ABC Copywriting takes part in Guardian Careers copywriting Q&A

Tom Albrighton, founder and director of ABC Copywriting (http://www.abccopywriting.com), recently appeared as a copywriting expert on an online copywriting Q&A organised by Guardian Careers. The panel comprised several of the UK's leading copywriters, along with the director of the UK Institute of Copywriting. The experts were invited to respond to users' questions around the topic of 'Routes into Copywriting'. The copywriting Q&A turned out to be the most successful ever organised by Guardian Careers, with a record number of posts during the three-hour afternoon session.

For Tom Albrighton of ABC Copywriting, the experience was both enjoyable and enlightening. "I was delighted to be asked to take part in this copywriting forum," he says. "It was fascinating to see what questions people had about copywriting, and to be given the chance to help people begin a career in copywriting. I was also pleased that we got the chance to clear up a few misconceptions about what it's really like to work as a copywriter. It's important for new or prospective copywriters to understand how many different types of copywriting there are – B2C, B2B, online, offline and so on –all demanding different skillsets."

Questions from users touched on a broad range of copywriting topics. In terms of the practical side of working as a copywriter, subjects included which degrees led naturally to a copywriting career, copywriting courses, finding copywriting work, setting prices, copyright, legal issues, working overseas and the pros and cons of working as a freelance or in-house copywriter. In terms of the craft of copywriting itself, the prospective copywriters were interested in the best way to express ideas concisely, SEO copywriting, tone of voice and many other issues.

Not all the copywriters on the panel agreed on every issue. "We had some strong debate on whether or not to charge fixed prices, as well as some interesting exchanges on the subject of whether 'clever' copywriting was ever appropriate," says Tom, "However, the atmosphere was consistently friendly and helpful. We were all focused on providing the best copywriting advice we could."

As the title 'Routes into Copywriting' suggests, there were many questions on the best way to begin a copywriting career from particular educational or vocational backgrounds. "All the members of the panel came to copywriting by different routes," notes Tom. "While some had worked as in-house copywriters, others had followed totally different careers in other areas before moving into copywriting."

ABC Copywriting, based in Norwich, provides a broad range of copywriting services to businesses, agencies and academics throughout the UK and beyond. Founded in 2005, the company offers copywriting services including SEO copywriting, advertising copywriting, marketing copywriting and academic copywriting.