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...]
Copywriter Niches: Should You Specialize?
When it comes to your career, it's a pretty big decision to go "all in" on one niche or another—especially if you can't be sure that it will be a successful strategy. So, should you specialize? I get questions from students all the time that are something along the lines of, "It seems like there are a lot of financial copywriting jobs available in my city. Should I try to … [Read more...]
Why Staying in Touch With Former Colleagues Is Crucial
In the creative industry, people are always moving from job to job and project to project. And that means, of course, that you meet a lot of different interesting people. But just because they're gone doesn't mean they should be forgotten. In fact, ex-coworkers can be incredibly valuable to building your copywriting business. Whether you're working on staff or as a … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Deal With Friends and Family Copywriting Rates
You love your friends and family. And they love and support you. They also think you're quite the talented writer. So they ask you for writing help. A lot. Now that you're getting into copywriting, they're asking for even more help (or maybe you didn't want to tell them for this reason!). Resumes, cover letters, emails, landing pages... You don't want to be a jerk, but you … [Read more...]