In many companies, your copy will be put to the test. But wait—don't panic. I know, you thought you left tests behind in school. And you did—these are a different kind of test. We're not talking about copywriting tests for interviews. What I mean, is that your copy will be put to the test against more of your copy. This is called an A/B testing and its a pretty common (and very … [Read more...]
How to Optimize Your Copywriting LinkedIn Page
Sure, you know that LinkedIn is important...kind of. You put up a profile, but you haven't touched it in forever. Instead of just sitting there, your profile could be helping you get work—if you make some changes. Which changes are most important for a copywriter LinkedIn profile? First, let's take a quick step back to talk about why a good LinkedIn profile is so important. … [Read more...]
Getting Faster Isn’t Always Getting Better
When most new copywriters think about improving their skills, they think about learning to write faster. In reality, this isn't the key to getting better. So, what is? I definitely understand the desire to speed up. When you're sitting there, staring at your screen and waiting for ideas to come to you, the minutes can feel like hours. And when you have deadlines … [Read more...]
5 Reasons You’re Not Getting Copywriting Job Responses
After you go through all the time to find job listings, polish your resume and submit it, it can be soul-crushing not to hear back at all. What's going on? What are you missing? And how can you fix it? The bad news is that there are some pretty common things that keep people from getting calls for interviews after they apply for a copywriter job. But the good news is that … [Read more...]
What’s a Copy Test?
As if life weren't full of tests and trials enough, you'll find that some jobs even require you to complete a copy test before you get the work—or even before a second interview. A copywriting test is a sample writing exercise. It's a way for a potential employer to see your skills writing for their particular brand. But what does that mean? And is it a good thing or a bad … [Read more...]
How to Improve Your Copywriting Skills
When you're first learning to write copy, trying to craft the perfect line feels like pulling teeth. You wrangle and struggle and moan and groan and wonder how long until you'll get better at this. So, today, we're giving away the big secret: the key to improving as a copywriter. First, the most important thing to remember when you're learning is that it's supposed to be … [Read more...]
How To Develop a Thick Skin
Any kind of writing is open for critiques, but copywriting is one of the few where you'll get that feedback from a full group—and in-person. If you're the kind of person who takes your work personally, you'll need to find a way to get some distance and perspective. How? It can be surprising for new copywriters to get live feedback on their work from a whole group of people; … [Read more...]
Protect Yourself From Agency Layoffs
One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs and, for reasons you'll see in a bit, they're pretty much inevitable. That said, though, that doesn't mean that you can't plan now to protect yourself and your livelihood. So, I've titled this article "Protect Yourself from Agency Layoffs," but I'll admit that that's slightly misleading. You can't … [Read more...]
What to Do When You Feel Inadequate
It's true: We're all our own worst enemies. After all, who hasn't been going along just fine when, all of a sudden, you're hit with the certainty that you're not good enough? That you just don't have what it takes and you're going to fail? It's coming...so let's talk about how to deal with it. "What do you do when you feel inadequate?" is one of the most common questions I … [Read more...]
The 7 Phases of Becoming a Well-Paid Writer (as Told Via GIFs)
The path to becoming a copywriter is pretty straightforward: you follow the steps of other successful copywriters. But, nonetheless, resistance kicks up and we all face some of these all-too-relatable phases of becoming a copywriter. Stuck in one of the below phases? Great news: we've offered up our best advice to help you take the next step and move out of that phase (in a … [Read more...]