"How do you feel about doing some work for a strip club?"
With that one simple question, my career in copywriting and content marketing began. How I actually felt about it didn't really matter. I knew I wanted to be a copywriter more than anything else, and after a Summer of hearing, "we'll let you know when we've decided," I needed to take what I could get. I was happy for sure, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting when I walked into the agency for my interview.
Without going into too many details, that account didn't go so well. To be frank, it pretty much sucked. But through some sort of miracle, my agency let me stick around, and from there I learned more important lessons in one short year than I could have ever hoped to learn in four years of college. Through both success and failure, I've grown in ways I could never have anticipated. These are the six lessons that made it all possible.
Find a Mentor - This is in practically every professional advice book ever written for a good reason. Finding and following someone who’s accomplished what you’re after puts all your preconceived notions about copywriting into perspective. I had several false mentors along the way, but when I found a real one, I began to evolve in ways I could never have anticipated. I always knew I could write, but finding someone who both believed in me AND wanted me to be better was more empowering than any “good job” or “way to go!” Chances are, you're surrounded by potential mentors, just make sure you're open to them when they come to you.
Don't be Afraid To Ask For Help - Writing doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit. Maybe your headline is conceptually amazing, but lousy in execution. Maybe your email subject is clever and witty, but won't resonate with the audience. When you're experiencing doubt, there's nothing wrong with asking your co-workers for their opinion. After all, it's better to have co-credit for something great than it is to have full credit for something mediocre.
Learn Anything About Everything - The more points of reference you have to draw upon, the more well-rounded your writing will be. After all, inspiration can come from the strangest of places if you look at them right. See sights you've never seen before, read about topics you've barely even heard of, do anything and everything you can to know and experience new things and draw upon those experiences whenever possible. Writing infused with real experience and genuine feeling will always resonate more than a canned attempt to be clever.
Read More Than You Write - Even the best writers can start to get repetitive. When your writing for a mattress store starts sounding exactly the same as your writing for a medical client, chances are you need to get out of your comfort zone. The best way to do that? Reading. Read novels, trade publications, tweets, anything that will broaden your view of the written word and help you adjust to different voices.
Don't Take It Personally - Nothing can quite prepare you for your first "this sucks." You might not hear those exact words, but deep down, you'll know. Whether your original copy got decimated in editing, or you were flat out told to go back to the drawing board, you can't take it personally. At the end of the day, your entire job is to write to the taste of others. Clients and managers aren't always right, but when you're just getting started, you're hardly in any position to argue. Take it in stride, find a middle ground, and do your best to uphold quality while you address the issues at hand.
Become a Better Marketer- The best part about being a writer? No matter what challenges may come, no one can take that skill from you. But past a certain point, copywriting ability is only half of a skill if it's not coupled with genuine marketing know-how. Understanding what the client needs and how to give it to them is just as important if not more important than your writing itself. People will accept an OK idea with sound strategy over a wild idea with no grounding in their business needs pretty much 100% of the time. It may feel like your creativity is being caged in, but nothing could be farther from the truth. With a more well-defined goal, your ideas will take on a new-found purpose, and their greatness requires far less explanation- they just work.
Of course, my experience is informed by where I work and who I work with. Your experience might be 100% different, and that's what makes the creative world so wonderful. It may seem scary or even a little bit insane, but no one set of advice can ever prepare you for the journey you're about to embark on. Whether you're looking for that first job or you're just strapping in for the ride, always have faith in your talent.
Godspeed.