honest recommendations on progressing or starting out as a copywriter.

I have read very few copywriting books. An admission that may or may not be well received. In my spare time, as a real person, I read, I love to read and learnt my creative writing trade from such. Maybe I feel like I did my stint, but when it came to 'training' as a copywriter I built on what I had already - the ability to write.

What I focused my 'training' on was learning my industry. I began to research and contact people from advertising, marketing, branding etc, and dedicated myself to the study of these industries. I lived on blogs from all areas of that certain industry, whether it was design, finance news or recent campaigns and the agencies involved. Learning is utilised by application.

Harnessing techniques and tips from my fellow copywriters via forums and kind responses to question filled emails, I did what seems to be the final and frightening step - Writing. In most blogs or articles along this subject matter there seems to be this process of research, learn THEN write. I'm not dismissing this imperative stage, and vital part of the copywriting process, but I do believe in not being scared to get things wrong. It's called copywriter for a reason.

I would draft ideas, create spec ads, for selected eyes only as I'm not an advocate of featuring them in your portfolio, and forward them to professionals and creative comrades. An honest opinion is the only valid one. I wrote all the way through my 'training' period and use a lot of my pieces as reference points in similar projects.

To date, I've created high quality copy for retail, architects, film production houses, record companies and designers/creatives themselves. Whether original web copy, SEO smarts, sales letters or articles, the way I have learnt to write copy has influenced what I produce.

Ultimately my advice is parallel learning with the craft itself, learn on the job from those who know what's crap and what's quality and adapt, foster your own process that will set you in good stead for the future with people who truly appreciate your talent.

Beware the 'flux'...

My background in creative writing, screenwriting, has been both a benefit and a burden in fostering my career as a copywriter.

Custom building a story, paving a journey for your targert audience is what any writer strives to do. For me, it's the old artistic license that lingers in the background that needs a good tug on the lead and pulled to heel from time to time.

The robotic formula of brief, research, draft, edit, re-draft, gets on anyone's wick on day to day basis (not that I'm bashing my lucky position as a busy freelancer).

It's the 'click' that happens amongst the routine that makes me sit at that desk and power through, and it's this creative flurry when the penny drops and you land that concept, that makes things interesting and prompts the really hard work.

Wading through the creative craziness and mass of unfiltered ideas is the hard bit. Sieving, editing, fleshing out, while effectively echoing the brief, is where the real talent resides. I've built on my 'auto brief recognition', ABF, function over the years, letting my noggin kick in and scan that brief while things start to 'flux'.

I've always favoured the paper and pen over the keyboard, how words look and sound really is important to me. The delay between the ramblings of my mind to the twitch of my fingers acts as a light filter, maybe this is where the ABF does its job.

Whether you're creating sales, marketing, B2B or branding copy getting the words down and naturally communicating the key messages is paramount. Balancing the objective with the creative is where the real job of a copywriter, rather than the wordsmith, is housed.

It's good to talk...

Rounding off a nice Social Media Week was STV Creative's 'The Meet Market'.

Hosted at the grand Film City in Govan, this collection of designers, animators, photographers and digital masters, were brought together to chat and share their work with a room of fellow creatives.

Glasgow has always been home to a crazy amount of pretty sharp professionals, all on the ball and producing some superb work. Alongside the showcasing of their work was a proper opportunity to grab a beer and chat.

First up were Effektive Design and Berg Studios, designers of digital and print wonders, demonstrating their extensive knowledge and passion for creating considered, beautiful design for an impressive array of clients.

Rubber Rocket followed with a show reel that was packed with "ah, they did that" moments. A trio of passionate, excited folk who are creating brilliant work for global companies.

Sandwiched inbetween was Made by Crunch, Yomo, Glasgow Press and many,many others.

After several beer breaks, sampling the award-winning Arran Brewery's spoils, Chunk Digital's Donnie round off the afternoon with an honest, insightful look at his developing digital company.

Hopefully, 'The Meet Market' will become a regular event. Inspiring and invaluable for creatives all over the city.

D.