January 2018 - Get Pro Copy Ltd

What being a freelance self-employed writer is actually like

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 by Stuart Walton

From the age of four, I was an avid reader and writer, yet I only became a self-employed writer, a freelance copywriter, at the age of 49.

45 years is one hell of a wait.

Swap the mortar board for a hard hat with a housebuilding degree?

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 by Stuart Walton

I like to see forward thinking from companies and one story that caught my eye over the weekend was the news that Redrow were starting a dedicated degree in housebuilding.

Britain, you all know probably, is facing a housing and skills shortage and Theresa May’s annual target of 300,000 new homes is unlikely to materialise without some dramatic changes of plans.

Redrow has seized the opportunity it appears in creating a BSc in housebuilding, which I expand upon on my sister site, Property Blogs:

Possible opening chapter to a gluten-filled autobiography?

January 17, 2018January 17, 2018 by Stuart Walton

Please indulge me; this autobiographical tome has been a long time coming. It’s self-centred, as it’s about me, about my life, my family, my career. It may strike you as indulgent and self-obsessed and I apologise, but what it isn’t is a niche piece for diagnosed and undiagnosed coeliacs.

Hopefully humour and personality will shine through, even in its darker moments and there’s a few of those along the way.

How to increase sales with a blogging strategy

January 16, 2018January 16, 2018 by Stuart Walton

Companies have at last latched on to the value of a blogging, or content marketing, strategy.

Visit 10 websites at random, go on, of various small businesses and count how many have a news or blog tab. There may not be 10 but there will be a few, I guarantee, because blogging is a great way of getting website traffic and increasing sales.

If you’re cynical, like I am, you may say, “Stuart you would say that, you’re a writer, you’re not going to say it’s a waste of time and money.”

I can help your English department with GCSE marking workload

January 9, 2018January 8, 2018 by Stuart Walton

I left teaching three years ago, but education still clings to me like barnacles on a rock and no matter what waves hit me, I still consciously and subconsciously see myself as a teacher of English.

It defined me for 27 years so that’s to be expected?

Goodbye 2017, you were a fine and dandy year

January 1, 2018January 1, 2018 by Stuart Walton

2017 – the year of the Phoenix for me – the year I stopped looking back and started looking forward, and built on successful businesses, as well as developing new ones.

Get Pro Copy became a Ltd Company with my wife asking for (and being refused) a shareholder role. That business has served me well for over two years now and deserved a Nick Clegg type honour – I think?