• I know I talk about copywriting on here a lot… but I write stuff other than copy too. I haven’t talked about it here before because there’s been a lot of change going on over the last few months. I know I’ve probably confused a good few of my followers with my switch from pictures to words (and that partly explains why I still use a LOT of images on my feed - after all, I’m still a photographer too…) But I don’t just write copy for businesses. Sure, that’s the stuff that earns me some pennies so I can, you know, eat and sleep in a bed and stuff ;-) But, when you’re a writer, just doing the stuff for money feels a little soulless, so it’s probably good to have a few side projects of work that’s a little more personal too. At the moment, I write a lot about my life in the ambulance service. For those of you that don’t know, until a few months ago, I worked as a paramedic in the UK. Since moving to Canada, I have stepped away from that life for lots of reasons I won’t bore you with here (although you’ll figure out what those reasons are by reading my articles over on Medium…). Suffice it to say, my experiences had a profound effect on me and I knew it was a job I couldn’t do any longer, in order to preserve my own sanity. Since leaving the ambulance service, writing about that part of my life has proved quite challenging but really cathartic. My pieces mostly revolve around my own mental health struggles and the struggles of my colleagues I have witnessed and heard about which has drawn me to the pressing subject of PTSD in emergency service workers - something that appears to be increasing at an alarming rate on a global scale. Take a look at my articles (you’ll find a link to my latest Medium posts in my bio) and feel free to get in touch if you have an experience you’d like to share with me. #ilovewriting #writerswrite #writingmotivation #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writerlife #wordsmith #wordsmithing #wordwrangler #wordswordswords #ilovewords #wordsarelife #ptsd #ptsdawareness #emergencyservices #paramedicswithptsd #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthatwork
    8 1
    I know I talk about copywriting on here a lot… but I write stuff other than copy too. I haven’t talked about it here before because there’s been a lot of change going on over the last few months. I know I’ve probably confused a good few of my followers with my switch from pictures to words (and that partly explains why I still use a LOT of images on my feed - after all, I’m still a photographer too…) But I don’t just write copy for businesses. Sure, that’s the stuff that earns me some pennies so I can, you know, eat and sleep in a bed and stuff ;-) But, when you’re a writer, just doing the stuff for money feels a little soulless, so it’s probably good to have a few side projects of work that’s a little more personal too. At the moment, I write a lot about my life in the ambulance service. For those of you that don’t know, until a few months ago, I worked as a paramedic in the UK. Since moving to Canada, I have stepped away from that life for lots of reasons I won’t bore you with here (although you’ll figure out what those reasons are by reading my articles over on Medium…). Suffice it to say, my experiences had a profound effect on me and I knew it was a job I couldn’t do any longer, in order to preserve my own sanity. Since leaving the ambulance service, writing about that part of my life has proved quite challenging but really cathartic. My pieces mostly revolve around my own mental health struggles and the struggles of my colleagues I have witnessed and heard about which has drawn me to the pressing subject of PTSD in emergency service workers - something that appears to be increasing at an alarming rate on a global scale. Take a look at my articles (you’ll find a link to my latest Medium posts in my bio) and feel free to get in touch if you have an experience you’d like to share with me. #ilovewriting #writerswrite #writingmotivation #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writerlife #wordsmith #wordsmithing #wordwrangler #wordswordswords #ilovewords #wordsarelife #ptsd #ptsdawareness #emergencyservices #paramedicswithptsd #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthatwork
  • I’m tired of hearing people say that they’re not creative. I refuse to believe that’s true. Everyone is creative, or has the capability within them. EVERYONE. You just have to find your spark. Of course, when you think about creative pursuits, typically what springs to mind is something artistic - drawing, painting, writing, photography, music and so on. But that’s not all you could be doing. Knitting a blanket… well that’s pretty darn creative. Making a dress… amazing! What about baking a cake, icing biscuits, creating a new dish from scratch? All creative! Just as a gardener cultivating and growing flowers, foliage or vegetables is. Or a woodworker crafting a table out of a piece of wood is. Let’s stretch this even further… What about an architect designing a building? Totally creative. An engineer or draftsperson creating detailed drawings from which amazing feats of engineering are built - creative. What creativity really is is the ability to create something new out of nothing. Out of ideas, different perspectives, to solve a problem, fill a void, answer a need. So then, let’s think about what it is you do and tell me again you’re not a creative person… #chilliwackbc #copywriter #copywriting #copywritingbc #copywritingservice #copyeditor #freelancewriter #websitecontent #brandcontent #blogwriting #marketingcontent #smallbusinessowners #proofreader #copywritersofinstagram #instawriter #fraservalley #chilliwackphotographer #fraseyvalleyphotographer #storytellingphotography #smallbusinessbc #smallbusinesschilliwack #smallbusinessfraservalley #smallbusinessabbotsford #chilliwackbusiness #chilliwackheadshots #vancouverheadshots #brandingphotography #chilliwackphotography #sharechilliwack #branding101
    17 0
    I’m tired of hearing people say that they’re not creative. I refuse to believe that’s true. Everyone is creative, or has the capability within them. EVERYONE. You just have to find your spark. Of course, when you think about creative pursuits, typically what springs to mind is something artistic - drawing, painting, writing, photography, music and so on. But that’s not all you could be doing. Knitting a blanket… well that’s pretty darn creative. Making a dress… amazing! What about baking a cake, icing biscuits, creating a new dish from scratch? All creative! Just as a gardener cultivating and growing flowers, foliage or vegetables is. Or a woodworker crafting a table out of a piece of wood is. Let’s stretch this even further… What about an architect designing a building? Totally creative. An engineer or draftsperson creating detailed drawings from which amazing feats of engineering are built - creative. What creativity really is is the ability to create something new out of nothing. Out of ideas, different perspectives, to solve a problem, fill a void, answer a need. So then, let’s think about what it is you do and tell me again you’re not a creative person… #chilliwackbc #copywriter #copywriting #copywritingbc #copywritingservice #copyeditor #freelancewriter #websitecontent #brandcontent #blogwriting #marketingcontent #smallbusinessowners #proofreader #copywritersofinstagram #instawriter #fraservalley #chilliwackphotographer #fraseyvalleyphotographer #storytellingphotography #smallbusinessbc #smallbusinesschilliwack #smallbusinessfraservalley #smallbusinessabbotsford #chilliwackbusiness #chilliwackheadshots #vancouverheadshots #brandingphotography #chilliwackphotography #sharechilliwack #branding101
  • How easy (or hard) do you find it to sell yourself online? I’m obviously talking in the business sense here… no one is asking you to pull a Pretty Woman ;-) The truth is, most small business owners find it fairly hard to big up their business, their products or their services. Because they find it hard to talk about themselves. I don’t know about you but when someone asks me what I do I sort of half mumble ‘Oh… writer… photographer…. *mumble mumble*… so where were we?’ And yet, if you ask me about a business I’ve used or bought from recently, I can’t say enough about it. Why is that, do you think? I have a theory that it’s mostly down to modesty and partially down to confidence in ourselves. The problem is, that same level of self-confidence is usually evident in the copy on your website and by not being able to speak about yourselves or your business with total confidence, you are totally doing yourself a disservice. But it’s ok. There is a simple answer. Next time you have to write something about your business, write about it as if it’s not yours. Imagine it as if it were a business you were thinking about purchasing from or as if you were telling your friend about this great new business you’ve discovered. Sure, it’ll feel a little strange to talk about your business and yourself in the third person. But just get the words down and see the confident statements come out that you wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable writing if you were speaking in the first person. Once you’ve written it, you can just go back and switch it all to first person afterwards! #copywriter #copywriting #copywritingservice #wordswordswords #copyeditor #copyediting #freelancewriter #freelancewriting #websitecontent #brandcontent #blogwriting #marketingcontent #smallbusinessowners #proofreader #digitalnomadlife #freelancewriter #freelancing #freelancelifestyle #creativepreneurs #supportwomeninbusiness #creativeminds #copywritersofinstagram #instawriter #writerlifestyle #copywritingtips #writersonig #thewritersturf #writerforhire #creativewriters #freelancecopywriter
    15 6
    How easy (or hard) do you find it to sell yourself online? I’m obviously talking in the business sense here… no one is asking you to pull a Pretty Woman ;-) The truth is, most small business owners find it fairly hard to big up their business, their products or their services. Because they find it hard to talk about themselves. I don’t know about you but when someone asks me what I do I sort of half mumble ‘Oh… writer… photographer…. *mumble mumble*… so where were we?’ And yet, if you ask me about a business I’ve used or bought from recently, I can’t say enough about it. Why is that, do you think? I have a theory that it’s mostly down to modesty and partially down to confidence in ourselves. The problem is, that same level of self-confidence is usually evident in the copy on your website and by not being able to speak about yourselves or your business with total confidence, you are totally doing yourself a disservice. But it’s ok. There is a simple answer. Next time you have to write something about your business, write about it as if it’s not yours. Imagine it as if it were a business you were thinking about purchasing from or as if you were telling your friend about this great new business you’ve discovered. Sure, it’ll feel a little strange to talk about your business and yourself in the third person. But just get the words down and see the confident statements come out that you wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable writing if you were speaking in the first person. Once you’ve written it, you can just go back and switch it all to first person afterwards! #copywriter #copywriting #copywritingservice #wordswordswords #copyeditor #copyediting #freelancewriter #freelancewriting #websitecontent #brandcontent #blogwriting #marketingcontent #smallbusinessowners #proofreader #digitalnomadlife #freelancewriter #freelancing #freelancelifestyle #creativepreneurs #supportwomeninbusiness #creativeminds #copywritersofinstagram #instawriter #writerlifestyle #copywritingtips #writersonig #thewritersturf #writerforhire #creativewriters #freelancecopywriter
  • Describe your business to me in three words… Three words is one heck of a challenge. I’m not sure even I could manage it, but let’s see how you do! Did you know the average website still takes anywhere between 15 and 30 seconds to load? And that most people will allow about 8 seconds before they’ll give up and move on to another website. Now, I’m all for trying to speed websites up as much as possible but it seems to be a never-ending and elusive target. So, imagine then, if you will, a potential customer or client logging on to your website for the first time only to be greeted with those three words you came up with. Do you honestly think they’ll stay and take a look around? As a professed wordsmith and lover of words, even I have to admit the chances are not good. So then, what to do? Here’s my solution… have one awesome, striking image of you, right there on your front page. But not just any image. While I’m a big believer in the professional headshot, your front page is not the place for it. Right now we need an eye-catching image that’s going to pull in people’s interest. So… why don’t you show them what it is you do? One awesome image of you doing your thing. A wide shot of you in your studio creating. A shot in light, bright surroundings demonstrating one of the services you offer. A close up of your hands getting dirty doing the thing you love doing the most. The point is, THAT and your three words are all you’re going to need to raise an inquisitive eyebrow and have your visitors itching to find out more. Check out my giveaway to get your images sorted today! (LINK IN BIO!) #chilliwack #chilliwackbc #ilovebc #canada #britishcolumbia #chilliwackphotographer #fraservalley #fraseyvalleyphotographer #storytellingphotography #smallbusinessbc #smallbusinesschilliwack #smallbusinessfraservalley #smallbusinessabbotsford #smallbusinesslife #chilliwacksmallbusiness #chilliwackbusiness #chilliwackartist #chilliwackhandmade #fraservalleyhandmade #chilliwackheadshots #vancouverheadshots #vancouverheadshotphotographer #headshots #brandingphotography #chilliwackphotography #sharechilliwack #explorechilliwack #branding101 #chilliwacksmallbiz
    12 1
    Describe your business to me in three words… Three words is one heck of a challenge. I’m not sure even I could manage it, but let’s see how you do! Did you know the average website still takes anywhere between 15 and 30 seconds to load? And that most people will allow about 8 seconds before they’ll give up and move on to another website. Now, I’m all for trying to speed websites up as much as possible but it seems to be a never-ending and elusive target. So, imagine then, if you will, a potential customer or client logging on to your website for the first time only to be greeted with those three words you came up with. Do you honestly think they’ll stay and take a look around? As a professed wordsmith and lover of words, even I have to admit the chances are not good. So then, what to do? Here’s my solution… have one awesome, striking image of you, right there on your front page. But not just any image. While I’m a big believer in the professional headshot, your front page is not the place for it. Right now we need an eye-catching image that’s going to pull in people’s interest. So… why don’t you show them what it is you do? One awesome image of you doing your thing. A wide shot of you in your studio creating. A shot in light, bright surroundings demonstrating one of the services you offer. A close up of your hands getting dirty doing the thing you love doing the most. The point is, THAT and your three words are all you’re going to need to raise an inquisitive eyebrow and have your visitors itching to find out more. Check out my giveaway to get your images sorted today! (LINK IN BIO!) #chilliwack #chilliwackbc #ilovebc #canada #britishcolumbia #chilliwackphotographer #fraservalley #fraseyvalleyphotographer #storytellingphotography #smallbusinessbc #smallbusinesschilliwack #smallbusinessfraservalley #smallbusinessabbotsford #smallbusinesslife #chilliwacksmallbusiness #chilliwackbusiness #chilliwackartist #chilliwackhandmade #fraservalleyhandmade #chilliwackheadshots #vancouverheadshots #vancouverheadshotphotographer #headshots #brandingphotography #chilliwackphotography #sharechilliwack #explorechilliwack #branding101 #chilliwacksmallbiz
  • Well fuck, Happy Birthday to me! Seriously, this is not a birthday I’m hugely fussed about celebrating, despite it being my first in Canada. It’s my last birthday of my thirties and I am seriously reluctant to leave this decade! I’m digging my nails in and gripping on tightly, in fact! Almost ten years ago, I was just turning 30 and suddenly wondering what the hell I was doing with my life. I decided to open myself up to possibilities by saying yes to everything (I wrote a blog post about it but that sadly seems to have disappeared into the ether along the way). Before I knew it, I was photographing my first wedding (which was 8 years ago last week!), going into business, becoming a paramedic, getting married and, OH, emigrating to Canada! Seriously, the amount of things that have happened over the last nine years has been absolutely incredible and I can’t imagine that the next decade is going to be nearly as exciting. I can say, hand on heart, that I have absolutely LOVED my thirties and I’m just not ready to give them up yet! That being said… I’m officially 39 today. This time next year I’m going to be turning 40. And so, hell yes, I’m doing a bucket list, because it feels right. Sooooooo, I’ve got a whole bunch of things written down but I’ve got space for 12 more things so I’d love it if you throw some ideas my way! I want to make this next year a really flippin’ amazing one! PS - Thanks to the awesome guys at @kangaroocreekfarms for allowing this little moment to happen! #blogwriting #marketingautomation #contentmanagement #contentmarketing #emailmarketing #onlinemarketing #copywriters #copywriting #copywriter #copywritingtips #websitecontent #brandstory #onlinepresence #writingadvice #contentwriting #ilovewriting #writerswrite #writingmotivation #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writerlife #blogger #lifestyleblogger #instablogger #blogged #bloggers #blogging #creativecopywriter #creativecopy #creativecopywriting
    41 30
    Well fuck, Happy Birthday to me! Seriously, this is not a birthday I’m hugely fussed about celebrating, despite it being my first in Canada. It’s my last birthday of my thirties and I am seriously reluctant to leave this decade! I’m digging my nails in and gripping on tightly, in fact! Almost ten years ago, I was just turning 30 and suddenly wondering what the hell I was doing with my life. I decided to open myself up to possibilities by saying yes to everything (I wrote a blog post about it but that sadly seems to have disappeared into the ether along the way). Before I knew it, I was photographing my first wedding (which was 8 years ago last week!), going into business, becoming a paramedic, getting married and, OH, emigrating to Canada! Seriously, the amount of things that have happened over the last nine years has been absolutely incredible and I can’t imagine that the next decade is going to be nearly as exciting. I can say, hand on heart, that I have absolutely LOVED my thirties and I’m just not ready to give them up yet! That being said… I’m officially 39 today. This time next year I’m going to be turning 40. And so, hell yes, I’m doing a bucket list, because it feels right. Sooooooo, I’ve got a whole bunch of things written down but I’ve got space for 12 more things so I’d love it if you throw some ideas my way! I want to make this next year a really flippin’ amazing one! PS - Thanks to the awesome guys at @kangaroocreekfarms for allowing this little moment to happen! #blogwriting #marketingautomation #contentmanagement #contentmarketing #emailmarketing #onlinemarketing #copywriters #copywriting #copywriter #copywritingtips #websitecontent #brandstory #onlinepresence #writingadvice #contentwriting #ilovewriting #writerswrite #writingmotivation #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writerlife #blogger #lifestyleblogger #instablogger #blogged #bloggers #blogging #creativecopywriter #creativecopy #creativecopywriting