Aimee Philipson - Owner, The Write One
Did you always envisage a career in the Media Industry?
Yes! I wanted to be a journalist for many years but after lots of work experience placements in my twenties – including at Woman’s Weekly which I absolutely loved! – I was more drawn to communications and PR, and then using my writing and sales skills for bid writing later in my career.
What has been your career path so far?
When I was at University, I accidentally ended up on the School of English’s mailing list (I did Spanish and History!) and I received an email about a volunteer placement within a local hospice’s communications team. I applied and loved the placement, I snapped their hands off when they offered me a job after graduation. I cut my teeth in all things comms during my time there, had fantastic mentors and continued studying. In 2015 I joined Narrative – a North East integrated marketing agency – to specialise in digital marketing and worked with clients in lots of industries – becoming an outsourced CMO for some – and joined the management team, leading on new business and partnerships. In the last few years, I brought my commercial and not-for-profit experience and writing skills together to go freelance as a bid consultant and work with ambitious organisations and SMEs on projects with big social impact.
Which fictional character can you most relate to?
I think Hermione Grainger from the Harry Potter books, because I’ve always loved learning, and organising things and people. She’s super bossy, has big hair and doesn’t suffer fools gladly! But she has some redeeming features too (I hope!).
What is your greatest strength?
A client once told me that my greatest strength was that I listen to what clients think they want, then deliver what they actually want. I loved that! I’m not sure all clients would though!
What is your biggest weakness?
My biggest weakness is speed. I work super efficiently but sometimes forget to enjoy the work or take a break. I’ve been using the Motion AI tool to organise my work and calendars and it also reminds me to have lunch!
What has been your proudest achievement?
One of my proudest career achievements was gaining my MIPA status from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in 2021 – but this year I’ve had lots of ‘joint’ proudest moments with clients, via funding successes including launching a Youth Club in Tower Hamlets for aspiring journalists and YouTubers, supporting SMEs to access contracts and funding they didn’t think they had a chance to, and kickstarting some amazing digital projects in AI and VR with Innovate UK funding. In my personal life, one of my proudest achievements will always be running the Great North Run in 2012 because I hate running, it was my birthday and it rained constantly for the (honestly) four hours it took me to get to South Shields. Never again.
What are your future career aspirations?
I absolutely love what I do, helping raise money for important causes and supporting SMEs to reach their potential and grow, so I will definitely be sticking with this for a while. But there are so many things I want to do from writing a biography, working in a botanical garden, and going back to university to living on a farm, running a bookshop slash cocktail bar and scaling a tech business – so who knows where I’ll be in five years’ time!
How do you see your industry evolving in the next 10 years?
The evolution and widespread use of generative AI such as ChatGPT will change bid writing forever. There are already myriad courses and forums about its use in public procurement and grant applications, and yes it’s a useful tool in a writer’s toolbox, but having sat on tender evaluation panels recently, it is very clear which responses have been written by AI! So, I feel there will always be a need for expert and tailored writing and research – and scoring criteria will evolve over time too – but it will definitely have an impact.
How do you like to unwind?
Last year I had two of my most relaxing ‘switch off’ holidays ever – one was walking the 100-mile route of the West Highland Way, and the other was a campervan trip to the Outer Hebrides. So I’m hoping for many more hikes and campervan adventures this year as well as trips to the cinema which is always my perfect way to unwind – no phone signal and a big bag of Revels!
hello@thewriteone.co