Freelance English Copywriter - I own these words

In unexpected good luck, I see that out of 200,000 possible worldwide links on Google for Freelance English Copywriter that I am at #1.

Wondering why a freelance copywriter would need to promote himself online?

I contacted all of the CDs in Hong Kong that I have met in my month here and pointed them towards the post below. I hope it didn't freak them out! Either way, still no dice. I met with Darias at Star TV yesterday, and that went okay, I also met David Chow at 360. He is a fellow Canadian, so that might be an in. He wasn't all that impressed with my book, but he seemed to like me and my hustle (how could you not!)

Today I am meeting with KC at Publicis and the Oriented group. I am also going to start looking for bar jobs.


At this point, I switched gears to start my first novel. Click this English copywriter link to see why.

20 Meetings

It's been a lot of hustle trying to find a job in Asia.

Here are all of the people I've met with so far (going backwards this time)

1. Chris Kyme - 8 partnership Hong Kong
2. Ivy Lam - Links Hong Kong
3. Bernadette Johnstone - BlaneyMundy Hong Kong
4. Victor Manggunio - BBDO Hong Kong
5. Tony Peck - OgilvyOne Hong Kong
6. Simon Handford - Ogilvy and Mather Hong Kong
7. Colin Ruffell - Doremus Hong Kong
8. Tan Shen Wong - Y&R Hong Kong
9. Malcolm Costain - TBWA Hong Kong
10. Paul Chan - Grey Hong Kong
11. Dave Barlow - MRM Hong Kong
12. Wayne Knowles - DDB Hong Kong
13. Michaela Pejsar - Hudson Hong Kong
14. Hui Louie - Bates Hong Kong
15. William Tsang - BBDO Hong Kong
16. Frank Hahn - Wieden and Kennedy Shanghai
17. Paul Stanley - DDB Shanghai
18. Ella Zeng - Hudson Shanghai
19. Liza Law - JWT Shanghai
20. Stephen Kong - Leo Burnett Shanghai

What an ordeal. But nothing worth having ever comes easy.

It took me 35 meetings in Vancouver, so I figure I'm 2/3 of the way there.


So I have a whole lotta names and a whole lotta SEO going on. What does one do from here? Click this English copywriter link to find out.

Back to the Drawing Board

Met with Chris Kyme today. He had a few leads for me but still no dice.

I'm meeting with Star TV tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am also going to contact all of the Hong Kong CDs again with this link.

I've Decided To Take My Work Back Underground

I have a pretty wild story to tell.

I've been travelling for the last seven years and I have been all over the world, working at all kinds of jobs and having all these mad adventures.

I always figured I would write a book about it when I finished my way around the world by land. Basically, all I have left to do is a quick trip on the Trans-Siberian from Beijing to Moscow and I've been around the Earth.

I'll do that one day.

The point is, I always figured I would finish that trip and then write a story about my travels. But now, I don't have a job, or much to do, so I figured I would start it now. I wrote until 5 am last night, probably at least 15 pages. I was on a roll. It may not be the most interesting story in the world for some, but it needs to be written just for my own sake, and then I can go on to writing other stuff.

Needless to say, the job hunt has been a bit slow today. It's 4:30 and I just got back from lunch and I'm only now wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I'm off to see Chris at 6:00, other than that...it's just a waiting game. Haven't heard back from the freelancers or anyone for that matter. So I'll just keep writing.


When suddenly, just like that...a breakthrough. Click this English copywriter link to see my good news.

As The Phone Rings

And another! StarTV wants me to go in for an interview on Wednesday.

A Writer's Monday in Hong Kong

I met with two headhunters today. They had work, but the jobs were not in advertising, more editing etc. I am too honest. I basically told them that even if I took one of these positions as a survival job, I would drop it the second I was offered work in an agency.

I think that pretty much killed my chances.

What I need to do now is get myself registered as a company here in Hong Kong. That way I can get my working visa sorted out and use companies like this as freelance opportunities. One recruiter put me in touch with a girl I am to meet at a wine and cheese type party who has done the whole process from scratch. So I'm off to that on Thursday (looking for work gets you into the strangest places, it is always an adventure if you have the right attitude.)

I love when my phone rings. It only rings about two or three times a week, but it's always good news. I'm meeting with Chris Kyme tomorrow at 6.

Status Report

This job hunt has been nuts. But I think tomorrow will be a big day.

Where things are at:

I have met with 18 creative directors since I left Canada seven weeks ago.
I have spent almost all of my money, save about $7000 HK. ($1000 CAD)
Rent is coming up in a week. Rent is $6200 HK.
Meat and rice and some strange leafy vegetable costs $15 HK.
I need to eat twice a day.
And I need Ghost Squad and the odd beer to keep from going insane. (Ghost Squad is $3 a shot and beer is about $7)
Tomorrow I have 2 meetings and 3 freelance leads to follow up on.


A guy from Japan sent me an email saying he did the same thing six years ago. So it's good to know this is possible.

What happened next? Click this English copywriter link to find out.

Hong Kong Sunday

It's Sunday today. My plans are to go for a run, eat some rice and chicken and sleep.
Yesterday I went with Dave to take pictures of the markets that are going to be torn out to make way for skyscrapers. Hong Kong is an interesting city, it is built right into the side of a mountain coming out of the sea, so most of the city is on reclaimed land. They are building out into the sea more and more, and it is only a matter of time before Kowloon and Hong Kong join.














Things are slowly starting to fall into place...

I received a message from a woman named Queenie who has a back-translation freelance assignment for me. Just in time too. Dave referred me to her. I am also speaking with two recruiters tomorrow. Ivy at Links and Bernadette at Blaney Mundy. These were leads from Andrew Goldstein, whom I went to school with, he called me up from Dubai to try to help me out. He's a good guy.

Marc Stoiber gave me some names the other day as well. He worked in Hong Kong a few years ago. I'm hoping to meet with Chris Kyme sometime this week. If you are reading this, thanks Marc!

My View

I really like my view. I have seven panel windows full of sunlight that overlook the harbour. On a clear day, like this morning, I can see Kowloon and the boats sailing around in the strait. On a smog day, you can't see more than a couple hundred metres, it's a bit spooky.

This is part of the reason behind the Lights Out Hong Kong campaign.

I'm off to have lunch with David. He has another freelance lead for me.

As much as I love this view, and having my own space, the rent is a lot. I've devised a plan where I will ask the landlord about paying in installments, that way I might be able to stretch what I have out another couple of weeks or so.

Everything Creative Is Worthwhile

There is nothing like being in an industry where you are constantly producing creative work. Everything creative is worthwhile. It is a fixture. Four years ago I wrote an Inflight article about the West Coast Trail (I haven't figured out how to post pdfs yet).

But now, it is helping me find work in Hong Kong. Whatever you write doesn't disappear.

It is taking you to the next level, it is always beneficial.

My latest column has been published online. It is very apt if I do say so myself.

Young Jobseekers Use Digital Media Savvy to Crack Tough Job Market.

I know they were reluctant to publish this one, it took me a couple of re-writes to get it up to snuff. There is some blatant self-promotion in there, but at least it's topical!

In other news, David Barlow has some great leads for me regarding freelance work. Hopefully it works out.

In other, other, news - you may have noticed that I changed the name of the blog to Freelance English Copywriter. I figure 'english' is the key word here, although this may shoot me in the foot ten years from now. We'll see.

I am off to find some live music. Being cooped up in this room has started to drive me mad. It's 12:30 on a Friday. We'll see what kind of city this is.

Referrals

The world runs on familiarity. When I meet one creative director they give me the names and direct lines of two others, and so it builds. It was in this way that I was able to meet just about every CD in town. Referrals. If you are recommended by someone, you are more likely to secure another meeting. It is the closest thing to nepotism.

I did my calls and secured two meetings on Monday with two other recruiters, again, through referrals. They said there may be work...so let's hope.


So, you've contacted everyone you know and you've exhausted every connection that you have. Where do you go from here? It may seem hopeless at this point and you may feel lost, but you have to keep grinding. This is how I felt at this point freelance copywriter link.

My Day Job

I don't have a day job.

This is my vacation. Or, well, it started out that way. As it is I am still at $7450 HK. Rent is coming up soon, though, and that'll kill me if I don't figure out how to make some money fast.

So I am going to start writing travel articles for Inflight Magazines.

Dave Barlow of McCann put me in touch with some editors. I need to write up about 5 pitch ideas for stories and send them off along with an artilce I wrote for Pacific Coastal Inflight about 4 years ago.

Getting this story was a bit of a miracle. Pacific Coastal is long since defunct, but when I googled the edition one other author came up who had also published. I contacted her, and sure enough, she had a copy. She scanned it for me and emailed it over. What a sweetheart!

I might have to start looking for bar work soon.

Okay, it's 2:30, time to go through the list again and call everyone.

The Best Way to Get A Job

I have just posted an article about using digital media savvy to find work.

However, this is the best way to get a job.

Maybe not the best, but certainly the easiest.

My, a little bitter, are we? Here's where I was at in the hunt so far: English copywriter link

The Wait

I have two hours to kill until 2 pm. It is impossible to reach a creative director on the phone during lunch, so I'll wait. In the meantime, I've done a little searching online.

My latest article, Sustainability advertising in Hong Kong is out, but strangely enough it doesn't get picked up by the Google News in Hong Kong, only in Canada. I should probably get a better picture, the pixelation makes my skin look like Bryan Adams'.

They didn't run the intensely shameless one about my job search, not really news I guess.

I see I have competition. SL (initials) has let his website go, so he's no threat however. PR as well. Hmm. He has freelance english copywriter in Hong Kong squared off quite well. I'll put more emphasis on the english copywriter.

The online stuff is a bit of a project. With the latest article out I should see more traffic soon.

You may notice while reading Freelance Copywriter the tendency to shape sentences around the words as positive and professional and inviting

Admittedly, this can get in the way of the flow sometimes. I'll try to figure out a way around this. But for now, search engine optimization is king, readership, secondary. After all, I only have 2 hits so far!

ihaveanidea.org

ihaveanidea.org is a great resource for people looking for jobs in advertising. It used to be predominantly Canadian focussed, but I notice now it is attracting a global membership.

Ignacio suggested that I put this blog into the forum there. It might be something a lot of you can relate to.

Let me know what you think

A Great Ad

Smirnoff Tea Partay

3 am on a Thursday night

Okay, I'm exhausted. I have been writing all night. I have done everything I can to secure an internet presence I think. I have met the creative directors. I have written articles. Now, it may just be time to sit and wait. I am tired. It has been a long day getting all of this coordinated. I hope it works. It will be interesting to see what happens on google in the next few weeks with this blog. Sometimes it takes a while to get picked up. My aim is for all roads to point back here. I want to make it almost impossible to search for a freelance english copywriter in Hong Kong without coming across my name.

It has been raining all day. I left my apartment once, to eat down at my Fish Noodle House next door where you can get a bowl of rice and some meat for $15 (about $2.25 Canadian). I live on that stuff. I eat it twice a day. I also have tons of fruit I munch on constantly.

The only other thing I do is go to the arcade to play Ghost Squad or House of the Dead. I don't know anyone, and I can't speak to anyone, but sometimes guys jump in and help me shoot zombies and terrorists.

That is about the extent of my human contact. It is quite lonely being in a little room on your own all day, even if the view is spectacular (I have a view of the marina and Kowloon).

I would go running, but it's pouring, and it's 3 am. They have a great track here that winds through Victoria Park. It is rubberized so it's good for the knees. The omnipresent Chinese security make sure you always run it clockwise as well - it's rather strange and militant.

Three weeks I've been here. All I have to show for my hunt so far is presnce in the mindspace of every CD in town and on all online avenues to finding freelancers. It's a start. But only a start. Wish me luck. Tomorrow I will make more calls.

Hustle. Hustle. Hustle. Wait, there is a better way to get a job in advertising: English copywriter link

The Ups and Downs

I realize how sad and hopeless this must seem to some of you.

Here is this guy trying to get a job in a big agency in Hong Kong. He's put in all this work, but it's not going to happen.

He isn't good enough. What is he thinking?

It's one of those things. If you make it, its a triumph, if you don't you were a fool for even trying.

The only thing keeping me going is knowing that I got into the industry in the first place. It took me 35 meetings. I met everyone. I was tenacious. I never gave up.

Diane took me on. She believed in me, even though my book a the time was a bunch of pencil drawings. I was so happy to have a job. I built a better book (this time with stock photos!) and now I am ready to jump into a pretty big pond. I would be worried that I have bitten off more than I can chew, but there has been glimmers of encouragement. I'll keep pushing on. I'll tough it out again. Because if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.

Sink or swim? Click this English copywriter link to find out.

How To Get A Job In Advertising - Step One

Okay, the first step is actually to get a book together, get an art director, get a cell phone, a fixed address etc. etc. But we'll skip all that for now and jump ahead to my first day of looking in Hong Kong.

Step One - The Cold Calls

This part is pure grunt work. You go online, you look up all the places you want to work, you get the phone numbers and you start calling. It's simple, really, but the hardest part. You need to ask the receptionist for the creative director, and if you are lucky you will get a name. The trick is, if you get a name, to keep pushing, get an email while you are there, then a direct line if you can. If you've ever worked in telemarketing, this is the one time in life where you will look back on your job fondly for teaching you valuable life lessons: perseverance and thick skin.

Cold calling sucks, but if you are like me, and you don't know anyone or have any leads at all, it's where you start.

Don't give up.

I went through the list and called the top 17. Then I called again, and I kept calling until I got what I needed. Don't expect anyone to return your calls. It won't happen. Leave messages though, it will generate some awareness about your name when you call back later. The more times they hear your name the better. On the 8th time, they'll remember it.

Oh yeah, and in Hong Kong lunch is from 12-2. The best time to call is 5:45 pm.

Eventually you will get a creative director on the line and if you ask them if they want to see your portfolio, they will almost always say yes. That's the good thing, no selling is required. It's just getting through.

I don't like sending my work over email, but it's a good way to get their name, as it is usually a part of their email address.

Are you ready for the next step on how to break in as a freelance copywriter?

Or would you like to see what happened next? - Just read on

(Did anyone else watch Dragon's Lair when they were a kid??)


What happened next

At the end of the day I had three meetings set up for the next day. William Tsang, ECD of BBDO, Michaela Pjesar at Hudson (a headhunting agency) and Louie Hui at Bates. Not bad for a day's work. I also had a list of 6 CDs names and emails that I was to send my portfolio to online.



Okay, I'll get you up to speed as quickly as possible so the real blogging can begin.

Where I am at:

I've met with the following creative directors in the last 3 weeks. I've put my stuff up online and I've send out hundreds of emails.

William Tsang - BBDO
Hui Louie - Bates
Michaela Pejsar - Hudson Recruiters
Wayne Knowles - DDB
Dave Barlow - McCann
Paul Chan - Grey
Malcolm Costain - TBWA
Tan Shen Wong - Y&R
Colin Ruffell - Doremus
Victor Manggunio - BBDO
Simon Handford - Ogilvy and Mather
Tony Peck - OgilvyOne

and Chris Kyme from 8 Partnership is in the works.

It's been intense, lots of meetings, lunches, I sang with Wayne's speed metal band, saw one of their shows, went for steaks. And everyone has given me leads to other people to call - and I've called them all. I've been busy.

The most important thing is that they have met me, now they can put a face to a name, now it is just a matter of keeping top of mind.

My book is a junior book, there is no doubt about that. Some of them have liked it, others I think thought it sucked. But it proves I have experience. The problem is, in Hong Kong there is no work. Everyone is suggesting I go somewhere easier, like Singapore, and make scam ads. I don't want to do that. I want to build a book here. I like the challenge.

And it's a hell of a challenge really.

I started this blog today. At this point I am still holding on for freelance work. They have all told me it's not going to be easy, but I'm going to give it a go. I want it to work. To make it work, I need to work hard, stay top of mind, keep pushing, and eventually, I'll get there.

I have $7500 HK at this point. I started my trip with a fair chunk of change thanks to my vacation pay. This is what I have left. I figure I have two weeks to make it work, but I will do it, even if I have to bartend or sell travel articles or read tarot cards in the park, I will find a way. It's a good challenge.

The next step is online dominance. With this blog and the column I plan to take over the freelance copywriting words necessary to keep me at the top of the google searches. I will also use Craigslist, Ihaveanidea, Myspace and any other site I can find to get my name out there.

The ads we made with Pleasure Den Productions are finally online at YouTube. I need to find a way to get the Simmons radio on as well.

My next step is to contact the cds and let them know I have put their name to the top of Google. It is a practical way of showing my digital copywriting capabilities. I just hope it doesn't freak them out.

I had a card made up. Granted, the art direction is atrocious, but it sums up Canadian copywriter in Hong Kong pretty quickly don't you think?

Freelance Copywriting in Hong Kong - Week Three

Okay, I'll get you up to speed.

I have been here for exactly three weeks.

Since I have been here I have contacted every creative director in the city and met with most of them (I'll give you the list next post). So far so good. I have opened a YouTube account so people with Macs can actually see the ads that Kristian and I made in Australia. I have taken out a series of ads on Hong Kong, China Copywriters Directory and I have started this blog.

The original purpose of this blog was to build awareness of the Mike Catherall brand in the online media.

What I am going for is #1 in Google for certain search terms: freelance writer (obviously), Canadian copywriter Canadian writer, advertising copywriter and writer in Hong Kong.

I had similar success with the Creative Wonders blog Sustainability Advertising. It was blogging for CW that I learned some tricks of the trade about how to get certain search words up there. It is all self-taught and a bit clunky at this point, so bear with me.

Also, I have my online column at American Chronicle where I write about the intersections between sustainability and advertising that keeps my name out there.

To see my next step, click on this freelance copywriter link

Freelance Canadian English Native Copywriter in Hong Kong

Hello, and welcome to my blog Freelance Copywriter.

This blog is going to get me a permanent job as a copywriter for a 4As agency in Hong Kong come hell or high water

And I have decided to document my progress.

I like to make simple goals and achieve them. It is the kind of person I am. I know to get to the point where I am actually offered a job at a 4As agency, I will need to jump through several hoops (and have a bit of luck along the way).

I will do this systematically.

Does this seem like a plodding, troll-like way to break into an industy? Well it is! But it's worked before, and it keeps me occupied.

Anyway, here are the steps:

1. Get into the doors of every 4As agency in town
2. Meet every creative director at these agencies
3. Create a blog, youtube and myspace account to post up TV ads, radio, etc.
4. Gain control of google search words
5. Make contact again with every creative director
6. Put an ad in marketing magazine
7. Pick up some freelance work
8. Gain a short-term contract
9. Get offered a permanent job
10. Take it!

To see my next step click on this freelance copywriter link