Home How to Become a Copywriter

Print This Page

So you want to be a copywriter? There are two main requisites to being a good copywriter. You need to be a great salesperson. And you need to be a reasonably good writer. Why do I put the requisites in that order? Simple. Copywriting is selling in print. Or, in other cases, selling to the ear as in radio or on the computer screen as in Internet advertising.

If you can write well but can’t sell, forget copywriting as a career. If you can sell but are not a great writer, you have a chance. If you’re both, you can be great.

Copywriters are creative people. Copywriting takes imagination. It takes years or hard work and study. While copywriting at the top pays extremely well, a new copywriter starts at low pay. My first copywriting job was writing commercials for a radio station at minimum wage. I worked harder and longer than I do now.

But, before that, I was a published freelance writer. My first articles were published in a national magazine while I was still in my early twenties. My point is, you have to pay your dues. Don’t think a correspondence school or some lessons or a few books will make you a copywriter.

Get a job in Sales

I suggest you first get a job selling. Sell anything. I sold advertising, printing, life insurance and every other widget when I started out. I also worked on a newspaper and sold magazine articles. I did it all so I could later put it all together.

Go to College

Next, get a college degree. Do you have to have one? No. However, the discipline of college will give you what you will need later in life. In addition, you need a liberal arts education. You have to know about lots of things to be successful as a copywriter.

Your First Job

Try to get an internship at an advertising agency. Alternatively, you can try to get a job as a junior copywriter for a small firm that needs someone in-house. Don’t expect to get paid much. You can also try to get on as a copywriter at a radio station. I worked my way through college working in radio, both on air and as a copywriter and ad sales person.

Build Up Your Portfolio

Begin to build up a portfolio. Find someone who will let you work on speculation. Begin to work for nothing. You have to have a portfolio and you can only get one by actual work. Moreover, in the beginning, no one will pay you. At least they won’t pay you much. After all, you’re not worth much yet. Let’s face it.

Should You Freelance?

It’s not easy to freelance. You have to understand business and you have to be the kind of person who can handle risk and insecurity. Believe me, you’ll have both! Therefore, my advice is not to get into freelancing until you’re very good. You need the guidance of older, more experienced copywriters to guide you. Then, if you want to freelance, try it.

Copywriting is a very rewarding career. If you’re good, you can help people build their businesses. You can help them make money. You add so very much to society. In addition, you provide yourself with a good living. It’s a fun way to live. It’s a cool job. But it’s not for everyone and it’s not easy.

So prepare yourself. You’ll be criticized a lot. You’ll mess up a lot. You may not make it. But, if you do, you’ll be one of the few people who can honestly call themselves a professional copywriter. And that, my friend, is something to be extremely proud of.

Have Questions?

If you want to know how much to charge or how many words are in a radio commercial or just about anything else related to copywriting, don't ask me. I don't give free advice. Find you own way and do your own thing. That's what I did. Been doing it for some four decades and it's paid well.