Who created Word Tonic?
That would be me.
(hi, hello, hey - my name's Carolyn)
I'm a 23 year old copywriter who's been in the industry for five years.
*definitely not a 40-year old dude
**and definitely not a guy standing in front of a lambo telling you how to make £10k in one month
(ewwwwwwww).
And BTW, if you think Word Tonic is like one of those weird 'copywriting guru' type places where you literally learn from one person like me, you're so fucking wrong.
I just set it up.
What I do instead is bring on copywriters and creative directors from brands like Google and Duolingo and Marvel (and more) to teach members and provide resources.
So they can get different perspectives (and because one person can never know everything).
my story; teacher or author
Rewind 5 years.
I'm 17. Sitting in a stuffy office. About to find out the 'career of my dreams.' The job advisor tippity-taps on her keyboard. "Right. You say you love English? And words?" I nod. Love is an understatement. More like obsessed. I've been writing stuff for as long as I can remember (the first memory being on my grandad's sandwiches with an invisible 007 pen - yeah. Bit of a health hazard but it set the spark alight).
"Right." She pauses, tips her glasses down her nose ever so slightly and turns to face me. "We've got a few options." I'm ready. SO ready. "You could become an English teacher. Or write a best-selling novel."
And just like that 🤌 my future popped into a bleak dismal puddle of popped balloons. I wasn't expecting her to say that. Teacher? WTF! I wanted to write. Not mark essays or tell Year 10's how to wear their skirt. Best-selling author sounded a whole lot better but it was an extreme. And I didn't have any immediate storylines.
I was either gonna be broke ASF until I stumbled across a visionary book idea or I was gonna become a teacher who shouted at everyone and sat alone in the lunch room.
This was not going to be my future - nope.
So I thought uni was the best option. It'd give me time to figure it out. Decide on a career. And in the meantime I'd study English and just continue writing in whatever way I could.
if you haven't figured it out by now, i freakin' love turquoise
uni lasted like 3 months
Now don't get me wrong - I was excited about uni. It's not like I was planning to drop out after 3 months and wrack up a bit of debt just for fun.
But something amazing happened.
I found out about copywriting. If there's such thing as a career soul-mate, I'd found it. I could write, be creative, and get paid for it. I was totally in. Only problem was, I wanted to hop on the copywriter train ASAP. I didn't wanna wait until I'd finished uni. Plus I was getting sick of analysing the 'hidden meaning' behind a blue door. Or writing about Shakespeare. And don't get me started on the student diet.
So I took a leap of faith and quit a few months after starting my course. Moved back home and gave myself 1 month to land my first gig. I built a portfolio from scratch, I worked my 🍑off, and after that first month I officially got the title of 'junior copywriter.'
It's been 5 years - now I'm 23 - and since then I've explored about every niche possible, won a writing award and levelled up my freelance copywriting career to bigger heights than I ever thought possible.
✨ Now my mission is to give young writers the tips + advice I wish I'd known at the start. And to create a space that allows them to flourish and connect with other young writers.
This led me to create Word Tonic.