Or at least that’s my career.
I’ve always loved words, but I’ve never worked in-house at a brand or agency, never been employed in a (traditional) marketing role and didn’t study marketing at uni. If I’m being brutally honest, I didn’t even know copywriting was a thing until I hit my 30s.
BUT when it comes to persuasive writing, fitting the tone to the audience and understanding all sorts of different people, I’ve got bucketloads of experience.
I fell in love with (what I now know is) copy as a teenager. I’d read everything from shampoo bottles and clothing labels to billboards and signage.
And after uni, I took a job with the National Trust.
I spent five years working for the Trust, where I wrote for exhibitions, visitor guides, recruitment ads and training materials.
I also unblocked loos, chased escaped sheep and conserved historic interiors. It was fun!
I missed having weekends and bank holidays off, though. It was time for a change.
I moved into multi-agency emergency planning, writing documents that made sense to organisations from the voluntary sector to the military (and all in between – emergency services, I’m looking at you).
I also wrote public awareness campaigns for flood risk areas. And, er… might have done a bit of pandemic planning too.
Five years went by and, after being part of the local emergency planning for the 2012 Olympics (fascinating), I moved to Children’s Services.
There I spent almost five years (I know, always five years…) helping to shape a new service for families facing all sorts of difficulties.
I wrote booklets for practitioners across social care, health, schools and police, and leaflets for families who were often reluctant or wary of engaging.
And eventually, I realised how much I love writing when it has a real purpose and a challenge to it.
I took a risk, left my job and followed my (nerdy copywriter) heart 🧡
I reckon all that real-life experience sets me apart from the crowd.
Plus, I’m National Trust-trained in dusting and can successfully chase (and occasionally catch) escaped sheep. And not every copywriter can say that now.
meganrosefreelance.com 