A story that I read in a decade ago on Salon.com popped up in my newsfeed again, and I was as baffled by it this time as I was the first time. The article is called “I Never Should Have Followed My Dreams,” and it’s about a man who quit his job in a social policy research organization to become a freelance copywriter. The gist of what happened is that he took an … [Read more...]
Looking Back at 2016 and Planning for 2017
As we’re wrapping up the new year, I thought I’d share a year-end ritual that preps me for success in the new year. First, I start by looking back at the year that’s ending and asking myself a few questions. The key, of course, is to be gentle with myself and what’s over, but also be ruthlessly honest in my evaluation. What went well with my career this year? What were my … [Read more...]
Features vs. Benefits Quiz: Test Your Copywriting Knowledge
You know that it’s important to understand the differences between the benefits and the features of a product or service, but are you always able to differentiate them? Let’s find out! This post gives you a little sneak peek into our Comprehensive Copywriting Academy. This features vs. benefits quiz is early on in the Foundations modules. Understanding the difference between … [Read more...]
The Importance of “Eff You” Money: How to Financially Prepare to Leave a Job
It should go without saying, but let's get this out of the way: expletives aren’t generally appropriate in the workplace. They are, however, sometimes appropriate to use in your head. Directed toward your workplace. Sometimes, you just gotta get out of there. But you need to make sure you can. Now, to be entirely clear and avoid any liability lawsuits, we're not financial … [Read more...]
What to Do When Your Confidence Flags
Confidence helps you charge ahead when you’re trying to build your copywriting career. But what do you do when that confidence starts to wane, and you wonder if you can even make a go of copywriting at all? You know, those moments where you're chugging along fine and then you get a "no" from a client or some feedback that's anything less than "I love this!" and it knocks you … [Read more...]
How to Deal With Haters (a.k.a. Loved Ones Who Don’t Understand Copywriting)
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world were always a bright, shiny place and everyone was always supportive? Oh, it would. It would. But that's just not the case. So let's talk about how to stay up when other people are bringing you down. The simple fact of the matter is that people—including our family and friends—are going to have opinions about what you do. To be clear, … [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...]
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...]
How to Deal With Rejection from Copywriting Clients
At some point or another, every single person is going to be passed over for a job they want. It's just the way the world works. But what separates the successful copywriters from the less-than-successful copywriters is what they do after the rejection. Here are three steps you can take to move pass that feeling of rejection and move toward your next win! 1. Remember: … [Read more...]
How To Find a Copywriting Mentor
A lot of career and business guides will advise you to find a copywriting mentor...but they won't tell you how to find that mentor. Until there's a website to connect would-be mentors with mentees like a dating site (note to self: business idea!), you'll have to go it alone. So, here are a few tips to find a copywriting mentor. When you're looking for your mentor, don't … [Read more...]