Copywriting as a Career

Name: Copywriting as a Career
Author: Rhonda Tenenbaum

Learn how to launch a copywriting career

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 2 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Let's talk about assembling a portfolio and how you can practice beyond this course to stay on the path to becoming a copywriter. You might have heard that you can't get hired without a portfolio. Employers need to see your work. You have to show them what you can do. Can you impress them? Years ago, it wasn't an uncommon sight in New York City to see countless artists, designers, and writers lugging around huge black portfolios coming from or going to an interview. Today, your best material is digitized. So all you have to do is unlock your phone and send an email. There are also many advertising professionals who have created and continuously fine tune their own websites, showing off their finest work. This is something you'll need to consider doing, as you should want to promote your own work. The place to start is with a portfolio. It's an industry standard and standards matter. Now you may be wondering, how can I put together a portfolio if I haven't written anything yet? The answer is to start writing. Do your homework and become an expert on the industry. Watch television commercials, listen to radio spots, view banners, websites, and print ads. Take brochures from businesses, analyze and take notes on tone, language, and the big idea. Study dialogue and narration. Consider sound effects and music. Come up with your own ideas on how you would create a campaign for a well-known brand and then do another and another. Edit, revise, and find people you respect who will give you unbiased feedback on your work. You can also take writing classes in order to improve your skills. When assembling a portfolio, the standard is to select seven examples of your finest work. Choose different industries and media channels. Then place each ad in order of what you think is good and build up to the sample that you're most proud of. Next, post it on a portfolio site tailored for writers. Many of these sites are used for creative people in all of the arts and are user-friendly. You could write your text and upload your print ads and videos in minutes. But you're not finished yet. Now comes the difficult part. Study your portfolio in depth. Look at each ad individually and scrutinize every detail. When the time comes that you are invited to come in for an interview, you'll need to be able to speak about your motivation, concept, and audience.