So, you wanna be a Copywriter

Howdy, welcome to Copywriter Club – membership, infinity +1 and counting.

There’s a lot of us about – the good, the bad and the gormless. But, you want to be one of the gooduns.

And I can’t say I blame you, because when it goes well; freelance, in-house or agency-side, being a Copywriter is a cracking way of paying for your daily dose of Monster Munch and Wine Gums.

I’ve written plenty of posts about the do’s of copywriting, but here are a few don’ts. Stuff to avoid, so you don’t come a cropper before you even get past the first post.

Things to avoid if you want a happy Copywriter’s life:

Calling yourself ‘we’
It may make you feel bigger, more credible, whatever. But, nobody’s falling for it. If it’s just you on your lonesome, be you on your lonesome – loud and proud. If you have a network of other talent you can call on to get the job done, by all means talk about it, but you are not a we. You are a you.

Using a Hotmail address
F’ goodness sake, who’s going to take you seriously? You’re asking people to part with money for your services. They want to feel like they’re dealing with a pro. Put your business head on and start looking like a grown up, it really will help get your foot through the door.

Telling everyone you’re an expert
Fair enough if you’ve written your way there and back a dozen times, but if you have two years’ experience, you’re still an apprentice. That doesn’t mean you should shuffle around looking at your feet, blushing every time someone more senior questions your decisions. However, don’t tell me you’re an influencer while you’re still popping pimples.

Not putting the graft in
If you believe the articles that say you can easily ‘earn £100k a year’, oh boy are you in for a shock. Being a Copywriter is a slog; a head down, keep working at it, keep grinning through gritted teeth, uphill battle to the middle. Don’t sit there waiting for it to happen. Honestly, it won’t, unless you get busy and start stirring things up.

Nicking other peoples’ work
You will get found out and even if you don’t, you’ll end up hating yourself and you may even end up in copywriting hell. Have some self-respect. Do the work, fill your heart with the joy of doing it, be a good egg. Guilt is a heavy burden to carry around for the rest of your life.

Turning your nose up
One school of thought says that you need to be fussy about what you work on. I agree. But, if you’re at the start of your career, it’s all about learning, learning, learning. And let’s be honest, that learning never stops. Push yourself. Whatever the challenge, say yes to it (within reason) and work it out as you go along. The worst that can happen is you find out what you enjoy and what you don’t. Say yes at the start; start saying no later on.

Slagging other writers’ off
Publicly ripping other people’s work to shreds is what they (I) call, a bad look. You don’t know the backstory, and anyway it’s rude and destructive. How would you like it? Constructive, one-to-one criticism, done out of love = good. Tar and feathering on the village green = bad.

Expecting the game to be played fairly
This is business kiddo. And business isn’t always sweetness and light. Clients will ghost you, they will pay you late and they will replace you with the next big thing. But…

Letting the hardness of the world change you
It’s easy to let other peoples’ money-driven meanness spoil who you truly are. Growing a thick skin is great, but a hard heart is another thing. Just because the business world is mean and nasty sometimes, doesn’t mean you should be. You’ll have to live with yourself forever, so put on your game face, but be a lovely human too.

Doing it (only) for the money
We’ve all got bills to pay, but thankfully there’s more to life than a swollen bank account. Copywriting is not a get rich quick scheme. Inevitably, there will be lean times, so you need some serious stamina and if you don’t love (or at least, really like) what you do, chasing ££££££s is gonna trip you up in the end.

Thinking you know it all
You don’t and you never will. That’s a good thing though. The world is forever on the move and there’s always a gajillion new things to learn and write about. It never gets stale (unless you dig yourself so deep into a rut, you forget how to dig yourself back out again). Stay open, stay interested, stay fresh.

Pushing water uphill
Reality check time. You know when you were little and they said, “you can be anything you want to be”? They were fibbing. Not everyone can be the world’s fastest sprinter. Not everyone can be America’s Next Top Model. Not everyone can (or should) be a Copywriter. And there’s no shame in that. If it isn’t working – after trying really, really hard at it – walk away and find ‘your thing’ in another place.

Sticking to the rules
The rules are always changing. You make the rules. There are no rules.

Hanging on every word of idiots like me
All of the above applies to me too. I’ve made a ton of ‘mistakes’. I don’t know it all. If there’s one grain of something or other in all of the above that helps you – great. Now get out there and carve your own path. Work hard. Have fun. Keep your nose clean.

Love and patience.

Jonathan x

Jonathan Wilcock (that’s me) is a Senior Freelance Copywriter.
You can drop me a line here, or email jonathan@sowhatif.co.uk