Anyone work creatively within advertising or marketing?...

[escape]

I have 'fallen into' becoming a freelance copywriter
It's going great, I have lots of work..
but..
I need to be more organised, I need to get together an online portfolio or 'book' if you like.
We are going to be leaving the island sooner or later and I'll want to start 'hawking' myself around as it were. my standards are high and I know what I'm doing, but I've never worked for an agency outside this country and I need to look like I mean business
Does anybody have one of these portfoios I can have a sneak peek at, or any advice.
I don't want to arrange meetings and get laughed out the room!
TIA x

shameless bump

anyone?

Hi,

Hmmm...looks like I am about to become entirely freelance myself. Never had to worry about self-promotion as boss always supplied clients but am about to have to go it entirely alone it would seem, what with boss discriminating against me after mat leave.

I'm not very much help am I? Am in a similar boat, I got halfway through putting together a website but haven't finished. Am also in a tricky situation as due to client confidentiality I can't use most of my work as an example...

What island do you live on? How did you "fall" into it? And how are you getting enough work to live on? Just curious as need to pull my finger out!

Hi there. I am an experienced marketing manager, currently on maternity leave and due back in Sept :-( - the time has just flown by! I'd love to go freelance, but fear is standing in my way at the moment. More than happy to have a look at portfolios/websites and provide honest feedback. It will do me good to get my brain working again.

I did this for a while when the DC were young. That was back in the dark ages, when there was no such thing as t'internet or email. (Well, 12 years ago, anyway!) I kept a copy of the work I'd written when the brochures (see - I told you it was a long time ago!) got printed, and had, literally, a portfolio. I was very lucky because when I went on mat leave, my boss also moved company and I got most of my work from him. And once you have one or two big clients, things snowball. I charged quite high rates, because I'd gone from being the client in my previous job, so I knew the ridiculous prices that people were willing to pay. I did this for a couple of years, and just when the isolation and working round the children was getting to me, I got offered a job at the BBC. I'm now with another company doing something vaguely similar. What about speculative emails to some contacts in agencies of the place you're going to next?

hi there
replies - yeah!
BB - I live in Malta, which is all lovely, but a very 'unique' environment (to be polite)
I have background in arts marketing, which is agreat training ground as there weer no budgets for agencies etc, so we did everything ourselves. I have always had a flair for creative copy and wrote a weekly page in our local paper (they were advertising and I applied, as simple as that!)
since moving here I went to meet with a local radio station with regards to voice over work (long story) and noticed how genuinely awful their ad scripts were, I offered the production manager the chance to give me ago and he did. This was boost I needed and then I approached a couple of agencys, but nothing really came of it, as they do things in house and I wasn't looking for a full time post. Then earlier this year, I got acall out of the blue from an agency I didn't know who had heard about me , its gone from there. I do mainly scripts for Radio and TV ads and have done a website and a furniture brochure.
(sorry TMI)
I love it, I find it easy - and best of all, they are paying me what I am worth!
So, part of me feels really lucky, and then I think that it was only myself who made all the first moves.
I wish I had the confidence and time to make more contacts!
I am abit scared by the whole 'meedja' and advertising industries, I think a simple website with examples of my work on might be the best way to go? dunno, just a bit nervous really!

yes, I fully appreciate the irony of a copywriter with such pants typing skills!

I'll see if I can get my DH to give his opinion, he runs an Internation PR and advertising Agency - no clients in Malta though.

ooooh Alycat, (sits and waits)

DH says that you should:

• Show a wide variety of different types of your work in your portfolio
• Show your work on a range of different topics or subjects
• Juxtaposition (he's full of big words like that!) your original copy alongside the published article or advertisement
• Show screen grabs for any web sites you have written the content for (the graphics will help liven up the book too)

He actually typed that, but strangely didn't want to be Mr Alycat!!!

All a bit vague really, see doesn't do anything for free!!

Alycat, thanks a bunch,
that re-inforces my gut feelings anyway,
just needed it re-inforcing from the horses mouth (as it were) much appreciated.
is he looking to emply any reelance copywriters! ha ha!

probably only interested in ones taht can actually type and spell!

We have offices in Melbourne (aus) NY, Chicago, Seattle, London and freelancers in Germany (and a few other places...I don't pay much attention nowadays)I don't work anymore, apart from a fawning over clients at events kind of way.

We do boring business to business with some madly exciting clients although have a few consumer coming through.

He's googleable if you want to contact him? Sadly, I have no sway over choice of copywriters/employees.

PS You should have seen how many backspace deletes he had to do in that short piece!

I'm having a bit of a confidence crisis.
Only in so much as I feel like I should have adegree in copywriting and won awards n stuff!
But NO - I have enough confidence to rationally know taht I aint bad, and I'm chomping at the bit for more work, SO Any contacts out there , bring 'em on. Can offer nothing in return except Maltese hospitality should/when the need arises!

Good for you, I'm sure you'll be great.

As for his qualifications? He dropped out of uni after 6 weeks and went to college at Elephant and Castle to study Journalism. Started on frozen food weekly as I recall altough he liked that, lots of free samples of ice cream!

He is just a meglamaniac (sp ), and will be taking over the world shortly! He is also not a (very) young man anymore, so years of experience. Which actually in Pr can count against you.

He has employed some very poor staff members in his time, didn't make anyone do a timed writing test until a few years back (it took years of nagging to get him to do that) before then bringing in something with a byline would do it! Not suggesting that you would fall into that category, more trying to point out that he wasn't always on top of his game.

It hasn't been all lunches at Pont de la Tour either, some times have been really tough (8 yrs ago we lived in a 1 bed rented place and drove a 27 yr old car!) - co is 11-12 yrs old now, has been a learning curve!!

give us agoogle clue then alycat..

OK

His company shares its name with a leading posh handbag maker which is also a fruit tree.

So google X marketing&comms should do it...