Question

Topic: Career/Training

What Background Do I Need To Be A Copywriter?

Posted by Anonymous on 3/14/2011 at 5:59 AM ET 250 Points
Hey Everybody,

I was hoping to solicit your advice on pursuing a prospective career in advertising...

I recently landed an in-house legal internship with Deckers Outdoor Corporation, the company that owns, markets, and develops Ugg, Simple, Teva, Tsubo, Ahnu, and Mozo shoes. I am really enjoying myself there, and my experience has sparked my interest in pursuing a career in advertising (because I have had a lot of fun working with the brands).

I will be graduating this June from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in History and a Minor in Professional Writing (with emphasis in Professional Editing). In addition to my current internship with Deckers, I worked as an editorial intern at Santa Barbara Magazine for seven months, and I will be picking up another internship in the Spring with an alumni magazine on campus.

I was hoping to use my work experience and my Minor in Professional Writing to pursue a career with an advertising firm as a copywriter upon graduation. However, I was wondering if I should be pursuing post-graduate school just to provide a stronger framework for a future career in advertising. What do you think? I was looking into pursuing a Certificate in Marketing (they offer advertising courses within the program) at UC Berkeley Extension. But should I be looking into Masters programs, or is work experience enough?

I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you for your time.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gail@PUBLISIDE on 3/14/2011 at 10:30 AM Accepted
    I can tell you from experience, writing for advertising or marketing is much different than what you'll learn in a professional writing class.

    I would pursue an internship at an advertising agency and allow a professional to teach you the nuances of writing for an audience that's ripe to buy. They will help you narrow your skills even further than the work you're doing now. (Anything legal tends to be wordy and full of jargon -- you need to know how to tweak your copy and tweak again for advertising.)

    If you're serious about pursuing a career in writing for advertising, go to the trenches. There's not a better place to learn.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 3/14/2011 at 1:11 PM Member
    Was it working with the products, or the products, that you enjoyed. There are advertising jobs all around in different industries, but the feel would be very different if you were advertising cigarettes as opposed to Tevas. Or do you think you would just enjoy working for outdoor lifestyle companies? Very important difference.

    I don't think a Masters degree would be required for most advertising jobs. Probably better to talk to people in copy-writing and find out what sort of career path leads to there. Perhaps you can get a job there straight away. Or maybe you need to do some other work as a feeder job into copy writing.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/14/2011 at 1:29 PM Accepted
    The best copywriters understand customer behavior, behavioral psychology, marketing and business.

    Writing advertising is NOT mostly about writing. If it were, then anyone who could string 3 or 4 sentences together without making a grammar error would be a copywriter.

    Furthermore, there are many sub-specialties even among copywriters. Direct response advertising, for example, is not the same as writing Google Adwords copy. Writing for high-tech products isn't the same as writing for consumer goods. Etc.

    And in visual media, the graphics are often as important as the copy -- if not more so. At a minimum, the art and copy must go together, so it's important for the copywriter to be able to work collaboratively with the art director (and vice versa).

    Put all that together and I think there are a few important next steps: First, talk to some people who are doing what you think you want to do. Ask them the questions you're asking us. Find out what they think is most important for a good copywriter. Work in the area as an intern if possible. Really get immersed in copywriting in the real world before you make a decision that will set the direction for your career.

    Second, read all you can about marketing and consumer behavior. Don't just read marketing textbooks though. Read books on behavioral psychology, sociology, decision theory, behavioral economics, etc. Here's a starter list of good books: https://bit.ly/9bnxbr Read them all. (I'm sure there are others, but you need to start somewhere.)
  • Posted on 3/14/2011 at 1:37 PM Member
    Check out books by Bob Bly: https://www.bobblymarketingbooks.com/

    and the AWAI https://www.expertcopywritingcourses.com/
  • Posted by Markitek on 3/14/2011 at 5:26 PM Member
    It makes my cavities hurt to say it . . . but I agree with mgoodman totally . . . topic, market, problem knowledge is what makes a good copywriter. The clever part gets all the attention but that's not what makes a career.

    No points for me please.
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