The Four Qualities You Need to Be A Good Copywriter (hint, good writing isn’t one of them)

Portent Staff — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0000

One of the most common misconceptions about a copywriting career is that all you need is good writing skills. This is hardly the case. There are many great writers in the world who would either not enjoy copywriting, or who would not excel at it. But there are definitely certain qualities that predispose people to a successful copywriting career. Some of them might surprise you, so read on!

The Four Characteristics of a Good Copywriter

Curiosity. Without a surplus of this cat-killing quality, you will neither enjoy nor be successful at copywriting. As an Internet marketing agency copywriter, you may be called to write on everything from bridesmaid gowns to free-range chicken to cubicle furniture. If you work in-house, you will be challenged endlessly to come up with new angles on the same lines of products and services. Without a genuine lust for learning, and healthy tolerance for research, you will not be able to apprentice yourself to understanding the nuts-and bolts of everyday objects (a crux of copywriting). If you crave knowledge for knowledge sake, are tickled by trivia, and love knowing the inside story, you will flourish in a copywriting career. If you want to be the one reading something interesting, rather than writing something interesting, career shop elsewhere. PI Pearl of Wisdom: Love the show “How Stuff Works”? You’ll love copywriting.
Perceptiveness. A huge part of copywriting (and Internet marketing in general) is being able to strike a cord with a particular audience. Whereas with other writing careers like journalism, you have the luxury of interpreting the person’s face and body language as you speak, copywriting is talking to an invisible audience. So it takes a great deal of perceptiveness and understanding of basic human psychology to be a good copywriter. What motivates your target demographic-what makes them angry, frustrated, happy and hopeful-is always in the forefront of a good copywriter’s mind. PI Pearl of Wisdom: Did you love psychology in school? You’ll love copywriting.
Discernment. As a copywriter, it will be your job to take giant glaciers of information, and distill them down to bite-size Internet marketing morsels: taglines, bullets, banners, or a single, gleaming benefit. You have to figure out what information matters, and what information can be discarded. This combination of common sense, reasoning and marketing savvy add up to discernment. Good discernment is the dealbreaker that determines whether your stuff will sell or sink. PI Pearl of Wisdom: Are you the one that nails how a friend is feeling, even when they themselves are still confused? You’ll love copywriting.
Humility. The single biggest distinction between copywriting and all other forms of writing careers (with the exception of ghost-writing) is that you don’t get any credit for your work. This isn’t all bad, but it doesn’t work for everyone. In my case I traded the glory of my byline on the front page for better pay, health insurance, and standardized hours. But frequently people who know me will compliment me on my work and ask me how I can stand letting other people take credit for it. This is one of the caveats of a copywriting career, and something to consider when deciding whether to choose this career path. PI Pearl of Wisdom: If you love behind-the-scenes work like set designer or sous chef, you will love copywriting.

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Copywriting is better than other writing careers

Portent Staff — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:54:43 +0000

If you were a creative writing or English major, you may think your job prospects include pouring coffee in a cafe while scrawling poems on napkins, burying yourself in manuscripts as an editorial assistant in a publishing house, working as a journalist for a local publication, or of course writing the Great American Novel.
But there is one wee writing career that doesn’t really cross the average English major radar (and least it didn’t cross mine) and that’s copywriting. If the muse hasn’t been in lately, why not give marketing writing, aka copywriting, a try? Below, I cover the basics of a copywriting career to show how copywriting is actually preferable to most other writing jobs.
Duties. Most copywriters work in agencies, which means they’ll get to sink their writing skills into a whole portfolio of clients. There are always new accounts coming in and others leaving, so the work doesn’t get too old. Also, if you have a client you particularly don’t like, you’ll be able to alternate between that account and ones you do enjoy. This is pretty painless compared to being stuck in more sedentary writing paths (writing one monthly column, teaching the same English 101 class year in and year out.)
Work environment. An internet marketing agency on the surface appears much less harried than say, a news room. But don’t let that deceive you. There is plenty of adrenaline in copywriting, as crunch campaigns are conceived, new copy ideas are needed on the fly, and eagle-eye editing has to be turned around in the blink of an eye. The tension of an internet marketing agency may bubble beneath the surface, but it’s definitely there. After you get in the groove, working as an internet marketing copywriter becomes incredibly exciting.
Hours. Unlike journalism or entry-level editorial jobs, copywriters in an agency setting usually enjoy a nine to five type schedule, good vacation and reasonable sick day packages. Copywriting is definitely the kind of career that allows you to time to pursue other hobbies. If you’ve been toying with a six p.m. yoga class or Thursday knitting group, it will be easy to balance your career and still commit to outside activities of interest.
Pay. In my experience, compensation packages for copywriters are more generous than for other careers. As a journalist I was burnt out writing very intense, hard-boiled news articles for a human rights newspaper, and I was barely making enough to survive. While the work was rewarding, at the end of the day I was mentally bankrupt and could barely afford McDonalds. Copywriting offers a much more comfortable, stable living and doesn’t tax you mentally the way other writing careers can.
Advancement Opportunities. The advancement structure is similar to other writing jobs. There are usually between two and three other positions above you, including Senior Copywriter, Marketing Director, or Account Manager. Once you dip your toes into agency life, you may wish to simply keep honing your copywriting chops for your career, or you may choose to build on your career within some other avenue of agency life. At any rate, copywriting sets you up with some invaluable skills such as diligence, resourcefulness, and communication, that will be useful in any professional setting.

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The Four Qualities You Need to Be A Good Copywriter (hint, good writing isn’t one of them)

Copywriting is better than other writing careers