Somehow, it’s a week till Christmas, which means it’s time for me to reflect on the previous 12 months in my copywriting business. For the last few years, I’ve been using a set of prompts originally created by Sasha of A Life of Words. Let’s go – brutal honesty from here on in …
-
One Thing I Failed at in 2025
This year, I failed to market my business enthusiastically.
I struggled to write consistently here on my blog and missed many of my monthly emails too. Although I’ve been showing up on Instagram, I’ve avoided promoting my services and talking about work. Charlie and I have kept up our fortnightly podcast episodes, but I’ve rarely encouraged people to listen.
There are lots of reasons I’ve found marketing difficult this year. Outside of work, 2025 has been a demanding year of change. While Izzy has been away at drama school, Jesse sat his GCSEs, finished secondary school and moved on to college. Maybe it doesn’t sound like much on paper, but the shift in my daily life and routines has been huge.
Big transitions always do a number on me, and at times this year I’ve really struggled with my mental health. On top of this, I’ve found the AI boom and its impact on my industry incredibly demoralising. I don’t think it’s the only reason business has been harder this year, but navigating such rapid change has left me feeling overwhelmed and unsure about the future of my business.
Combined, these factors made certain types of marketing feel impossible. Receiving less enquiries as a result knocked my confidence even more, creating a vicious cycle.
-
One Thing I’m Proud of in 2025
As we’ve established, work has been noticeably slower this year. I booked fewer website copy projects overall, and those I did were often smaller Home & About page bundles.
While I love creating copy for these key pages, larger, in-depth projects are my passion. Research, strategy and brand voice development are some of my greatest strengths and you just can’t beat writing an entire website and/or a full suite of marketing materials. This is probably why the thing I’m proudest of this year are the two full websites I’ve been lucky enough to work on.
Design By Emilia launched her new site in the summer. Specialising in branding and visual communication for the craft, arts and cultural industries, working on Emilia’s copy meant immersing myself in things I love – crafting, making, museums and books. It was such a fun project to work on. I’d love to do more in this field.
I’m so happy with the final copy and really appreciate all the thought and care you’ve put into this project. I’m so glad I chose to work with you. – Emilia, Design By Emilia
Hair and Makeup Artist Jessica Hawkins’ beautiful new website went live earlier this week, just in time for Christmas. Jess came to me having been let down by another copywriter at the very last minute. Because of this, the project had a very tight deadline, but we managed to pull it off. I’m incredibly proud of the end result.
The copy is spot on, I honestly feel like it has elevated my business to the next level […] I’m so grateful for your professionalism. You made the whole process clear, easy and stress-free. – Jess, Jessica Hawkins Wedding Hair & Makeup
Seeing these websites out in the wild has reminded me I’m good at my job, and still better than AI!
-
One Thing I’ve Figured Out in 2025
I’ve got to shake off the funk I’ve been in for most of this year and give my copywriting business some serious TLC. In 2026, I’ll be setting some intimidating goals because I’m fed up of feeling like my career has stalled.
I have a long list of things I want to achieve by this time next year. Rebranding, creating a new website, refining my services, launching an in-person workshop, and offering a paid subscription via Larking About. Although the financial feasibility of some of these things remains to be seen, I’m determined to give it my best shot.
-
Thanks For Being Here
That’s as far as I’ve got with my reflections. I’m sure I’ll have more to say as the new year dawns, but right now I’m counting the days until I can switch my out of office on and pour myself a large glass of mulled wine.
In the meantime, I want to thank you for all your support this year. Whether you’re a client, someone who’s shared my work or recommended my services to others, or simply a vocal member of the personal cheer squad I keep in my pocket – I am so grateful. I hope you’re able to have a restful Christmas filled with the things you love most. See you in 2026.
Love Audrey xxx
P.S. Hello 2025
