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...]
What to Wear to a Copywriting Interview, In-Person or on Zoom
When you land an interview at an ad agency, an in-house agency, or even want to give off a good first-impression on an initial call with a prospective freelance client, what you wear matters. But what, exactly, should you wear? And what happens when you're interviewing remotely using Zoom or other video conferencing tools? For both men and women, choosing what to wear to a … [Read more...]
How Long Should It Take You to Write Copy?
Time can fly when you're working on a copy project. So much so, in fact, that you can look up and realize a few hours have passed. But is that a good thing? A bad thing? Just how long should it take you to write, anyway? When you're first starting out, it will never feel like you have enough time. A client could give you a month for a paragraph of copy, and you'd still agonize … [Read more...]
What a Freelancer’s Day Really Looks Like
Ah, the freelance life. Working in your pajamas, penning brilliant copy by a pool in Bali, being supermom/dad, and spending gazillions of hours of quality time by the pool. Sounds good, right? Also sounds kind of...unrealistic? Let's talk about what a freelancer's day really looks like. As you've probably guessed, I'm not going to tell you that freelance is all about … [Read more...]
Copywriting for Ad Agencies: What to Expect and Why It’s Great for Your Career
If your dream is to work in a crazy, creative, big-client landing, award-winning agency, you are certainly not alone. Many copywriters want to get into an ad agency as soon as they possibly can. But what's it like to work in an ad agency? Is it really all Mad Men-y? Just to get our terms straight, an ad agency is an external company hired by another company to come up with … [Read more...]
How to Avoid Making Promises You Can’t Keep
A former Israeli prime minister once chastised his fellow politicians by saying their slogan could be, “Sure, I promised. But I never promised to keep my promise.” Outside the semi-virtual world of politics, of course, there are real consequences to failing to keep one’s promises. There is a strong incentive, especially when we are starting out, to agree to any project … [Read more...]
How To Come Up With Wildly Effective Copywriting Concepts
One of the most daunting parts of a project can be the brainstorming, or copywriting concepting, process. Concepting can feel like a mystical process, conjuring brilliance out of nothing or mixing a magical potion. (I suppose in some ways it is kind of magical since you'll use just three ingredients—you, your design partner, and the brief—to produce your ideas. Sometimes it may … [Read more...]
Slash and Burn: How To Write Less More Often
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, logician, physicist, and theologian of the 17th century, wrote in a letter, “Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parceque je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.” (“I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter.”) As copywriters, we don’t have the option Monsieur Pascal had. We … [Read more...]
7 Habits of the Successful Copywriter
Think of copywriting as an umbrella term for those of us capable of turning a boring idea into engaging, meaningful messages. Ads, brochures, emails, blogs, websites, social media—these are just delivery systems. Today’s successful copywriter is a jack-of-all-trades scribe that is unafraid of tasks, diligent with research, and subtly persuasive at the same time. Good … [Read more...]