Oftentimes, we're faced with several open doors ... but we self sabotage and get in our own way. When we have an an opportunity (or several opportunities!), it's all too easy to not take action towards it, whether because we don't know how, we're fearful of doing so, or some combination of the two. Whatever the reason, it's all too easy for us to spiral into negative … [Read more...]
Book Pick: How Copywriters Can Collaborate More Effectively
As copywriters, we do a lot of work on our own. After all, the actual writing of copy is a fairly solitary job. But often, we need to collaborate. With designers, yes, but also with project managers, marketing managers, and other key stakeholders within an organization. This is true whether you work in an ad agency or on an in-house team. Even as a freelancer, you may not … [Read more...]
Staying Productive When I’m Unmotivated: Pomodoro Technique
In my copywriting career, I have a few challenges you may be able to relate to. I have an active family (four kids!), a spouse who travels for work (gone for two overnights as I write this!), and an anxiety disorder (always unpredictable!). In short, I often feel overwhelmed and under-motivated. And yet, I have to be productive when I’m unmotivated, or else I won’t have a … [Read more...]
Book Pick: Why Your Obsession with Money is Getting in the Way of Your Copywriting Success
Money: whether we're thinking about how much more we want to make in our copywriting business or, alternatively, how scared we are to not make money as a copywriter (or both!), our hang-ups about money are often what cause us to hold ourselves back or even prevent us from fully committing to and pursuing our copywriting careers. If you're the type of person who has been … [Read more...]
How to Make 2023 the Best Year for Your Copywriting Business
The first week of January always has the excitement that comes with fresh starts. We have an entire year ahead of us to take action on our goals. There's so much opportunity! To commit to making the year ahead the best one yet for your copywriting business, let's lay a foundation for taking action on our goals. After all, even if we just spend five, 10, 30 minutes each day … [Read more...]
Create Your Own Professional Development Goals
It’s easy to compare ourselves to others in our field, as well as those outside of it: copywriters with beautiful websites, social media influencers who look like their life is out of a photoshoot (hint: what you're looking at is a photoshoot), and that not-really-friend from high school who failed at math, but appears to be making big dollars working for an investment … [Read more...]
Freelancer Self-Care: 5 Tips for Avoiding Burnout
Whether you're tackling work for clients, learning how to become a copywriter, or any other task that takes up a significant amount of your time, energy, and focus, you need to plan breaks. And I'm not just talking taking the weekend off (though definitely plan in days off, whether it's Saturday and Sunday, or other days of your choosing!) or getting enough sleep (though … [Read more...]
How to Set Up Your Schedule When Working from Home
Ah, the joys and challenges of working from home. All that freedom and flexibility! And, also, EEK! All that freedom and flexibility. As anyone who has been in charge of creating their own schedule can tell you, it’s a lot harder than it looks. It’s much easier to stay on task when there’s a risk of a coworker or boss walking past your desk at any moment. And exactly when … [Read more...]
The Importance of Freelancing in Today’s Working World
I say “new truth” but it’s really been creeping up on us for a while. First, companies got rid of pensions…then workers moved away from being “lifers” at companies…then it became common—if not necessary—to change jobs every three to five years. Now, the importance of freelancing is clear: you need the skills to find and land clients (and bring in income) whenever you need (or … [Read more...]
Overcoming Copywriter Imposter Syndrome
We’ve talked a bit before about how resistance can pop up and try to derail you whenever you’re moving out of your comfort zone. (Actually, more than a bit: we’ve talked about it as one of the sneaky distractions that will block your copywriting career progress, how "I can't" is a phrase you need to watch out for, why you need to add The War of Art to your reading list, and … [Read more...]