My workload as a freelance copywriter has naturally fallen into three categories over the last decade:
1. The stuff I like to tell the world about. Those fancy clients with their glowing testimonials that I can make cheeky little case studies about. Oh, and the work that looks awesome because a talented graphic designer has elevated my copy… and believe me I’ll always take the time to bask in a bit of reflected glory.
2. Work that might or might not lurk behind an NDA, but shhh… I’ve already said too much.
3. The stuff I do to put takeways on the table. And buy VR headsets for my three children. I’m talking advertorials about jockstraps, social campaigns for draft excluders, leaflets pushing hot new drain CCTV tech… you get the idea. Stuff that isn’t sexy and dynamic in the way you want your portfolio and personal brand to be.
When I started out, I chased that first category. My portfolio is full of names because it impresses potential clients, and makes me feel less like an impostor.
Between me and you though, the work I get the most professional pride from is that third category. There’s something awesome about putting a shine on what might be considered an unshiny product. It doesn’t just put food on the table, it lights a fire in my cynical little heart.
I realised this today while writing a blog about the mummified whale penis I mentioned at the start. I’m just not one of those rockstar with a laptop types, and that’s how I like it. If anything, I’m probably the leading copywriter in the whale dick niche. And from now on that’s something I’m going to celebrate.
Got a whale penis? Or some other items you need to market? Get in touch.