Micro-Interview: Gareth Hancock, Copywriter

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

Gareth Hancock is a copywriter. I enjoy his work very much. 

He creates content, in a shed. Hence the name of his agency: That. Content. Shed. 

I love it, so I asked him to stop by for a Micro-Interview. Glad he said yes. :)

In only 507 words, Gareth shares: 

• His favorite copywriting community…

• Advice for standing out as a copywriter...

• The book that changed the way he thought about getting a message across…

And more…

Enjoy!

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Thank you, Gareth.

Let’s get started: 

“What’s your work routine?”

I’m usually at my desk at about 9 am. Then, I’m back up at 9:05 am to make a cup of tea. Then I’ll look at my to-do list for that day and ignore it for half an hour while I scroll through Twitter and reply to emails. I’m generally ready to crack on by about 9:45 am and work for two hours, before picking my son up from nursery. 

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If I’m working on a new project, I’ll spend those morning hours researching and getting ideas down on the page. When I’m back at my desk at 1o’clock-ish, I work solidly for a few hours turning ideas into words that make sense before flagging a bit.

I put the laptop to sleep about 5 o’clock-ish. I try not to do anything work-related after that. It’s easier said than done sometimes, mind.

“What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

That it’s best to be yourself and write in your own voice. I used to think that to be successful you had to speak the language of business, using dull corporate speak to sound professional. That’s what everyone else seemed to be doing. 

But if you do what everyone else is doing, how are you going to stand out? 

Being myself was a game-changer in helping me make a decent fist of being a copywriter. 

“What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

That being part of a community is important. 

I started copywriting in 2011 and worked for three years without knowing any other copywriters. In those three years, I spent all my time working for clients on content mills getting about £10 for a page of copy. Madness. But I didn’t know any better. 

I quit and took a job as a copywriter at an agency in 2014. That gave me time to learn more about copywriting without worrying about money.

I found communities on social media. They opened my eyes about how valuable copywriting is and gave me the courage to charge what I was worth when I came back to freelancing in 2017.

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“What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

The copywriting community. 

On Twitter especially -- the folks there are wonderful. They’re funny, warm and clever. So bloody clever. I’ve learned loads from the stuff they share, whether it’s advice in a tweet or post, or a link to something they’ve found useful. 

“What book has helped you the most over your career?”

Predatory Thinking by Dave Trott. 

It was the first book I read on creative thinking. It changed the way I thought about getting a message across. 

It also introduced me to Dave’s work, which put me on to so many other copywriting greats.

“And your parting piece of advice?”

Be yourself. Work hard and be nice to people. 

That’s three bits of advice. Each a bit generic as well. But they’re all important, I think. They’ve worked for me anyway. 

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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

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Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founder

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