Copywriting: Wealth from Words
NUJ training with Eugene Costello and Nick Saalfeld
Copywriting and branded content creation pay two or three times more than conventional journalism and there is near-insatiable demand for skilled practitioners. Join Eugene Costello and Nick Saalfeld to learn how to delight clients and what it takes to command truly stellar day rates.
So, I went along to find out more… a really enjoyable course, funny, entertaining, & inspiring with lots of anecdotes, jokes and useful tips. The men have different backgrounds — Eugene focuses on B2C work and Nick, B2B and thought leadership so good insight into the pros and cons of both and different rates of pay.
Key takeaways: Do corporate work. There’s lots of it out there and it pays well. Know your worth and charge a decent day rate. Don’t do piecemeal or project work — sites like People Per Hour and Upwork are saturated. Look for niche areas like tech/blockchain, where there isn’t as much competition. Focus on building a relationship with a client. I also love the idea of having a ‘capability statement’ instead of a CV — Google it!
Types of copywriting:
· Advertising
· Business writing
· Blogging for clients
· In-house journalism
On finding work:
· Contact small businesses and individuals with high net worth and ask if they need help
· Contact advertising agencies via LinkedIn
· Facebook groups — A Few Good Hacks, Journo Resources, No 1 Freelance Media Women, & copywriting groups… Eleanor Goold, Jackie Barrie
· Have your own website with slides/logos on it featuring your best clients and an online portfolio. Blog about the companies you’re working with or want to be. Eugene got an in-house journalism gig with Octopus Energy by writing a blog post about their excellent customer service… which caught the eye of the CEO when he shared it on Twitter… a charity donation and eventually, some work!
· Serendipity — be out there talking to people, go to meetups — Nick runs one for Pharma professionals in London, carry business cards
· Find your niche — for Nick, it’s thought leadership. Think about where your work fits into the company — do your research and then produce 10 pieces. Move from piecemeal to transactional work to relationship building and make yourself valuable. He jumps at the chance to go in-house, meet people and work out how he can contribute. “Get out of the transactional crap into long-term value work.”
· Create a ‘capability statement’ instead of a CV, a two-page document showing clients, sectors, logos, agencies worked for, reference examples, 6 referees, commercial boilerplate. Nick has one and updates it every three months. “It knocks the socks off a CV!”
· Nick also hires writers and looks for: critical thinking, logic and structure in complexity, curiosity, conscientiousness, business sense, horizon scanning, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, emotional intelligence, self-motivation, prioritisation and time management, embracing and celebrating change
· Learn about new areas that aren’t saturated — e.g. cryptocurrency, tech, blockchain
· Content management agencies — worth signing up for but be selective as the pay can be terrible. Check out www.stickycontent.com and www.thewriter.com
What can you earn?
· You get what you expect — rates can vary between £150–500 a day
· On knowing your worth — Eugene asked for £500 per day at Octopus Energy and thought he’d fluffed it as things went quiet… but he held out rather than going back with a lower offer and they offered him £400 per day to be their in-house journalist
· If there’s something they like about your work don’t be afraid to ask for more. It’s a good thing to try and hold your rate
· Avoid project rates or piecemeal work — develop a sense of your own value
On writing:
· Forget the tone of voice corporate bullshit. Speak to people as humans. Be warm, personal, concise, & write as you speak. Innocent Drinks had a revolutionary way of communicating with consumers
On freelance journalism:
· “Writers are going down the rabbit hole of chasing ever-diminishing work.”
· “Print journalism has trodden journalists down until they have no respect left for themselves.”
On copywriting:
· “It’s a nice life. I can cherry-pick between commercial work, which is well paid and other work — features, press trips.”
· “Anyone can write and get Grammarly. Clients are paying you for your intelligence, ideas, and perspective — not to write!” They pay you to turn up on time, get on with the team, make coffee etc. Consider how you make people feel and know that ALL your interactions matter
· Ethics — only work with clients you feel comfortable with.
Also, at £15, this course was a steal and far cheaper than equivalent commercial courses I’ve seen advertised. One of the many perks of being an NUJ member!
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Photo by Hannah Grace on Unsplash
