Copywriting with Martin Booth
Copywriting is second nature to Martin Booth. He learnt his trade as a journalist. Now he runs Leboo Media in Kingston, south west London.
A Career in Sports Journalism
Martin’s background is in journalism. Particularly, sports journalism. He spent more than 20 years on the staff of various national newspaper titles on the sports pages. He worked for the Daily Express, Sunday Mirror and News of the World (when it closed down in 2011). After that, Martin moved into the betting industry both in business and consumer markets. After his contract with that industry expired he just knew he should be doing words.
The Go-to Copywriter
When someone around him in his various job postings wanted something doing with copywriting or words (LinkedIn profile, a strategy for horse-racing, etc) Martin was the person they turned to. He realised this was his sweet-spot.
18 months ago, he started networking around his home in Kingston, SW London, and picked up several contracts. He went from there.
What sort of material does he write?
You name it, Martin will write it.
“I keep hearing I’m supposed to find a niche and specialise.”
He writes:
- webpages
- blogs
- case studies
- emails
- articles
- white papers
- annual reports
- brochures
- leaflets
- big documents
- audio scripts
- video scripts
- plus a lot of proof reading!
Who are his copywriting clients?
Nor does he work for any particular sector of clients. Recently, he has written for:
- charities
- carpet cleaners
- bike makers
- garden suppliers
- solicitors
- planners
- data security specialists
- someone who makes mayonnaise
- property experts
- mortgage providers
At this stage in his businesses development, he is happy to say, “come one, come all”.
His niche is words.
What has mayonnaise got in common with journalism?
- LISTEN – your initial briefing
- Who is your audience?
- Who are you trying to get this over to?
Shorthand Martin
One icebreaker Martin deploys is shorthand…
Listen to the story and re-produce it faithfully (hence shorthand) for the client in a commercial context.