“Gary has been a huge advocate of One Minute Briefs over the last few years and in this post he shares his story about how the community gave him something back when he needed it the most. ”
I’ve well documented my creative love affair with OMB. And yes, it’s still a life-changer and a game changer. But last year there was a new layer of depth revealed beyond the puns and banter, creativity and personal development. Some of the community I was part of and vociferously supported, gave it back in a time of confidence shaking personal uncertainty.
What? Why? Where? When? Who? Questions, questions. Well, let’s start with the why. Professionally, it was a rocky year, and as a freelancer you soon get to intimately know what the much proclaimed ‘feast or famine’ effect is like.
Like a resting actor, I was ‘between’ jobs, but my confidence had taken an absolute battering and the ‘between’ was stretching on. The daily LinkedIn trawl was starting to chip away at the soul. Leads stayed cold and recruiters were largely ineffective or unresponsive.
I doubted my ability as a writer. I reflected on certain situations that led me to that point in time, and wondered if I’d made the right life choices? (classic imposter syndrome).
Here’s the rub. I’ve met a fair few OMBles in real life now, and had plenty of conversations offline with them. I’ve offered advice and support. I’ve got some back, collaborated and simply shot the breeze with many. But it was one that came back to me and asked me to join her on a new venture.
Massive shout-out to Kate Crawford. She’s an inspirational figure – a fantastic creative, highly respected and skilled marketer, and having talked to her, a tirelessly devoted mum who’s seemingly managing to juggle everything.
Cutting to the chase (I do get there, eventually) she asked me to become an affiliate of her new company. She’d seen my OMB work and was looking to gather a crack team of copywriters (self-christened C-Team) from around the country to work with her.
I jumped at the chance. Not only was it a great opportunity when the wolf was taking a battering ram to the door, but because (after a fantastic hour long personal conversation) she ‘got’ me. And, I was soon to be in very esteemed company.
Dave Harland? Liverpudlian copy legend. Clare Jennings? From OMB copy ingénue to carving out a tasty career (Clare, you need to write about your career jump into copywriting for the BOC blog).
I worked with the C-Team on several projects over the summer of 2018, was referred to new clients along the way by the team, and we continue to support and inspire each other as a group (there’s still not a collective noun for copywriters!).
Yes. I’m proud to be a copywriter. But any creative role will be tough at times. The trick is not to give up on yourself. Resilience can come from unlikely quarters.
Use OMB to learn and be social. Be the best you and you’ll find the support you need when you need it. Just look at what happened to @ZedTrafficker last year…
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