I used to be a copywriter. A good one too, clients told me. But these days, I'm a freelance writer. Now, I know what you're thinking. But trust me, this isn't just semantics.
At Clear Comms, we work hard to create exceptional sales copy that's clear and easy to read. And that means every word we use has to fight for its place. If we don't need it, we don't use it. It's as simple as that. So we don't like needless ambiguity. And that word - copywriter - is a great example.
Tell people you're a copywriter and plenty of them will think you're a copyrighter. It's an easy mistake to make. But we really don't know very much about protecting artistic rights. No one's asked us to write about that yet.
So why all this fuss over one little word? Well, whenever I'm meeting new people and talking shop, I'd much rather talk about what I do, than what I don't do. Tell someone I'm a freelance writer and we can get straight to the interesting stuff. Typical next question: "Oh really, what sorts of things do you write..."
Okay, I'll admit it. This isn't a big issue. However, it is a good example of the way we think. We don't take things at face value. We scrutinise job outlines and creative proofs to ensure they make sense. And we keep working at getting things right. Sometimes that means going against the old ways of doing or saying things. So be it.
I'll be interested to hear what anyone else has to say about this. You can even call me to talk it over if you like, just don't call me a copywriter!
