What does it take to become a copywriter? You love to write. You eat, sleep and breathe advertising jingles. Maybe this is your calling.
Copywriter. Imagine dropping that title one day. “What do you do for a living?” “I’m a copywriter.”
That sounds nice, doesn’t it.
Copywriter. What a cushy job, right?
If Peggy from Mad Men comes to mind, yes… there could be some of that in your future. There could be pencil skirts, red lipstick and cocktails with clients at a swanky midtown spot in the cards for you.
But keep in mind, not every copywriter rises to Ogilvy wordslinger status. In fact, the vast majority of us live fairly ordinary, behind-the-scenes work lives.
If you’re cozying up to the thought of copywriting as your chosen profession, then you should also face the reality that this is a background role. Copywriters create the razzle-dazzle for other people. Sure, we slay with our words. But, nine times out of ten, no one knows you wrote it.
That’s what they pay you for: spin some fresh words to impress the heck out of people. Then duck out of sight, to give someone else the glory.
Can you become a high-profile copywriter? It really depends.
It takes a special kind of personality to go from Clark Kent-esque word nerd to superhero status and become one of the global standouts in this field. Writers are often sensitive introverts. But to pull seven figures and get worldwide acclaim, you’ve got to be comfortable in the lime light for at least some of the time.
Public speaking, having your face and persona out there for the world to regard, revere and ridicule… it’s a lot of pressure, and not every copywriter is built for that kind of attention.
What else? Becoming one of the highest-paid, best-known copywriters requires that you forge relationships with other standouts in marketing. This can take decades. You’re not going to wake up one day, declare yourself a copywriter, and then immediately crowd-surf your way to the front in this talent-packed industry.
That sounds like a lot. So let’s scale down this monstrosity of a career depiction.
For now, we’ll set the idea of copywriting fame and fortune aside, and instead talk about how to make a pretty good living putting your command of the language to work.
You want to work as a copywriter, and you need a starting point. That sounds quite reasonable. I’m glad we cleared that up.
Here are your steps:
- Warm up your skills by becoming familiar with how to write advertising and marketing copy.
- Take a copywriting course.
- Try your hand at different types of copywriting, for different industries. Decide which you enjoy, and are best suited for.
- Start building your copywriting porfolio. This means write. You don’t have to write for real clients just yet. You can create advertising and promotional mockups, and conceptualize some work samples into existence.
- Once you have a few good writing samples to confidently present, put the word out that you’re available to write for pay.
- Decide how much you’d like to charge per hour just starting out as a new copywriter. If you’re not sure, snoop around to see what other writers charge.
Want more? We’ll have an affordable course coming out soon for you. Discover the EXACT steps required to launch yourself straight into a copywriting career.
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