Vaidy The Writer

Going by the recent interest shown by people – not from India, but from outside India – I could say with reasonable confidence that Tamil Copywriters stand to gain by the latest trend. As Global Advertising Agencies win major international accounts, initially in and for their territory, they offer to handle the advertising and promotion of their clients’ products in various languages (other than, say, English in which the original campaign is conceived and developed) and in other global markets as well. With India being seen as a lucrative geography for global brands, it is no wonder then that copywriters, who are good in English and in any of the other popular languages of the country, are being sought after. This must be the case, one would imagine, with other countries, too. It pays to be knowledgeable, market-savvy and… Knowledge about global markets and trends, always an asset for a copywriter, works significantly to his advantage. Very often, when the agency briefs you on the

That’s right. No catch. No enrolment for any course. I am willing to share all that I have learnt over the years with anyone interested. Let me introduce myself: I am Vaidy, a copywriter based in Chennai, India. I have worked in several Advertising Agencies, occupying positions that demanded increasing responsibility as I went along gathering experience – this was between 1982 and 1994. I then turned a Freelance Creative Consultant and took on retainer arrangements with very small ad agencies and creative shops that could benefit from an association with me. While I wrote copy, I also helped them with getting exposure by making effective presentations focussed on their strengths and formulating strategies to win new business. In recent years, I have handled more of content development for web sites, brochures and other corporate communications as well as script-writing for corporate videos and little of ad-agency kind of work. While I wait to answer questions from young copywriters a

The answer is: YES. But then, a few things need to be qualified. ‘A lot’ can mean different things to different people. It would be reasonable to define ‘a lot’ as ‘more than is necessary to make both ends meet’. Again, ‘more’ and ‘necessary’ are subjective terms, and we can leave them for individual interpretations, as we should. The other important thing to qualify is the style of working that you as a freelance fancy. A: Do you prefer to work in the comfort of your home? B: Are you OK with meeting your clients at least once in a while? C: Are you game for meeting clients anytime? From my experience, I can tell you with confidence that A , though the coziest, is the least sensible thing to do. Business will be unpredictable, cash flow erratic, and life on the whole uncertain and tense. Here, I am assuming that a freelancer you tend to get more business from local businesses and clients than from elsewhere. This has been true in my 13 years of freelancing. Operating locally has its ad