Old copywriter needs new tricks

by gemm24
10 replies
Hey, y'all,

Ok, I'm not really THAT old. But I am a newbie here. And considering how quickly things change in the marketing world, I come from the Dark Ages of copywriting. When clever headlines won awards, and direct mail, outdoor, radio and TV were the typical advertising venues.

Enter triplets. My creativity was reduced to finding the best strategy to feed 3 screaming babies at the same time, how to camouflage jarred peas, and which Barney episodes would allow me enough time to take a shower.

Fast forward fifteen years, and here I am back in the copywriting slash digital world. I've done some content gigs (eHow = eAwful), have written half a dozen articles for a women's magazine, but that's about it. I don't have a website, a blog or an online presence. (Unless you count my 4,971 posts on babycenter.com in 2002.)

I'm shocked at how little some of these content mills pay -- seriously, 5 bucks for 3000 words?!

If you're still reading, thanks for indulging me. Not sure which path I should take in the digital world. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
#copywriter #tricks
  • Profile picture of the author Zodiax
    Originally Posted by gemm24 View Post

    Hey, y'all,

    Ok, I'm not really THAT old. But I am a newbie here. And considering how quickly things change in the marketing world, I come from the Dark Ages of copywriting. When clever headlines won awards. When direct mail, outdoor, radio and TV were the typical advertising venues.

    Enter triplets. My creativity was reduced to finding the best strategy to feed 3 screaming babies at the same time, how to camouflage jarred peas, and which Barney episodes would allow me enough time to take a shower.

    So, here I am, back in the copywriting slash digital world. I've done some content gigs (eHow = eAwful), have written half a dozen articles for a women's magazine, but that's about it. I don't have a website, a blog or an online presence. (Unless you count my 4,971 posts on babycenter.com in 2002.)

    I'm shocked at how little some of these content mills pay -- seriously, 5 bucks for 3000 words?!

    If you're still reading, thanks for indulging me. Not sure which path I should take in the digital world. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
    I would say, dust off the old shelves filled with old work, and create a portfolio that could land you the same type of copywriting gigs, just digital.

    You are still a copywriter. You just need to learn the market.

    But, once you learn the market, you can start back like you did, probably more than a decade ago.
    Signature

    'I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion'
    -Muhammad Ali

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    • Profile picture of the author gemmom24
      Thanks for all the tips and help! I really appreciate it. (Had to change my account/user name b/c the site kept rejecting my password.) There are so many fabulous insights on this forum that I don't even know where to start. I'll figure it out, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author gemmom24
      Holy crap, this is incredible, Brian! Thanks!!
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  • Profile picture of the author colmodwyer
    Remember, "digital" is just a new format. And there's a lot of cool, new stuff you can do with it. But the fundamentals of copywriting haven't changed.

    Writing a TV ad is different from writing a radio ad, of course. But anyone with a solid understanding of how to write copy can do either.

    So, I'd suggest brushing up on the basics first. Read Scientific Advertising, Tested Advertising Methods, Ogilvy on Advertising, etc. Then see how everything you learn in those books is present in every ad you see online.

    There's a "movement" to rename all these old strategies, "permission marketing," "growth hacking," etc. But it's the same stuff in a different package.

    Colm
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    • Profile picture of the author DJ Gelner
      Welcome gemm24!

      Lots of good advice on this thread so far. What I would add is:

      -Like MikeHumphreys said, upload your portfolio to a website. Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can hire someone to do it (high end), or use a free service like Blogger to host (lower end), though I'd spring for a custom URL to make it seem more professional.

      -You're going to need to market yourself to clients. Lots of good advice on the threads that others have pointed out, but I would say focus on 2-3 ways of marketing yourself initially and really throw yourself into those. Once you've established yourself in that way, you can figure out if you want to branch out into other areas to increase your "net."

      Hope this helps--welcome aboard!

      -D.J.
      Signature

      D.J. Gelner
      Copywriter/Storyteller
      www.djswriting.com

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  • Profile picture of the author gemmom24
    Thanks, all. I joined DJ Gelner's legion of fans and told him so.
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