Welcome to JW's Thoughts of a Copywriter.
Posted by James, 21 October 2020 (5 minute read)
A new copywriting blog to put at the very top of your reading list!
Hello there. I’m James, a freelance copywriter and content creator. I offer affordable, creative, engaging copywriting services tailored to your business. So if you need fresh, exciting new website copy, a catchy tagline to get your product or service noticed, or a writer to get your blog up and running, then take a look at my website today!
But that’s enough about what I offer (for now…). I really should start by welcoming you to your new, must-read blog. A blog that is going to talk all things copywriting. A blog that will spend lots of time talking about all the amazing copywriters out there, the types of copy that could help your business and the websites you should be looking at (after mine of course!).
But first, a little bit about me. I live in Coventry, and have done for just over five years. I moved to the famous ‘city of three spires’ in 2015 when I decided to go back to university, enrolling on a Masters programme in English Literature at the University of Warwick. And in a completely unplanned way, I then took on the challenge of writing a PhD. It’s all about lawyers in literature of the American South between 1946 and 1966. If you like, you can read a short abstract and visit my Warwick student page here.
Why I write
While I did love all the readin’ and discussin’ of da books (little bit of Fresh Meat for you there…), the thing I loved most about going back to university was the time I was given to write. And I used that time to write lots of different things.
Here are a few highlights:
- An 80,000-word thesis. Quite a challenge, but one I’m very proud of!
- MA essays and a dissertation all about William Faulkner’s The Sound the Fury (it’ll drive you mad! Faulkner’s book, not my dissertation…)
- Two chapters in American popular culture books (one on Downton Abbey and one on Game of Thrones). Please do buy them (they’re really good). Only need to sell about 9,890 more before I start getting royalties…
- Loads of educational content for an online tutoring business
- Social media posts and audience feedback on the Mead Gallery’s twitter feed when I worked as a Gallery Assistant at Warwick Arts Centre
When I started to seriously look at what I’d written across the 30-odd years of my life, it felt like there was a pattern forming… That I liked writing and – perhaps a touch presumptuously – I was pretty good at it!
But what my varied writing experiences also showed me was I liked to write non-fiction. Yes, I’ve dived (very) deep into lots of fiction as a reader, but my writing has never strayed into those same fictional places. I like to write about things, people, places. About why things are the way they are.
The start of my copywriting journey
All this ‘I like writing’ and ‘I’m pretty good at it’ got me thinking. I know: pretty dangerous right… Could I find a career where the primary job role used my skills in writing and communication?
Sure, I’d had jobs in education, customer service and administration. And each of those roles taught me new things and allowed me to hone and develop my communication skills. I even got to write from time to time. But I wanted to write more and use my writing skills more often in my day-to-day working life.
That’s when I began to rethink the idea of copywriting. Back in my early-twenties, I was interested in a copywriting career but, like so many of us, took a different career path when circumstances dictated. Anyway, I started to read up on the profession and had a look at a few online courses I could do – our 2020 locked down world made this more appealing and, frankly, easier to do…
And this summer, I completed a Copywriting Diploma with the College of Media and Publishing. The tutor’s comments on my assignments gave me real confidence. This was something I could do. Even better, I could do it well.
A copywriter’s next steps
Once I set my sights on working as a copywriter and content creator, it became clear I would need my own website and social media channels. I had visited plenty of websites and used many, many social media apps in my time. But this was different. I would be building my name, my reputation and my writing skillset from scratch.
While I didn’t know a professional website designer, I did have a bit of knowledge when it came to CMS and website building. Yet I knew I needed to advance my understanding in this area and learn about the wonders of WordPress plug-ins, mobile optimisation and transparent headers… In my next blog post, I’ll be talking about some of the advice I found the most helpful when building my website. So be sure to check in for that one on Friday.
I also looked at a good number of freelance copywriter’s websites. I drew inspiration from lots of different web designs and pages: some based in the UK and others further afield. I took what I liked from their sites and, together with my own ideas, created JW Copywriting Services.
I suppose it’s a bit like when you go to lots of weddings (if only these days…), picking out all the best bits and putting them together in one perfect package of your own. And considering I was learning about some of these elements ‘on the go’, I think my website’s turned out pretty well.
To the present
There you have it. You’ve read my potted history. Why I write, some of what I’ve written and how I’ve started building JW Copywriting Services from the ground up. All that remains is for you to keep reading (and me to keep writing). There’ll be a new blog post every Friday (most weeks). So look out for all my new content here.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@JWCopywriting), like my Facebook business page and connect with me on LinkedIn.
That’s all for now.
JW