How to become a copywriter?

It can be said that the copywriter profession is relatively new – it is estimated that it appeared only in the 20th century, i.e. during the heyday of professional advertising. Do you know what the ideal candidate for the position of copywriter is and who can become one and how?

An advertising agency, a branding agency, or various types of marketing campaigns – these are environments in which a good copywriter will find his or her place ideally. This is a person responsible for the text layer of advertisements, brochures, or advertising scripts. He or she deals with naming, creates claims and texts for radio and television advertisements. So how do you break into this “world” and create professional content that will then be used in various types of campaigns?

If you are applying for a copywriter position, you need to have a portfolio because it is a confirmation of your skills. How do you start creating one? A good way is to get involved in various editorial offices or online portals. Creating texts in exchange for references may not sound very appealing, but this type of practice will pay off in the future. Writing articles gives you the opportunity to show your skills and develop your writing skills. In addition to getting involved in editorial offices, you can also sign up for workshops (which will also expand your CV), or start a blog and run it systematically, which will be a calling card in itself.

Sometimes, those who are more determined look for company websites on their own that they believe have poor content. In such cases, these people create their own versions of texts and then send them to the contact address with a proposal to use the content for free, in exchange for the possibility of including the company name in the portfolio. Of course, not every company will agree to interfere with the content posted on the website, but it is still a profitable activity – a person writing to companies with a similar request loses nothing and can only gain.

There are two schools of thought. The first says that taking orders for pennies spoils the market, which is partly true. Why should clients pay higher amounts when there is a copywriter who will do it for much less? The second school says that starting your copywriting adventure even for low rates allows you to get acquainted with the specifics of this profession and builds the aforementioned portfolio. Additionally, you never know whether a client who offers small orders for small amounts at the beginning will not offer something bigger over time. It may also happen that the person offering the order will recommend you to others.

Do you want to become a copywriter and don’t know whether to apply for a position in an advertising agency or remain a freelancer? Everything has its pros and cons. For some, an agency will be a chance to learn new things and a chance to develop, for others, a full-time job will be torture. An advertising agency forces you to create texts day in and day out, which, however, translates into polishing your copywriting skills. This job also teaches you the realities of Polish advertising and customer expectations. Knowledge gained from numerous brainstorming sessions and systematicity in creating slogans or various types of content is valuable experience that will definitely bring profits in the future.

However, despite this, a significant number of people need their own space and irregular working hours, which is why they decide to be a freelancer. This solution is convenient because it does not require sitting in an office from 8:00 to 16:00. The problem may be the fact that in most cases these people earn less than they would in a full-time job. Copywriters with little experience may also not know where to look for ads, what to look for, what to expect, and how to avoid being scammed.

Let’s start with the fact that it’s not that important what education you have. Of course, sometimes employers look more favorably at someone who has a journalism or Polish studies degree in their CV, but this is not a strict requirement that must be met. Internet texts have their own rules, and education in a completely different industry (e.g. cosmetics or psychology) can be a starting point for creating texts in these fields. Of course, if we assume that such a person can write correctly and has some experience in marketing and the art of persuasion, so that the texts are interesting and appealing to the recipient.

A copywriter must be able to interest the recipient. This is a job for you if you have the ease of expressing your thoughts, the ability to adapt language to the needs of different types of texts, and the willingness to familiarize yourself with new topics in a short time.