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...]
4 Tools to Stay On Top of Your To-Do List
If you love making lists (perhaps you add already-done tasks just to cross them off? I'm in your head!), then this post is for you. There's nothing our remote team loves more than maximizing our productivity and using the best productivity tools possible to get our jobs done from home (we even did an entire YouTube episode on improving productivity; check it out!). That's … [Read more...]
Your Copywriting Career Resolutions for 2024
It’s the time of year when everyone starts thinking about resolutions. And contrary to all the experts and articles that say that “resolutions don’t work,” I remain firmly in the pro-resolution camp with one major caveat: You need to choose resolutions that you can make happen. Not achieving resolutions in the past isn’t a reason not to make them now—especially for … [Read more...]
How To Learn From the Copywriting Greats
One of the surest ways to improve any skill set is to identify the people who are the best at doing what you want to do. If you're an actress, watch other great actors and actresses perform. If you're an artist, study the works of other great artists. But where do you go if you're a copywriter? One of the interesting things about copywriting is that it's kind of a … [Read more...]