I try to answer all my emails. But some slip by or get filtered by my overworked spam filter.

Have been busy setting up my consulting business.

It’d be great if you could please resend me your email please.

Always glad to help – creative people are fraternity to me, not total strangers

farrukh

Ive only recently discovered your blog, and have been checking it every few days; you are right to be proud its a great resource for people like me. I sent you an email a while back about some tips or contacts for a young English copywriter to get some work out there but so far there has been no reply. I know you are a busy dude, and you probably get a lot of emails, but I was just wondering if you had a chance to read it yet. If not, shall I send it again?

Anyway, I just wanted to give you my congratulations on your website, and commend you for the time you spend helping and giving advice to total strangers.

thanks

Im a 1st yr. student of Mass Communication & Im seeking a job on a part time level at any news or publishing agency. Would appreciate if u could help out.

Thanks
Nikhita

Copywriters are employees too

Unless you’re a free bird like me – but it took me more than 10 years of ‘corporatehood’ before I broke loose.

Call me – I’m always looking for good Arabic writers with a professional attitude.

farrukh

Thanks for visiting my blog. Tried to call you but your phone wasn’t working. I’m looking for graphic designers who know what they’re doing.

Call me when you can – my number’s on the blog.

farrukh

You have a great blog.. I love to write as a hobby though lately I started to capitalize it for extra income..

Cheers

farrukh

Your experience is more than my age! It’s great to have such seasoned practitioners on the blog. I hope your experience can be put to good use. The core goal of the twofour54 as I understand it is to encourage Arab content creation. If your experience helps in that somehow I think you should be welcomed by all means. You can visit their website at twofour54.com for more details. Also, you might want to try getting intouch with their training academy.

farrukh

For more details, you can visit the twofour54.com website. It has all the information and contact details too.

farrukh

I was travelling when you posted this – I hope you got the logo in time for the National Day.

farrukh

Thanks for letting me know.

I’d like to post your ad and the other one as well and ask both sides what they have to say about this.

Please call or email me when you see my reply.

farrukh

Thank you

very good review, anyway do you mind to share what kind of criteria to have a good agency which able to deliver the company needs base on your experience.

thanks a million.
NC

http://bloganubis.com/2009/08/21/shi_t-the-way-you-move/
http://bloganubis.com/2009/06/03/can-you-bake-your-cake-and-eat-it/
http://bloganubis.com/2008/09/28/wings/

I’ll be emailing you in a bit, would be great to connect.

I think I’ve only known one or two business contacts from UAE before..

And you know what they say… Finland=Funland.

I’ve actually come to enjoy these type of client discussions. They take the seriousness out of life (and make great blog posts)… LOL.

I must say, buddy, you write a mean sales letter. Email me on my gmail – I might have some good work for a guy like you.

Anything that ends with ‘fi’ has to be fun!

farrukh

One good way I’ve found to stop this train of thought is to ask how much the client is expecting to increase sales with the new copy, and then suggest a price based on that. Then the lamp either lights up or it doesn’t…

We launched a creative (print) for Bentley Cigarettes in 2003. The creative had the smoke go up and depict a persons mood. The same creative route was adapted by Davidoff in print and TV (2006).

Unfortunately, the focus as well as the budgets didn’t permit Bentley to take an aggressive route. Now the only visibility its got is when we remember the rip-off!

I can understand that visual mnemonics are limited. But creatives need to stop seeking to be inspired from archives.

Yup – it’s a full time job nurturing, protecting ideas and then helping them see the light of day.

Don’t even talk about suits trying to make things better, because the client’s wife thinks so

farrukh

Sadly, plagiarism is a scourge that plagues not only the advertising industry but pretty much any where intellectual property is involved. It’s one of the things I miss least about Dubai.

It’s often hard to decide what’s worse – the copy & paste style of doing things, or the way in which one’s hard work is butchered by executives (clients) who add on their bits and pieces to make it sound “better”…

I’m writing to thank you once again for your help. I am definitely more passionate about art and design. Thus, I have enrolled in a course to learn the required software and have been working on a dummy portfolio at the same time. I feel my career and life is going the way I want it to. I have confidence in my work and abilities now. Thank you so much for your advice.

Warm Regards,
Nisha

Thanks

farrukh

The answer lies within you. What do you feel most passionate about? What is it that would keep you awake at night, ideas flooding through your head, and not seem like ‘work’? Art? Copy?

If you keep doing what you are most passionate about – the growth will come. Not the other way round.

Portfolios are to showcase the range of your creativity – no rule that these should be published. Just let the reviewer know.

Any good CD can spot potential from a scribble on a tissue paper.

farrukh

Start by giving copy tests in agencies near you. They would take you as a trainee and then you can rise with time and effort.

Best of luck!

farrukh

farrukh

farrukh

Qualification is never more important than ability and talent. A degree at the end of the day is just a piece of paper.

Do what you believe in – be the best at it. You WILL succeed, Insha Allah.

farrukh

Yes, Blogger is good when you’re starting out – and like you say, I have seen Blogger posts getting listed quickly because they integrate well with their parent company.

However, once you know how to customise and optimise your blog – Wordpress and its SEO plugins will get you much further than Blogger. Many of my self-hosted Wordpress posts are up in a few hours in Google, mostly on Google page 1 in a day. Many times, my post on a company or event ranks higher than their own website. And all of this happens on Wordpress.

One advantage that Wordpress.com has as far as getting listed is concerned, it gets very strong rankings for its ‘tags’ that users create for their posts. The link authority of the Wordpress.com domain perhaps passes on to the post tag and bumps it up on the listings.

Joomla can go beyond both Wordpress and Blogger in my opinion because of its taxonomy. But one needs to be a really into geeky stuff to manage the Joomla CMS.

Hope to meet you at the UPO 2009 event. Are you coming?

Genuine SEO resources and social media expertise are hard to come by by not just in Abu Dhabi but the UAE as a whole. But slowly things are changing.

Most of the work I am currently doing for my clients today involves website optimisation, traffic generation, online marketing and strategy design.

I’d be happy to help if you need to clear your concepts about anything.

Having lots of questions is a good thing

As I try and do with most of the events and workshops I attend – I hope to share my learnings on this blog. Make sure you are subscribed to the latest posts.

Best of luck for you overseas assignment…

farrukh

I’m at a transition of sorts (careerwise + academically) and everything looks so fuzzy. I should be on the Forbes billionaire list but unfortunately, confusion doesn’t pay.

I really believe in CSR! I might even write a dissertation on it for my MSc., but I’m still in premature stages. I have a year. ( Impatient + Confused = Trillionaire … :] )

What resources are available in Abu Dhabi where I can be in a position to learn more about the application of social marketing? I know I can read and read, narrating examples but it’s certainly not the same as getting some practical experience.

I have so many questions.

This is a good news story.

Things are looking up for online writers in the UAE and this conference should give new impetus.

I am kicking myself that I have overseas teaching commitments at that time and cannot be present.

Take good notes!

Geoff

Ive been in the design industry for the past 10+ years, but did not get any good opportunity, may b bcoz I am not qualified, but I am confident that some day i might get the best I am looking for.

As for blogs I really dont have time to read due to work loads.

Thanx

Best wishes for your continued good health and success.

Gerry-G-Goldberg

Please suggest me eventually in the month of October, i landed a job in a Ad agency in Dubai. Quiet unfortunately in the month of Feb, recession affected my company and they decided to lay off of the staff. My name was also in the list my dream were drained but after huge battled I got job in India but once again I am trying for a job in dubai before that please tell me the actual situation over there. If I get job over there is this a right time to grab it??

I’m sure you’ve helped many people and would be ever so grateful if you could help me too. I am a fresh graduate with 2 Internships as my only experience. When I reached Dubai, there were hardly any jobs due to recession. Thus, I accepted another Internship with an Advertising Agency in Dubai Media City with the notion that any experience is better than no experience. I have been the Junior Copywriter here for over a month and I’m enjoying the experience as I am learning a lot. I would like to pursue my Masters in a year or so, but I’d like to get some experience before I do that. My problem is I don’t know whether to stick with this company as an Intern (and for how long) or to apply for other jobs as they are not paying me at all. Also, I have always loved Art, thinking that I’ll do something design related someday. I am a little confused about whether to get into Copy or Art, and where each one can take me (growth-wise). I do not have a portfolio for either and am unsure how to go about creating it. Should my portfolio only consist of ideas that have been accepted/published? I know I have asked a lot of questions and would like to thank you in advance for your kind help.

Nisha

You can visit http://www.sorouhfaces.com to see what the artwork looks like.

farrukh

It was nice to meet you too. Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I wish you the best in your endeavours ahead.

farrukh

It was nice meeting you in Dubai. Impressed with your sites and insights on various issues including placements for advertising professionals. Keep up the good work.

Rgds.
Srini

I am a senior copywriter working in a mid size agency in Mumbai. I want to try in the best agencies in Dubai but not sure if the time is right. How do i go for this, kindly guide

Job prospects are tough these days – like you rightly wrote. But Abu Dhabi is rising – more jobs on the client side than the agency side. Keep trying – I wish you the best!

farrukh

PS: My sister’s name is Nida as well

It should be easy for a writer to prove what she is good at. This means query letters to editors, or sample ads in your book for ad agency creative directors. Everyone is a fresh graduate once – but it is your task to convince employers that you can write well. Show, don’t tell is the creed in the advertising business.

Don’t think ‘job’ – think career. Think writing projects. Think how you can get an editor, CD to notice your writing. Use any medium. Go for it!

farrukh

Also, you could first try your hand at freelancing for small projects and build a portfolio bit by bit.

Hope that helps,

farrukh

farrukh

Thanks for dropping by. Nice blog you got.

farrukh

Changing my Wordpress theme (was Regulus earlier) helped. I got my pages re-archived by post title. But every theme has its own issues. The one I am using now (Prosumer) gets very slow if there are more than 10 posts on the homepage – but at least it gets archived well.

I read your blogs today for the first time, and I am impressed with your posts. Its really cool. Congrats for your success & wish you much more in future as well. Your blogs are not only impressive but they are motivating too.

As others have done, I too would like to have your opinion poll on my doubts. I have done ,y MBA in International business from Mumbai. I am working in Dubai since 2007, prior to which I worked in Mumbai for 6 years in the field of Logistics, Supply chain & Marketing. Advertising was my passion from my college days (mainly giving one liners, tag lines, jingles etc). Few of my friends were doing degree from JJ school of arts – Mumbai in Commercial arts stream. I used to help them in giving the copy for there ad projects (print media related). That is how I made my portfolio. During the past few years I am making copies just as a hobby & helping my friends.

I have ideas but I don’t know the basics. Could you please suggest how I can understand the field of copywriting. Is there any crash courses / workshops available in UAE which teaches copywriting & is it really worth. Or if there are some books I can refer to.

Looking forward for your reply.

rgds

Vinod

This might sound a little premature, but I’m an English major university student, and I’ve still got a bit until I graduate. I’m currently studying in Canada, but after I’m done I’m planning on getting a job as a writer or an editor in the UAE (inshallah). I’ve looked online for job postings but it was kinda hard to find anything closely related to my field or anything that didn’t require years of experience. I don’t have any work experience but I have some volunteer experiences. I was just wondering what advice you would have for a fresh graduate as I don’t have much of a clue on the job market in UAE for writers/editors, and how valuable do you think volunteer experiences are on a resume compared to actual work experience??

Thanks in advance!

It was great to read your blog and get a real perspective on the advertising industry in Abu Dhabi. i just completed my bachelors in Journalism and Communication from India and I majored in Advertising. I am really interested in Client Servicing and have interned before in one of the top global agencies. I wanted to know whether companies are still recruiting in Client servicing or Media Planning in Abu Dhabi ?

It is an awful time to be graduating and looking for a job. It would be great if you could solve my query.

Regards,

Nida

Good to see you on this blog. Thanks for your valuable feedback.

My first point is that Wordpress gives you its ‘CMS’ free but Blogger doesn’t – that’s the kind of free I have been specific about in the sub-head.

Yes, it’s not a comparison of equals between Wordpress and Blogger. You can blog for free on Wordpress and you can blog for free on Blogger. But Wordpress as a ‘platform’ vs Blogger gives you more in the long run.

You are right – I wish I had more time to add to this post – pictures, menus, videos, etc. Hopefully, readers like you can add some valuable bits as well.

farrukh

Whether the writing is PR or ad copy – one that achieves its desired objectives is the best. Both serve different functions.

farrukh