Balancing the heavy with the easy
Work HabitsOne of the main reasons creative work is challenging – apart from lousy briefs – is because it’s cerebral. It gets especially challenging when you work on your own (like the folk here) and also live by yourself (as I do). How then do you…
6 tips for maintaining your health with an ever-changing freelance schedule
Work HabitsA few tips to help maintain good mental, emotional and physical health for a freelancer with an ever-changing schedule. Five years strong and I would like to think that I’m pretty accustomed to the roller-coaster schedule that…
9 insider secrets to a ‘headache-proof’ copywriting career
Freelancing Work HabitsAfter my son’s first day of school a few years ago, he came home with some exciting news to share.‘Guess what, Mummy!’ he said. ‘My teacher told me that mistakes are GREAT!’Coming from a little boy who would fall to pieces…
The Customer Is Always Left
Work HabitsI had two fantastic demonstrations of customer service [a while ago], both left a huge impression on me.
Customer service Numero One
Being a coffee nut I decided to try out a bakery/coffee shop in town that had been just off our radar. My…
A Millennial Millieu
Agency Life Work HabitsBrian, the trusty account exec rushed into the room with an “I forgot my pants” look on his face. “Client wants a series of web banners on their new chocolate bunny line … by Thursday.”The open space echoed with a collective gasp. Heads…
Do you have a Writing Style Guide?
Content & Strategy Work HabitsMost larger companies have some kind of style guide to help them manage and protect their brand. It’s now widely recognised that this is a crucial part of the marketing toolkit. This document is sent out as part of a brief for any creative…
Avoiding Copywriting By Committee
Work HabitsWe hear the phrase ‘Everyone’s a critic’ a lot in the creative disciplines. Sometimes this feels very true, especially in larger companies with longer approval processes. But it’s important to be able to distance yourself from the creative…
7 communication habits that will make everyone, including you, happier
Work HabitsThe way you and your co-workers communicate with customers has a huge influence on your business. As the Chinese proverb puts it, ‘A man without a smile on his face must not open a shop’. In recent encounters with the customer service departments…
Brain Dumps, Prioritization And Productivity: A Beginner’s Guide To Getting Things Done
Work HabitsI’ve been thinking a lot about my plans for the coming months and the start of the new year.There’s a lot I want to release next year and it’s all wrapped around a strategy that essentially rests on finally getting myself a proper sales…
Don’t Get Distracted By Vanity Metrics (And What You Should Focus On Instead)
Work HabitsWhen I first started blogging I cared most about how many people visited my blog.I would log in and check my web stats every day (later Google Analytics), hoping to see a bump in traffic, or if something amazing happened, a big spike in…
Crappy Music and Caffeine for Better Content Writing
Content & Strategy Work HabitsI wouldn’t say I’m cornered, but there are definitely elements that help the flow of content production. Most of it comes down to focus, because we’re all creative, it’s just how we channel it into something important and stay on task.…
5 useful public speaking tools
Work HabitsI get you.Hands sweating, accelerated heartbeat, walking around in circles while repeating every word of your speech over and over again, body trembling, and I could keep going. These are the usual symptoms when you are about to speak in…