29Apr 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Yorkshire regional accents

Language
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] English: A map of the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Having grown up in Lancashire, then moved to Yorkshire at 18, my accent is a strange mixture of both sides of the north, often combined with a slight twang of whoever I happen to be talking to. To have a good listen to what I sound like, you can listen to some of our podcasts! I do have a fascination with regional accents, not least because we have such a wide range of them in the UK. This video is a lovely snippet of Ian McMillen - a delightful poet from Barnsley - explaining the different accents within Yorkshire to Stephen Fry, highly adored national treasure. It is followed by a video…
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24Apr 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 35: No portfolio? No problem. Get writing work without published clips.

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. Lots of new freelance writers fear that they will never get any work because they don't have published articles or novels already. However, when you remember that every successful freelancer started out in the same way, it becomes clear that it is definitely possible to get hired as a writer even if you have no clips to show. But how, exactly? In this podcast episode, I go through lots of different ways to get yourself some clips, build up your portfolio,…
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16Apr 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 34: Sociable or Spammy? Pitching your marketing to be enticing, not annoying

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. Freelancers need to constantly market themselves and their services in order to keep the work coming in. To make sure that your self-promotional efforts hit the mark and don't put potential clients off or even offend them, Lorrie and I made this podcast episode to summarise some of the most crucial dos and don'ts for four different marketing platforms. Show Notes Buffer App Condescending Corporate Brand Page Writing a Better Elevator Pitch How to work long periods at your desk and…
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09Apr 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 33: How to deal with a crisis of faith

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. Freelancing can be a really tough business. While it's a common preconception that working from home and working for yourself are an easy ride, like any other job being a freelance copywriter has its ups and downs. In this solo episode, Lorrie discusses what to do if you feel like your freelance writing career has reached crisis point. She talks about how to tell the difference between a career crisis and a temporary blip, and outlines a number of helpful solutions…
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02Apr 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 32: The Pros and Cons of Long-Term Clients

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. Should you take on one-off projects as a freelancer, or only work with clients who promise long-term work? What are the risks associated with long-term clients? And how can freelancers turn clients who started off with a one-off project into clients who work with you for an extended periods of time? In this podcast, Lorrie and I cover it all! Show Notes A to Z Challenge #atozchallenge NaBloPoMo 100 Twitter hashtags every writer should know Larry Hynes: How to Work With…
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27Mar 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 31: Gaining Credibility as a Freelancer and Specialist – 10 Tips to Get to the Top

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. In order to be taken seriously, and to progress, in a freelance career, we need credibility, but how do we prove to potential clients that we know what we are doing, and that we can be trusted with their work? In this podcast episode, I go through ten top tips to gain credibility and become respected as an authority in your chosen area. Show Notes @GooglePoetics There are several ways to make sure that you don't miss out on A Little…
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19Mar 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 30: It’s not about you – the art and the science of commercial copywriting

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. Commercial copywriting is not what most people picture when they think about freelance writing. It is so different to typical fiction or non-fiction writing, and in this episode, Lorrie and I talk about why this is, what PPC ads can teach us about why good copy might not be that good, and what the deal is with features versus benefits. Show Notes Calmingmanatee.com Entrepreneur.com: Marketing Features Vs. Benefits Google Adwords keyword tool 10 Amazing Free Online Writing Courses Episode 23: How to…
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12Mar 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 29: How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. In this brilliant solo episode, Lorrie goes into detail about how to prepare for starting out as a freelance writer, and what to do and where to go to start finding work. There are several ways to make sure that you don't miss out on A Little Bird Told Me. Subscribe via RSS Subscribe via iTunes Find us on Stitcher Smart Radio And finally, please 'like' us on Facebook to be the first to hear our news and to talk with us about what…
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09Mar 2013 by Philippa Willitts

James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher

Language
I love linguistic quirks, so when my friend AJ posted about this sentence on Facebook, I had to investigate. It turns out that, "James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher" is a valid sentence, and an example of lexical ambiguity. With a bit of explanation, punctuation and emphasis it does actually make sense. Wikipedia explains it as follows, The example refers to two students, James and John, who are required by an English test to describe a man who, in the past, had suffered from a cold. John writes "The man had a cold" which the teacher marks as being incorrect, while James writes the correct "The man had had a cold." Since James' answer was right,…
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05Mar 2013 by Philippa Willitts

Podcast Episode 28: The 11 biggest myths about professional copywriting

Podcast
We ran out of storage space for our earliest episodes. But fear not, we have made these many, many hours of freelance writing goodness available for just £10. If you want access to them all, please click Add to Cart and buy through our e-junkie account for instant access. There are lots of myths and fallacies around about what being a freelancer really involves. In this podcast episode, Lorrie and I talk about 11 of the most prevalent ones, and thoroughly debunk them! Show Notes Marissa Mayer banning working from home  Zemanta for Google Chrome Zemanta for Firefox Zemanta Wordpress Plugin 57% of online shoppers will wait three seconds or less before abandoning the site Expertise vs. Humility – A Writer’s Battle Royale? There are several ways to make sure…
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