Disappeared off the Face of the Earth?

I haven't done honest. I just wanted to grab your attention. 

But where have I been? 

Well, I’ve been busy copywriting of course.  

When you enjoy your work, you don’t mind working all hours left right and centre in order to see the project you’re working on succeed.  

That’s why my personal blogging hasn’t been as prolific as I would like. I’ve been that busy with everything else, it had to take somewhat of a back seat. Because naturally, the client always comes first.  

So, while I’ve still been dabbling in the acting here and there - mainly just keeping up the practice with a weekly masterclass - and holding down a social job as assistant manager of a local gym in Greater Manchester, what I’ve been spending most of my time on is research, copywriting, and setting up a new business.  

It’s a good job that my work is fun, otherwise it’s possible I’d be a very dull boy! I don’t even remember the last time I went to the cinema, and I barely have time to text my friends, let alone see them! Although I do take the occasional night off to have a little boogie in a club in Manchester. Can’t let my epic dance skills go to waste now can I? 

Still, the main reason why I haven’t been blogging on here, tweeting on Twitter or posting on Facebook is because I’ve been that busy working in other places. Writing a new website for a recycling company called RG Recycling, researching solar panels and renewable technologies for Safe Solar, experiencing what a cut throat shave really feels like with Gladstone Gentleman’s Grooming. Oh, and I also helped a brand new online golfing magazine (aptly named Golfin Mag) rocket to success when I composed press packs and did some article re-writes, created exercise classes for a new training place called Casey’s Circuit Centre, and wrote the copy for a new social media website named Solely Social.

And then there is GymCube.com. This has been a big one, and has taken up many hours of work, often through the night, and even 40 hours straight. But, the site is now live, and it’s already been a big hit. It’s definitely got the potential to be massive, and is the main reason why I’ve been so busy, and why I’ve quit my job at the gym in Manchester. 

But more on GymCube soon. In the meantime, it’s back to work for me. And it’s not a bad thing. 

There’s definitely a bright future ahead. 

The Importance of Blogging, and Failed New Year's Resolutions

Did you keep your resolutions?It wasn’t just an ad hoc, off the cuff resolution, drunkly slurred after the clock struck 12am on New Year’s Eve. I’d actually planned it out the night before, and even written it down, just to make sure I definitely took note of it. Or so I thought. 

But, as with most people, it’s not even February and I’ve failed my New Year’s Resolution already. 

It was a simple enough resolution. Blog more. Blog as much as possible. As a copywriter, I should be blogging every single day, because not only is it good practice, and demonstrates what I can do for other companies, it’s also vital for boosting my own website rankings. 

Blogging is integral for any website because it creates more and more pages and keywords for Google’s servers to find. Thus, the more blogs you do, the more chances Google has to find your website, and the higher you move up its rankings.  

So while it’s great to have you reading this blog, what you really should be doing is thinking about how to blog yourself. Or, let me blog for you. Because while I may not practice what I preach when it comes to myself, I love blogging for other people, and take great pride in seeing the number of visitors to their site just grow and grow. 

And Happy New Year too, even if it is a bit late!

How To Be A Good Seat Buddy

You're one of the first on the plane. You get your bags stowed neatly away, in the over head compartment or under the seat- as instructed- and you settle down into your seat, buckling your seatbelt, ready to be an exemplary passenger.

And then you play the waiting game. And the guessing game.

Each person that walks through that door on the left could be sat next to you. It's a lucky dip, and you never know who it's going to be. There are so many different types of characters and personalities, you're almost silently praying to yourself that you don't have to sit next to some strange person for hours and hours.

Every plane I get on, I like to hope I'll be sat next to someone who's really cool and interesting; someone who offers me an awesome job right there on the plane after chatting with me and learning about my acting and copywriting ability; or perhaps even some incredible looking girl who I can attempt to chat up during the journey, or perhaps even start some inflight romance with!

The only thing is, real life never mirrors fantasy.

The best I hope for on a plane is someone that is pleasant, shares a few words about the weather, a problem with the flight, or some other mundane form of chit chat, and then keeps to themselves, reading, watching something, or sleeping.

Only, they have to make sure they sleep away from me. I really don't want a stranger drueling on my shoulder, thank you very much. I once had a 13 year old girl sat next to me on an eight hour flight, who turned around and said "you don't mind if i fall asleep on your shoulder do you?" then without waiting for an answer, plopped her head down onto my arm. Yes I bloody do mind, but I'm British so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and not tell you what I think. She then had the cheek to ask me to make sure she was awake when the food came around.

No, ideally, your "seat buddy" will never be a buddy unless they are exceptional. They won't encroach upon your foot space with their bags or knees, and they won't be fighting with your elbows for the arm rests. They won't spill coffee or juice all over you (I've had tendancy to do this myself lately, usually I just throw said liquid over myself though), they won't be too large for the seat, and they won't need to go to the bathroom every five minutes. They won't constantly argue with the air hostess (or flirt), and god forbid, they won't want to play with your iPad!

If you're lucky, you might get someone who has something midly interesting to tell you, and you might learn something or make a reasonable business connection. If you're luckier still, you might get someone who knows how to get free stuff from the stewards, or you might even be sat in the company of a little old lady who'll give you free stuff herself!

What you really don't want, is someone who smells bad. BO is just unacceptable these days. You don't really want a "sweater" either. That's just a little disturbing. Perhaps even worse are those over-friendly people, that just refuse to shut up, and just go on and on and on and on with themselves, despite your obvious attempts at opening your book and putting in your headphones to show that you don't intend to listen.

But just once, just once, if you're extremely lucky, you'll get a pretty awesome seat mate. Someone who you're actually interested to talk to, and has entertaining and interesting things to say. And they recpirocate with you too. You don't mind sharing your craisins with them, and you actually kind of don't want the flight to end. You wonder where those hours in the air seemed to go. It's pretty rare I think....but it does happen!

If you're getting on a plane without friends/relatives, all you can do is pray when the moment comes! Or bribe the check-in staff.

Radical Designs For Your Body

Tattoos: They have to look good, in order to help you look good. You'll just be a laughing stock, or very unhappy with your body, if you get a bad looking tattoo.

One of the most recent businesses I've been writing for as a freelance copywriter in Manchester has been the Heart For Art tattoo studio. The guys working there are just incredible, and the whole place is just a one-of-a-kind shop. The crazy stylings of themselves and their studio are just reflected in their phenomenal artwork, and if there's one tattoo parlour you should check out in Tameside, it's Heart for Art.

What is it you look for in a good tattooist? Well, besides the obvious cleanliness, safety and superb aftercare, it has to be the quality of the tattoos right? And that doesn't just mean good ink so the tattoos don't fade easily; it means exquisite designs. For the Heart for Art guys, it means no stencils on the wall, no simple, mass produced copies of tattoos that every Joe and his wife have.

It means, unique, one-of-a-kind designs, which are exactly what you are looking for. That equals blunt honesty about what looks good on you, and what doesn't, and sitting down with you to get inside your head so the tattoos can be extremely personal.

These guys are artists first, tattooists second.

The copy for Danny and Tom, after meeting them in their shop in the Greater Manchester, was fun to write. They have such a unique attitude, a great way of looking at things, and a superb business to sell. So it was pretty simple really. Their site now averages at least eighty unique hits a day, with all kinds of searches landing people on Heart for Art. Their picture based blog, showcasing all the latest work they've been doing, is loaded with tattoo keywords which brings in hundreds of google searches every week.

A great example of how to write things right!

It was a great to do the copywriting for Heart For Art, and everything seems to be going swimmingly for them. And if you need a tattoo and you're in the Manchester area...well, you know who to contact!

The State of Wisconsin Football

You may wonder why a freelance copywriter from Manchester is blogging on the state of American Football in Wisconsin. Besides the fact that copywriters research and blog on just about anything, if you've read my blog before or know anything about me, you'll know I lived in America for two years.

In Wisconsin to be precise, where I ended up somehow hooked to the little known sport in the UK, but massive game in the US, called American Football.

Two years ago, the college football team, The Wisconsin Badgers, won their Big Ten Championship and had a victory trip to the Rosebowl in California. Then they did it all again the next year. The Green Bay Packers meanwhile, the state's NFL team, well they just went and won the Superbowl, the crowning achievement for any team. Then they went 15 straight games undefeated in the following season. 

But this year, this season, it's a different story all around. 

In many ways, both teams are victims of their own successes. Expectations are tremendously high, and they just can't live up to them.

The Badgers came off back to back Rosebowl trips only to have their starters leave for the NFL, and with new national attention on the program, half their coaching staff leave for higher paid jobs and career advancements elsewhere. Thus this left a big problem back at Camp Randall, which has been evident to see in their first 3 games.

While star running back Montee Ball may have stayed, the superb offensive line from last season is nowhere in sight. Ball can run, but he needs holes. That needs to be worked on, because Ball has the potential to be legendary, and his big gains really rally the team.

With Ball being shut out, the Badgers could turn to their throwing game. There are a lot of new receivers in the squad, and many have potential, but they need lots of work and practice. With our best catcher out for the last two games, things didn't look good at all.

And then there's the QB. Scott Tolzien two years ago rose up steadily through the program, and knew all the ins and outs. He wasn't exceptional, but he was consistently good. Russell Wilson, despite being smaller than average, is now a starter in the NFL...that tells you all you need to know. A transfer student in, he shook up everything and was phenomenal. With no decent QBs ready to play, Coach Bielema sought to emulate the Wilson transfer with the new QB Meyer. 

That hasn't worked so well. Maybe he has potential. I don't know. I haven't seen it yet. And since he was replaced in the second half of the last game, maybe the coaches aren't sure either. He just doesn't seem to have the arm or the awareness a good QB should have. But I'm not going to judge too soon.

Though they may have only lost one out of their 3 games so far...it's been embarrassing. They're teams which should have been easily beaten by what many thought were the dominant Badgers. Time to knuckle down and get fierce.

As for the Packers... Well I'm not sure what's going on there. I think they had some issues with money and contracts, I'm not sure, maybe even injuries, but something has definitely changed. The passing game, which was always the Packers strength, is definitely lacking...lots of dropped catches, and too many interceptions already. The running game, like always, is virtually non existent. That means a problem scoring. 

Thankfully, something both teams seem to have in common so far is a reasonably strong defense. This makes a change from years past. For both teams, particularly the Badgers, the defense has been instrumental in helping them hobble along to victory. 

Work needs to be done, but there may be hope on the horizon.

Big it up for the D. 

Yeh, sounds so terribly American. But I've always wanted to talk about the D, ever since watching The Mighty Ducks as a kid. Maybe I'm just trying a new copywriting style...the Manchester-American style (or StatesideMancunian copy!)

But after all that...I don't really know that much about football...so please do chime in and correct me!!