Tag Archives: freelance copywriting

The importance of editing AI content     

Generative AI arrived in the public consciousness a couple of years ago with all the subtlety of a car bomb. Its exponential growth has been driven by three factors – AI companies’ desperation to grow at a quicker rate than their competitors, staggering sums of external investment, and a desire to be part of a rapidly evolving market which as yet has no boundaries or limits.

Along the way, generative AI has caused much mirth with its hallucinations and absurdities. It’s briefly titillated us on video platforms like the short-lived Sora, where everything you saw was entirely fictional. And it’s also upended the jobs market, with companies abolishing everything from entry-level roles to advanced positions previously requiring decades of experience. Some analysts predict a high percentage of the world’s jobs may be lost to AI, yet in contrast to previous technological revolutions, there seems little scope for new jobs to be created as old ones are rendered obsolete.

A copywriting canary in the coalmine

As a copywriter, I’ve been at the sharp end of this. In 2024, five of my clients ceased providing work to freelancers because of AI and search engine changes. In 2025, I lost another three. The impact on my bottom line has been dramatic. So when I was offered the chance to edit AI content for a major automotive client, it felt like a valuable opportunity to examine my ‘competition’.

There is no doubt that AI engines like Claude, Perplexity and Jasper can generate reams of highly technical copy far quicker than any writer. I’ve also acknowledged in a previous blog how effective Microsoft CoPilot can be if it’s dealing purely with content inside your company’s data ecosystem. The problems come when AI engines start drawing information from the wider internet, with all its inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presenting it as fact.

In the process of editing AI-generated articles, I’ve seen some truly bizarre issues arise:

  1. An AI engine kept trying to apply the same Q&A questions to different topics, leading it to pose increasingly absurd questions which it was then unable to answer.
  2. One AI-generated paragraph made perfect sense, right up until it hallucinated something that had never happened in the middle of a sentence.
  3. An AI article stated quite confidently that something which took place five years ago had first happened in autumn 2026.
  4. Another AI article made something up – but then included a link to an unrelated Wikipedia page, which made it look at first glance as though this statement had been corroborated.

I could give many more examples, but it might give away who I’m working for, so I will draw a discreet veil over my other findings.

Why does this matter?

Humans make mistakes, and even authoritative platforms like Wikipedia (a favoured resource of AI engines) contain mistakes. People aren’t infallible, so why should we expect machines to be?

The short answer is that machines should be logical, which hallucinations clearly aren’t.

The longer answer is that the engines present their content as authoritative, with no need for human input. Yet when a broadsheet newspaper makes a mistake, IPSO forces them to publish a correction. ChatGPT and its ilk have no reason to care if they make a mistake, but if you publish that content and get in trouble for it, it’s your reputation on the line. Don’t expect the AI company whose content was responsible to submit a witness statement on your behalf in court.

For this reason, sense-checking AI-generated content is essential before any business publishes anything on any public or client-facing portal. Human oversight from a qualified and experienced writer will also ensure a number of other benefits, beyond accuracy:

  1. Content can be restyled to match corporate house writing styles, from language and use of key terminology through to consistent punctuation and formatting.
  2. An editor can add in some of the things AI engines can’t generate – humour, personal opinion, emotion, lived experience.
  3. AI copy is prone to repetition, often making the same point two or three times with very similar (or even identical) wording. Human oversight will identify and remove unnecessary duplication.

It’s also worth considering that AI engines are engaged in plagiarism and copyright theft of digital content on a scale which makes Napster and its peer-to-peer ilk resemble a few people trading cassette tapes. Innumerable lawsuits are underway around the world from enraged content creators, from writers and artists to film and media outlets. Legal wheels grind slowly, but these cases may prove to be cataclysmic for generative AI brands. Some firms are already hundreds of billions of dollars in the red due to start-up costs, plus the vast energy and environmental costs of running all the servers and processors needed to meet daily demand for their services.

The best things in life are rarely free

You might wonder why you should pay a writer to edit something AI has produced for free, but that’s the point. If you’re not paying for something, it’s unlikely to be high quality – and it won’t be free for much longer anyway. Even if generative AI companies successfully defend every legal case in the next ten years (which seems inconceivable), the incalculable sums of money being invested in generative AI tools will eventually need to be repaid as dividends or profits. The only realistic way for this colossal debt to be settled is if AI companies start charging for the use of their tools. And once you have to pay £1,000 a month for a subscription, it’d be cheaper to use a freelance writer.

In the meantime, if you’re thinking about commissioning AI content for your business, ensure it’s accurate and authentic by asking G75 Media to provide our award-winning editing services. Get in touch with us to discuss a quote.

Tips on optimising your professionalism as a freelancer 

When I set up G75 Media in 2007, I’ll admit my working setup wasn’t very professional. I was based in the spare room of my parents’ house, where I’d temporarily returned after a long-term relationship broke down. I was using a glass-topped console table as a desk, with an old personal tower PC underneath and a briefcase of paperwork wedged against the table leg because I had no storage.

Yet to a customer, G75 Media looked professional from day one. Its director (me) arrived punctually for meetings, smartly dressed and fully briefed on the agenda. Emails were sent with full contact details, through a proprietary email account linked to the newly launched (and quite stylish by the standards of the time) website where our services were comprehensively extolled. G75 Media had a dedicated phone number and embossed letterheaded stationery, while my car at the time sported a personalised registration plate and rear window sticker promoting the brand. You wouldn’t have known I spent part of Christmas Day 2007 sat at that drawerless desk in my pants, drafting up social media posts for the coming months.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

As a small business owner, entrepreneur or sole trader, optimising your professionalism is essential if you want to be taken seriously. Yet many people – often those with the security of salaried employment, and particularly those with union backing – feel little pressure to constantly operate to their best. However, that’s no reason for the rest of us to lower our standards. That’s why I’ve put together a short guide on optimising your professionalism for anyone just starting out in business – graduates, second lifers and people wanting to bring an entrepreneurial idea into existence. It’s not difficult, but it does require common sense and attention to detail.

1. Dress smartly for every occasion.

I recently read a story about a man who attended a video call on his day off, dressed in a shirt and tie…and nothing else. When a cable worked loose behind his computer, he stood up to fix it and revealed far more than his fellow Teams callers had expected. People still judge you by your attire, even when you’re working remotely, so dress smartly – above and below the waist.

2. Ensure your technology is reliable.

I have terrible problems on my laptop with Microsoft Teams, which never works as it should. I now conduct all Teams calls on my phone. However, optimising your professionalism involves – as I do – buying a stand, raising it to a healthy height, ensuring the background looks neat and smart, dialling in before the call to test the camera and microphone. Pre-empt any known issues in advance

3. Always check written communications for accuracy.

I don’t expect you to be a superb writer if you work in engineering or sales or other unrelated disciplines. What I do expect is for you to spell my name correctly, proofread your emails and ensure your contact details are up to date. It’s amazing how often I get emails containing obvious errors. This also applies to social media output, press releases, financial documentation and so on.

4. Don’t be presumptuous.

If I’ve never spoken to you before, contacting me at 3am via WhatsApp doesn’t create a good first impression. Nor does the use of emoji, or unnecessary abbreviations, or loathsome Americanisms like ‘gotten’ or ‘get-go’. Optimising your professionalism means assuming formality is required until you’re familiar/confident/friendly enough with specific people to chat to them like a pal.

5. Get back to people.

If someone asks me to email them/arrange an interview/make a payment, I do it. Yet if I ask them, they often don’t. Few things are more irritating to a pressurised executive than being ghosted, ignored or forgotten about. We’re all busy, but that’s not a good enough excuse to forget appointments, fail to respond to emails or miss deadlines. Which brings me onto…

6. Use a project management app to keep on top of your workload.

I have a Trello board with To Do, To Send and Next Week headings. As work comes in, I make a note of it using a different coloured sticker for each client in the To Do column. When I’ve produced a first draft, it’s dragged into the To Send tab with a note of the due day. If it’s recurring, I move it to Next Week once it’s filed. I never miss a deadline, and all it takes is a few moments of daily organisation.

7. Don’t claim to be an expert if you aren’t.

Freelancing is a fragile profession, where you’re only ever one email or phone call away from gaining or losing a client. However, that’s no reason to fake it. When I last advertised a freelance writing job, I received dozens of applications from people barely able to string a sentence together. Feigning expertise might get you a gig, but you’ll quickly lose it in bad circumstances. Stay in your lane.

8. Invest in good-quality, reliable technology.

I once worked for a magazine publisher who lost her entire history of business records when her laptop failed. Why didn’t she back up her data? Why didn’t she upgrade her old laptop? Buying quality hardware means less downtime and more reliable operations. This extends to computers and printers, phones and website/domain/email hosting, cloud storage – and even your car.

I could have gone on to mention many other points, including diversifying your business’s activities into other markets, but optimising your professionalism generally requires a simple blend of common sense and pragmatism. It means not over-promising and then under-delivering. It means meeting your scheduled deadlines and not allowing personal issues (we’ve all got some going on) to diminish your professionalism. Above all, it means being polite and approachable to everyone, regardless of family pressures or health ailments. And if that’s something you’re struggling to find among the contractors and freelancers you’re currently using, contact G75 Media to find out how a true professional can benefit your brand or business in terms of optimising your professionalism.

The importance of taking time off over Christmas

We’re familiar with the concept of emergency service workers spending Christmas Day on shift or on-call, and yet many freelancers will also be squeezing in turkey carving and watching The Snowman around work this year. Running a business is an exhausting process which can consume any available free time – and I speak from experience, having spent much of Christmas Day 2008 working from a temporary home office as I tried to establish my fledgling business.

However, working over the Christmas holidays is potentially damaging. It can lead to frustration and resentment, as well as meaning you don’t start January feeling refreshed or ready for the new year’s challenges. With only a few weeks until the end of Advent, I’ve written a blog on the importance of taking time off over Christmas – and why it can avoid far worse eventualities…

Burnout revenge

Burnout isn’t something the self-employed like to talk about, because it implies an interruption in service, which might potentially scare off clients. However, like mental health, burnout is a topic which needs to be addressed, primarily to reduce the stigma surrounding it. Burnout happens slowly and then quickly, as your mind and body begin to buckle under the cumulative strain of insufficient rest. I’ve previously written about how after fifty weeks of solid work, I drove into the back of a parked car at traffic lights, because my exhausted brain simply couldn’t function properly. Ever since, I’ve forced myself to take a few weeks off each year (which is always stressful in itself) so I don’t have to endure that level of mental fatigue again.

Freelancers face different pressures at varying times of year depending on their industry and client base, but nobody will expect you to be working on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Ebeneezer Scrooge has thankfully been left in the Victorian age. Many people take a week or even a fortnight off over Christmas, and others will only work on one or two days between the 24th of December and the 5th of January. In the meantime, inboxes will be empty, meetings won’t be scheduled and deadlines are rare outside industries like print journalism.

Christmas represents a unique opportunity to take time off, since many other companies will be closed for most or all of a ten-day period. My first job was with a major car dealership, and they required one member of the marketing team to be present in the office each non-statutory day over the festive fortnight. We split the days between us, and I spent two very pleasant days each Christmas driving to work along empty roads before eating homemade quiche and reading books. I certainly wasn’t expecting anyone to email me regarding important work issues, and I wouldn’t have needed to respond until January even if they had (which they never did).

Tips for taking time off over Christmas

Back to the present, and these are my recommendations for taking time off over Christmas with a clear desktop and a clean conscience…

  1. Stockpile work. If you have clients who require work over the festive period, produce and submit it in advance wherever possible. Unless it has to be topical, this will keep them supplied while you rest.
  2. Write a to-do list. List all the things needing to be done in December to enable an orderly shutdown. Monitor progress every day to minimise the prospect of last-minute panics or missed deadlines.
  3. Highlight forthcoming absences. Tell clients the dates when you’ll be unavailable a few weeks in advance. Use social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, etc) to do the same, so everyone gets the message.
  4. Schedule things for January. Meetings, deadlines, presentations…it doesn’t really matter. If clients know they’ll have your focus in January, they’re less likely to contact you in mid to late December.
  5. Set out of office messages. Email remains the main method of B2B communication, so ensure any new enquiries or messages are politely acknowledged with the date of your return while you’re off.
  6. Clear your to-do list before Christmas. January will be less stressful if you only have to deal with things that arose over the holidays, and you’ll be less inclined to check emails or ‘just do an hour’.
  7. Tell friends and relatives you’re taking time off. It’s harder to break your vow of abstinence and work if your family are expecting you not to. Plan activities which will allow you all to connect and unwind.

Help when you need it most

Although G75 Media shuts down over Christmas for the reasons outlined above, we are dedicated to helping our clients throughout the other 50 weeks of each year. Get in touch with us to discuss our award-winning copywriting, journalism, proofreading and editing services.

What we’ve learned over the last 18 years

Time travel never seems to work out in the movies, but I wish I could pop back in time for five minutes and have a word with my younger self. Not to urge caution, or plead for different life choices to be made – I have surprisingly few regrets as the spare tyre and crease lines of middle age manifest. Rather, I wish I’d been more knowledgeable about business when I decided to found my own limited company, exactly 18 years ago today (this article was published on Friday the 7th of November).

I’ve learned a great deal in my time as a freelance writer, and it’s easy to overlook how significant some of those lessons have been. I’ve never been overly keen on reflection, since it’s always more productive to look forwards than backwards, but I’ve been on a typically dramatic entrepreneurial journey since November 2007. These are the key messages I’d pass onto my younger self, if I was able to momentarily jump back in time to the days of waiting for my Certificate of Incorporation to arrive from Companies House…

Patience is a virtue

If I had a pound for every time I’d lay awake worrying about an unpaid invoice which would subsequently be paid…I’d be better off than I am. And I’d have slept more. Even if you’re a paragon of efficiency like me, other people aren’t. They can be forgetful, lazy and even downright incompetent. Being patient is a valuable personality trait, because you’ll spend plenty of time waiting for other people to sign off on work/respond to enquiries/pay invoices.

Other people are winging it too

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve left a meeting with a prospective or current client shaking my head at their unprofessionalism. You’re not the only one juggling a family with work, or battling ill health. You’re certainly not the only one with impostor syndrome, or a sense of inadequacy. However, you are the only one who truly knows what’s going on below the surface and behind the scenes. To everyone else, you’re just another professional, so act accordingly and they won’t know any differently.

Stick to what you love doing – if you can

In my career as a journalist and freelance writer, I have written or edited around 11,000 pieces of work. I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of these, yet the ones I didn’t enjoy stick in my mind. They fall into two categories – unusual assignments from existing clients, or work I accepted because I needed the money. It’s easier, quicker and more enjoyable to focus on the topics, industries and work you’re naturally interested in, where possible. Don’t apply for jobs you don’t really want to get.

It’s who you know, not what you know

Just before writing this article, I had an interview for a freelance writer role. The client approached me (always a welcome development) because a staff member I worked with years ago when she was at another company saw a LinkedIn post I’d published and remembered me. It helps that we got on well back in the day, and I was as professional then as I’ve always been. Job opportunities become more frequent as you make more contacts, expand your network and increase your portfolio.

Trying to second guess the future is pointless

As well as worrying about invoices, I also spent a lot of time anticipating a future that didn’t pan out as expected. I founded G75 Media to act as a freelance writer for local clients in Lanarkshire (hence the postcode-based name), but a third of our clients are now in America. I now live in England, and G75 Media does much more than just providing freelance writer services. Had I known all this in advance, I might have approached everything from marketing campaigns to my choice of accountant rather differently…

While the business has evolved in directions I never anticipated, I still recognise my 2007-era self in those early emails, invoices and articles. Some ventures, like my attempt to crack the UAE market, ended in disappointment, and nobody (least of all me) foresaw the global financial crisis which hindered G75 Media’s early years. You won’t win all your battles, either. You won’t ace every interview. You certainly won’t get every invoice paid. Yet the above advice remains valid for anyone starting out as an entrepreneur, manufacturer, freelance writer or any other branch of self-employment.

Docking stations – every freelancer’s best friend

Any freelancer, entrepreneur or small business owner needs a computer to run their fledgling empire. And while some choose a laptop for its portability and simplicity, many will favour the increased performance and durability of a desktop computer. These are available in many guises (from affordable home workstations to high-end gaming machines) and usually at affordable prices. They offer more processing power and far greater support for peripherals like monitors and external speakers.

Ideally, entrepreneurs and creatives would be able to have the best of both worlds – a computer which can act as the centrepiece of a productive workstation during the working day, yet slip into a rucksack for easy transportation and use on the move. In fact, there is a way to combine laptop flexibility with desktop technology – by installing a docking station.

Plug in baby

A docking station is basically a giant plug adaptor, into which various computing peripherals are plugged. Different docks have varying numbers of ports, but these are some of the devices they typically accept inputs from:

  1. DisplayPort and/or HDMI and/or VGA ports, enabling you to output your laptop’s visual display to a larger external monitor (or two, if you’d like a multi-screen display).
  2. USB-A and/or USB-C ports, ideal for wired peripherals like keyboards and printers.
  3. A 3.5mm audio jack, supporting external speakers.
  4. A power input, ensuring a laptop battery can charge while connected.
  5. An Ethernet port, creating a hardwired broadband link to either a WiFi router or a Powerline adaptor.

A laptop can be connected to the docking station via a single USB cable, at which point every peripheral wired into the station will automatically connect to the laptop. External keyboards will spring into life, monitors will begin displaying visual output, the battery can recharge and sound output is displaced from the weedy speakers found on almost every laptop to external ones – though you may need to adjust your sound settings before this last change takes effect.

Why doesn’t everyone use a docking station?

One barrier to widespread adoption is the issue of technical complexity. Although docking stations aren’t complicated, the profusion of wires sprouting from them may confuse less tech-savvy entrepreneurs. Some docking stations prove to be simpler to set up than others, while it isn’t always desirable to have a box with loads of wires on display (especially if you can’t hide it in a cupboard).

Docking stations occasionally fail or become temperamental, and they don’t increase the performance or processing power of a laptop, which is typically inferior to a comparably priced desktop computer due to the limitations of space and the cost of building a compact machine. No docking station can add multiple fans, water cooling or a second graphics processor unit card to a desktop PC. Meanwhile, Apple users may need a specific type of dock to handle advanced features like multiple monitor displays.

What are the advantages of fitting a docking station?

If you’ve already got – or plan to buy – a laptop, docking stations may be transformative. In daily use, they bring all the benefits of a desktop computer, with the ability to bypass features like fiddly trackpads and small screens in favour of whatever accompanying hardware you want or need. You can hardwire printers and scanners into your computer instead of relying on wireless connections, and if a keyboard or mouse gives up the ghost, it’s easy to replace.

Durability is another factor to consider. Unlike the integrated components in a sealed-unit laptop, freestanding peripherals can be replaced on demand. Also, not using your laptop’s screen/keyboard on a daily basis should ensure these components operate perfectly whenever you’re working on a train or in a conference centre.

Sitting on the dock of the bay

At G75 Media, we’re big fans of docking stations, having used them for many years. Get in touch with us to discuss the award-winning marketing, journalism, proofreading and editing services produced through a docking station every day.

How Microsoft Copilot can help small business owners

Microsoft’s track record of new technologies and product launches has been patchy over the last four decades. For every Windows XP or 11, there’s been a Vista or Windows 8. For every successful Word and Edge browser it’s developed, Microsoft has produced a HoloLens or Windows Phone. And while Microsoft has shrewdly acquired some very influential companies – LinkedIn and Activision to name just two – it has also sunk huge sums into the likes of the Invoke smart speaker, Nokia Lumia smartphones and the Yammer social network tool.

When Microsoft unveiled Bing Chat two years ago, there was a muted response to this new generative AI chatbot, especially since Bing has always been a poor relation to the all-conquering Google search engine. However, having rebranded Chat as Microsoft Copilot, the software has evolved to be far more powerful and effective. It now offers genuine benefits to small business owners and entrepreneurs, so if you’re don’t yet appreciate Microsoft Copilot’s talents, it’s worth reading on…

Flying high

Microsoft Copilot is essentially an automated solutions platform which aims to resolve user queries. For instance, the 365 Copilot is integrated into other Microsoft 365 applications and utilities. If you want to find out how many fields in an Excel spreadsheet incorporate a particular term, you could type in “How many fields have Open status in column D”. Within a few seconds, Copilot will create a formula which resolves this query, before displaying an Insert Cell button. Clicking it inserts the formula and instantly displays the number of fields marked as Open across that particular column. Equally, it can also adjust formatting, create graphs, identify trends and summarise data.

Copilot performs other tasks which are more commonly associated with generative AI, such as image creation. Log into Microsoft Designer, ask it to create an image and then type in a particular search string – a faulty broadband router in a domestic home, for instance. After around fifteen seconds of processing time, four broadly similar images will be displayed of a router covered in red warning lights. These images can then be edited or downloaded as the user wishes.

Growth and costs

The real breakthrough for Microsoft Copilot was the company’s decision to incorporate it into Windows 11, positioning it on the Taskbar and ensuring a Copilot icon is displayed in iconic Microsoft packages like Word and PowerPoint. By constructing it using the pre-existing GPT-4 large language model developed by OpenAI (a company Microsoft has invested heavily in), Copilot was able to hit the ground running and gain advocates at a startling rate.

Like many software packages, Copilot operates a freemium model. It’s possible to access basic features free of charge or pay to unlock a Pro subscription which offers the latest features and the ability to create a custom chatbot. There are chatbots dedicated to travel, cooking and personal fitness, while Copilot can discuss websites as you browse them. It can serve as a translator, source information from the internet, or even check product inventory and shipping data when you grant Copilot database access.

Should I be concerned about Microsoft Copilot?

There are legitimate concerns about the removal of human involvement in automated processes, especially when Copilot drafts up an email on your behalf by scanning previous emails, giving you the option to vary the tone of the new email depending on how assertive (i.e. angry) you want to sound. It’s one thing letting AI summarise a Teams call, but it’s quite another letting it produce corporate communications. Microsoft is unlikely to accept responsibility if your company issues a statement/email/report/spreadsheet with Copilot-generated inaccuracies in it. Clients will also take a dim view of receiving AI-generated content, especially if it contains mistakes.

Hallucinations remain a problem for AI models, while their attempts at political correctness have hitherto resulted in images of black Vikings, or seen foodbanks listed as tourist destinations. Some might dismiss these errors as teething troubles, but there is a very real issue of incorrect AI-generated results being fed back into the source material for these AI engines, creating a negative loop of increasingly wayward output. This is going to become more problematic as the large language models powering AI engines run out of existing internet content to plagiarise, and as publishers add anti-scraping tools to their websites to prevent new material being pillaged in the same way. Some believe generative AI will improve its quality in the coming months and years, whereas others argue it’s already peaked.

Don’t approach Microsoft Copilot thinking it can do your job while you do something else – such attitudes could land you in a great deal of trouble. But if you’ve ever found yourself thinking “there must be an easier way to do this” while using a Microsoft package or utility, Copilot may be the answer to your frustrations. And if you don’t like the idea of generative AI speaking on behalf of your brand or business, you could always use the traditional method of employing a freelance writer to handle your content, editorial and journalism needs. Get in touch with G75 Media to see why even the best generative AI platforms will never match the nuance, humour and lived experience imbued into our award-winning copywriting services.

* No generative AI was used in the making of this blog.

Working for overseas clients

It’s twenty years since I first came up with the idea of setting up a small copywriting agency. I was working as a property journalist on a local weekly, while my then-boss attempted to find freelance contributors to augment my own daily output. He consistently chose people within a twenty-mile radius of our office in Glasgow, and they were consistently poor. Before long, inspiration struck – I could be the dependable, high-calibre local freelance writer the market clearly needed.

Two years later, I founded G75 Media, naming it after the suburb of East Kilbride where I was living at the time to emphasise our Lanarkshire origins. I chose an accountant in Helensburgh, hired a Renfrewshire-based web design company to build the first-generation G75 Media website, and imagined being a local writer for local people across Lanarkshire – or maybe Glasgow if I was feeling adventurous.

A local business with a global profile

As it transpired, Lanarkshire did not embrace the new copywriting agency at its heart, and Glasgow didn’t rush to engage my services, either. Instead, I worked with companies in Edinburgh and across England, before recruiting my first foreign client in 2015. Since then, I’ve been taken on by overseas clients in the Netherlands, Singapore, Ireland, Australia and America – where a third of today’s G75 Media client roster is headquartered.

Working for overseas clients can be rewarding and inspiring, introducing you to new cultures and offering the prestige of being chosen ahead of that nation’s indigenous freelancers. However, it requires some lateral thinking, a relaxed approach to working hours and an exhaustive knowledge of linguistic idioms in foreign countries. For any freelancers considering the merits of seeking international custom, these are some of the key things to be aware of…

  • 1. Time zones

If you believe work should end at 5pm GMT (or BST), working for overseas clients is not for you. By that time, it’s lunchtime on America’s east coast and Californians are only just firing up their MacBooks. I have emails arriving throughout the evening from my Stateside clients, which I feel obligated to respond to, so they don’t have to wait until the following day to get a reply.

Conversely, Singapore is seven hours ahead of the UK, so if a client emailed me during their working day, it’d be in my inbox as soon as I started work. I’d then feel duty bound to respond straight away to avoid making them wait overnight for a reply. You have to be on constant inbox alert when working for overseas clients, as well as being willing to hold video calls at relatively unsociable hours.

  • 2. Languages

Having grown up in Scotland, I know what words like dreich, scunnered and bampot mean. Having not grown up in Australia, I don’t know their equivalents. Yet working for overseas clients means learning each nation’s slang, syntax and jargon. I write for an American car website every week, where I have to incorporate their nouns, measurement systems and cultural references.

As a freelancer, you’re unlikely to need to know the distinctions between the Portuguese language and its Brazilian counterpart, but an awareness that they’re not the same is beneficial – as is knowing that Brazil speaks Portuguese while the rest of South America uses Spanish. Why? To do with history and empire, which is a whole other kettle of fish from contested waters.

  • 3. Etiquette

I mentioned cultural references in the last section, but working for overseas clients involves far more than respecting their language and not mentioning Gibraltar. It means acknowledging local customs and religious practices/holidays/traditions, right down to adjusting stock email introductions to reflect indigenous habits. It could even mean working over Christmas but not during Eid-al-Fitr.

Cultural awareness of target markets might involve knowing that Americans call football soccer, Israeli clients won’t respond to you on a Saturday or that Chinese customers regard red as a lucky colour. As with language, there’s no need to scour encyclopaedias about the markets you’re potentially operating in, but you do need to know a few basics to avoid any unnecessary faux pas.

  • 4. Billing

When the work is done, and it’s time to request payment, invoicing foreign clients can be fraught. Some will want to pay using platforms like Wise, Stripe or PayPal, which all incur fees and may have varying levels of compatibility with your existing website/bank/accounting software. Before agreeing to work with a foreign company, ensure you’re amenable to its stipulated payment terms.

Many businesses pay via international bank transfer, so put your IBAN number on your default invoice template. Foreign firms might need more information to process payments to overseas contractors. Also, debt recovery becomes exponentially more difficult internationally, with a higher risk of bad debts being incurred, so undertake due diligence before working for overseas clients…

A decade of international copywriting excellence

This article has been written to celebrate the tenth anniversary of G75 Media’s first foreign foray, to advise and support other entrepreneurs and freelancers who are thinking about working for overseas clients. However, if you’re looking for a UK-based writer to undertake English-language content production or journalism, you’re in the right place. Contact us for more information on how G75 Media can bring the world to your website, app or business.

Tips for reducing procrastination at work

Have you ever had one of those days when you just can’t be bothered? You sit down at the computer, coffee in hand, full of good intentions…and somehow the work won’t flow through your fingertips as it normally does. The flashing cursor on a blank word processing document begins to seem taunting, and oh look, the neighbours are getting a parcel delivered. They really need to wash their car. Now where was I?

Procrastination has always been part of the human condition, but over the last five years, it’s been indulged as never before. When South Cambridgeshire District Council decided to introduce a four-day working week for their staff, one of the key benefits the council reported was that their employees spent less time procrastinating and more time actually working. In other words, they could have done their jobs in less time all along, had they applied themselves.

With alarm bells ringing throughout the economy and companies shedding staff or cancelling expansion plans, even the bloated public sector is belatedly having to consider productivity. In the private sector, procrastination often means the self-employed and the owners of limited companies simply don’t get paid. Yet it’s easy to drift off, put things off or clock off early, especially if a particular piece of work seems dull, unpleasant or complicated. We can’t all spend our days being motoring journalists.

Based on personal experience and professional best practice, here are ten tips for reducing procrastination at work – starting with something we could all do with taking on board…

Ten easy steps for reducing procrastination

  1. Do the hardest or worst things first. If an unpleasant job needs doing, get it out of the way as soon as possible. You’ll be grateful later on when it’s been wiped from the to-do list, and it’ll allow you to do easier things later in the day when tiredness is becoming more of an issue. Speaking of which…
  2. Keep your energy levels up. It’s far more tempting to procrastinate if you’re also battling a carb slump after a stodgy meal. Try to eat lighter things during the day (this doesn’t have to mean fewer calories or smaller portions) and space out caffeinated drinks strategically for maximum impact.
  3. Turn off the radio. I spent three years working in an office with Radio 1 on all day, discussing how good Evanescence were, or whether Mark and Lard were better than Chris Moyles. In the meantime, we weren’t working. Background noise acts as a natural impediment to concentration.
  4. Keep the TV off. Even worse than an aural soundtrack is an audiovisual bombardment of programming, adverts and (worst of all) live news. Don’t think muting a TV solves anything – few sights are more compulsive than a picture with no sound. TV is for non-working hours only.
  5. Close email packages. Email is the lifeblood of sole traders and small businesses, but there are occasions when it distracts you and breaks your concentration. Close email software while tackling complex or challenging jobs. No email needs an instant response, so deal with your inbox in batches.
  6. Take regular breaks. Giving yourself five minutes away from the screen will reduce vision-related headaches and allow your mind to wander in a healthy, structured fashion. You’ll return to work more focused and less likely to become distracted. A five-minute break per hour is ideal.
  7. Use workflow boards. A Trello board gives you instant oversight of your workload, enabling you to prioritise and structure your week. Having daily and/or weekly columns relating to deadlines focuses your mind on what needs to be done, reducing any temptation to waste time or dither.
  8. Set yourself rewards. If you can finish work by 4pm and you don’t need to do anything else until five, working hard will result in a bonus hour which can be spent on enjoyable activities. Having a goal like this banishes the temptation to slack off, keeping you focused and more productive.
  9. Create an informal time sheet. If you’ve spent the last ten minutes thinking vaguely about updating your website, what would you put on a timesheet? Some clients expect work on their accounts to be recorded, and it tends to focus your mind if you can only charge for things you’ve done.
  10. Sleep well. My final tip might not seem directly related to productivity, but it’s generally harder to concentrate when you’re tired. Banish phones and tablets from the bedroom, go to bed before 10pm, keep the room cool and dark, and avoid caffeine after teatime to boost efficiency tomorrow.

Sometimes reducing procrastination isn’t easy

One reason why you might be struggling to motivate yourself to do something is because it seems (or actually is) difficult. Many people find writing challenging – coming up with content for a website, drafting up a business plan, preparing a speech or compiling a report. These are services G75 Media undertakes on a daily basis, and we’re always happy to discuss how we can simplify new clients’ lives by tackling the jobs they don’t feel able (or willing) to begin. Get in touch with us for more information on our pricing and turnaround times.

Five things your home office needs (and three it doesn’t)

In February 2010, a decade before many of my contemporaries, I said goodbye to office life and started working from home full-time. It was a decision inspired by ten years of frustrating and time-consuming commutes to unpleasant industrial estates, which in turn followed six years of equally lengthy journeys to and from college/uni. Sixteen years of traffic jams, toilet cubicles and cafeterias came to an end, and fifteen years of WFH began at a time when homeworking was still considered exotic.

A great deal has changed since then, not least in terms of technology. Countless articles, reports and studies have been published about the benefits and drawbacks of working from home. We all have a vague idea about concepts like zoning and the delineation of work life from home life, yet millions of people are still working in home offices which are unsuitable in any number of ways.

If you’re reading this perched at a dining table, or about to start a conference call from the edge of your bed, there are some things your home office needs to function effectively – and a few things it doesn’t. Let’s take a look at the essentials first.

Five things your home office needs…

  • 1. A large desk.

This might seem like an odd place to start a list of things your home office needs, but the chunky oak desk you can see in the photograph above has been my workstation since 2012. It’s still going strong today. In fact, it’ll outlast me. Not only has it swallowed everything from tower PCs and stacks of paperwork to DVDs (remember them?), but it remains an attractive and tactile piece of multifunctional furniture. Without it, there’d be papers everywhere – and I’d be a less efficient freelancer.

  • 2. A laptop docking station.

In 2019, I stopped using desktop computers and switched to laptops. I can now attend meetings with my entire work history on one device, rather than porting things onto a tablet or printing out papers. I can work from Costa, the beach or a jury service waiting room with equal efficiency. Yet when I come home, plugging in one USB-C lead connects my laptop to a full-size keyboard, two 27-inch monitors, Bose speakers, a printer and hardwired broadband. Laptops are a WFH game-changer.

  • 3. An ergonomic chair.

As a middle-aged man, it’s perhaps inevitable that I have a bad back. The chair I’m sitting in while writing this blog has adjustable lumbar controls, neck support and armrests. It’s also heated and massaging, which help to reduce the aches and pains often stemming from long periods being seated. Standing desks aren’t always practical long-term solutions, stools and benches don’t support your back, and cheap or poorly padded chairs quickly become uncomfortable.

  • 4. Shelving.

To match my desk, I purchased an oak bookshelf with drawers underneath. Then I bought another one. Both are now groaning with proof that the paperless office was never going to become a reality. From lever arch box files filled with old invoices and bank paperwork to client brochures, booklets and manuals, shelves are a vital resource. You’ll need lots of it, too – paperwork is unavoidable, and some careers require extensive ancillary storage.

  • 5. Effective lighting.

Since adolescence, I’ve suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder – a common condition brought about by the lack of sunlight in winter. A crucial element of my annual battle with SAD is full spectrum lighting, which stimulates serotonin production in the body as well as casting a clean white light ideal for working or reading in. Eye strain, headaches, low mood and an increased risk of accidents can all result from inadequate office lighting. All are best avoided.

…And three things it doesn’t

  • 1. Gadgets.

Look closely at the photo above, and you might spot a label writer. In theory, this was a great addition to my canon of home tech. In reality, it was a pain. It jammed, smudged, failed to launch when I opened the software app and cost a fortune in labels. In general, gadgets are distracting and cluttering, causing compatibility issues with other hardware or software. They’re rarely things your home office needs, but they’re often an unnecessary cost – and hard to justify on the balance sheet.   

  • 2. A landline.

Go back to the photo, and what do you see nestled up against the label writer? Yes, a house phone. This business expense added bloat to my telecommunications bill, yet the only time it really came into its own was when conducting phone interviews, so my mobile could run a voice-to-text transcription app. The absence of a landline doesn’t seem unprofessional any more, and it’s increasingly superfluous in terms of broadband. Plus, you’ll get fewer spam calls without one.

  • 3. Clutter.

This is something I’ve never been guilty of, but clutter is the enemy of productivity. I once visited a solicitor’s office, where his desk groaned under three teetering piles of paperwork marked Urgent, Very Urgent and NOW. How he slept at night was a mystery, let alone how he worked during the day. The desk and shelving mentioned above should provide sufficient storage for anything from keys and lanyards to printers and peripherals. When everything’s neatly filed, it’s easy to find.

Much of my expertise in this area has evolved out of personal experience and trial and error, although 22 years spent working as a property writer has also offered up many valuable insights. If you’re looking for property journalism, G75 Media should be your first port of call.

The benefits of employing a freelancer

It’s not been a good year for the UK’s employers. In truth, it’s not been a good decade. The 2020s will be remembered for many things, none of which have helped the private sector. From multiple state-mandated lockdowns (and the subsequent growth in online shopping at the expense of our high streets) through to Rachel Reeves’ misguided assault on employers through increased NI contributions and minimum wage increases, it’s been an abysmal decade for companies across the country.

Managers and directors could be forgiven for despairing at the hostile climate they find themselves attempting to navigate. Yet necessity is the mother of invention, and there is still one way to ensure major projects or elevated workloads are effectively managed without long-term costs or consequences. It involves employing a freelancer instead of a salaried employee, which brings a wealth of advantages – and very few of the drawbacks listed below…

Workers of the world unite

Salaried employees are, and will always be, the lifeblood of most businesses around the world. Yet the regulatory and financial obstacles facing companies wishing to recruit new workers have never been more challenging:

  1. From April this year, employers have to pay National Insurance at 15 per cent from a far lower threshold than was previously the case.
  2. The minimum wage has gone up by almost £4 in the last five years and now stands at £12.21 per hour.
  3. From autumn next year, employees will receive day one rights to sick pay and paid leave, while sacking incompetent staff will be much harder due to revised unfair dismissal rules.
  4. The Employment Rights Bill will reduce the viability of zero hours contracts by implementing anti-avoidance measures.
  5. Agency workers will also be affected by this, since they’ll be entitled to a contract reflecting regular working hours and greater notice rights.

In tandem with all the existing costs and legal obligations involved in employing someone, it’s easy to see why there has been a dramatic slump in recruitment in recent months, as employer confidence hits lows not seen since the depths of the pandemic. Yet this doesn’t have to preclude all forms of recruitment. Indeed, employing a freelancer on a contract basis negates all the bullet points listed above, while enabling a fixed price to be agreed at the outset in exchange for a particular piece of work being completed. Freelancers tend to be flexible about pay structures – per hour, per day, per word or per project – and the prospect of repeat business provides all the incentive they need to deliver high-quality work on time and on budget.

It’s what we do best

At G75 Media, we’ve spent almost twenty years helping businesses of all sizes with content production, freelance copywriting, ad hoc journalism and wider marketing support. We’ve worked on one-off projects for sports clubs on the same day as ongoing blog production for price comparison websites. We’ve produced scientific magazine articles, white label reports, customer newsletters and sales literature, usually at fixed prices agreed in advance. While many companies are ramping up the rates and fees they charge their customers, we’ve done our best to avoid price rises, giving existing and prospective clients alike a sense of receiving value for money.

The benefits of employing a freelancer run deeper than monetary advantages, however. Choosing to work with G75 Media unlocks access to huge reserves of industry-specific knowledge, which a newly recruited employee couldn’t be expected to match. We have contacts lists to make even industry veterans jealous, allied to the inherent efficiency which comes from almost 20 years of always meeting deadlines – and never losing focus of what our clients expect.

Above all, G75 Media can generate outstanding written content for any scenario, brief, requirement or project. We can tailor and adapt our work to meet the evolving requirements of companies as they grow, diversify and compete in today’s fiercely competitive marketplace. Yet we can also produce quickfire content at short notice to meet onerous deadlines, without lowering our quality of output. As such, employing a freelancer can represent the ideal outcome – we’re there whenever you need us, without incurring any costs or responsibilities at other times. Get in touch with us for more information on G75 Media’s content production pricing, copywriting services and turnaround times.