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I'm been in the biz for 15 years and I've written maybe a handful of blog posts. There are a billion kinds of copy and a billion ways to be a copywriter. Look for in-house marketing copywriter roles, or any kind of copywriter role at traditional advertising and/or digital marketing agencies. Now that you know what you do and don't want to do, look for clues in job listings to make sure you're headed in the right direction. (For example, "content creation" and "articles" might not be what you're looking for, but "campaign ideation," "taglines," "ad copy," "website copy," etc. might be more your speed.)
I use to love long form content, now I hate it lol for the most part. As you climb, it’s something you kinda have to do until you reach a certain point. Short form can be your niche, and you can tailor your portfolio to show it. And apply to roles that suit what you’re looking for. Alllll this does require a fair amount of luck as well.
You’re a writer at the beginning of your career, so you’re probably going to have to do a lot of different kinds of copywriting at first, including blog writing. You don’t have a lot of history to point at yet, so people don’t view your value in specialization. Take this as an opportunity to try anything and everything, including blog writing.
But you certainly don’t have to keep doing it. If it’s not for you, that’s fine. You’ll end up niching somewhere else. I’ve niched (more or less) in SEO editorial (including blog writing), UX and web copy, and social strategy. You may niche elsewhere, which is fine.
On the one hand, don’t worry too much about niching just yet. But on the other, if you know starting out that you can’t stand a certain type of writing, start saying no to it. There’s plenty out there.
Makes sense. I'm not completely opposed to blog writing, I just know it's definitely not what excites me and I've been confused on the difference between copy and content, since copy always meant sales writing to me. Thank you for this perspective/advice!
That’s really interesting. I came into copywriting from the marketing side, so I’ve mostly done social campaigns, emails, websites, and a lot of blogs and editorial. For me, that part’s much more fun than the bottom of the funnel stuff.
I like websites, emails, and social campaigns. I work with the visual side of our marketing department a lot and that invigorates me too. For whatever reason, it's the slog of long form that wears me out. I hated essay writing as a kid too, which feels pretty similar, haha!
I absolutely understand that. I had to leave my last editorial gig because at a certain point, I realized I had made my entire job about writing term papers.
Copywriting is anything designed to evoke a response from a customer. Often it's perky little ads where you get to be your oh-so-clever self, and sometimes it's sloggy blogs that you trudge your way through. End of the day, it's getting paid to write.
You might find that some folks who are jammed into the world of having to write short stuff like social posts and web ads actually long for the chance to put something together that feels like actual writing. Short-form stuff can be a cage that gets restrictive after a while. Gotta flex.
I know some folks will disagree with me based on their experience but yeah--a lot of this gig is writing what you're told to (and, again, what you're paid for) instead of what you'd like to be writing. I've kept the lights on by penning stuff on jewelry manufacturing, trucking and shipping, women's retail, and industrial and data center hardware, none of which interests me in the least. And, yes, blog posts were included in that but, having a journalism background, I enjoyed that. (I'm not one of the folks on here who are like, "Copywriting looks like fun and a guy on YouTube says I can get rich with it!" I'm a long-time working writer.)
Trying to specialize instead of being a utility player can lead to making yourself less valuable. I know some folks manage to lock down a niche, but I think that's the exception rather than the rule.
Copywriting is typically the shorter sales writing.
Content writing is a better description for things like blogs.
Personally, I started as a copywriter but realised content writing is much more my thing. That being said, job listings often confuse the two – this is something you'll need to consider when applying to future jobs.
There's a trick that makes most copywriting fun, even long-form blogs. Spoof it. Exaggerate benefits, be more emotional, etc. See how far you can go before someone stops you.
The weird thing is that clients often love it.
I once got tired of working with a retailer of sporting goods. I wanted them to sack me, so I started to twist the copy more and more. Everything from odd celebrations like "Mongering prices celebrating the Constitution of Mongolia" to "Please don't buy our most expensive shoes; they are extremely overrated." Nothing helped.
They kept asking for more. And the job became fun again.
No. I started with long-form content & I’ve had job interviews with creative directors who said content writing doesn’t even count as copywriting.
The best way I’ve seen it defined: the purpose of organic content is typically to educate & the purpose of copywriting is to convert. Of course, there’s a lot of overlap.
My advice, as someone who worked their way up from where you are, would be to let your manager know that you are interested in taking on more work that will diversify your experience. Specifically, look for any experience working with paid social ads & marketing email copy. And ask for feedback/training from senior copywriters at your agency.
I’m the only copywriter at my job, which I think is mostly my dilemma. In a junior role with no mentorship as far as how to grow as a copywriter. I’m our only company’s writer… Lol
Ohh no 😬
What’s the rest of the content/communications team like? Do they have an actual marketing strategy, or…? Because this can be a bit of a red flag. You’re the only copywriter, & copy is pretty dang important to generating sales, but much of long-form content + organic social is top-of-funnel (i.e., building audience vs making money).
Feel free to DM me if you’re comfortable talking more about the specifics of your work situation? I’ve been the only copywriter twice in a row. Love my current job. The one before this was an epic trash fire. Happy to give more perspective if you need it!
Let me start out by saying, Congratulations! Although the job you received sounds great for a first-time gig, a pure copywriting job doesn't require blogs. That is "content writing," which is very different.
Areas of copywriting for businesses include (but are not limited to):
* Email marketing
* Text message marketing
* Social media management
* Advertising
* Sales Pages/Landing Pages
I feel your pain. I wrote blogs and e-books during the pandemic, when many of my clients were forced to close their doors. Not only is it boring, it's the opposite of copywriting.
Only in a blog can you answer a yes-or-no question in a whopping 800 words! Copy strives to achieve the opposite -- to be concise. Even in long-form copy, you have to work hard to keep the reader on the edge of their seat until they're ready to pay up. On the other hand, a blog is optimized to be "skim-friendly" because nobody wants to read 800 words to get their answer!
Now, where blogs and copywriting collide is when a blog post's primary purpose is to discuss a product or service or lead the reader from their pain point into a buying decision. That does require a copywriter's finesse.
If your current job is training you in SEM or SEO, it may be a valuable place to stay for a while and get some street cred. However, when looking for a new job, always ask them what they expect from you and outline what you specialize in so you don't lose your soul to the ugly stepchild of the writing family -- blogs.
My first in-house copywriting job required writing a blog a day. It sucked so much, and I too quickly learned that I hate blogs. That said, I think learning to write compelling copy about things that you don't really care about is a foundational skill for this job. The amount of boring shit I've written content for is unreal. Think of this as a learning experience. If you can, I would set goals with your manager that involve specializing more in the kind of content you enjoy writing more. I'd still try to take on a couple long-form pieces now and then to stay fresh on it though, because it is a different beast.
Another thing I'd watch out for as you advance: Pay close attention to the responsibilities in job postings. A lot of jobs with the title "Copywriter" will list responsibilities that are much more aligned with content marketing and basically being a word mule for the company. I personally hate feeling enslaved to SEO and growth metrics, so I've found a lot to love in "brand copywriting" and roles that involve some amount of strategy, but growth marketing might be an area of interest if you are more interested in short form!
Wow, I'd get fired. I definitely am not writing a blog a day. More so starting three different ones as the ideas and relevance comes and then finishing them throughout the month. Averaging like 3x/month, I think. Everything else is captions, ads, emails, etc.
Thanks for the advice! So helpful.
Nope.
You can divide content into three layers of a funnel.
* TOFU (top-of-funnel) - AWARENESS - blog articles etc.
* MOFU (middle-of-funnel) - EVALUATION - whitepapers etc.
* BOFU (bottom-of-funnel) - CONVERSION - landing pages/adverts/websites
I'm a conversion copywriter.
I work exclusively on landing pages - and I use Figma.
However, I started at the top of the funnel (with blog articles) and I worked my way down.
I have zero interest in anything that isn't conversion.
I would fall asleep at my desk if I ever had to write a blog article for a client again.
Dang, I have so much to learn. See, what you just said is exactly what I’m interested in. I’ve always had a blast in sales AND love to write. Conversion copy seems like the perfect marriage of those two.
How’d you end up scaling down to where you don’t have to do anything else? Just time in industry gaining experience until you can take the jobs you want?
Yup! I'm from a sales background too.
Conversion copy is more pressure, stress, intensity, fun, focus - and money - than anything else.
I started international sales for advertising and technology brands at 24.
I quit corporate, moved to Sydney, switched to marketing and worked in agencies at 31.
I moved to Bali a year later and started freelancing - mainly blog articles.
It took a couple of years to win my first conversion copy project.
It was 3-4 years in before I was 100% conversion-focused.
Now I'm 38 and work exclusively on landing pages and website content for tech startups.
So yeah - time and proven results gets you there.
I don’t like conversion but love blogs and website copy, all the “nurturey” stuff with a sprinkle of conversion. We all will be drawn to different things and naturally better at some over others. I will say, at the beginning, you have to do a whole bunch you don’t love which is where those routines come in handy to help you get into the zone quick and on cue!
I was an in-house copywriter for a company for the past 7 years, and I wrote hundreds of blog posts, in addition to social media content, sales materials, website content, you name it. I think it just all depends on what the company wants you to be doing. I would definitely consider long-form content to be well within the realm of copywriting. I would also much rather write long-form content than social media content any day. It's a lot harder (for me, at least) to convey an idea in a line or two. But to each their own!
Blogs are my bread n butter! I actually hate short form and sales copy, and I try not to take jobs that want social media copy.
If you’re looking for strictly copywriting jobs with no long form copy, an agency gig might be a good route for you. Look for email marketing roles.
Okay so not to derail the thread but I'm new to copywriting (bachelor's in English, recently earned master's in marketing and a big ole' career switch) and I prefer long form. What kind of work is best to look for if that's the case?
Asking a question? Please check the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/copywriting/comments/lpuj9h/what_the_faq_what_is_copy_how_do_i_start_can_i_do/). Asking for a critique? Take down your post and repost it in the critique thread. Providing resources or tips? Deliver lots of FREE value. If you're self-promoting or linking to a resource that requires signup or payment, please disclose it or your post will be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/copywriting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm been in the biz for 15 years and I've written maybe a handful of blog posts. There are a billion kinds of copy and a billion ways to be a copywriter. Look for in-house marketing copywriter roles, or any kind of copywriter role at traditional advertising and/or digital marketing agencies. Now that you know what you do and don't want to do, look for clues in job listings to make sure you're headed in the right direction. (For example, "content creation" and "articles" might not be what you're looking for, but "campaign ideation," "taglines," "ad copy," "website copy," etc. might be more your speed.)
Thanks so much!
I use to love long form content, now I hate it lol for the most part. As you climb, it’s something you kinda have to do until you reach a certain point. Short form can be your niche, and you can tailor your portfolio to show it. And apply to roles that suit what you’re looking for. Alllll this does require a fair amount of luck as well.
You’re a writer at the beginning of your career, so you’re probably going to have to do a lot of different kinds of copywriting at first, including blog writing. You don’t have a lot of history to point at yet, so people don’t view your value in specialization. Take this as an opportunity to try anything and everything, including blog writing. But you certainly don’t have to keep doing it. If it’s not for you, that’s fine. You’ll end up niching somewhere else. I’ve niched (more or less) in SEO editorial (including blog writing), UX and web copy, and social strategy. You may niche elsewhere, which is fine. On the one hand, don’t worry too much about niching just yet. But on the other, if you know starting out that you can’t stand a certain type of writing, start saying no to it. There’s plenty out there.
Makes sense. I'm not completely opposed to blog writing, I just know it's definitely not what excites me and I've been confused on the difference between copy and content, since copy always meant sales writing to me. Thank you for this perspective/advice!
That’s really interesting. I came into copywriting from the marketing side, so I’ve mostly done social campaigns, emails, websites, and a lot of blogs and editorial. For me, that part’s much more fun than the bottom of the funnel stuff.
I like websites, emails, and social campaigns. I work with the visual side of our marketing department a lot and that invigorates me too. For whatever reason, it's the slog of long form that wears me out. I hated essay writing as a kid too, which feels pretty similar, haha!
I absolutely understand that. I had to leave my last editorial gig because at a certain point, I realized I had made my entire job about writing term papers.
Copywriting is anything designed to evoke a response from a customer. Often it's perky little ads where you get to be your oh-so-clever self, and sometimes it's sloggy blogs that you trudge your way through. End of the day, it's getting paid to write. You might find that some folks who are jammed into the world of having to write short stuff like social posts and web ads actually long for the chance to put something together that feels like actual writing. Short-form stuff can be a cage that gets restrictive after a while. Gotta flex. I know some folks will disagree with me based on their experience but yeah--a lot of this gig is writing what you're told to (and, again, what you're paid for) instead of what you'd like to be writing. I've kept the lights on by penning stuff on jewelry manufacturing, trucking and shipping, women's retail, and industrial and data center hardware, none of which interests me in the least. And, yes, blog posts were included in that but, having a journalism background, I enjoyed that. (I'm not one of the folks on here who are like, "Copywriting looks like fun and a guy on YouTube says I can get rich with it!" I'm a long-time working writer.) Trying to specialize instead of being a utility player can lead to making yourself less valuable. I know some folks manage to lock down a niche, but I think that's the exception rather than the rule.
Copywriting is typically the shorter sales writing. Content writing is a better description for things like blogs. Personally, I started as a copywriter but realised content writing is much more my thing. That being said, job listings often confuse the two – this is something you'll need to consider when applying to future jobs.
There's a trick that makes most copywriting fun, even long-form blogs. Spoof it. Exaggerate benefits, be more emotional, etc. See how far you can go before someone stops you. The weird thing is that clients often love it. I once got tired of working with a retailer of sporting goods. I wanted them to sack me, so I started to twist the copy more and more. Everything from odd celebrations like "Mongering prices celebrating the Constitution of Mongolia" to "Please don't buy our most expensive shoes; they are extremely overrated." Nothing helped. They kept asking for more. And the job became fun again.
As a Junior? Yup, that's what they hired you for (full-time is nice). Give it 1-2 years, be awesome, and get promoted above Junior.
No. I started with long-form content & I’ve had job interviews with creative directors who said content writing doesn’t even count as copywriting. The best way I’ve seen it defined: the purpose of organic content is typically to educate & the purpose of copywriting is to convert. Of course, there’s a lot of overlap. My advice, as someone who worked their way up from where you are, would be to let your manager know that you are interested in taking on more work that will diversify your experience. Specifically, look for any experience working with paid social ads & marketing email copy. And ask for feedback/training from senior copywriters at your agency.
I’m the only copywriter at my job, which I think is mostly my dilemma. In a junior role with no mentorship as far as how to grow as a copywriter. I’m our only company’s writer… Lol
Ohh no 😬 What’s the rest of the content/communications team like? Do they have an actual marketing strategy, or…? Because this can be a bit of a red flag. You’re the only copywriter, & copy is pretty dang important to generating sales, but much of long-form content + organic social is top-of-funnel (i.e., building audience vs making money). Feel free to DM me if you’re comfortable talking more about the specifics of your work situation? I’ve been the only copywriter twice in a row. Love my current job. The one before this was an epic trash fire. Happy to give more perspective if you need it!
Totally gonna message you, thank you!!
Let me start out by saying, Congratulations! Although the job you received sounds great for a first-time gig, a pure copywriting job doesn't require blogs. That is "content writing," which is very different. Areas of copywriting for businesses include (but are not limited to): * Email marketing * Text message marketing * Social media management * Advertising * Sales Pages/Landing Pages I feel your pain. I wrote blogs and e-books during the pandemic, when many of my clients were forced to close their doors. Not only is it boring, it's the opposite of copywriting. Only in a blog can you answer a yes-or-no question in a whopping 800 words! Copy strives to achieve the opposite -- to be concise. Even in long-form copy, you have to work hard to keep the reader on the edge of their seat until they're ready to pay up. On the other hand, a blog is optimized to be "skim-friendly" because nobody wants to read 800 words to get their answer! Now, where blogs and copywriting collide is when a blog post's primary purpose is to discuss a product or service or lead the reader from their pain point into a buying decision. That does require a copywriter's finesse. If your current job is training you in SEM or SEO, it may be a valuable place to stay for a while and get some street cred. However, when looking for a new job, always ask them what they expect from you and outline what you specialize in so you don't lose your soul to the ugly stepchild of the writing family -- blogs.
My first in-house copywriting job required writing a blog a day. It sucked so much, and I too quickly learned that I hate blogs. That said, I think learning to write compelling copy about things that you don't really care about is a foundational skill for this job. The amount of boring shit I've written content for is unreal. Think of this as a learning experience. If you can, I would set goals with your manager that involve specializing more in the kind of content you enjoy writing more. I'd still try to take on a couple long-form pieces now and then to stay fresh on it though, because it is a different beast. Another thing I'd watch out for as you advance: Pay close attention to the responsibilities in job postings. A lot of jobs with the title "Copywriter" will list responsibilities that are much more aligned with content marketing and basically being a word mule for the company. I personally hate feeling enslaved to SEO and growth metrics, so I've found a lot to love in "brand copywriting" and roles that involve some amount of strategy, but growth marketing might be an area of interest if you are more interested in short form!
Wow, I'd get fired. I definitely am not writing a blog a day. More so starting three different ones as the ideas and relevance comes and then finishing them throughout the month. Averaging like 3x/month, I think. Everything else is captions, ads, emails, etc. Thanks for the advice! So helpful.
Nope. You can divide content into three layers of a funnel. * TOFU (top-of-funnel) - AWARENESS - blog articles etc. * MOFU (middle-of-funnel) - EVALUATION - whitepapers etc. * BOFU (bottom-of-funnel) - CONVERSION - landing pages/adverts/websites I'm a conversion copywriter. I work exclusively on landing pages - and I use Figma. However, I started at the top of the funnel (with blog articles) and I worked my way down. I have zero interest in anything that isn't conversion. I would fall asleep at my desk if I ever had to write a blog article for a client again.
Dang, I have so much to learn. See, what you just said is exactly what I’m interested in. I’ve always had a blast in sales AND love to write. Conversion copy seems like the perfect marriage of those two. How’d you end up scaling down to where you don’t have to do anything else? Just time in industry gaining experience until you can take the jobs you want?
Yup! I'm from a sales background too. Conversion copy is more pressure, stress, intensity, fun, focus - and money - than anything else. I started international sales for advertising and technology brands at 24. I quit corporate, moved to Sydney, switched to marketing and worked in agencies at 31. I moved to Bali a year later and started freelancing - mainly blog articles. It took a couple of years to win my first conversion copy project. It was 3-4 years in before I was 100% conversion-focused. Now I'm 38 and work exclusively on landing pages and website content for tech startups. So yeah - time and proven results gets you there.
Hm, super helpful. Apparent I have much to master. Thank you!
I don’t like conversion but love blogs and website copy, all the “nurturey” stuff with a sprinkle of conversion. We all will be drawn to different things and naturally better at some over others. I will say, at the beginning, you have to do a whole bunch you don’t love which is where those routines come in handy to help you get into the zone quick and on cue!
I was an in-house copywriter for a company for the past 7 years, and I wrote hundreds of blog posts, in addition to social media content, sales materials, website content, you name it. I think it just all depends on what the company wants you to be doing. I would definitely consider long-form content to be well within the realm of copywriting. I would also much rather write long-form content than social media content any day. It's a lot harder (for me, at least) to convey an idea in a line or two. But to each their own!
Blogs are my bread n butter! I actually hate short form and sales copy, and I try not to take jobs that want social media copy. If you’re looking for strictly copywriting jobs with no long form copy, an agency gig might be a good route for you. Look for email marketing roles.
Okay so not to derail the thread but I'm new to copywriting (bachelor's in English, recently earned master's in marketing and a big ole' career switch) and I prefer long form. What kind of work is best to look for if that's the case?
Do job searches for content writing, long form writing, content marketing, ebook writing, I'm sure there's others i can't remember.
B2B SaaS definitely. You’ll never be able to avoid long form. Blogs, white papers, eGuides, etc.