Rounding up 2023
I’m going to start as I mean to go on. Writing for myself that is. Keeping the ol’ creative muscle pumping in between paid copywriting gigs.
There’s nothing like following the trend once in a while, so in that vein I thought I’d round up 2023 and take a little look back at the last 12 months.
To set my course and intent for the year ahead.
2023 was a mixed bag.
I got off to a slow start with a few blogs, an engineer’s website (I’ve written lots over the years!) and some nice agency work for Zurich Insurance.
By February I’d written my first B Corp Impact Report. Incredibly proud to hear in November that it’s a Hampshire B Leader’s favourite! She even presents it as the gold standard to her B Corp clients when they’re preparing to write their own Impact Reports.
I did some great work for Mozzo Coffee. It was a joy to really get under the skin of the brand and write for such a lovely team doing good things in the world. They’ve even funded the build and operation of a maternity clinic for their independent coffee farming communities.
I wrote their copy brand guidelines, website copy (which they’d been struggling to get right for 7 years!) to fit the style and tone of their new website and a few blogs about their community projects. My copy even made the marketing manager cry! (In a good way!) That was a high point.
I learned that if your gut tells you to say NO to a job, LISTEN to it. I said yes to something I shouldn't have. PS. I don’t write award entries!
I engaged help from a few specialists. A fab SEO guy Matt Atkinson, who helped me sort my website’s inefficiencies and Business Development Guru Clare Elvy who came up with a huge list of key suspects I’d love to write for. I got so busy I didn’t get to it. Sorry Clare. A job for January!
I volunteered copywriting time through the year to Julia’s House Hospice. I’ve been wanting to volunteer for a while so it was lovely to write for them and the team couldn’t have been more grateful. I’ve written blogs, press releases, captured carer’s stories as part of a recruitment campaign and interviewed families receiving in-community and hospice care for a child with a life-limiting illness.
The flexibility of freelancing is great, but it can be deadly isolating. In September I went in search of friendly folk and came across the Old Bond Store in Southampton. Well, my mate Graham was there and said it was fab! It’s a nice blend of very cool co-working space and a collaborative, supportive business community to boot. I’m excited for what’s in store for me and this lovely business hub in 2024.
By December I’d written 4 B Corp Impact Reports. All of which I’m incredibly proud. Not only are B Corps formidable companies to write for, but lovely people to work with and I have learned so much about recycling material, food waste, reducing carbon emissions, Scopes 1, 2 & 3, net zero, sustainable cleaning, eco products and so much more.
Here are my impact reports so far: Flexi-Hex, Love Struck, New Forest Escapes and Hive Cleaning.
I just love these areas of work, where I can conjure up a line, phrase, description or tell a story that really helps people understand what’s going on and how to change behaviour, access help, support or simply buy smarter.
By the end of the year I’d learned about Infra Red Heating, landed a copywriting contract with the World’s Leading educator (the University of Oxford) and helped the Recognition Marketing team run the BIG SOUTH SUMMIT in Twickenham - an annual event which brings together educators, businesses, innovators and council leaders to share knowledge and learning in the quest for Net Zero.
Quite the year.
Having a few weeks off over Christmas has been a joy. Time spent with the kids, friends and family. Walking the dog. Going to the cinema. Eating my body weight in Quality Street! Singing rock-style Christmas carols at charity concerts with my fabulous choir. Attending beautiful carol concerts; the first at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and the second thanks to an invite from Julia’s House Hospice at St James Church, Poole. Unpacking the chaos that’s been a 6 month kitchen rebuild. Reading. I’m currently in the midst of “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World” by Melinda Gates and alternating my sometimes oh-so early wake-ups with yoga and pilates.
My Pilates teacher took our online class from Botswana this morning. It’s not often you’re engaging glutes to the backdrop of elephants striding across the African plains. A new experience for me.
And that’s what I’d ask for more of this year. New experiences.
To learn. To become a better writer. To help more businesses connect with their audiences quicker, more effectively and more profitably, so they can be the change they seek.
Wherever you are and whatever your hopes for 2024, I hope it delivers!
Come on ‘24, let’s be ‘avin ya!
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