So here we are: Wheatley Copywriting’s first meaningful-sounding anniversary.
Five years ago today I became a full-time freelance copywriter. I’d also been doing it in my spare time for a year prior to that. Now I can finally call myself ‘experienced’ without feeling a little bit sneaky!
It was a bit of a scary start. I only really had one good client lined up, but I knew I couldn’t work for them and keep my old job. So I worked my notice. I went on holiday to Portugal for a week, which was a pretty brave way to spend part of the money I’d saved. And then on the morning of Monday 7th July 2008, probably around this time of the morning (10 am), I sat down at a blank computer screen and wondered how on Earth I was going to pay the bills.
Cold calling
I did a lot of cold calling back then. Sent a lot of letters and emails. Had a few slightly embarrassing meetings, where potential customers balked at my lack of experience (and my decision not to tell them about it beforehand – oops).
Slowly, things started to happen. I took on all kinds of jobs – anything I could get, really. For at least the first year, every new job felt like a completely different challenge. I was literally building the skills I needed along the way. It was a tough but exciting time.
Brilliant clients
Over the past five years I’ve written for some brilliant companies and people. Some I want to mention are The WM Group, S1, Burfield Creative, Quarriers, Nikolay Shelushenkov and Evoluted.
I hope over the next five years I can become an even better copywriter and provide my clients with a better service than ever before.
If you’d like to know more about how I became a freelance copywriter, read my post “How to become a freelance copywriter” at Evoluted’s Think Tank.
