There can be some funny conversations on Facebook.

One group was talking about copywriting…

And it seems there is a common bond among quite a few copywriters.

We share a love of coffee (and, in some cases, cake).

So much so, the place below might as well be our office.

Why this interest in cake? This obsession with coffee?

Well, here’s the thing.

Copywriters are… writers.

And writers have always found ways to seek inspiration and get words down on the page. For some it takes alcohol. For some it takes smoking. For some, both. Some may even follow the great poets of old and take drugs. Who knows?

But for many writers, coffee is the fuel of choice.

Many work from home. As I do.

But even if you have a dedicated study or office area in the house or apartment, there are times when a change of scenery is useful.

It’s not healthy to sit in the same chair for hours and hours on end. It’s not good for the mind to be cooped up in a room for days on end. It’s important to get out and freshen things up now and then.

And that’s one of the reasons copywriters head for cafes.

1. Cafes provide a social space. Cafes provide a table for your laptop. Some even have power points for your plug.

They also offer coffee… and cake.

I’m not suggesting coffee or cake are especially healthy. But they can help the writer get through the day.

I usually have decaff in the office, full-flavoured caffeine when out in a cafe. Cake is optional and is always earned (from my sport, walking in the hills or other exercise).

But there’s another reason for heading out to a cafe.

You get to sit and watch the world go by.

TV sitcoms have been inspired by time spent in a cafe. Poems, stories and films, too. Recall that author J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter novels in a cafe in Edinburgh.

As a copywriter, I keep my eyes and ears open.

In a cafe, I can hear conversations.

I can listen to the language, the words, people use.

I can watch human behaviour in action.

I can see psychology at play.

I can have time to think.

I can discover ideas for new content – for a blog, an email, a web page, a sales letter.

I can read a newspaper and use its stories, features and photos as a resource.

I can work even when not working.

All of this means my writing can be enriched, refined and revised for the benefit of my clients.

If you’re responsible for putting together words for your marketing, and you find yourself in the office five days a week… a word of advice.

Get out more.

If you want to know how this all works in practice, let me show you.

We could do it over the phone, over Skype or (best still) over a coffee and possibly cake in a cafe.

Fancy a coffee?