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Excellent Advice for New Copywriters

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by Monica Clement, Feb 11, 2016.

  1. #1
    There's a quote that really helped me when I was just starting out. I'll copy it here because I think it's perfect, and I'll likely butcher it if I try to recreate it myself.

    "Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me...

    All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.*

    A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.*

    And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met.*

    It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through." - Ira Glass
     
    Monica Clement, Feb 11, 2016 IP
    Equatorial likes this.
  2. sikandar

    sikandar Active Member

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    #2
    Great tips Monica. I'd like to add something to that. I train ordinary people to become content writers. I select people who have passion for words, passion for doing something creative and desire to better themselves. Based on my experience, I'd say that finding a good mentor can accelerate your progress in becoming an accomplished content writer or copywriter.

    A good mentor helps the beginners in two ways - first by pointing out mistakes they are making and secondly by introducing methods by which they can learn new things at a fast pace. When these newbies get the feedback that they are getting better day by day, they get motivated further to bring out the best in them.
     
    sikandar, Apr 4, 2016 IP
  3. Anna Wlliams

    Anna Wlliams Peon

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    #3
    Monica, you are so right. Some years ago I started my career as a copywriter, I wish I could read it then. Cool advice.
     
    Anna Wlliams, Apr 6, 2016 IP
  4. scart3r

    scart3r Notable Member

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    #4
    Excellent advice - and, once you DO start to find your voice - you need to keep sticking at it, sorry to say, but it's more of a cycle than a phase... just that each time you cycle - the challenges, quality of your work etc keep getting bigger and better. :) Keep at it Monica (and welcome to DP too!)
     
    scart3r, Apr 9, 2016 IP
  5. sophieleo

    sophieleo Greenhorn

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    #5
    Monica really cool advice
     
    sophieleo, Apr 10, 2016 IP
  6. JudySlean

    JudySlean Greenhorn

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    #6
    I think it is the best mind and I absolutly agree with it! Beliving, beliving, and beliveing in yourself, in your resolt, in your needs it is the best way for success! To tell the truth it is a good rules in your work, and I think that thanks for this easy and untestandebal things, you will be only the best, and as a result a winner! Start it is very difficult, but thanks for it, you can have a lot of possibility to understand yourself!!!
     
    JudySlean, Apr 10, 2016 IP
  7. Kate Evans

    Kate Evans Greenhorn

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    #7
    It is really great that you decided to share your experience here! It was interesting to read all your advices and I think that they have a sense! I will share your post with my friend, because I think it is exactly what she need to make a right choice to be a writer.
     
    Kate Evans, Apr 19, 2016 IP
  8. WebmasterPhil

    WebmasterPhil Member

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    #8
    What your quote rightfully points out is that creative people are born with a talent but it's rough around the edges in the beginning. An artist doesn't paint a masterpiece right off the bat, he dabbles with colors while going through countless drafts of rough sketches. A sculptor doesn't build a statue of liberty overnight. He/She plays with the clay like a child, then he molds it right after many tries. The same for a copywriter who has to scribble notes and fiddle with the right words until it pleases the targeted audience. The keywords for creative people is patience and testing. We should be patience because creativity is not math or science; it's creating something that doesn't always have an exact right or wrong answer.
     
    WebmasterPhil, Apr 30, 2016 IP