How to be a Copywriter

I am editing my blog into a book. Don't laugh. When I say editing I mean HEAVILY editing, as there are a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes and typos, and loads of posts where I start with 'Let me tell you about the amazing thing that just happened to me' and then digress into tales of babysitting and buying Milka chocolate and then either never mention the amazing thing again, or bring it up five months later for No Reason.

Old Left Bank Manc readers may be surprised that I am a now copywriter, as it requires serious attention to detail and sometimes, people will ask you how to spell words from across the office and you have to shout back 100% correct first time without hesitating or you look like a FRAUD. (Once for 'a laugh' I shouted back random letters and then while the designer typed them in silence, getting more and more confused, my brain brought up the real spelling for me. When I am a very old, very senior copywriter I think I will do that all the time until people know to stop asking me.)

ANYWAY.

I thought that I would write down how I became a copywriter in case anyone is interested. If you love writing it is a great job. Of course being a novel writer or a poet might be your first choice, but if you don't have the luxury of spending a year or two 'working on your novel' without doing much else (in my heart of hearts I know that if I was really able to write novels, I would have been able to juggle my writing with bartending, but in reality, when I first moved to London, working in a pub a) made it hard to pay rent and b) made it hard to see any friends or have any kind of life.

SO here is what happened that made me become a copywriter:

1.
Emailed a website called House and Heels, which publishes articles about house music, which at the time I was bang into (I have no idea what's happening nowadays, which is sad) and fashion, which I'm always into. They emailed back and basically said it started as a uni project, so no money in it, but that I could write content for them if I fancied. And I fancied!

2.
Emailed hundreds (OK like 50) marketing agencies introducing myself, sending links to my best Left Bank Manc articles and asking if they needed any content writers, two got back to me. One while I was still in Paris, asking me to write a one-off article for them about 'off the beaten track' Paris (I got fifty quid for that I think) and another said they would have regular content work for me, which I started once I'd moved to London.

3.
I moved to London in September, got a pub job and started writing content articles for the marketing agency. They gave me a couple of examples to make sure I was alright, and then they started sending me more and more articles. I was paid eight quid an article (only 800 words), so I learnt how to write each one EXTREMELY fast, so that I was at least getting paid sixteen quid. They paid me through Paypal (just in case you ever get work like this and wonder if Paypal makes it dodgy) and wouldn't pay me until I had registered as self-employed. So it was all above board but took a long time to sort out. The 'articles' were pieces of content for mad brands, e.g. '5 times famous footballers won big at the casino' for a gambling site, or 'Top tips for surviving your first term' for a car insurance company that wanted to target students. Absolute crap.

4.
A lovely copywriter friend of Glasgow Laura's called Claire, who I made a couple of times in Paris, sent me a link to a copywriting internship. I applied, sending the content articles I had written (didn't mention my blog at this point as realised it was full of swearing and shagging and somehow it felt weird letting them know the Real Me, when I might be working in an office with them). I got it!

5.
Just before I started my internship, the au pair family had emailed asking me if I would return to Paris. I was SO tempted as life was pretty shit at the time, but I thought I should at least give the internship a go... The work was great, writing for fashion advertising campaigns and in-store stuff, and after three months they offered me the position of Junior Copywriter and that was that!

Now I'm a Senior Copywriter, working for a lovely agency, writing for foodie clients. I LOVE IT.

If you have any questions, comment below and I will get back to you.

If you're not interested in being a copywriter hopefully you didn't read all the way to the end.

Happy Saturday!