When people get excited about a new career, they often want to jump in with both feet. However, there are big benefits to starting that new career while you’re in your old one. I can certainly appreciate the excitement of going all in on a new career … but I’m definitely not a “jump and build a net on the way down” kind of person. It makes a lot of sense to build up your … [Read more...]
When Copywriting Panic Is Bad—and When It’s Good
Your heart pounds. Your stomach is in knots. You break out into a sweat: You’re panicked. But the good news is that sometimes that panic is actually good for you. How can you tell the difference between good versus bad panic when it comes to copywriting and what are the techniques to fight copywriting panic? So, right off the bat, I want to cover the fact that this is going … [Read more...]
What’s a Back Pocket Career? (And Why You Need One)
Getting fired or downsized is devastating—emotionally and financially. But there’s something you can do to help prepare yourself and make sure a career shock doesn’t completely throw you. Everyone (and I truly mean everyone) needs a back pocket career. If you like copywriting, but aren't sure you want to do it full-time, that's totally fine! There are plenty of … [Read more...]
How To Prepare for a Copywriting Interview
You applied for the copywriting job and got the call to come in for an interview. Congrats! Now what? You need to prepare for the interview. This means having a ready answer for commonly asked questions and doing some prep work. Your standard interview prep should involve familiarizing yourself with their company philosophy, reorganizing your print portfolio to features … [Read more...]
6 Work-From-Home Sanity Killers (And How to Combat Them)
Sometimes, working from home is just as much a curse as a blessing. The distractions are plentiful, and there’s no boss to raise an eyebrow when you’re online shopping. Those built-in boundaries that help keep you focused in an office simply don't exist when you work from home. If you watch a movie at your desk or lay your head down to take a nap, there are no coworkers to … [Read more...]
4 Productivity Tactics
Knowing what you need to do is one thing, but doing it is another. Luckily the “productivity” industry is always coming up with new ways to help us get things done. Despite the fact that productivity improvement has been a common goal for at least 100 years, we’re still discovering new and better ways to achieve it. Here are four must-try productivity habits for … [Read more...]
Copywriting Q&A: How to Plan for the New Year
A new year means a fresh start—and a prime opportunity to jumpstart (or re-start) your copywriting business. Here’s how to plan your year to make sure it rocks. Read on… With 2016 fast approaching, it’s time to get ready to start this new year and hit the ground running. Here are three possible frameworks you can use to plan your year and make sure it’s as successful as it … [Read more...]
What to Do When Your Confidence Flags
Confidence helps you charge ahead when you’re trying to build your copywriting career. But what do you do when that confidence starts to wane, and you wonder if you can even make a go of copywriting at all? You know, those moments where you're chugging along fine and then you get a "no" from a client or some feedback that's anything less than "I love this!" and it knocks you … [Read more...]
5 Ways Super-Productive Copywriters Start Their Days
The way you start your day can set you on a successful path for the rest of your 24 hours. Everywhere you look, another article is popping up about how various business leaders and success gurus start their day. But what day-starting habits are most important for copywriters...particularly those who deal with work-from-home distractions? A lot of productivity articles will … [Read more...]
Copywriters Confess Their Dirty Secrets
Here’s a not-so-secret secret: Nobody’s perfect. But the ways that copywriters aren’t can be very instructional for other new or would-be copywriters. So, let’s unearth some deep, dark truths from real-life copywriters and learn away. In the words of Mary Poppins, I am perfectly perfect in every way.* But I happen to know a lot of copywriters, and I also happen to know that … [Read more...]