copywriting | Careers for the Creative

Paul Kinsey Mad Men Mad Men pics Copywriter Career

Paul Kinsey, copywriter extraordinaire. Notice the pipe and general nonchalance.

For my first post, I’m going to be selfish. I’ll be profiling a career that stems from my own major, creative writing. That career would be copywriting, a creative position for writers at an ad agency. This choice also probably has something to do with my current obsession over Mad Men, which I’ve been consuming at a rate of about a season a week this summer. All I can say is, Don Draper is unstoppable.

Copywriters are writers who apply their creativity across the different mediums of advertising, from writing radio jingles to product slogans. Every time you hear the phrase “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, or “Choosy moms choose Jiff.”, you are hearing the work of a copywriter. Copywriters are also employed writing scripts for TV commercials, and press releases for public relations firms.

Copywriters sometimes work by themselves as freelancers, but are most typically employed at an advertising agency. They often work as part of a team, and have close connections with the media and art departments. You will be answering to a creative director as your boss. You will also be pitching your slogans and taglines to clients, so it works to have people and presentation skills.

To obtain a job as a copywriter, a college degree is be a great place to start. Creative writing, English, and Journalism are all relevant, but the real skill is your sense of word play and wit to make catchy and memorable ads and slogans. Interning for an advertising agency is, of course, a great way to get your foot in the door. Copywriters going to job interviews often bring portfolios and reels to highlight their work. The portfolio includes their best work in print advertising, while the reels demonstrate their prime work in TV and radio advertising. As the internet becomes increasingly relevant in the marketing world, CD’s are often brought to showcase online work.

The internet has greatly expanded the range of copywriting work in the last few years, as advertising agencies scramble to take advantage of Web 2.0. New tasks include writing emails, web content, online ads, and even copywriting over twitter (http://bit.ly/cgJDgW). This internet boom has also made freelance copywriting a more viable option.

Government economists expect copywriting jobs to increase at a rate higher than the industry average through 2018, thanks to the popularity of digital media. However, copywriting is a competitive field and will continue to be so.

Some stats from the US Bureau of Labor on copywriters:

average hourly wage: $34.44

average annual income: $71,640

(Both figures from 2008)

And you don’t need to sell your creative soul to be a copywriter. Some famous creatives that have spent time in the copywriting field include Terry Gilliam, Don DeLillo, Catch 22 author Joseph Heller and William S. Burroughs.