Often, writing involves creating your copy deck, sending it to your designer, and then working together to make tweaks. But what happens when, instead, it involves inputting your copy directly into a computer system? You'll likely be interacting with a CMS, or content management system. Here's what it is and how it comes into play in your copywriting. What Does CMS … [Read more...]
Why “Practice Makes Perfect” When It Comes to Copywriting Is Wrong
If the way to get to Carnegie Hall is practice, that must be true for copywriters too, right? Not quite. Instead of focusing on writing, writing, writing, and churning out ads every hour of every day, copywriters should adopt a different technique instead. Why "More" Doesn't Mean "Better" They (whoever "they" is) say that for writers to improve, they need to write. … [Read more...]
5 Easy Tips for Maximizing Your Time
Twenty-four hours often doesn't feel like enough time to do everything you need to do—especially when you're building up your new copywriting career. So, short of bending the rules of time, what's a person to do? While I can't add extra time into the day (yet...I'm working on it), I can offer you some suggestions for maximizing the time you've got. A lot of time management … [Read more...]
Getting Faster Isn’t Always Getting Better
When most new copywriters think about improving their skills, they think about learning to write faster. In reality, this isn't the key to getting better. So, what is? I definitely understand the desire to speed up. When you're sitting there, staring at your screen and waiting for ideas to come to you, the minutes can feel like hours. And when you have deadlines … [Read more...]
How To Develop a Thick Skin
Any kind of writing is open for critiques, but copywriting is one of the few where you'll get that feedback from a full group—and in-person. If you're the kind of person who takes your work personally, you'll need to find a way to get some distance and perspective. How? It can be surprising for new copywriters to get live feedback on their work from a whole group of people; … [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...]
Building Your Career for Maximum Flexibility
Many people get into copywriting because they want the options to work where they want and when they want. And, of course, that's perfectly possible. But to do that successfully (read: without going bankrupt) they have to build their careers accordingly. Now, to state the obvious. You'll never have complete say in when you work since you'll always be creating work for … [Read more...]
How to Protect Yourself from a Computer Crash
One of the most stressful moment in my career thus far had nothing to do with a presentation or a particularly challenging project. No, the most stressful moment came after I'd finished a project...and my computer crashed. How can you avoid the same fate? Here's a simple (if unpleasant) fact of life: At some point, your computer will die. You'll go to turn it on, the screen … [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...]