use your words — a storytelling studio
Formalizing and scaling my freelance work
For most of my 20s, work was not really something that defined me. I had solid jobs at interesting companies, but I hadn’t put much thought into my “career,” my legacy, my imprint on the world. I liked where I was at and where I was going. Did I love what I was doing? Maybe not “love.” Was I following my passion? Not necessarily.
I have been freelancing for almost four years now, constantly updating how I work to make it more energizing. The biggest levers thus far have been saying no to projects that don’t feel right and doubling down on the things that help me find flow — namely working on interesting projects with interested people, who challenge me and make my world bigger.
After a brief stint at Capital, I spent the back half of last year patiently figuring out what’s next for me. (Please don’t ask what “figuring out” entailed.) With more energy than ever to do great work, I am really excited about where I’ve landed.
Introducing: use your words
a copywriting storytelling studio focused on helping founders, creators, designers and inventors tell more compelling and coherent tales of their work
The power of a good story — to cut through the noise and move people to action — has never been more apparent. Stories are what we tell ourselves, they are the values we champion to inspire teams, and the precise words we use to explain what we do and why we do it.
The product of this work (the deliverable, if you will) varies, but it is primarily words — from creating a verbal identity with a refined mission, clear positioning, and consistent tone of voice to website overhauls with new language that communicates the what and why better than before.
Why do we need this?
I’ve realized my gift is working with people who are obsessed with their work (often founders) to understand what they are trying to say and helping them tell more effective and resonant stories. Critically, this is not necessarily what they are saying.
We often become comfortable using the same language, but forget the reasons why we came to frame things that way in the first place. It is an intimate, high-trust process to help people unlearn and rebuild both internal and external narratives. To help them realize their vision of the future.
While doing this for dozens of companies over the past several years, I have found systems that work, tools that make the process smoother, and talented writers to collaborate with. This model will enable me to scale myself to meet with more great companies, mitigate burnout, push me personally, and really just level up the work overall.
My vision for use your words is a net improvement in the quality of writing on the web. I can’t say for certain that this will be my life’s work, but I know that it points me in the direction of more meaningful work, orients me towards the next thing being the thing and, hopefully, allows us to work together.
David Ogilvy's 19 Unconventional Rules for Getting Clients
Upon learning of my becoming a Serious Ad Man, fellow sletter slinger and 2%er Tadzio, shared these 19 bits of advice with me over an East Village bánh mì. If you are a potential client that passes rules 5 and 6, please allow me the chance to rule 14 you, as long as you promise to rule 8 me in return.
—Andrew
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
This year, I challenged myself to up my annual reading goal from 20 to 25 books. This decision came after seeing an acquaintance post on IG about reading 65 books in 2023. When I messaged her to compliment her on the accomplishment, she demurred, saying she knew people that read WAY more. Because of my goal, I wrestled with starting Demon Copperhead because it’s, well, long. I figured my best chance of reading approximately two books per month, was to choose tomes in the 2-300-page range. Demon Copperhead is 500+. But two weeks in, I only have 100 pages to go. Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize-winning recasting of Dickens’s David Copperfield is just that good.
—Justin
Timberland 3-Eye Lug Boat Shoe
As the brick has settled into the NYC winter, these have become my go-to footwear choice more and more. It checks a lot of boxes for me. It’s preppy and street, rugged and comfortable. And with all due respect to Howie Long and his Skechers ads, they’re easy to slip into. I’ve seen the Aime Leon Dore collabs, and agree with Teddy Santis’s decision to shine a light on the Timb silhouette, but frankly, I don’t think any of the ALD iterations improve upon the OG Burgundy ones.
—Justin
Active Interrupting, Episode 3
Jackson and I totally have a podcast now. It has an amazing name and an even better thumbnail. It’s on YouTube, X, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts™️. We are having fun doing this and are going to keep going, at least until we reach 21 episodes and become a top 1% podcast. Note: every company that retains use your words in Q1 will get a shoutout on the pod.
—Andrew