4. Internet Access

Being able to get online, for internet access, email and other applications, is practically essential in today’s business environment. As a copywriter, it is one of the few things I recommend you do not cut corners on. At the time of writing, you can still find internet service providers (ISPs) who will get you online for nothing or next to nothing with a dial-up service, which essentially means making a phone call to connect to your ISP. This will tie up your phone line (unless you have a second line in your workspace) and will not do your phone bill any favours. Also, you might be limited by the speed of the connection.

A far better bet is broadband, which gives you a high-speed, ‘always on’ connection and leaves your phone line free. Broadband is now available virtually everywhere and the cost is falling rapidly. In any case, the increase in productivity you will get from using it will easily repay your monthly subscription charge.

A broadband connection will also allow you to take the fullest advantage of a number of useful internet applications, such as:

• Voice over IP (VoIP) services such as Skype. These let you call other users of the same service for free and give you the option of making international calls at greatly reduced rates. VoIP is more than just a phone service, as it incorporates applications ranging from Instant Messaging (see below) to videoconferencing.
• Instant Messaging (IM). If you work regularly with the same group of clients and contacts then I would strongly urge you to find out if they use IM services such as Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. These will let you see when people are online and chat to them over the web in real time. This can be useful when you are working closely with them on a project, as messaging is less intrusive than a phone call and quicker (and less formal) then email.
• Social networking sites. Although there is some debate over the value of sites such as Facebook or MySpace for business, they can serve as a way of keeping in touch with clients and contacts and give you a way of easily showing off your portfolio of work online, if you do not have the time or inclination to put together a website (see Chapter 6).

If you are a laptop user, you might also want to consider installing a wireless network in your workspace. The advantage of this is that it allows you to be a lot more flexible about where you work (you can check emails while eating breakfast in the kitchen, for example) and other people (family members, flatmates or, in a more professional setup, clients and work collaborators) can share your broadband connection. The main technologies to choose from are WiFi and WiMAX. The former, which is traditionally used for home and small office wireless installations, is perfectly good for anything the typical copywriter is likely to need. Obviously, if you are working on client premises or in leased or serviced offices (see next chapter) then the way you get online is likely to be dictated by the type of connectivity provided in the building.

If you travel a lot then you may want to look into getting a mobile data card to plug into your laptop. That way you can get online from anywhere, using the mobile phone network.