My Journey as a Freelance Copywriter

My road to becoming a copywriter all began when I was made redundant from my data analysis job after 11 years-service.

Not ideal at the time, but sometimes the best gifts come in unemployed packages.

It was a wet and seemingly normal Monday morning when myself and a few of my colleagues were called into an “urgent” meeting with one of our directors. And let’s be honest, directors rarely summon you to their office because they want to tell you how your eyes light up a room, or how much they love your new haircut, so this did have a whiff of inevitability about it — a bit like a cod getting a meeting invite from Captain Birdseye.

That is when we were told that due to a “reconfiguration of the team”, we were no longer required, and quite literally... redundant.

I have always been a glass half-full kind of person, so even though I may have been shocked and upset, I was also very motivated and determined to make good from a bad situation. And I realised that this was the perfect opportunity to pursue a career in something I’ve always had a deep and undying love for (outside of my partner, my dog and my Xbox):

Writing.

From blogging and screenplays, to writing, illustrating and publishing two of my very own children's books — I've been creative for as long as I can remember. Unsurprisingly, my strongest subjects in school were always Art and English.

When I was seven, our teacher Miss Vickery asked us to make the secret garden out of coloured paper (a task I took extremely seriously). At that point in my life, nothing gave me more pleasure than scrunching up some A4 translucent premium tissue paper and sticking it onto a blank sheet of square card with complete and utter abandon. So much so that when 3:30pm came around, and Miss Vickery informed us all that it was home time... I cried.

Yes, that's right, I cried.

A slight overreaction perhaps, but I was only seven, so cut me some slack!

With scraps of paper cuttings all over the floor, and my face completely covered in glue, I was so absorbed by this project, that I simply wasn’t ready to leave my chaotic multicoloured masterpiece behind. Luckily my mum was waiting outside with a packet of Frazzles and a blueberry Panda Pop, so I soon changed my tune.

Fast forward to my thirties...

After years of falling into jobs purely out of convenience, I finally decided that a creative career is what I wanted. The only thing left to figure out was what type of writing I wanted to specialise in.

So I did what any 38-year-old adult human being would do when faced with a life crisis...I asked ChatGPT.

I fed it all of my experience, skills and passions. It returned a list of potential roles, and one stood out to me instantly:

Copywriting.

It combined everything I loved and had extensive experience in:

·         Research and analysis

·         Creativity and storytelling

·         Problem-solving and persuasion

After years of uncertainty, unlike Bono, I had finally found what I was looking for.

An answer that had evaded me for over three decades, took AI just 3.5 seconds. Quite humbling, really.

From there, I enrolled at the British College of Media and Publishing. I wanted structure, feedback, and genuine accountability — not just ten hours of YouTube videos promising to make me a millionaire by next Thursday.

So here I am, one redundancy and one copywriting diploma later, with a distinction (thought I’d seamlessly throw that in). I now have my own fully-fledged freelance copywriting business, helping brands and small businesses tell their story in a way that truly resonates with their audience. And honestly? I couldn't be happier.

So if you’re feeling a little lost in your career, maybe don’t wait 11 years to be made redundant like me. Take those first steps into doing what you love right now. Because, well, why not?

A compelling argument I’m sure you’ll agree.

The one thing I can promise you is this:

Turning your hobby into a career is truly one of the greatest feelings in the world. Or at least on par with receiving a packet of Frazzles from your mum after school.

Anyway, that was my journey. If you’d like help telling yours, I'd love to hear from you.

Safe travels.