TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[3:13] This week’s question is all about pitching and, in particular, if we need to change our approach when pitching and following up with ad agencies. 

[4:18] Kate advises looking at the agency’s website to see which clients they’re already working with. This way, you can bring an idea to the table for one of those clients when you send your initial pitch to the agency.

[6:00] It doesn’t matter if you’re unsure whether a client is currently working with the agency or not. You can still demonstrate that you can do research and think strategically.

[7:15] There’s no difference between how you follow up with an agency or how you would follow up with an in-house company. You can send similar resources that will benefit them such as a podcast episode or an article.

[8:25] Ad agencies should not be seen as intimidating; they are just like any other business seeking support and expertise!

[10:53] It’s common to face resistance when pitching, so schedule it for the time of day when you’re freshest and most likely to be willing to do it.

[12:15] Reminding yourself of the positive feelings you get when you complete a task you’re not so keen on doing can act as a great source of motivation.

[12:53] The more you pitch, the easier it gets. But the more you push it off, the harder it gets.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“I’m going to look at what they’re doing on their website and their email, sign up for their emails (the clients that is of the ad agency), look at their social media, get a landscape of what those clients are doing, and then come up with an idea to pitch to the ad agency about one of their clients.” – Kate

“Worst case scenario, you put together a pitch and you put in an idea for a client and it’s not a client that they work with anymore. All that means is that, yes, it might not be something they’re going to hire you for on that client because they’re not working with that client anymore, but what you’ve done is that you’ve demonstrated, first of all, you do research because you saw that they did work with that client. And second of all that you’re thinking strategically. And that is going to be enough to get them to go, ‘oh, okay, let’s talk with her.'” – Nicki

“It’s all about how you’re thinking and demonstrating that yes, you’re already thinking of adding value and you’re looking at what you can do to support the business versus the alternative of ‘hire me, I want to work with you!’. So it really is just showing here’s what I can already bring to the table and I’m ready to hit the ground running.” – Kate

“Maybe it’s scheduling it in the time of the day or figuring out exactly when you’re going to be freshest and when you’re going to be most likely to to be willing to do it. For example, if I save pitching until the middle of the afternoon, it’s not going to happen. I can’t be creative to save my life in the middle of the afternoon. But you have to make the decision and the commitment for it to be a priority. Otherwise it’s not going to happen. The the only secret is you have to make the commitment to do it.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Copywriting for Ad Agencies: What to Expect and Why It’s Great for Your Career
• BONUS Laser Coaching: How to Pitch Copywriting Services to Agencies
• 5 Ways to Vastly Improve Your Pitches to Would-Be Copywriting Clients
• How NOT to Pitch Potential Copywriting Clients

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

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.

The post BONUS: Laser Coaching – How to Land Copywriting Work with an Ad Agency appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[0:00] Nicki gives us more information about the fourth annual summer Freelance Summit. 

[2:10] Tammy explains what first got her interested in a career in copywriting.

[6:16] Tammy transitioned out of teaching without a fixed job lined up, giving her time to figure out her next steps. 

[8:33] A mindset shift was needed for Tammy to break out of her comfort zone but she decided to go all in with copywriting, rather than build it up on the side.

[11:55] The CCA course set Tammy up for success, helping her to build her website, land her first clients, and get hired for a full-time remote position at an ad agency (all within just a few months!).

[14:42] Tammy worked on a variety of projects, including writing copy for videos, social media, and ads.

[15:48] Collaborating with a wider team gave Tammy more experience to learn and understand the work that goes into different projects.

[16:43] Tammy suffered a setback when her full-time role was impacted by a round of layoffs at her company but managed to bounce back from this.

[21:49] Tammy is open to agency work again, but is also pitching and applying to full-time positions as well. 

[24:46] The biggest lesson Tammy learned was to not stop pitching, especially if your goal is to rely on your own business. Hit the send button to keep growing and learning!

[35:00] Nicki and Kate share Tammy’s very exciting update. After recording the podcast episode, Tammy continued to apply to various copywriting positions. Spoiler: she got the job! And she got it because, while she was not hired for one copywriting role at a company, she told the company to reach out if they had opportunities in the future. Her persistance paid off!

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’s that comfort zone vs breaking out of the comfort zone and it’s so much easier in some ways to go back to that comfort zone and say ‘yeah, forget a career switch, that’s a big deal and such a mindset shift’.” – Kate

“You started in May, brand new, and by November you had been hired for a full time remote position at an ad agency. That is awesome!” – Nicki

“Whether it’s pitching or client work or whatever, you’re going to keep growing and get better and better. And the only way to do that is to hit the send button.” – Kate

“I find myself doing it still where I just sit on the same email. I’m like, ‘oh, I just need to fix this one word, this one phrase I don’t love. I know it could be better.’ And I just go through and then it’s been 30 minutes and if I don’t press send, I’m not going to get a client.” – Tammy

“Do not stop pitching, especially if your goal is to rely on your own business. And that was my goal and I kind of put the brakes on that for a bit and I could see if you stop pitching, you’ll have some dry months and so I don’t want that to happen again. So I started pitching and I just know going into the next role that things will be done differently.” – Tammy

“I was working with producers, designers, art directors, creative directors. It was really cool because I got to see how many people actually are behind a project and working with the client, going through the feedback cycle. This is exactly why I wanted this, to get this experience to learn from people who have been doing this for a long time and really just understand what goes into an ad.” – Tammy

Mentioned on This Episode:

• Tammy’s Portfolio
• Nail Your Copywriting Interview (Parts I, II, and III)
• Land the Job by Acing These Copywriting Interview Questions

Related Links

• Is it Better to Be an On-Staff Copywriter or a Freelance Copywriter?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

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.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 143: Business Builder or Time Waster?

The post Episode 144: Navigating Ups and Downs in a Copywriting Career – Tammy’s Story appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Check out the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:25] We are introduced to Michelle, who owns her own agency, and is very sought after in the digital marketing industry.

[8:00] Instead of having Michelle’s vision be on numbers, it’s been on what those numbers can bring her and how it can open up new opportunities for her and her team. And she tries to transfer that same mindset to her clients.

[10:15] Don’t lose sight of the snowball effect that your work can create, the change it can create for your clients, and remember that when determining your worth and what to charge.

[12:30] Don’t assume that a potential client will understand how your services will benefit their business!

[16:00] If you are ready to hire someone you don’t need to jump right in with a full time employee, don’t forget you can break it up into what will be the most efficient work flow.

[18:30] It is okay to change your business structure. It is your business and you can decide what you want to do and what works best for you!

[19:50] When Michelle is looking for a copywriter, or helping a client find a copywriter, she makes sure to look for someone who can guide her on what they think she needs to get the most leads, sales, conversions, etc.. She wants someone who can give her all the information so she can make a savvy business decision.

[24:00] It’s important to know there is a different between being nervous and being apathetic when on a call with a potential client. Show that you value your services and are interested in the business of the potential client!

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

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.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 104: Biggest Copywriting Mistakes in Our Careers

The post Ep. 105: Building an Agency – with Michelle Fernandez appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

There’s a lot of information out there about copywriting. The bad news, though, is that a lot of it is wrong. Lots of misinformed people are spouting a lot of useless or, worse, downright bad opinions and misinformation that are discouraging writers and keeping them from succeeding.

Let’s try to fix some of that, shall we?

These are some of the most alarming, confusing, and downright silly pieces of misinformation. So, let’s get started!

1. You need to know someone to get a job.

Boy, is this a popular one: A lot of people will tell you that in order to get a job, you need to know someone with clout to get you in the door (usually a creative director). The reason that this misconception is so popular is that people have had trouble getting in by the traditional methods—submitting a cover letter and resume and interviewing—and so they conclude that you have to “know people.”

But this conclusion is faulty because it’s based on faulty inputs. The reason most people who apply can’t get an interview isn’t because they’re not in on nepotism, it’s because they’re submitting cover letters and resumes without training in writing copy and experience writing copy.

Guess what? If I apply to become an architect, they’re not going to call me in for an interview. But it won’t be because I don’t “know people”—it’ll be because I don’t know architecture and it’s not on my resume. Copywriting is a merit-based career: Creative directors want people who can write great copy. They’re just not going to hire people who can’t. Case closed.

Listen to more: How to Land Your First Copywriting Clients

2. It’s all long hours.

It’s likely that this rumor was started by someone who has a buddy that works at an ad agency. Sure, there are some long hours sometimes (especially at ad agencies). But these tend to be during big campaign pushes or when a client has last-minute request. Meaning: it’s not all that often.

However, copywriting isn’t all long hours. Internal agency copywriters and many ad agency copywriters will be the first to tell you that they work perfectly reasonable hours. And freelance and contract copywriters who have built a high-level of flexibility into their careers will tell you they work, generally, only as much as they want to. Nah, it’s not all long hours.

Read more: Copywriting for Ad Agencies: What to Expect and Why It’s Great for Your Career

3. You have to be really funny

It’s true, there are a lot of funny ads out there. But there are just as many (in fact, many more) pieces of copy that aren’t funny and don’t need to be. There are thousands and thousands of businesses that need copy that delivers their benefits messages to their target audiences effectively and in brand voice—but they don’t even want the message to be funny.

If you don’t think of yourself as a comic, don’t worry: You don’t need to be funny to be a great copywriter. You just need to write great copy. And by “great copy,” I mean effective copy—copy that gets people to take the action you want them to take.

Read more: Why Brand Voice Matters in Copywriting

4. Your bosses will be divas/jerks

Ah, another likely holdover from ad agency lore; there are legendary stories about terrible creative directors. And, sure, some creative directors are lousy people. But you’ll find lousy people in every role, in every industry.

More important, though, is the fact that you’ll find many more creative directors that are brilliant, supportive, and insightful. They may (and, really, should) challenge you, but that will help you be a better copywriter. You’ll probably encounter a crummy creative director during the entire span of your career, but you’ll also encounter many more that will become lifelong mentors.

Read more: Why Tough Creative Directors Can Be the Best Ones

5. You spend all day writing.

I guess this misconception kind of makes sense; after all, you’re a copywriter, so you’d just spend all day sitting at your desk and writing, right? Wrong. A copywriter’s day is much more varied. (And if you’ve ever spent eight hours writing, you understand how great that is.)

Copywriters spend time concepting new projects with designers, collaborating with their design partners to tweak layouts on screen, meeting with product managers to kick off projects, and presenting projects to the stakeholder teams. And that’s just a few examples. There’s plenty of writing, of course, but copywriting is so much more than that.

Read more: How Copywriting Projects Actually Come Together

6. You have to do it full-time

Sure, copywriting is a career, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be your full-time career. You can get trained to do it and then pick up clients to write for in your evening or weekend hours and make some extra cash on the side. Of course, if you want to, you can transition to full-time after you’ve picked up some experience and gotten your footing, but that’s up to you.

Read more: How to Be a Part-Time Copywriter from Home

7. Contracting is the same as freelancing

So, I’ve mentioned before that there’s a lot of potential flexibility in copywriting, but it’s not just full-time versus part-time or on-staff versus freelancing. Contracting is when you don’t work on-staff for a company, but you often work in their office on an hourly basis for a certain (usually project-based) period of time. This means you have the flexibility to adjust your hours, but you also get the benefit of being able to interact with people in the office. You usually charge by the hour and, for various reason, you usually make more than you would if you were on staff.

Freelancing, however, is slightly different: Generally, it means that you’re not on-staff for a company, but you work for them on a project basis and usually from home. You may come in for meetings, but it’s up to you to create your daily schedule. In this case, you usually charge by the project.

Read more: What is the Difference Between Freelance Copywriting and Contract Copywriting?

8. If you can write, you’re a copywriter

Yup, this one is unfortunate—mostly because a lot of well-intentioned people jump in with both feet, can’t get work, and then get discouraged and disappointed.

The truth is that copywriting is a career just like any other, and just like any other, it requires training. You need to know how to write copy if you want a copywriting job.

It’s not the same as any other kind of writing. There are structures, techniques, and tools that are totally different from anything else—including content writing. Writing blog posts or articles doesn’t mean that someone knows how to write copy. And no—people won’t be able to learn on the job. Creative directors want to hire copywriters who know how to write copy, not people who are hoping to learn.

Listen to more: What Does It Take to Become a Copywriter?

 9. You need to decide on a niche to be successful

A lot of people think that the best way to build a booming career is to get ultra-specific with their services right away; “I’m an email writer for high-tech health companies.” And you may very well find that you love some aspect of copywriting and want to focus on a niche.

But you can’t possibly know that until you’ve explored a bunch of avenues. When you’re getting started, you want to get as broad experience as possible: write for digital, write for print, write for in-house agencies, write for ad agencies, write for B2B, write for B2C…you get the picture.

You want to get experience in a bunch of different realms to show potential employers that you have flexibility. After all, you have a much better chance of getting hired if many employers are interested in you, instead of just employers in an ultra-specific niche. Sure, later, if you decide you just love a niche and want to focus on it, great. But don’t start there.

Listen to more: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice

10. You can’t make any money at it

This is an egregious lie and I’m actually shocked that it’s gotten any traction. My guess is that people are confusing copywriting with content writing (blog posts and other writing designed to entertain, inspire, or inform).

It’s, sadly, very true that content writers—and pretty much every other kind of writer—don’t get paid well. But copywriting is the exception. Companies recognize the importance of great marketing and great copywriting, so not only is there more demand for copywriters than ever, we’re also getting paid exceptionally well.

Listen to more: Actual Freelance Copywriting Salary: Digging Into One Copywriter’s Numbers

And there you have it: The top ten misconceptions about copywriting all cleared up.

Your Turn!

Is there anything else that’s confusing you about copywriting? Things you’d like cleared up? Things you’ve heard, but aren’t sure are true? Let us know in the comments below and our team of copywriters with a combined 50+ years of experience will weigh in!

The post Top 10 Copywriting Myths and Misconceptions appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs and, for reasons you’ll see in a bit, they’re pretty much inevitable. That said, though, that doesn’t mean that you can’t plan now to protect yourself and your livelihood.

So, I’ve titled this article “Protect Yourself from Agency Layoffs,” but I’ll admit that that’s slightly misleading. You can’t protect yourself from layoffs—only from the aftereffects.

Agency layoffs happen, generally, because the agencies lose clients. Now, agencies gain and lose clients all the time; clients are always switching up which agencies they’re working with. When an agency loses a client or two but also gains a client or two, it usually pretty much cancels out.

People may shift around a bit, but for the most part, everyone keeps their jobs.

But when an ad agency loses a big client or two (or several smaller ones) and doesn’t happen to pick up any new clients quickly enough to make up for that loss, they’re left with a surplus of people. And they can’t afford to keep people they can’t use, so they lay them off.

The truth is that you can’t really protect yourself from getting laid off. I mean, you can keep an eye out and if things look like they’re going south with a client, you can try to make inroads with other departments and start keeping an eye on job listings.

But when it comes to making sure that you can bounce back quickly from layoffs and avoid any major financial hardships, you need to start protecting yourself well before then. Act while you’re still employed. Here are a few tips for doing just that.

Take Freelance Work

Even when you have a full-time job, keep your toes in the freelance world and take on freelance projects every now and again. This keeps your skills fresh, keeps your portfolio fresh and, of course, keeps extra money coming in. Learn more about having a back-pocket career >>

Save That Extra Money

If you possibly can, save up your freelance income to make sure you’ve got your living expenses covered for at least six months. And, of course, if you can save more, save more. If you’ve got a full-time job, one of the very best things to do with your freelance income is to save it until you need it. (Or until you’ve got enough in the bank that you can spend it on something else.)

Save up what we call “eff you” money so you can leave your job when you want to leave—not when you’re laid off.

Attend Industry Events

Attending events and meetups is the kind of stuff you get lazy about when you have a full-time job, but you need to get out there and you need to stay social. It’s super important to network when you’re laid off. It’s very likely that you’ll find work through contacts, but you need to have contacts to begin with. Events and meetups are where you find and build these contacts.

If an agency needs a new copywriter, wouldn’t you rather have your contact come to you first before they post the job to the rest of the world?

Keep Your Resume and Portfolio Up to Date

When there are layoffs, chances are you’re going to be laid off with several other copywriters (and designers). That means that these people are going to be applying for the same jobs. You want to apply to those jobs first and lock them up—and you can do that if you keep your portfolio and resume fresh and ready to send out at a moment’s notice.

Here are some signs your portfolio needs a refresh >>

Maintain Your Relationships With Recruiters

These are other relationships that tend to go stale when you’re working full-time, but don’t let that happen. Stay in touch with recruiters, even if it’s just via LinkedIn or email. If you get laid off, you need to get on the phone and get them working for you immediately.

If the unfortunate happens and you get laid off, do your very best to keep calm and to take action.

Most people spend the first several days after a layoff in a daze, feeling (very understandably) shocked and then depressed. But those are very valuable days! If you can get yourself moving instead of spending them on the couch, you’ll be in a much better position. The sooner you take action, the sooner you’ll find gigs and/ or your next job.

Your Turn

Have you ever had to deal with a layoff—either your own or someone you care about? How did you cope? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Protect Yourself From Agency Layoffs appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

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 and execute on advertising (and/or marketing) initiatives. An agency can be comprised of just a handful of people or it can be a global player with thousands of employees (though generally not all in one location).

Obviously, your experience is going to be just a little bit different in one or the other. But here’s a general look at what it’s like to work in one.

(Interested in learning more about internal agencies and how they differ from ad agencies? Read more here >>)

Ad Agency Offices Aren’t Your Typical Office

Ad agencies used to have a reputation as being the hottest, hippest places you could work. And it’s a pretty well accepted that an ad agency tries to make its office look as cool as it can.

Since start-ups, and then more established companies, started installing kegs, foosball tables, and gaming consoles, they haven’t quite had the same cache, but advertising agencies are still very exciting places to make a living. When you walk into an ad agency, you’ll often be able to tell that it’s an agency—or, at the very least, you’ll be able to tell that there’s some interesting work being done there.

(And, yes, lots of ad agencies have full bars.)

Ad Agencies Attract Whip-Smart Creatives

Beyond the looks, though, you’ll generally find yourself working with some very creative, dynamic, and, yes, quirky people. Especially on the creative team, there’s a premium placed on being interesting and artistic (whatever that means to someone).

Your Hours May Get Long

Work in an agency tends to be very fast-paced and when you’re on deadline, there’s no such thing as “going home at five.” If a client comes back with a change and needs it done immediately, you’d better believe you’re going to do it immediately. In fact, you probably shouldn’t expect to leave at five on a regular basis. As a rule, if you work for an agency you work long hours. But, of course, that keg, foosball table, and Playstation do help to make up for it.

You can also expect to work long hours if you’re helping to prepare a pitch. The presentation that’s made to a potential client to try to win their contract. Pitch time can be especially stressful, too, as you might guess—nobody wants to lose out on business.

Layoffs Are Likely

One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs, and they’re pretty much inevitable. Agency layoffs happen, generally, because the agencies lose clients. But when an ad agency loses a big client or two (or several smaller ones) and doesn’t happen to pick up any new clients quickly enough to make up for that loss, they’re left with a surplus of people. And they can’t afford to keep people they can’t use, so they lay them off. Read here for more about how to protect yourself from ad agency layoffs.

Ad Agencies Let You Distance Yourself from Clients

One nice benefit of working at an ad agency as opposed to an internal agency is that you’re beholden to client requests, but they’re not actually in the same office as you. There’s an art to complaining about problem clients and agency pros have mastered it.

You May Focus on Only One Client

In a big agency, you’ll likely be relegated to working on just one or two big clients. You’ll certainly get to know that client’s style very well, but you may miss not having a variety of work. In a smaller agency, of course, there are fewer hands to do the work. That means you’re likely to get involved with many of the clients.

No Two Ad Agencies Are the Same

Like in any job, a lot of the quality of life is going to depend on who you work for and with. You’ll work closely with designers, so it’s important that you develop good relationships with them. You’ll also enjoy your agency tenure a lot more if you have a supportive, but challenging, creative director to help you grow.

Overall, ad agencies can be great places to work. And, even if you don’t intend to spend your entire career working in one, I strongly encourage you get experience in an ad agency under your belt. (Contracting can be a great way to get in.) People love to see agency work on someone’s resume, so it can only help you nab more and better jobs.

Your Turn

Have you worked in an ad agency? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Copywriting for Ad Agencies: What to Expect and Why It’s Great for Your Career appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

Many new copywriters have dreams of working in an ad agency. But it seems like many ad agencies are only interested in hiring you if you already have agency experience. A bit of a catch-22? Sure—but nothing you can’t overcome.

Here we offer some tips on how to address the question of whether or not you have experience as copywriter at an ad agency.

Why Makes Agency Work Different?

The first thing to understand is that the agency experience question isn’t really about whether you’ve worked in an agency before. There’s no secret agency handshake or anything.

The question is really about whether you can keep up with the agency way of working.

Copywriters in ad agencies tend to work quickly and work well under pressure. Now, this can also be the case for copywriters who work at in-house agencies of course, but the general prejudice is still there.

Agency copywriters may also work on different types of work and create more high-level branding pieces and then translate those across campaigns. At the same time, too, some agency copywriters will help out with “pitch” work, which is the creative an agency puts together to try to land a new client.

Want to know more about what agency work is like? Check out this post >>

What If You Haven’t Worked for an Agency?

So, when you get the “do you have agency experience” question is to answer all those other unspoken questions. You can tell that that you haven’t worked for an agency yet, but that you work quickly and you work well. Tell them about the way you write copy: How you concept your projects, how you collaborate with designers and how you craft your work.

Then, whenever possible, give them specific examples. “I work well under pressure” is much more powerful if you follow it up with a story about when you worked late to turn around copy in a short time frame and it saved the day.

Statements like “I write quickly” and “I like to work closely with designers” are your promises, but stories and examples to that effect are your proof. And you want to prove that they should hire you, right?

Now, of course, this tactic isn’t going to work in every situation. Some recruiters may have been instructed that they can only submit candidates with agency backgrounds, for example. But, eventually, it will work. And once it does, you’ll have your agency job—and your agency experience.

Read More: Avoiding Ad Agency Layoffs

One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs and, they’re pretty much inevitable. Agency layoffs happen, generally, because the agencies lose clients. But when an ad agency loses a big client or two (or several smaller ones) and doesn’t happen to pick up any new clients quickly enough to make up for that loss, they’re left with a surplus of people. And they can’t afford to keep people they can’t use, so they lay them off. Read more about how to protect yourself from ad agency layoffs here.

Your Turn

How have you answered the “agency experience” question? Let us know in the comments below!

The post How to Answer the Agency Experience Question appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

A lot of new copywriters have dreams of working in an advertising agency. But when they get that agency interview, they have no idea what to say. But here’s the secret. There are specific ways you can impress each ad agency you interview with. And you’ll find these right on their own websites.

Before we get into interview prep, the very first thing you should do when you get an interview? Celebrate! No matter what happens in the interview itself, the very fact that they want to spend some of their valuable time means that they see something in you. And you should be very proud of that.

Next, as I alluded to in the intro, I have a little secret that’s going to help you connect with your interviewer and show them how well you’ll fit into the company.

What to Look for on the Ad Agency’s Website

Each advertising agency has a philosophy about how they come up with their ads and how they do business. It only makes sense. Ad agencies know the importance of a strong USP for a product, and they know they’ve got to give themselves one, as well.

So head over to their website and find out what their philosophy is. If it’s not on their home page, check out their About Us or Company page. You’re looking for answers to the questions “What makes this company different?” and “What makes how they create their work different?”

Once you’ve figured out, start thinking about how their philosophy relates to you. In what ways is it similar to the way you work? Come up with a few specific examples and jot down some notes to make sure you don’t forget them.

Show not only that you do understand what their company is all about but that it’s already a part of what you’re all about. An ad agency looks to bring someone on board who will be able to hit the ground running and already understanding their philosophy, their way of attacking creative problems, is a big way of doing that.

Come to the Interview Prepared With Notes

Take notes while you’re prepping to help you remember, review them before your interview, and look for an opportunity to bring them up during it. Your interviewer might ask a question along the lines of, “How do you concept your projects?” You might respond with something like, “Well, I noticed on your website that [insert their philosophy]. I approach concepting and problem-solving in a very similar way; I [insert how it relates to you]. For example, I worked on a project [insert an example].”

Show them what goes into how you create you copy.

Oh, and finding ways to work in that you like collaboration, prefer to work at a fast pace and are willing to put in extra hours to do a project right certainly won’t hurt either.

Read More: Protect Yourself From Ad Agency Layoffs

One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs and they’re pretty much inevitable. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t plan now to protect yourself and your livelihood. Read more about how you can protect yourself from ad agency layoffs here.

Watch More: Landing Work With an Ad Agency

On this bonus episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate talk with a Comprehensive Copywriting Academy student on considerations for landing work with an ad agency.

Much like you’d study any client’s website, you’d do the same for an ad agency’s—with one small twist. Look at the ad agency’s clients and see what opportunities you can come up with for the agency’s clients. Listen in to hear tips for how to put your best foot forward.

Your Turn

How would you sell yourself in an ad agency interview? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Interview Tactics to Get an Copywriting Ad Agency Job appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

Sure, all copywriters daydream about being Don Draper and commanding—or even just being a part of—a creative team in a big, hip advertising agency.

But there’s another kind of opportunity you need to know about that offers all the smart coworkers, interesting projects, and, yes, sometimes tough deadlines outside of the traditional ad agency: in-house agencies.

Ad Agency vs. Internal Agency

First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to terminology.

Traditional Ad Agency

As you probably know, an advertising agency is a group of creatives (designers and copywriters), account managers, media buyers, production teams, and various other roles. An advertising agency is hired by a company to produce ads for them. The hiring company pays the bills and has the final say on all creative.

Depending on the size of the agency, it could have anywhere from a few to dozens of clients. If it’s a large agency, you’re likely to work on just one account (meaning, do work for only one client), but at smaller agencies you may work on multiple accounts.

You may also hear these referred to as a marketing agency.

Internal Ad Agency

The other type is the “internal agency,” which is also called an “in-house agency.” An internal agency is very much like an ad agency except instead of operating separately from their client, they operate within it and for the company itself.

Internal agencies are the groups of people who work for a company and do the advertising and marketing work for it. Like ad agencies, internal agencies are often comprised of all the same type of people—creatives, account/brand managers, production teams, etc.

Most medium and large companies (and many smaller companies) have some size of in-house agency, which means that there’s a lot of internal agencies out there and a lot of opportunity for a copywriter looking for a job!

Differences Between Ad Agencies and Internal Agencies

Unlike ad agencies, the only client an internal agency has is the company that they work for. However, bear in mind that if a company has several brands within it, you could end up working on several of that company’s brands. For example, when I worked at TJX, they needed creative for their brands, including T.J.Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls. It was big enough so that each one had its own internal creative team, but some companies with multiple brands have just one internal agency to service those brands.

While external agencies generally work on bigger campaigns (with all media components), TV, and radio, internal agencies are often responsible for the more day-to-day creative like signage, direct mail, banner ads, emails, and websites. But don’t think that that stuff isn’t interesting and ripe for creativity, too!

Benefits of Copywriting for In-House Agencies

Internal agencies present a huge opportunity for you to do great work, build your portfolio, and meet some very talented people. There’s a bit of a feeling that internal agencies are less dynamic, fast-paced, and creative than external agencies…but that’s simply not true. There are some internal agencies doing amazing work (and there are some external ones doing boring work!).

One of the great things about working at an in-house agency is that you get to know your brand incredibly well. In many cases you’ll be responsible for maintaining brand guidelines and often even creating them. People always look to the copywriter for the right way to say things, refer to things, capitalize things, etc. If there isn’t a tone and brand guide when you join them, it’s up to you to create it.

You also get to work very closely with the people requesting your work. In an agency environment, this is the external company that’s hired you. But in an internal agency, this is often people from the Marketing or Brand teams. You both work for the same company so, in many ways, you’re on the same team. Get together with them to talk through ideas, and get their input before you go too far down a path. You get just as much of a sense of camaraderie with your coworkers at an in-house agency as you do at an ad agency.

Challenges of Working at In-House Agencies

At the same time, though, it can be challenging to work so closely with the “client.” Just because you’re on the same team doesn’t mean you always agree. When you work at an external agency, you can have a bad meeting with a client and then go back to your respective companies. At an internal agency, you can have a bad meeting and you each go back to your desks…just a few feet away.

While there’s a bias in the creative community to think that ad agencies work faster and more creatively than in-house agencies, that’s not true at all. A lot of exciting, dynamic work is done at in-house agencies and, yes, sometimes the deadlines are just as tight.

Which One Do You Choose?

I’m sure you’ve heard me say it before, but the best resumes and portfolios have variety. If you have the opportunity to work for an in-house agency, whether on staff or as a contractor, I strongly recommend you give it a shot.

Try to get both agency and internal agency experience as soon as you can, especially if you’re just starting out. It shows potential employers that you are comfortable in both settings. And you’ll get the chance to see if one or the other is a better fit for you.

Read More: Protect Yourself From Ad Agency Layoffs

One unfortunate truth about ad agency work is that there are periodic layoffs, and they’re pretty much inevitable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t plan now to protect yourself and your livelihood. Here’s how to protect yourself from ad agency layoffs.

Your Turn!

Do you have experience in an internal agency? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

The post What’s an Internal or In-House Ad Agency? appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.