I'm looking for advice on how to improve my chances of finding employment in a marketing/copywriting capacity
Despite an extensive background writing for various outlets online, as well as completing several certificated digital marketing courses, I am struggling to find employment in this field of work.
Lately, it has been affecting my mental health and it is knocking my confidence and aspirations.
I'm looking for roles preferably in Nottingham. However, I would consider remote roles.
Any advice would be much appreciated; courses, cover lettering and/or CV writing, etc.
Replies13
- @Annabelle Baugh So it's safe to say you'd recommend it? :D
- @Sêan Reid Amazing I have been there 10 months and it is the best company I have ever worked for. Incredible training and support.
- @Annabelle Baugh I'm familiar with Exposure Ninja. What is it like working for them?
- @Alexandra (Lex) Hearth Thank you for the advice.I have a "template" cover letter that I use but it's roughly 4-5 paragraphs long because of the amount of detail I go into.
- @Annabelle Baugh Thanks for the tip on Exposure Ninja. Maybe someone else on here might be able to enlighten us on what LI creatives means :-)
- @Catherine McManusI just keep seeing posts from people that say LI Creatives and remember seeing something about it being worth joining, not sure how to find it - sorry - Happy to take a look at your portfolio and give you some feedback. I started freelancing two years ago with no experience or qualifications and now I have a full time job as a content creator at Exposure Ninja, always worth keeping an eye on their website for opportunities, as they put ability and attitude first.
- @Annabelle Baugh Hi Annabelle, I was curious about this group and went looking for it but wasn't sure which one you meant. Do you mean that there's a specific group of creatives on LinkedIn? Thanks.
- Join LI creatives
- Hey Sêan, here are a few things that have worked for me (you might already be doing some/all of them) as a freelance writer:- Building professional networks - I've attended online and offline events to meet other writers and those in the industries I specialise in. I regularly share my work, connect with people, apply for jobs and comment on Linkedin, The Dots, The Stack World etc. Go where your prospective clients are.- Website - I keep my website up to date and optimised for my target audience to increase the changes of inbound enquiries (much less work than- Pitching and cold outreach - can be hard going but does work. Make sure you do your research on who you're pitching, include relevant samples and tailor your messaging. Following up is a good tip too.- Freelance writing newsletters - I've signed up for a few and while I think the roles that are sent out probably get swamped pretty quickly but it can be useful to find your perfect fit.- Working with marketing agencies - this can be an easy way to land several clients at once, especially if the agency like your work. It's also a good way of getting bigger clients.If you're looking for employment, it's just a case of keeping on applying and maybe reviewing your CV/cover letter etc - or getting someone else to - to see if you can strengthen it or tailor it to the roles you're going for.Hope this helps, and good luck!
- Hey Sean,One thing I would say is that, even if your confidence is being knocked, don't let that show in your applications. Employers tend to gravitate to confidence.Unfortunately applying for jobs is usually an unavoidably relentless process. Some quick tips:- Keep your CV really specific and easy to digest quickly (being confident with TOV)- Focus on applying for jobs with a clear thread to the type of copywriting/marketing work you've already done - so you know you'll be a preferred candidate- If you see people in roles you would want, try reaching out to them for a coffee, and then you can learn more about their paths & enquire if any roles might be coming up they know of- If writing a cover letter, again keep it short (3 paragraphs) and reflect the language used in the job descriptionGood luck! Hope some of that helps,Lex
- Some advice in here - hope it helps:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/work-get-vikki-rossAlso, follow the #CopywritersUnite hashtag on social to find other copywriters who may be able to offer support and share advice, connections and jobs
- Hey Sean, looks like you have some great tips from Catherine below. I offer free 30 minute chats - if you'd find this useful please feel free to drop me an email and we can set it up antonia@materialproductions.comHave a great rest of the day,Antonia
- Hi Sean,First of all, congratulations on creating and launching an alternative music website with a team of people supporting! Becoming an entrepreneur and having the ability, bravery and grit to start your own business is not given to everyone. Seriously.With regards to what you're trying to do now, I'm going to suggest a few things that you've probably already thought of - but if you haven't, then it's a bonus :-)1) Leverage your connections from Already Heard (and the other websites or publications mentioned on your profile)- Make a list of all the people you worked with or collaborated with, a) connect with them on LinkedIn or social media b) see where they're currently working c) optimise any opportunities to touch base with them and explore if they know of any work going that might be relevant to you.People you have already worked with know your work and might know of people or companies that need your help. Bands might need your marketing help with their websites and socials.- You grew your Already Heard Instagram to 1849 followers and Facebook to 5100, as well as posted on other channels. Are any of those followers, or people who liked the posts, working in an organisation or publication that could be of interest to you? Could you approach them? Have you thought about putting out an Instagram post, or story on the Already Heard socials, tagging the relevant people and explaining that you're available for work and to help them grow their audiences?2) Do you have a LinkedIn account? Is it up to date? Are you showing examples of your best published work? Have you linked to all the people you could do, from past collaborators to new people and companies you'd like to work for?3) Have you joined all of the relevant local and national Facebook and LinkedIn groups where music / music-loving communities come together? Some of these communities will actively post about work opportunities. These are also great places to engage with others and share what you do.4) New people to approach / pitch.- Radio stations, local press, targeted national press (covering music / wrestling / video games - your areas of expertise or interest).- Charities (I'm sure I recently heard about an ex wrestler who was using wrestling as a means of helping young people with anxiety etc.).- Music schools that might have talent coming out that need websites, help with video making or socials. The schools might even need someone to teach the students about music marketing.I hope that some of this might be helpful. Good luck!All the best,Catherine
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