bigmouthcopywriting-blog

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Lake Tekapo Times

It’s pretty much a universal truth that for all the amazing moments you experience, the photo will never do it justice.  For me that’s pretty much this photo in a nutshell, taken in November 2014 at Lake Tekapo in New Zealand. 

As the bus rolled into town on this day I got the feeling Lake Tekapo was pretty special. Alpine mountains and crystal-blue lakes can turn the average snapper with a smart-phone (me) into somebody who looks like they know their apertures from their ISO-settings.    There is a tiny old church on the shores which is magical in its own right, but for me this lake and the surrounding scenery is more like a church dedicated to nature itself.  Serene, clean and humbling.

A hike around the edge of the lake brings you to the bottom of Mt John, famous for its observatory.  Lake Tekapo is part of the Dark-Sky Reserve meaning the night sky is protected from light pollution in the same way animals are protected from poachers in national wildlife parks.  At the top the views are panoramic and the alpine air is like a refreshing ice-bath for your lungs.  During the day the café at the top offers tasty treats such as chocolate brownie if you want to reward yourself for hiking up.  To be fair I’d have still have got the brownie if I’d gone up by car, but then again I’m just an eater at heart.  Proven by the fact that on the morning after my birthday last week I asked my girlfriend to feed leftover chocolate cake into my mouth while I lay in bed.  She obliged. She is my angel.

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(not my artwork) How it feels when you think of a creative idea but know that you'll forget it because you don't have a pen and paper handy. Check out the new mini-blog post with a nod to Bukowski at Big Mouth Copywriting. #bukowski #freelance #copywriting #freelanceamsterdam #poetry #amsterdamlife #digitalmarketing #freelancecopywriter #blogger #creativewriting #creativefreelancer #writing

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Monk Bouldering Gym by Mark Frith

We’ve been in the North of Amsterdam for just over a month now and it’s still chucking up the odd gem.  Last week I said I’d aim to write about the Skate Café, but an early morning energy-hit meant I had a couple of hours to kill before it opened.  We're living close to the River IJ that divides us from the Amsterdam most people know (think of The Wall in Game of Thrones). The breeze usually knocks a few cobwebs away so with the chance to just take a ride around I thought I’d check up on a recommendation from the neighbour about Monk Bouldering Gym.  

I’ve done bouldering before in New Zealand and had an awesome time.  I am pretty shit-scared of heights and felt a little shaky at a top of a few of the walls but it’s something I’m super-keen to try again in Amsterdam.  Today isn’t the day for climbing but I’m also on the lookout for new writing spots and this place is buzzing with the right energy.   There are families in the café and groups of youths debating the best route of attack for the overhang. I think when a group shares a focus that can be summed up as ‘get to the top of that wall’ it takes the ego out of the situation.  Also, it’s way harder than it looks, so there is a fundamental respect for individual pains, which then feeds back into a virtuous circle of advice and support, pushing each other on.  I feel I’m straying into climbing-philosophy without a permit here but that’s just my general feeling.  

On a simpler note, it’s turning into a great spot to sit back and enjoy a Sunday afternoon coffee

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by Mark Frith

Big Mouth Copy Writing’s new to the world of blogging and with Sunday a pretty laid back day for Sophia and me, it’s a good time to get into the habit of a short and sweet Sunday blog to supplement the day.  Today’s is about the type of writing Big Mouth Copywriting will focus on.

What I wrote most of the time back at school was poetry, putting down some couplets at the expense of a weird teacher or breaking down the latest news with a heavy dose of black humour. I’m semi-embarrassed to admit that celebrity deaths are a great opportunity for an obituary/poem combo.  Spike Milligan and Tim Burton were two huge influences.  Their style is eclectic, witty with an offbeat voice that gives their writing a human feel.  Who wants to talk like a robot anyway!? The voice to the writing is what connects the reader. This is a one of the stronger points to my copy writing. I read, re-read and re-read again out loud to see how the words sound off the tongue.  Knowing this, I’m keen to begin with write ups and reviews of products or experiences in Amsterdam where readers are looking for some guidance.

Any eager Big Mouthers might have seen on the ‘about’ page of this website I was into the skate culture as a teen.  This hasn’t stopped pop-punk from genre’s golden years (early to mid 2000’s) still gets regular spins on my playlist. Amsterdam has a pretty lively skate scene so I’ll be doing some poking around this week and writing up a piece on any topics that catch my eye. Write about what you know. Golden rule.

Happy weekend-end y’all.

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A Big Mouth is Born....

Check it out- www.bigmouthcopywriting.com has gone live! Amsterdam has a new freelance copy writer on the block. We have a kick-ass spot on Google to showcase the charms of Big Mouth Copywriting.   One thing is for sure, it's going to be one hell of an adventure.  OK, trekking through the jungle in Thailand or gearing up to skydive in New Zealand might be pretty cool and might even get the adrenaline going, but this is different animal.  We're going to stretch our creative muscles, put a healthy demand on our attention and let us build something that gives people results to smile about.

This morning has been spent back in the temporary HQ of Big Mouth Copywriting, the café of the huge Jumbo supermarket next door generating some ‘example-copy’.  Basically this involves writing drafts of promotional material for Sophia’s musical friend or, like today, putting my own slogan ideas over a poster of a Casio watch.  As a wearer of Casio watches from a young age, perhaps they deserve a small thanks for all the awesome days at school or work I wasn’t late for.  Really though, I just want to see where my writing style fits.  I'll be uploading examples of this work to the site.

I also spent some time getting to grips with potential social-media platforms.  Instagram is looking like a winner with the #Insta-Copywriting-Community regularly posting pics, blogs and tips.  I’ve always ripped my mum for her lack of skills with a computer, but after setting up Instagram properly I’m starting to have some sympathy. After one day I still click around, not exactly sure of where I’m going or why pictures of food have shown up again for the hundredth time. I imagine if the CIA decided to start tracking this activity, they’d assume I’m the Instagram equivalent of an elderly driver in a car park, knocking into trolleys and the occasional pedestrian but carrying on anyhow just trying to find the safety of open road. I joke, it’s smooth sailing all the way baby!

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Big Mouth Blogging Begins - My move into the world of blogging (and other social media) has been glacier-slow. I’ve seen a sloth move with more urgency and direction. And more grace. But here I am and what better way to start than with my start-up digital content and copy writing enterprise. Going with the whole ‘new beginnings’ buzz that’s been happening recently and also the process of turning 29 years old not on the horizon but so close it gives me a cheeky wink every time I  check my calendar, I’ve had a kick up the backside from myself and decided to get down to it.

Bit of background: From Leeds in the UK, backpacked through a chunk of the globe in my early 20’s and moved back to Amsterdam at the end of last year. I first came here in 2015 but left as I wasn’t feeling the love for this Dutch city and I had a great opportunity to go teach English in Cambodia (if you’re wondering about going down this path, do it – I’ll sum it up in a phrase as “a f*cking awesome experience” and it was just what I needed to get my confidence up on the back of the Amsterdam mini-flop).  My girlfriend Sophia and I stayed in touch almost every day.  She’s Californian but lives in Amsterdam and she’s sweet as.  When I got back to Europe I was keen to tackle Amsterdam again with her and go all in positivity.  We’ve worked hard together to get shit done and it’s starting to really pay-off as we have just moved into an awesome *Anti-Kraak flat, I have a job at Ace & Tate glasses company starting next week and things are all-round pretty damn good. I hope the cherry on the cake will be the building up of Big Mouth Copywriting.

Big Mouth Copywriting? Yeah, I’ve decided to try my dab hand at freelance copy writing (and content production). I came up with the name in the shower. (Epiphanies always come to me in bathrooms. Why? It’s the one place I would never have a pen and paper nearby to jot down ideas). Anyway, branding-wise I loved the quasi-punk skate culture a la Tony Hawks on PlayStation of the early 2000’s and as you can see I wanted a piece of that sexy nostalgia for something I can call my own. Playing pool, road cycling and writing are pretty much all the things I can tell people confidently that I’m slightly above average in.  Since I’m not entering the World 9-ball Championships or Tour de France anytime soon that left putting my writing skills to good use.

So that’s pretty much where we’re up to. The Big Mouth Copywriting website is almost ready to go but the social media has less on it than a Christmas tree in January. I’m chuffed to be getting some vital experience down by doing some copy/content work for a DJ friend of Sophia’s. In the meantime it’s all about writing example copy to build up my collection (I don’t want to say the portfolio word, it sounds pretentious. For the stage I’m at anyway.) I’ll keep blogging, practising and trying to remember the login details for my eight thousand new social media accounts.

Tot Ziens!

*Anti-kraak is the Dutch system of renting out unused office and business spaces in the city for people to live in. Think legal-squatting.