Bill the Copywriter

[billhilton]

Hi everyone -

My name's Bill Hilton, I'm 31 and I live in North Yorkshire with my wife and my large munsterlander. I run a freelance copywriting practice out of my home office (trans. "dining room table"). I've been a full time freelance for around a year now - before that I interspersed freelancing with being an English teacher. I'm also a professional pianist, though more for the fun than the money

What do I hope to get from the forums? Hm - I guess I want to get to know people, make some contacts and get a little more into the small business culture of the UK. Nearly all of my clients are overseas - around ninety percent of them in the US - and I'd like to get involved with projects a little nearer home.

Unlike a lot of copywriters, I focus on working for small-to-medium enterprises. That's because SMEs are a lot more fun than corporate monsters, and working with them really gives me a sense of doing something constructive and useful. I'm a bit of a branding and web usability and strategy geek, too.

So, thanks for having me, and I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better!

 

[Norseman]

Welcome to the forums! I have a feeling that you'll be getting loads of questions coming your way, your services may be in demand :wink:


-Marius

 

[billhilton]

LOL - thanks Marius, I hope so

 

[creospace]

I have started working with a copywriter to enhance my business and my clients websites and found it extremely useful. I recomend others do too.

Welcome Bill

 

[mumper]

Hi Bill, welcome to the forums.

 

[billhilton]

Thanks for the boost, creospace. It's nice to know we make a difference

 

[billhilton]

..and thanks to John, too. Ah, proofreading - the bane of my life. My wife is an editor with an academic publishing company. Right now she and all her mates are going through my revamped website trying to pick the damn thing to pieces.

*I* know the difference between possessive "its" and contractive "it's" - it's my fingers that get it wrong...

 

[Jayne]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the forum

Best Wishes

Jayne

 

[Coding Monkey]

Hi Bill,

I always feel sorry for copywriters, as I try so many times to recommend them to clients as add-on's to their websites to help market it, but because 'anyone' can write, a lot don't see the value in it.

I have 2 copywriters. Can't go wrong. But there's no such thing as too many contacts...

 

[fastfences]

Hi Bill,

. . . to recommend them to clients as add-on's to their websites to help market it, but because 'anyone' can write, a lot don't see the value in it.

I have 2 copywriters. Can't go wrong.

Hi Bill and welcome!

I think 'Mac' may be your next client! 'Anyone' can write, but they can't all punctuate 'add-ons.'

Cheers, Nigel

 

[Coding Monkey]

Hi Bill and welcome!

I think 'Mac' may be your next client! 'Anyone' can write, but they can't all punctuate 'add-ons.'

Cheers, Nigel

I'll hire Bill to write all my replies from now on

 

[emubill]

Hi Bill
welcome to the forums.

You're one up on me already. I didn't know you could possess or contract it's..


Nige

 

[Astaroth]

hmmm... someone to write posts on the forums for me... no there is an idea

 

[Coding Monkey]

That's: NOW there's an idea, Astaroth

£50, please

 

[billhilton]

I'm going to start a new business here. Posts for anyone on this forum ranging from a fiver for one-sentence gags and put downs to around £5000 for, like, your biography retold in screenplay form and ready to pitch to George Clooney's agent.

Any takers?

 

[Jayne]

Is the Biography the £5 one then :lol:

Jayne

 

[billhilton]

For those under the age of six weeks, yes. And it would have to be a pretty short film, and I'm not sure how George would look in nappies...

 

[Jayne]

Now there's a thought, you shouldn't have put in my head :lol:

Jayne

 

[Urban Space]

Urmmm... A bit of a stupid question...But here goes: What exactly does a copywriter do? Is it more than just bunging ©'s on documents? Don't shout at me!

Liam

 

[Coding Monkey]

That's a copyrighter. A copywriter does lots of good stuff to words. And then you buy things. And everyone becomes rich, joins hands and sings Kumbiah my lord.

 

[Urban Space]

That clears it up lol

Liam

 

[billhilton]

Macmyday presents a *huge* over-simplification of the job of a copywriter. It's the copywriter (not "everyone") that gets rich. He then goes away and sings, not "Kumbiah", but Sinatra's "South of the Border" as he boards his plane to Acapulco.

At least that's the theory.

 

[Urban Space]

Now I was fine up until then...Now I'm just lost...

Liam

 

[Coding Monkey]

I'm still in denial after what the last 2 copywriters did to me.

But now it all makes sense. Bill has a point

 

[Urban Space]

'Denail'? Isn't that a river in Egypt? Wuhey! Sorry - couldn't resist!

Liam

 

[fastfences]

No. 'Denail' is what I do when I remove nails from fences.

De Nile maybe the river to which you are referring. Guess it's back to school time :wink:
Cheers, Nigel

 

[Urban Space]

Hmmmm...