2: Unrealistic Deadlines

As a freelancer it’s easy to disregard every feeling that you might be working too hard because:

a) You’re doing a job other people tell you they’d much rather do,
b) You chose to live like this.

I’m taking a moment to complain. This week has been relentless and left me relatively unable to write creatively, thanks to a pod of submarines.

The Submarine Client: A client who doesn’t pay on time, asks for the moon in a tight pair of pants and disappears for months, but resurfaces during your busiest times with an offer too good to refuse.

I’d say no, but flattery and praise is on the cards.

WePresent by WeTransfer

If you’ve ever used WeTransfer, you’ll have noticed that the background of the site is usually papered with distracting photography, art and design. I bit this week and clicked the “read more” link, and realised I’d been missing out on a chunk of pristine alt culture writing and documentary #content for, potentially, years.

Here are my faves from an impromptu deep dive:

The new wave of exhilarating new Spanish musicians and artists. You might already know I’m a Spanish language music obsessive. This article is fizzing with energy and goes some way into explaining why.
Marco Aguello’s photo doc on the absurd, beautiful world of shokuhin sampuru — Japanese plastic food art — and the artisans who spend years perfecting their craft. The best part for me is how he’s chosen to use harsh flash in his photos, otherwise how would we know the food wasn’t real?

My Stuff

I’m heading to Amsterdam for Carnivale Brettanomyces today. I hate flying. Read this from Original Gravity on how airport beer gets me on the plane. (pp22–23)
I had a very drunken trip out on the East Lancs Steam Ale Rail Trail last weekend. My hot tips if you’re planning the same thing will be ready in time for next week’s newsletter.

Stuff I Liked This Week

Alistair Humphrey’s My Midsummer Morning got bumped to the top of my “to read” list.
“I appreciated the slowness of walking in a fast world. It is the ancient way of travel, and even technology cannot help. Only persistence and effort make an impact…You learn a lot about someone by hiking in the hills.”
In this by Ciaran Thapar, food is what connects us, and what individually defines us too.
Cooking With Ntozake Shange: Valerie Stivers cooks recipes from Shange’s work, as part of her “Eat Your Words” series.
This “whole fruit experience” of a piece on citrus by Tim Anderson

June 14, 2019

1: What It's All About

Thanks for signing up to receive even more of my nonsense direct to your inbox.

The idea of these regular blasts isn’t just for self-promotion — although, admittedly, there is an element of that involved. There always is. You don’t work in creative marketing for a decade (is that a brag or a cry for help?) without trying to turn everything into a campaign.

So, this Tinyletter has been created to share work I’ve created and work I’ve enjoyed from the week.

It’ll usually be snatched up from the world of food and drink, but sometimes it’ll be about writing or travel or the great outdoors; freelancing, marketing, motorsport (sorry) or general Pop Cultch. We are all complex beings and our interests are not limited to specific spheres of reference.

I cannot stress this enough: This is not a beer blog roundup. It’s not a popularity contest. It’s not somewhere for me to share shady “influencer” ads or kiss my friends’ arses (I do that enough on Twitter tbqhwy.) I’ll try to give a platform to as many diverse topics as possible, but I’m a flawed person and may accidentally leave you or something you loved out. If you feel aggrieved by any omission, please do feel free to email me with a link or two to rectify the situation.

All that being said, here are my first links for you to look at. There’s not that many as I’ve been catching up on work A LOT this week, but there’s probably enough for you to have a go at:

My Stuff

My latest restaurant reviews: Bistrot Pierre, Preston and The Firepit, Southport.
Something I wrote about Lancashire-made gins.

Stuff I Liked This Week

An outstanding illustrated guide of three of Brooklyn’s most important pizza ovens.
Poems from Bloodroot by Annemarie ní Churreáin…
Which I found via this illuminating piece about writing from the Irish border.
An honest account of one man’s search for beer “authenticity” abroad.
A thoughtful statement on Heineken buyouts from a disappointed but realistic festival organiser.
A 10 year old girl has become the youngest person ever to climb The Nose.
I read this weekly: Samin Nosrat’s Best Green Salad Recipe.
From May’s Literary Review: To The Innards of the Earth, if just for the use of the word “claustrophilia”.

I’d also like to tell you that while I was away at the TT I fell back in love with MCN. The website is horseshit, to be frank, but the newspaper itself is full of thoughtful features and really good writing… if you’re into that sort of thing. It comes out every Wednesday if you’re interested. I’m subscribing.

Text by Rachel Wharton, Illustrations by Koren Shadmi for The New York Times

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018

What’s a copywriter?

They say no question is a stupid question. While that may be true, asking me to look over your work to see whether any of it is infringing on anyone’s registered trademarks might just be a little… ill-advised.

That’s because I’m not into the whole copyright law game – I’m a copywriter. And yes, that’s confusing. And yes, that mistake is a common one. I’m sorry, I don’t know how to make sure your song lyrics don’t get ripped off. I could help you perfect them, though.

A copywriter is someone who uses written content to convince a reader to take action. I usually say my daily job is around 60% writing and 40% staring into space thinking of better ways to say the sentence I just wrote. That’s because it’s my job to put across specific messages, with very specific keywords, using a very specific tone. It’s all very precise.

That’s not to say it’s lacking in creativity. I get to be creative – just within set parameters. That’s the challenge and the fun of it.

We love words

Copywriters love words. Personally, I can’t get enough of those things. That’s why on top of my day job as a freelance creative copywriter, I’m a freelance features writer, I have four separate blogs (and counting), I’m writing a book, I try out poetry every week (to varying degrees of success) and I read everything I can get my hands on.

Copywriters are known for their in-built empathy for language – not just writing it, but hearing it and understanding it. We know how a sentence will read, but we also understand that that small collection of words will feel different to a reader, depending on the order we place them, or the choice of synonyms we use.

When you hire a copywriter, you’re not just getting a typist. You’re asking a word fanatic to complete your work for you. If it’s words you want, you’ve come to the right place.

We’re good at metadata (but might not love it all that much)

But who does? A copywriter’s strengths are in writing (obviously), creativity and planning content using a range of tools such as SEO keyword research.

We’re also pretty good at sprucing up your product descriptions and inputting back-end metadata thanks to our skills in accuracy and a need to make even the dullest content shine. Like clearing out those fatbergs deep below the city, metadata’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Let us plug in our headphones and get on with it.

We can proofread and edit

So you think your content’s perfect do you? Dare to place a bet on that?

Copywriters have an inbuilt skill – a hidden superpower, if you will – that enables us to strike down a grammatical faux pas at 100 yards. If you’re looking for somebody to go over an 180 page document to check readability and accuracy, hire a copywriter.

We have industry skills and knowledge too

When you’re looking at hiring a freelance copywriter, ask them what industries and sectors they’re experienced in. You’ll be surprised.

Personally, I could write 50+ blog posts each on Further Education, Apprenticeships, upskilling (in engineering, digital and construction), wastewater storage and anaerobic digestion, the wedding industry, the beer industry, food and drink, diversifying within the farming industry, digital marketing, corporate travel… and that’s just the sectors I’ve been working in recently.

Copywriters are a mine of information on your competitors as well as your own industry. The good ones do their homework before they meet with you. Use that geeky knowledge to your advantage.

If you’d like to talk a bit more about what a copywriter is, or you’d like to have a chat about what I could do for your business’ copy and content, contact me and let’s set up a meeting asap.

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

Become one of the first businesses in Lancashire to work with Seed Copywriting

We’re here!

Seed copywriting is a brand new content marketing agency set up by me, Katie Taylor. Before now, I’ve been working as an integral member of the marketing team at Burnley College Sixth Form Centre, Adult Learning at Burnley College, UCLan Burnley and Themis Apprenticeships and Training for four years – and in the music industry, food and drink and technology sectors before this. I have a degree in journalism, and nothing makes me happier than writing.

My brand of content marketing sees client needs and company values taking centre stage, with a strong emphasis on tone of voice and customer engagement. Find out exactly what Seed can offer – visit the Services page for more.

If this sounds like the refreshing antidote to stale, automated marketing that you’ve been looking for, why not send me an email? You could wind up being one of the first businesses (or individuals) in Lancashire to work with Seed Copywriting to refresh, tweak or even completely overhaul your marketing. How exciting is that?

Email me – I’m friendly, I promise: katie@seedcopywriting.co.uk