My live interview with ProCopywriters – the professional association for copywriters in the UK – focused on the wellbeing aspects of freelance life…

…the ups and downs, the importance of boundaries and balance, the need for community and the importance of asking for help. All topics covered in my guide to freelance life, Survival Skills for Freelancers.

Ready? Let’s go.

Q Welcome to #ProCopyChat, Sarah! Tell us a bit about yourself.

A Hello! I’ve been a freelance marketing copywriter for 20+ years.

I love freelance life, but it took me the best part of 15 years to get good at the business end of it – and I made a lot of mistakes along the way.

I’ve written a book for freelancers – Survival Skills for Freelancers – to share my experience and help freelancers get more enjoyment from self-employment.

Q Sounds great! Can you tell us a bit more about the book for freelancers, and how it came about?

A Sure! Most of us decide to go freelance because we have a skill we want to share. In most cases, we’re utterly unprepared for how relentless the business end of freelance life can be – let alone the challenges freelancing can present to our mental health.

The book is designed to help freelancers become more successful by working smarter, not harder – and to learn from the things I’ve done that worked, as well as the things that didn’t.

It’s a combination of real-life, heart-on-your-sleeve anecdotes and tried and tested advice – all backed up by research, resources and quotes from 120 freelancers.

And now there’s a brand new 2025 edition.

Q How and why did you become a freelancer?

A I was working as an editor and account manager for a magazine publisher in Clifton, Bristol when I became pregnant.

I knew I didn’t want to go back to full-time work, and liked the idea that I could fit freelance work around family life. My employer promised to provide work to keep me going, so it seemed like a good decision.

I worked on my brand and sent out cold enquiries while I was on maternity leave, then worked three days a week while my daughter was at nursery.

My business grew as my family grew. And here I am – now with grown-up kids – still loving freelance life.

Q What do you believe are the most important qualities to make it as a freelancer?

A I don’t think you have to be a particular type of person to make a successful freelancer. There are always exceptions. But there are traits that help and others that hinder.

Skills and talent alone aren’t enough to guarantee success.

It helps if you’re determined, motivated, organised, ambitious, disciplined, confident, outgoing, flexible, reliable, personable, patient, thick-skinned… it’s a pretty long list!

Q What would you say to anyone reading that list who knows they don’t have all those qualities?

A Don’t worry too much. No one will tick off every quality on the list.

If you don’t have any of them, you might struggle more than most – but I’m neither patient nor thick-skinned and I haven’t let that hold me back!

Q Isolation is a real challenge for many freelancers. How do you recommend we deal with it?

A It absolutely is. So many of the freelancers I talk to loved the idea of working from home but found themselves completely unprepared for the loneliness! It’s easy to feel like no one understands what you’re going through – but they do!

Connection is vital when you’re freelance, and there are three fundamental ways to find it:

• online communities (like this one, or the many Facebook groups that exist for freelancers)
• networking groups and events
• coworking spaces and coffee shop working

The great thing about the online community is that it spills out into real life with events and conferences.

It’s possible to make great real-life friendships with people who are in the same boat as you.

People who really get it.

Q How have you dealt with the unpredictability of freelance life over the years?

A You never really get used to the peaks and troughs of freelancing.

Quiet spells are pretty rare for me now, but I still keep a list of projects I want to work on, blogs I want to write and books I want to read, in case work drops off.

Having too much work can be just as problematic as not having enough, though.

Either you work yourself into the ground, boundaries go out the window and your mental health suffers as a result, or you can do what I do – have an arrangement with a small team of trusted freelancers who you can pass work on to when you need to.

You’re solving the problem for your client and helping another freelancer into the bargain.

Q There’s a lot of talk about imposter syndrome. Do you suffer from it, and how do you deal with it?

A Yes, absolutely – even now.

Self-doubt can hold you back if you let it, so don’t let the fear of failure get in your way. Celebrate your wins – even the little things – so you can see how far you’ve come. And don’t compare yourself to others!

It’s easy to put things off if you keep striving for perfection but there’ll never be a right time and you’ll never be completely prepared. Just do the best that you can do.

Sometimes good enough really is good enough.

Q You have a chapter in your book about avoiding burnout. Can you share a few tips here?

A Freelancer burnout is something I feel very strongly about and I go into a fair bit of detail about it in the book.

In a nutshell, it’s about setting boundaries, asking for help, learning to say no, and taking simple steps to look after yourself.

It takes time to learn what works for you, but most people need fresh air, exercise, a balanced diet and decent quality sleep as a minimum.

It sounds obvious, but if you’re not feeling your best you can’t do your best work.

Above all, it’s important to know that it’s okay not to be okay.

You’re not alone, you’re not the only one who feels this way, and you are perfectly normal. Respect your boundaries, prioritise your own wellbeing, and keep talking!

Q Where can we get hold of your book for freelancers? 

A The 2025 edition of Survival Skills for Freelancers – which busts the eight myths of freelance life – is available on Amazon worldwide in paperback and Kindle. The original 2020 edition is still available on Audible.

The client: Painswick Rococo Garden

Painswick Rococo Garden is one of Gloucestershire’s best-kept secrets. As the UK’s only complete surviving rococo garden, it combines the great outdoors with a cheeky peek into the flamboyance of the early 1700s, thanks to its colourful follies and unique features.

The need

Much-loved within the Cotswolds, Painswick Rococo Garden is best known for its incredible annual display of snowdrops, which attracts visitors from far and wide – but this reputation as an early spring garden was failing to optimise visitor numbers throughout the rest of the year.

The attraction is supported by the Friends of Painswick Rococo Garden – a group of trustees responsible for the garden’s upkeep and ongoing restoration. Upcoming changes to the way the attraction is funded meant it needed to become more commercial, working harder to attract family visitors, and to become known as a garden for all seasons. A new website was the perfect starting point to address these challenges.

The solution

I met Painswick Rococo Garden marketing manager, Claire Barnes, to talk about the aims of the new website. I began the copywriting process by delving deep into the things that make the attraction such a special place, gaining a clear understanding of the opportunities that were available by promoting the garden to a new audience and attracting visitors all year round.

The previous website firmly positioned Painswick Rococo Garden for an audience of garden enthusiasts. It talked about the features, history and location of the garden, and provided plenty of practical information, such as admission prices and opening hours.

I recommended a fresh, approachable tone of voice that would appeal to a younger, family audience without alienating current supporters, a structure and flow that takes visitors on a journey through the seasons, and a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page that makes information easy to find, as well as helping with SEO.

Descriptive and emotive language throughout the new website brings Painswick Rococo Garden to life, evoking the feelings and emotions of visiting this beautiful garden, and positions it as a top Cotswold attraction and a garden for all seasons.

In the client’s words…

“Sarah immediately understood our needs and what we wanted to convey with our new website for Painswick Rococo Garden.

“She has a breadth of knowledge across copywriting, SEO, marketing and design, skilfully employing them all to create hardworking and engaging copy.

“Getting an independent, fresh perspective on your company is an extremely valuable exercise and Sarah really helped to ensure we were considering the needs of our customers.

“Sarah has been a delight to work with: very friendly, highly professional, delivering on time and exceeding expectations. We’re very excited to be launching the new website shortly.”

Claire Barnes, Marketing Manager, Painswick Rococo Garden
www.painswickrococogarden.com

 

 

Specialist copywriter vs generalist copywriter: which is best?

To niche or not to niche. It’s one of the biggest considerations for anyone getting started in copywriting – and equally important for any business choosing the right marketing copywriter to work with.

“Do I specialise in one area or industry?” asks the aspiring copywriter.

“Do I need a specialist in my industry?” asks the business owner.

In the 25 years I’ve worked as a freelance copywriter, two questions crop up with predictable regularity: “How did you get started?” and “Do you specialise?”.

My answer to the latter is yes. I specialise in writing clear, human copy that helps businesses succeed.

Cheating, right?

You were expecting me to say, “Yes. I specialise in travel/engineering/unicorn maintenance*”.

*delete as appropriate

To answer the first question… (stay tuned – it’s relevant)

I started my career in financial services marketing. I wrote shiny brochures for new investment products, leaflets about mortality and morbidity to help advisers sell more life assurance, and pension marketing messages about the cost of delay.

Did this early career choice make me want to specialise as a financial services copywriter?

Did it heck.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved my job. Really. Bloody. Loved it.

Nothing to do with swanky lunches in Canary Wharf with Ogilvy & Mather (as they were back then) or the glamour *cough* of art directing photo shoots for those investment brochures.

(Okay, maybe a smidge. I mourn those days. Today’s entertaining is a one-shot coconut latté at my gym.)

That job was just about the best start I could have had to my copywriting career.

In my opinion, real-world, earn-your-stripes commercial experience backed up by on-the-job training beats the pants off academic study – but each to their own.

To the matter in hand…

If you’re an aspiring freelance copywriter…

(Business owner looking to hire the right copywriter? You can skip this bit.)

There’s no right or wrong answer to the question of whether or not you should specialise.

If you’ve spent your career working in a particular industry and you still enjoy it, you may well want to stay there.

It’s where you’ve made your connections, gained your experience – and know your stuff.

For you, writing about your specialism is second nature. You know it all already.

Decision made.

But wait…

For me, the best thing about working across a wide range of industries is the variety.

No two jobs are the same.

I don’t spend my days trying to come up with ingenious new ways to sell the same product or service.

Every project is a fresh opportunity to understand a new market’s challenges, audience and opportunities. Every job is as exciting and different as the last. It’s often a steep learning curve, but my god it’s rewarding.

Would I be saying that if I’d picked one particular nice? I don’t know.

If you’re struggling to decide, trust your gut instinct and try not to overthink it.

What’s the worst that can happen? You set yourself up as a specialist cupcake copywriter, or the authority on orthopaedics and it doesn’t work? Onwards and upwards.

Don’t wait to perfect your idea – start from where you are, and give it your best shot. You can always revisit and refine later.

Let me know how you get on.

If you’re a business owner choosing a copywriter…

One of the best things about working with someone who doesn’t specialise in your industry is that they don’t specialise in your industry.

Err, sorry?

It’s simple. Writing copy that sells involves understanding what makes your business special, and what makes your customers tick.

A specialist already knows this. They’ve written this stuff many times – heck, they may even work for your biggest competitor.

A non-specialist makes no assumptions.

They see things with fresh eyes and the same curiosity your potential customer has when they first stumble across your business.

They ask the right questions to find out how your business works, the problems you solve for your customers, and what makes your product or service better than the competition.

I may not be familiar with your industry. I may not have written a website for one of your competitors. But you bet your life that what I write for you will be fresh, and relevant, and incisive.

And at the end of the day, isn’t that what all businesses want?

Intrigued? Let’s talk. Book a free 20-minute discovery call.

You know exactly why you need a copywriter.

You know a copywriter can help get your business noticed for all the right reasons.

That they’ll help you identify the special essence that’s unique to your company – the things that make you stand out from the crowd.

And that they’ll help you articulate the spirit of your business in a way that convinces your target market to choose your business, buy your products, and hire your services.

The reason you haven’t hired a copywriter isn’t because you don’t know you need one.

It’s because you’re making excuses.

You’ve begun to believe those myths you churn out to justify why you keep writing your own copy. Those same myths that stop you taking the plunge and choosing a copywriter who can take away the pain, save you time and help you get a head start on your marketing.

Here are four of the most common barriers to using a copywriter.

Which do you identify with?

Copywriting myths

Myth 1: It’s only words

“Surely, I can write the copy myself – why do I need a copywriter?”

Whether you consider yourself a reasonably capable writer or you have an English degree, there’s a big difference between everyday writing and writing to sell.

A copywriter will get inside the head of your customers. They’ll help you identify the things that make your business different – special, even – and articulate those things in a clear, concise and compelling way.

However confident you are about writing your own marketing materials, writing for the web is a different skill.

A copywriter knows how to write in a way that speaks to your customers and to Google – and their words help your business get noticed online by your target audience.

Myth 2: It’s all in your head

“No one knows my business as well as I do!”

That’s true. But a good copywriter knows the questions to ask about your products and services, the problems they solve for the people who buy them, and the sort of customers you want to attract.

They’ll talk to you about your marketing goals and the reasons why you’re in business. And they’ll work their magic to transform that information into words that work hard to promote your company.

Myth 3: It’ll cost too much

“I can’t afford a professional copywriter – it’s too expensive!”

Like anything that works, good copywriting doesn’t come cheap. But your time is money – and if you’re spending that time trying to write your own website or brochure when your skills lie elsewhere, you’re not saving money – you’re wasting it.

The most effective marketing is a collaboration between hardworking, clever copy and great-looking, functional design.

Designers just love working on projects that are being professionally written – it makes them look good. So remember: if you blow your marketing budget on graphic or web design and have no money left to spend on copy, you’re missing a trick.

Pay a professional to do a proper job, and focus on the superpowers that make you money. Chances are that’s the reason you went into business, after all.

Important note: any time you’re tempted to cut corners and buy on price alone, remember this mantra: you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Myth 4: It’ll take too long

“I don’t have time to brief a copywriter – it’ll be quicker to write it myself.”

Earlier this month, I had a meeting with a website designer, who told me that seven of the beautiful websites he’d designed had stalled, simply because the client had decided to write their own copy.

In the time you spend agonising over the best way to promote your business – not to mention the stress and headspace involved in doing it yourself – a professional copywriter could have written your website copy ten times over.

That’s valuable time your shiny new site could be live and doing what a good website should do – getting your brand out there, promoting your business, building trust, and selling your products.

Time that your competitors are out there doing just that… and pinching your customers while they’re at it.

If any of those excuses sound familiar, have a quiet word with yourself and make this the year you leave your copywriting to the professionals.

Let’s be honest: we’re all fundamentally nosy. And if we see someone with something we want, we need to know how they got it.

So why do I remain surprised that people want to know how I got to where I am today? I say this without arrogance. I’m not the highest earning copywriter. I don’t have the most awards (best new editor way back when is as good as it gets). I don’t work for Apple, or Innocent, or Nike.

But I make a good living from a job I love. I’m consistently busy. I have a waiting list (usually a pretty healthy one).

I don’t advertise. My clients find me, rather than the other way around. What’s more, I get to choose whether I want to work with them or not.

It’s all pretty damn good.

So, given the number of emails and conversations I’ve had asking for tips, I thought I’d share a few things that might surprise you.

“You’ve been freelance for 20 years? How have you done it? What’s your secret?!”

You want secrets? Oh… I’ve got secrets.

I’m not talking the kind of secrets you’ll find if you type ‘great business advice’ into Google. Surround yourself with good people. Be tenacious. Work hard. Oh no. I’m talking about the stuff inside my head. The personal stuff, that hopefully you’ll read and identify with, rather than slowly backing away from the crazy word girl in the corner.

I still suffer from imposter syndrome

Chances are, you do too. Everyone gets self-doubt from time to time.

Sometimes it’s crippling. I feel like I’ve been winging it – that one day someone will call me out as a fraud. In my head, it’s usually Jafar, from the Disney movie Aladdin.

And it’ll go a little something like this:

“You? YOU? You think you can make a success as a writer? WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?”

(Cue evil Disney-villain-style laughter.)

Most of the time I know I’ve got this.

Jeez, I have 200+ testimonials from people who love working with me because I increase their sales, bring in more customers, or just make their life easier.

Yet still the doubt creeps in occasionally. It’s all part of the process.

The idea of networking used to bring me out in a rash

Yeah, okay… not an *actual* rash, but seriously, I can’t think of anything I dreaded more. So much so, that for the first 14 years as a freelance copywriter I did no networking whatsoever.

Having to sell myself to complete strangers? No way José. Standing in front of a room full of people, talking about my business until the two-minute timer busted me for rambling?

Or worse – drying up. Can you imagine the sniggers? “She’s a copywriter and she ran out of words!” It’s happened. Not often, but enough to stop me getting blasé.

And that’s a good thing, right?

When I did decide to start networking I realised it’s a case of finding the right groups to fit both your business and your personality. I prefer the more informal groups that don’t involve pressure to refer or the dreaded elevator pitch.

Now I network as much for the social aspect (working for yourself can be isolating as hell) and the food (shh – don’t tell) as anything else. And it’s more about meeting like-minded people than indulging pushy sales pitches.

I hate public speaking

If you follow me on social media you may remember this time last year I took a giant freakin’ leap outside my comfort zone. Yes, I stood up – okay, there was a bar stool involved, but you get the picture – in front of 80 local business owners and talked about copywriting.

And do you know what? I bloody loved it.

At the time… yeah, it was pretty good.

Immediately after – oh my days was I buzzing. I was in my element, in fact.

So perhaps secret number three should be that I hate the idea of public speaking, but in reality, it gives me an enormous energy boost and I should probably do it more often.

I can talk for England

When I write copy for my clients it’s clear and concise. I write tight, using the minimum of words. There’s no waste. No sagging at the edges. No siree.

When I talk… oh man. Different story.

If you’ve met me, or we’ve spoken on the phone, you’ll know.

I talk lots. And I talk fast.

I blame my brain. It gets excited. It fires ideas at tangents and my mouth can’t keep up. In fairness, it shouldn’t even try. In reality, it tries. Boy does it try.

So, meetings with me can be high energy affairs. Particularly if we’re talking about a subject that really interests me. (You’d like help marketing your chocolate business, you say?)

I struggle with distractions

We all do it. Sometimes it’s easier to put things off than bite the bullet and get started. In my case, if I need to work on something for my own business, rather than for a client, I’ll often make excuses. Distractions glint at me like glitter in the tiles at the airport duty-free shop.

• “Ooh look! The trailer for the new Marvel movie is out!”
• “I’ll should just post on Instagram…”
• “I should probably hang the washing.”
• “Where shall we go on holiday this year?”

Displacement activity. Avoid it at all costs. (Pun very definitely intended.)

Which neatly leads on to…

I need accountability

In 20 years as a freelance copywriter, I’ve never missed a deadline. When it comes to client work, I’m as focused as a sniper with a 50-yard target.

When it comes to working on my own business, I need serious accountability. It took me two years from deciding I wanted to start a monthly newsletter to sending out the first issue. Two years!

(You can sign up here, incidentally.)

Distractions aside, if I’ve told someone I’m going to do something, you bet your life I’m gonna do it. It’s a matter of pride.

Having close relationships with other freelancers helps me. But choose wisely. Pick the ones who lift your energy with their positivity and ideas, not the energy vampires who flatten you with their gripes about how hard it is to be your own boss. No one needs that.

The energy boost I get from an hour of shared inspiration and support makes me more positive, more productive, and more profitable.

I have a fundamental inability to ask for help

I’m not sure being a perfectionist control freak is essential when it comes to making a success of your freelance career, but giddy me does it keep you on your toes.

I’m my own biggest critic, my own worst enemy, yada yada. I should cut myself some slack, occasionally, but I’m too busy beating myself up about my imperfections.

I go to an event and come away fired up and inspired by new ideas, then get frustrated and feisty that I can’t do everything at once, or that things take longer than expected.

They say delegation is the key to running a successful business. That’s not easy when you’re standing where I’m standing, but I’m getting better. I now have a virtual assistant, an IT support company, and an accountant (my ex-husband, but that’s a story for another day).

My secret’s safe… right?

So, there we have it. A cheeky peek into some of the guilty secrets of a freelance copywriter. If this post has gone some way to make you feel more normal, I’d love to know. If you’re pulling a face and judging me for my weirdness, do me a favour… keep it to yourself.