Well, ain’t that a great question?! They probably don’t write ‘ain’t’ in a blog post, for starters! Like any profession or learned skill, there’s a belief that those who write copy are total word nerds with a meticulous grasp of the English language (or their own language, of course) – the grammatical rules we all learned at school, syntax (putting words together properly), vocabulary, spelling and so on. Well, hey, I’m not quite sure where I fit in then!
Actually, come closer and let me tell you a little secret…
…I’m not *strictly* a copywriter. Shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone! What I am is a person who fell in love with the English language and words from a very early age. I was the girl who read books in bed at night, under the covers in a light so dim I damaged my own eyesight and had to have glasses by the time I was 12. Oops. There’s not a thing I don’t love about words – how they can be woven together like music, or paint on a canvas, and can create the most beautiful imagery without a single picture. The sounds, the variety, the sheer volume of words… it all excites me at a level that, I suspect, makes me a complete geek. I’m ok with that.
In the truest sense, a copywriter is a writer who puts together ‘copy’, mostly for businesses and always for marketing or publicity purposes. But I like to think of copywriters in a less literal sense too. They are wordsmiths, poets, artists, creatives and philosophers. They use the power of language and the art of persuasion to make you, the unsuspecting viewer, lean in and ask the all-important question…
‘How or where can I buy what you’re offering?’
You know what, though? I don’t believe copywriters are salespeople. If they were, I probably wouldn’t be doing this as a job because being a saleswoman doesn’t interest me a single jot.
In my world, I am a really great listener and a storyteller, who spends a lot of time listening to my clients so that I can share their stories and weave together words that express their ideas and passions in the thing that makes them entirely unique – their own voice. More about that in another post!
By definition, then, I’m what you might call a ‘creative copywriter’. I suspect that’s a polite way of saying ‘not a real copywriter’ but hey, I’ll take it. I personally think it defines what I do in a far more accurate and magical way and I am all about the magic when it comes to the written word. My pen is my wand and the words that come out of it are definitely my spells. Can you tell I’m a bit of a Harry Potter nerd too?
I’ve had a lot of people ask me, recently, what specifically I can write for them.
So just to be completely clear (and maybe even a bit helpful…), anything that your business needs where words are required. I write copy for websites, blog posts, newsletters, emails and social media posts. I’ll write letters for you, brand statements, biographies – literally any combination of words and letters formed into sentences and paragraphs that are going to be helpful to you and your business. However, I won’t write academic papers for you, folks. I’m doing a degree myself and I feel your pain, but please don’t ask me for that. I’m pretty sure that’s called cheating 😉
Thinking about hiring me for your copy? Then you should check out the details and get in touch!