Mitchel White tells us why in the midst of a global pandemic he decided to create the sister company, Copy Generators, to his marketing agency Reward.
What do you currently do?
I’ve been the Managing Director of sustainable branding and marketing agency, Reward since 2014 but recently, after identifying a huge shift in the way consumers are engaging with brands and spending more time browsing online, I founded a sister business, Copy Generators. Copy Generators is an unlimited copywriting service that gives business owners the ability to unlock potential via professionally written copy at an affordable rate.
We’ve partnered with a number of professional copywriters to provide copy ranging from social media posts, right through to website copy and research papers. When business owners invest, they are assigned a dedicated copywriter who provides copy in line with their brief. Users are able to submit unlimited briefs to their dedicated copywriter; however, the copywriter will work on one project at a time and never for longer than three days.
All of this is done via an online, self-service platform at no extra cost. Those investing simply complete a short brand questionnaire which helps the dedicated copywriter to get to know the brand in more detail, and then they are free to submit their first brief.
What was the inspiration behind your business?
Throughout my years in the marketing industry, I’ve witnessed business owners struggling to source great freelance copywriters that were right for their brand, which led to a peak in the number of businesses who turned the copywriting tap on and off. So, the idea had been floating around in my head for a while. However, when COVID-19 hit, marketing budgets were cut which for some businesses meant they put a complete stop to communicating with their current and potential customers.
With more and more people taking to the internet and having more time to read in-depth copy, I recognised that business owners needed a cost-effective solution. I immediately began looking at ways that my idea could be enhanced and provide this solution, but I felt concerned about launching straight away. It’s a difficult time for people on both a personal and professional level, so I knew I needed to wait until businesses began making their return to ‘normal’.
I decided to launch now because I believe there is an opportunity to push and help get the economy moving. There’s mutual benefit to both businesses and those who have sadly lost work throughout the pandemic as Copy Generators enables freelance copywriters to benefit from consistent work, and business owners to benefit from access to quality copy without having to commit to long contracts.
I believe to work; content marketing and copywriting needs to be constant in a business, but reduced marketing budgets may have ordinarily hindered that.
I’ve seen how great copy can transform a business. From our own messaging to our clients, we’ve seen how great copy can be the difference between trust and distrust, sales and no sales.
Shareable content is a great way to build brand awareness. Without copy, you’re going to struggle to communicate effectively with your audience and customers. Great copy can also drive action on websites. From crafting product descriptions to landing page copy, well written content can build trust & credibility – all important factors in moving people through the marketing funnel effectively.
Similarly, well researched blogs and SEO content can help sites rank on search engines. Whilst Google has complex ranking factors, the key to ranking success is creating content the audience love. Increasing time spent on pages and site engagement are all vital if you want your site to show up in first page search results.
Good copy also stands itself apart from bad copy and is a simple way to differentiate a brand from its competitors. During this transition phase, business owners will be desperately trying to ‘bounce back’ and great copy will open up that potential to stand out from the crowd.
What defines your way of doing business?
Ethics and sustainability are at the heart of both Reward and Copy Generators. I’ve built both brands in a way that benefits the economy and the environment as I feel that as business owners, we have a corporate responsibility to give back.
At Reward, 10% of our agency time is spent volunteering each month; a donation we are extremely proud of. As with Reward, I am working on a purpose beyond profit for Copy Generators, and currently exploring the best way to give back. Perhaps supporting children in underprivileged or disadvantaged areas of the UK to get a better education or supporting developing countries with writing and tech equipment to aid language development & learning.
At the moment, our contribution to the economy is that we are focused on allowing business owners to unlock potential as they transition through the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. They should be able to access quality marketing services in an easy but affordable way and begin communicating effectively with their audience again.
I also believe that businesses aren’t anything without their employees, and so they should be treated in a way that shows how much you value them. Each of our freelancers are given the flexibility to work remotely in order to reduce carbon emissions and also fit with their individual circumstances.
What do you admire?
I admire people who go above and beyond to do what is right and remain humble whilst doing it. Similarly, honesty and transparency are two very admirable qualities for a person to have. These qualities allow a person to form lasting relationships built on trust, which is especially important in business.
I also admire those who don’t give up. By this I mean tenacity and determination in business when the going gets tough. Running a business is like riding a rollercoaster, and it does get tough from time to time but, if you recognise that and put less pressure on yourself, you’re more likely to cope.
I truly admire those who are open about the reality of running a business, especially start-ups as it is hard work mentally.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Like many other business owners, I sometimes don’t practice what I preach. I wish I had followed my own advice for a pre-launch build up with Copy Generators, but then again, I knew that I had to be sensitive to the fact the world was learning to cope with a new crisis.
I also would have written and launched my book, Serve, a lot sooner than I did.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
The first most important piece of advice I would give is to surround yourself with a great network of supportive people who’ve already experienced success. Having access to a group of people to ask for help and advice is very valuable and as you progress, you can return the favour by offering your support and advice to them.
Sometimes, when the going gets tough, it can seem like a suitable option to quit, but don’t. It will be hard, and you will be faced with challenges but by setting yourself small goals and keeping an eye on costs, it will be easier to stick with it and bounce back.