“Mummy, can you read me a book?” Hell yeah! When you have a child there’s no better joy than reading them a story. Yes, you have to start with the basic ‘few words on a page’ sort of books. “Oh look, dog, cat, cow…” And yes, you do have to read the same book again and again, even though it’s that book you didn’t choose, and some horrible relative thought your little one would love. Shoot me now! But once your little ones have reached the age of sitting still and having proper

How do you convince bikers, vintage car lovers and other passionate drivers to ‘do their bit’ and offset all that black stuff chugging out the back of their precious vehicles? No fluff, jargon, guilt trips or ‘green wash’. Just clear, concise copy with just the right balance of charm and precise information. So that’s what we did. Our client Chrome Carbon has launched their super-shiny, oh-so-chrome website, complete with compelling copywriting from TMCM. We worked closely wi

BOOK - Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl The audiobook was the soundtrack to February, as our son requested Dahl’s classic tale of vulpine poultry heists for every single school run. Thankfully, the story of foxes v farmers still clips along at a fair rate, featuring plenty of charm, alongside a wicked sense of humour and some wonderfully antiquated language (My favourites: ‘fellow’ and ‘saucy’). All read in the master’s distinctive raspy tone. As parents, we read hundreds of st

2019 saw a flurry of new remote contracts arrive at TMCM Towers. We’ll work anywhere, from Buckinghamshire to Beirut, but there’s something rather charming and sensible about getting stuck into some challenging briefs from the relative ‘comfort’ of Didcot. Here are a few things we noticed about remote working in 2019. 1. Gone are the days of a word doc, sent by email Being freelance has always meant learning different systems. How to get past agency security, or waiting half

You’re starting a new business, how exciting! You’ve got your business plan in hand, which has no doubt already taken you months, if not years to get to, and you’re ready to make it all a reality. Finally. But have you remembered everything? Have you dotted all of those i’s and crossed those t’s? Have you remembered your ‘voice’ - how your new business communicates with the outside world? You have one chance to make a first impression and we can help you make a great one. How

There’s nothing more satisfying than when a new project goes ‘live’. And the first thought in most creatives’ minds is ‘when can I get this up on my folio website?’ Every copywriter, graphic designer, photographer or director wants to be perceived as in demand, busy, popular. And showing off new work is the best way to shout about your relevance. But who really owns the work? The agency has spent their money to get the best people in the right roles to bring the strategy to l

Christmas wasn’t even a month ago. So it’s still ok to talk about Christmas, right? As a small business, we appreciate each and every one of our clients, whether they’re a fledgling startup, or a giant global company. So, this Christmas we wanted to show all our clients just how much their business means to us, and that we value their continued support. Getting the right gift though, is a tricky task. Almost as tough as writing an About Us page for your own website. You don’t

It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Tone of voice matters and helps set brands apart from one another. Although, tone of voice can’t be plucked from thin air, personality is something installed in your brand. Who you are. What you’re trying to say to the world. Who you want to engage with. There’s no point trying to be something you’re not. Liking someone else’s tone of voice is fine, but don’t try to force someone else’s personality upon your own brand. After all, to

There’s a two-letter word that highly offends me. Just two little letters when joined together can have me shouting ‘lazy’ from the rooftops. Want to know what that word is? ‘It’ That’s right, it. Whenever I read some copy this little fella seems to creep in. He seems so innocent. But that he isn’t. I know 'it' is grammatically fine to use everyone’s go-to pronoun. I just think this seems like such a cop-out, a waste. You’ve (hopefully) got your reader hooked – or at least mi

Male product = Male writer. You’ve got to be kidding me. Every day there seems to be a new story around women standing up for themselves in the media. Which got me thinking about the advertising world. What once was a very male dominated industry (think Mad Men) is now becoming a more balanced, and fairer industry (thanks to the real life Peggys). And I’m not talking about wages – let’s leave that for another post! Times have definitely changed for the better, with more and m

My business card quite simply says Creative Copywriter. This isn’t a lie. However, the requirements of my job is a multi-talented, chainsaw

Has it arrived yet? No. Click refresh. Maybe my emails are being slow to update. Nope. Still nothing. I suppose it hasn’t been quite a week yet. Does he send them weekly or are they sporadic? What would my husband say? I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve fallen in love – with a tone of voice. A style of writing that differs from all the rest. Emails have become so yawn. One subject line is the same as the next. What’s the point of opening them to see if perhaps, just thi

Ranking high in a Google search can only do so much. Time and time again I click through from a search onto a website, scan the copy and leave immediately. Apparently it only takes eight seconds to decide whether you're going to stick around or not. Why? Because it's not what I'm after? No. I simply can't bring myself to read any further. And this can be for many reasons – terrible spelling, the amount of words I’m confronted with, incorrect or inconsistent grammar, informati