Feeling the Cabin Fever? These Copywriting Communities are Only a Tweet Away
Feeling the cabin fever?
These copywriting communities are only a tweet away.
When you’re constantly working on various copy for clients throughout the week, remembering to write your next blog is all too easily thrown to the far back (make that the boot) of your mind, but as most of us are aware, it can definitely pay to keep up a presence.
Similarly, when you don’t work in an office and typically have no reason to contact other copywriters, it’s easy to forget about the benefits of chatting to people who understand what you do for a living. It’s also not uncommon to start feeling the cabin fever creep in if you’re cooped up while working from home, so even forcing yourself to break out of that zone for just a half hour to an hour can make a world of difference to your week.
My Twitter account is mostly personal, but the last few weeks I’ve been using it to connect with fellow friendly, hardworking people working in a similar field to my own; freelancers, designers, copywriters, etc.
Now, I’m what you might refer to as a ‘social introvert.’ I love being social, but I also have a default lean towards alone time. When I’m working or writing music, I can sit in one spot for hours, only temporarily emerging to top up my coffee supply or devour a quick power snack. With this hermity tendency in mind, sometimes I have to hoist myself out of my unsociable shell and remind myself to put myself out there.
So this week I decided to give some ‘virtual networking’ chats for copywriters and freelancers a go. I’d been noticing various freelancers I follow tweeting about in them for a couple of weeks. It looked a little frantic, potentially lots of fun, but I’d always notice too late, imagine it wasn’t my cup of tea or worry it might be kinda cliquey. Peer-support? Pfft, I thought.
Well, I’m here to tell you I was oh. so. wrong.
If you’re a copywriter or freelancer currently finding their feet, or perhaps you’re long-established but only now getting into the whole Twitter shebang. Trust me. These virtual chinwags are well worth joining.
Pop on the kettle, grab yourself some biscuits and have a browse of these brilliant chats that’ll help bring you out of your mind box mid-week.
Here are three I can vouch for so far:
Content Club UK
What is it?
Content Club is a weekly Twitter chat for freelancers working in all kinds of content-creating fields. Founded by @Fi_digitaldrum, Content Club UK is hosted every week by a different person and covers a different topic. There are three questions spread over half an hour.
Where should I head?
Pop over to the designated host’s profile on Twitter shortly before 11 am on a Tuesday. For each answer make sure to include the hashtag #ContentClubUK
Why should I join?
It’s an excellent place to express your biggest freelancing bugbears, share helpful advice and meet some fantastic new folk in similar fields to you. There are questions, often supported by anonymous polls. You simply answer each question as it’s posted, then have a read-through and respond to what others are saying too.
In one half an hour chat, I discovered so many lovely people here, and the thing I love most is the honest, insightful answers people are kind enough to share.
I’ve been looking forward to this weekly copy-inspired chinwag ever since. In fact, I now find myself habitually heading toward the kettle and putting on a cup of coffee at a convenient ‘10-minutes to 11am’ every Tuesday.
ProCopy Chat
What is it?
ProCopywriters is the renowned alliance of commercial writers, which itself is an excellent resource, very much worth signing up to if you’re a copywriter, as it offers many valuable networking and showcasing opportunities, advice, various discounts and lots of other lovely stuff.
Hosted by a different person each week, ProCopy Chat is ProCopywriter’s weekly Twitter chat. Lasting a plump, plentiful hour, it effectively sees a different host interviewed on a specific topic each week, although everyone is encouraged to join in with their comments.
Where do I head?
Join ProCopy Chat at the @procopywriters Twitter page every Wednesday at 11 am. Remember to use the hashtag #ProCopyChat on every comment.
Why should I join?
Again, a whole lotta lovely copywriting company to be found here and the full hour flies by. I found ProCopy Chat a cracking way to learn more about successful copywriters and their different ways of doing this. Each week you’ll discover a different person in the hot seat, and it’s great learning more about their business and listening to their advice.
ProCopywriters also host an annual copywriting conference known as CopyCon. Find out more here.
Freelance Heroes
What is it?
Last, but certainly just as pet-filled, biscuit-supported and (of course) freelance related, there’s Freelance Heroes! Founded (and hosted) by Annie and Ed, Freelance Heroes welcomes all freelancers from far and wide working in any field for a hearty hour of fun, helpful conversation, with around 5 or 6 questions to encourage everyone to chime in.
Where do I head?
This fantastic Twitter chat for freelancers of all fields takes place at 8 pm on a Wednesday over at @FHchat page. Remember to hashtag #FreelanceHeroes with each post.
Why should I join?
Because they’ll welcome you with open (virtual) arms! The conversation is a continuous flow, and above all, it’s also fun, easy going and a great way to stay social on a week night while staying in the warm.
I find this one a bit trickier to join as my Wednesday evenings are usually pretty chocka but I’ll definitely be joining in any Wednesday I can.
Freelance Heroes also has an annual Freelance Heroes Day. Discover more here. They have a Facebook Group too, now joined by over 6000 followers! Well worth getting involved in.
Additional thoughts
Something I noticed about all three chats is how welcoming everyone is, even to total freelancer-chat newbies (aka me)! I already loved my job while being a lone wolf, but discovering such a lovely, supportive bunch of fellow freelancers out there has already made me love what I do for a living even more, and realise I’m not alone when things get tough.
Adding to which, all three are fast-paced, which is excellent practice should you ever be interviewed about what you do on the spot. Many of the questions you’ll probably have been itching to ask for a while, while some might never have occurred to you. By the end, you can learn plenty of handy tips, tricks, and solutions to freelancing problems that perhaps you didn’t even know you had!
As mentioned, Pro Copywriters and Freelance Heroes hold various face to face networking events throughout the year, and there’s also CopyWritersUnite if you fancy some purely social pub meet-ups with fellow copywriters around the UK.
Going forward I’ll be continuing to join in with these as regularly as I can and check out some of the face-to-face copywriting networking events too. It’d be great to see you there.
If you know of any other groups, events or chats, please drop a comment below. The more, the merrier! And if you happen to be a copywriter in Suffolk or other freelancer in Suffolk that’s an added bonus!