creative copy with heart and soul

Marketing is not as complicated as we think it is.

Do you ever get the feeling that marketing has been packaged up and optimised and given acronyms and made to seem like a THING that is separate from us that we can tie onto our work and lives like a ROCKET PACK that will shoot us into the capitalist stratosphere? Do you? I do. But […]

Have we lost the art of switching off?

Last month I took some long-awaited time off work.  The weeks leading up to the break were busy. Frantic, in fact. I had to pomodoro my socks off to keep myself on track and get everything done. Head down, keep focus. I did it. Finished up. Shut my laptop. Off we went. I had been […]

The small business superpower that big brands wish they had…

One thing I firmly believe about all this marketing jazz is that nobody really knows what they’re doing.  The big brands may have more years under their belt and more people on the payroll, but at the end of the day, they’re just doing the same thing as you and me with more cash.  You’ve […]

Finding freelancing clients can be a wonky journey, and that’s ok.

In the early days of freelance life, I used to be shy about the fact that so many leads seemed to come from chance encounters, recommendations and friends. I always imagined that when I had Properly Made It I would move beyond all that, and operate from a place of a highly functioning, SEO-perfected website, […]

What to do when you’ve run out of ideas.

At a time when we’re feeling more uninspired and “meh” than ever, is there anything we can do to jumpstart the imaginative parts of our brains? Living through a creative drought can be infuriating, especially when you need a steady flow of ideas to pay the bills. Whether you’re making art, music or coming up […]

Why being a copywriter is so much more than being a good writer.

Being good at writing and being a good copy or content writer are very different things. It took me a long time to work this out. I first started content writing on a freelance basis well over a decade ago. I’d tried to change career and it hadn’t worked out, so I fell back on […]

Getting out there when you don’t fancy it much.

The world feels a bit on the brink at the moment, doesn’t it? On the one hand I’m looking forward to normality, on the other hand, I don’t feel ready at all.  I remember having a diary that was a Tetris of social engagements and child sport lessons and gigs and birthday drinks. It feels […]

Six ways to write about what you do with confidence

These days, every freelancer or small business owner seems to be an expert in building their personal brand online. But here’s the secret. Even the people who show up online for their businesses and make it look easy don’t feel great about it ALL the time. It’s impossible to have that level of self-belief 24/7. […]

Why should we write?

Because writing can give us answers to our problems. Sometimes we find clarity. Sometimes we find relief. Sometimes we hit publish and make a connection with somebody whose brain fog matches ours, and it makes us feel less alone. Sometimes it’s just good to get The Stuff out so it’s not whirling relentlessly around our […]