Creative writing; business writing II

Many businesses rely on freelance writers to produce content and marketing materials; and sometimes it’s hard to find good copywriting services. But although top-quality copywriters may seem thin on the ground, there have always been talented writers in the world of advertising and sales, creating content and inventing memorable slogans for all kinds of products and services.

Here are just a few of the household names who have worked as copywriters:

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, worked for the Barron Collier advertising agency in New York; Ogden Nash, poet and humourist, worked for the same agency, where he wrote slogans for streetcar advertising.

As an author, Salman Rushdie is perhaps best known for the controversy surrounding The Satanic Verses, but he’s also the man who first described Aero chocolate bars as irresistibubble and who recognised the naughty but nice nature of cream cakes.

Dorothy L. Sayers, creator of Lord Peter Wimsey, collaborated on the Guinness Toucans campaign – just think what two can do – and wrote about the world of advertising in her novel Murder must advertise, while Fay Weldon, author of The Life and Loves of a She Devil was involved in the Go to work on an egg campaign for the Egg Marketing Board.

Of course, not everyone who offers their services as a copywriter or content provider is going to end up as a best-selling author. But keep an eye on that blogger over in the corner, who gets up an hour early each day to write a couple of hundred words before starting work and who spends the lunchtime researching her novel.

If your business is one of the lucky ones and you’ve found an independent copywriter who understands your brand and communicates your message in a way that appeals to your customer, recognise their worth and treat them well: who knows where their writing may be taking them?