Gail D Knight

Job Title: Copywriter

Company name: Creative Writer & Voice-Over Artist 

Clients worked on: 2GB and Nova - too many to mention.

Top 5 tips on becoming a copywriter:

* Samples of work are a must to being seen as a serious Copywriter.
Clients can't make a decision to use you if they don't have anything to
go on.  Produced TV and radio would be great but if it's only on paper,
that's better than nothing. Try writing some from newspaper articles or
if you see or hear an ad you think could be done better - do it!

1. For great experience, offer your services for free.  Client's will
jump at something for nothing and you'll get an idea of the entire
process involved.  You could also talk to a community TV or radio
station.

2. Offer your services to businesses local to you. You'll have knowledge
of your local area and prospective clients will see that empathy.

3. Observe what goes on in the whole world, not just your world.  Stay
mindful of the many opinions, experiences and types out there.  There
are many ways to say something.

4. Of course people can take a copywriting course.  I didn't.  I came in
through the ranks of radio and thanks to a natural ability, have had a
job as a copywriter whenever I've wanted one.

5. A web page is great if you can afford it. Not having a web page is
like not having a phone. It's THAT important.

How did you get started:

When I was 17, I was employed as the Office Girl at 2GB.  I expressed an interest in copywriting, writing my first ever script for John Laws to read live. Shortly after this I was offered a job as the copywriter at 4RR - a new radio station up in Townsville.  I was up there like a shot, asked myself two weeks later what the hell I had done, fortunately stuck it out for 16 months and came back to Sydney where my career really took off.

What's great about being a copywriter: 

1. Every page is a new short story.  Every client has something great to tell and if you take the time to sift through the detritus to find that nugget of gold, the story virtually writes itself.

2. Seeing, hearing and reading your finished work is a massive reward.

3. Hearing how many hits the client has had on his/her site or how many
more times the phone has rung with orders is the ultimate because it
means more work!