Jill and Les (man) and Frisco (dog)!

Jill Townsend began her writing and editing career in an unlikely arena for a city girl: the livestock business.

"During my junior year in college I was offered an editorial internship with a monthly cattle magazine called the Limousin Journal, which turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life, both personally and professionally. I eventually became the Editor and had the opportunity to travel around the country, writing stories on some really amazing families and their businesses."

"I knew nothing about livestock or farming when I started, but I learned fast, and it taught me that subject matter isn't really what defines a good writer. What matters is how well you convey your message, and whether or not you ultimately achieve your goal... generally to inform, to educate, to persuade, to sell, or all of the above."

It was a few years later, Jill says, that her career took another unexpected turn. "I'd just moved into a Public Relations role with a non-profit organization related to the magazine," she recalls, when she met and married an Englishman, and moved to Reading, England. 

"Never underestimate the ability life has to throw you interesting curves," she says. "There I was, 29 years old, new country, strange language, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, bagging my own groceries, paying $5 for a gallon of gas, hopping on a train to London just to wander around for the day. It was a great learning experience." 

After working for Hewlett-Packard as a Marketing Specialist (from cows to computers, as her husband puts it), she was given a "really great" opportunity to manage a European start-up that specialized in direct mail.
 
"I loved it," she says. "I had a chance to do everything. I found and leased the office, I hired staff, I bought phone systems and furniture. I learned what a 'work station' was and how to use it. When something broke, I figured out how to fix it. And when I had a minute to think about it, I realized I was managing a $6 million dollar company, and doing it pretty well." 

But the greatest gift, she says, was the chance to learn from her 'guru' boss about how to write copy that persuaded people to buy, in this case one-day training seminars. Writing copy for direct mail  was a whole new ballgame, Jill says, because the margin for error was very low.

These were pre-internet days, and "direct mail campaigns lived or died on two things: the expertise to buy the right mailing lists, and the ability to write copy that persuaded people to buy. If you lacked either one, your business would ultimately fail."

During this time she also gained experience in writing course manuals, in buying print, and in public speaking. "I decided if I was going to write the material and expect other people to 'sell' it, I should know how to do that as well."

One lesson on the power of words she'll never forget, Jill recalls, had to do with a course her company developed entitled 'How to Excel in Customer Service'. It was a "dismal failure" until the title was changed to 'How to Deal with Difficult People'. What seemed like a simple variation on a theme had an immediate and overwhelming impact: "It immediately became the most popular course we'd ever developed." 

Now self-employed, Jill provides copywriting and design services to clients from "an interesting and diverse" spectrum of industries. 
 
"I'm a firm believer in talent sharing", she says. "The people I work with are all amazingly talented and successful, but don't necessarily enjoy, or have time for, writing their own marketing materials or websites or newsletters. Giving that responsibility to me is a win-win scenario."

Jill defines good copywriting as being easy to read and understand. "That's it, really. We all want to be informed without being overwhelmed, and we all want information that’s presented in a clear and concise manner." And, she says, "if I can add entertainment or enlightenment along the way, I know I've done a good job."  

Jill has a dual degree in Journalism and Public Relations, and lives in Paradise, California, with her husband, Les. She can be contacted about copywriting or marketing projects at Jill@JillTownsend.biz.

Check out Jill's new website, www.writeagreatbio.com