Reading Time: 3 minutes

Each month we’re singling out one of our members for extra love! The lucky member this month is Heather Woods.

In this post Heather will tell us a little about her copywriting journey and the challenges she’s faced so far.

 

Heather Woods | Bio

Heather has been dazzling the world of digital content and publishing for over a decade, with the likes of Yahoo UK and Ireland, Yahoo7 Australia, as a freelancer and client side.

She’s worked with global agencies such as Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, MEC, OMD and managed clients such as The West Australian, Prime7, Pacific Magazines, ASX, V8 Supercars, Seek and Realestate.com.au. Heather lives and breathes content and is a fanatic for getting things right.

She has a family-friendly approach to business and believes that your family shouldn’t be an obstacle to your success. All meetings are child-friendly.

 

Tell us about life before you became a copywriter, what did you do?
I’d worked in digital media for a decade before truly moving to copywriting to make a living.
Working on big, global brands from both a sales and marketing perspective gave me huge insights in what works and what doesn’t, in the content world.

 

Why did you decide that copywriting was the right career for you?

I’ve always loved writing. But I wanted to write about everything and not be limited by a niche.
I started blogging, and set up sites for different categories and it all got too hard to manage. Then, I realised I could write for clients, and learn about their world and earn a living. My writing became limitless :)

 

What challenges have you faced since becoming a copywriter?

The hardest thing is probably developing the confidence to approach new clients.
Getting the business side set up is ok, if you’re savvy or happy to ask for help. But come crunch time, it’s all on you.

 

Tell us about about your favourite client so far?

My favourite client so far was one who needed a website from scratch.
He’d obviously done his research and engaged a brand consultant who helped him manage the project and his budget effectively.
They engaged me and completed my brief in an enormous amount of detail that made the end product so much better.
He had the idea in his head and was open to the ideas I gave him. But most important to me, he gave feedback. He told me what he did, and didn’t like.
This is important for having a happy client. And he paid his invoice the day I gave him final copy! He really was a pleasure to work with.

 

Tell us about your worst client experience so far and the lessons you learned?

Once, I wasn’t clear enough in my proposal and the client had much higher expectations (and a stubborn streak) than what I thought the scope was. The project ended up taking me twice as long and I earned half as much. Now, every detail is covered and my briefing calls are more explicit.

 

How has becoming a copywriter changed your day to day life?

I’m in control of how each day pans out. I can be flexible and fair to both my family and my clients – and I enjoy working each day.
I’m more organised than ever and my time is productive. Plus I don’t sit in 4 hours of traffic each day.

 

What one tip would you pass on to someone looking to make the move into copywriting?

Slowly build your business on the side of a full time gig, before making the full plunge. It takes time to generate a healthy client list that will actually pay your bills.

 

Over to you

Have you had any similar experiences to Heather? Please share in the comments below.