Hi! One of the great things about copywriting is that it’s an entirely merit-based career so (once you learn to write effective copy) you’re judged entirely on the quality of your copy. If you can write great copy, people will hire you, regardless of what your background is. And, yes, you do need to build a portfolio, but that’s one of the things we teach.

Hi Max,

Copywriting certainly works in any language (and the skills are the same across the board) but I generally don’t recommend that people try to write copy in languages other than their native ones. There are so many idiosyncrasies in languages, not to mention ever-evolving jargon and slang, that it’s often too hard for a non-native speaker to try to write authentically and effectively in a language. This certainly depends on the person, though – I don’t want people to have false hope, but I also can’t possibly know people’s skill levels. It has to be up to each student to decide what’s best for them.

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi Irina,

I don’t want you to feel discouraged, but I also don’t want to give anyone false hope. It may be that you are *so* well-versed in another language that you have mastered all of the idiosyncrasies, jargon, and slang, but there are very few people who are able to do so in another language and it would be irresponsible of me to tell them that they can. If you have, that’s fantastic! There are just far *more* people who won’t be able to. If you feel strongly that you can then you can certainly move forward as you decide, but I want to make sure people have a realistic picture of the opportunities and limitations.

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

I think this article is very interesting.

I would like to ask if the CTA path is also suitable for those who are not native English speakers.

I know it depends on the starting level but…do you think it’s possible to get a job as an ‘english’ copywriter (in a reasonable time) with commitment, practice, and adequate grammar checking tools, after attending CTA?

Thanks

Max

I feel really discouraged whenever I read that everyone should try to stick to writing in their own language. Not all of us have a first language like French or Spanish, so we don’t all have so many choices when it comes to finding clients. Also, people today often move from one country to another, and they often have to learn to do the job in another language. I, for example, come from a country where only 2 million people speak my language, and now I live in an English speaking country. I have a background in journalism, marketing and media, so whatever I choose to do will be tightly connected to writing. I try to absorb the language in every possible way, and even though it’s hard, I keep trying. It would be great if we could read something more on this topic.

Hi Jody,

Ha – I love that! And it makes complete sense to me; if you know the rules, you know how to break them well. 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi Frank,

Grammarly is definitely helpful, but I’ve found that I can’t rely on them to catch every mistake. Start with Grammarly and then follow it up with a thorough read-through is my go-to system. 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi J,

I use Grammarly, too, but it’s definitely not perfect – mistakes and typos still sneak in all the time. Like spellcheck in Word, it’s a good resource, but we can’t depend on it 100%. And agreed – as you can see, I’m, similarly, the queen of m-dashes. (Though they show up as n-dashes in this commenting software. ) 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki