A gem for aspiring copywriters
August 21st, 2004 by Bill
I came across How to be a copywriter, a list of ten thoughts on writing in the advertising world. You’ll find it on gapingvoid and it’s as good a list as I’ve seen anywhere. In fact, you can save money on books and courses and what not by simply keeping them in mind. These are much more valuable and to the point.
I particularly like numbers 4, 5 and 6:
- Seek out the exceptional minds, avoid everyone else
- Write like you mean the words
- Make the client think differently about his product
My own two cents would be this: notice that number 2 says "getting good is mostly practice." This is why I say anyone who wants to become a good writer has to write. And write a lot. Eventually, without really knowing when it happened, you’ll find you’ve become good. And that’s the closest any writer will ever get to job security.
I also think a person needs to think of him or herself as a writer, rather than a copywriter. I may be simply playing fast and loose with language, but I think if you consider yourself a copywriter you place yourself in a mind set that limits what you allow yourself to do, and your opportunities.
The paying gig is often an elusive beast. So don’t limit yourself.
(By the way, you should probably bookmark gapingvoid or get it in your RSS reader. It has some of the most valuable thoughts on marketing you’ll come across. Unless you’re a traditionalist, in which case it will give you the willies since it often sounds your death knell.
You may also want to look at his How to be creative.)
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