When it comes to landing copywriting roles, the proof really is in the pudding. If you can demonstrate that you can do great work, the opportunities are there for the taking–and some of them might even be right under your nose…
In this episode, Nicki and Kate are joined by Comprehensive Copywriting Academy student Joe, who shares how proactively pitching an idea helped him transition out of a career in finance and into a brand new role as marketing content manager (created just for him!). Listen in to hear the importance of showcasing your value, the power of your current network, and why you don’t need to worry about “knowing it all”.
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A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[2:09] Hosts Nicki and Kate are joined by CCA student Joe Sabroski, former finance professional turned copywriter. Joe started the CCA course properly in August 2021, after the pandemic helped him to shift gears and realize he wanted to make more money as a writer.
[5:48] Kate asks Joe if he felt like it was less valid getting paid for copywriting versus other types of writing like journalism. Joe just saw it as a different application of his skills and was excited by the prospect of earning good money from it.
[7:35] Shortly after finding out about the CCA, Joe explored a different side hustle: photography and personal branding for entrepreneurs. He discovered it wasn’t really for him as writing was still his passion and so he returned to the CCA course.
[9:45] A significant transition at Joe’s company prompted him to seek change. He proactively pitched a project to the head of strategic marketing at his firm, which led to the creation of a new role for him in July of this year.
[13:33] With copywriting roles, it really comes down to demonstrating that you can do great work. People often overlook their current network, but this can be a great place to start looking for opportunities–especially if, like Joe, you can transition within your current company.
[16:21] Joe’s current role is a marketing content manager. Copywriting makes up about half of what he does but he’s also heavily involved in the end to end process of building a pipeline of content (including the ideation, research, interviewing subject matter experts, writing, etc.).
[18:36] Joe’s role is a lot more diverse than he anticipated, with other responsibilities including tracking and reporting, as well as managing LinkedIn. His favorite part is the research, interviewing and writing, as it allows him to meet all kinds of different people in his company.
[20:54] There’s definitely been a learning curve writing for financial services, where the emphasis is on building longer term relationships, rather than a more transactional approach.
[23:28] Copywriters often worry about having to “know it all” but none of us are ever going to know everything before going into any role. Joe doesn’t feel like this knowledge is expected of him, rather that he has the opportunity to continue learning and working with different experts.
[26:02] If you’re curious about copywriting because you think you would enjoy it, Joe encourages you to start in your network. It doesn’t matter how long you might have been in a certain career for, you can still make the transition happen by showing people your value.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“It really all comes down to showing people that you have something valuable to give them, even the way we pitch (‘I have this proposed solution…’). If you’re in that paradigm of ‘well, this is where I went to school, this is my resume…’, yes, you’re going to be very limited with that approach if you want to change careers.” – Joe
“She’s thrilled that I’m a writer reaching out to her, but it was the fact that I offered to do a project and say, ‘hey, I’ll write a blog for you.’ That’s really what made it happen.” – Joe
“The pipeline from college, to job, to grad school, to whatever, is just a way of doing things. But I just think it’s interesting that I found this whole different paradigm just through online learning. I mean, it’s changed my life and it really gave me a tool to change my career.” – Joe
“They obviously want me to focus on my strengths, but also I’m getting these opportunities to learn about marketing from all angles. So I don’t feel like I’m expected to, you know, be the paid ads campaign expert. We have someone who does that. But I have to work with that role. So yeah, I think, as you’re saying, it’s an opportunity to continue learning and that you don’t have to learn everything all at once. You can do it as you go and none of us are ever going to know everything before going into any role. So I think that’s just a good reminder that you’re going to continue to grow in your career.” – Joe
Mentioned on this Episode
Related Links
- The Three Steps to Career Change
- From Financial Professional to Copywriter—Chaundell’s Story
- Find Copywriting Clients by Networking in the Right Places
- Changing Your Career to Copywriting While at Your Existing Job
- Your Goal Should Be to Love Your Career. Period.
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
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Last Updated on June 11, 2024
