There's nothing like using your wordsmithing skills to perpetuate a culture of consumerism. In this article, I will list down some stuff I learned from experience. Your mileage may vary, of course. There will probably be some stuff about crafting, but there are better books out there about the subject. For better crafting and ideation, read the Cutting Edge series of books. Also, some of the stuff here can also apply to anyone in a creative team.
1. You need to have a strong tolerance for rejection.
Because over 95% of your ideas will be rejected and the 5% that gets approved will sometimes not even be the same idea after everyone meddles with it.
This is because of all the layers you have to go through for approval. You have to get your Associate Creative Director to approve your idea, then it goes to the Creative Director, then to the accounts people (who have their own layers), and then finally to the client.
In each of these stages, you will most likely revise your work. This can be a bad or good thing. Sometimes it can sharpen your idea, and sometimes it can weaken it because of client concerns. Also, your idea can be rejected in any of these stages. If that happens, move on. Don't dwell on it.
There are rare times when your great idea survives all of the layers and gets approved by client. This is a one-pass. If your idea is crazy creative and it gets produced, good for you. Bring out the beer and celebrate. If this happens because you gamed the system by doing safe work that you know the accounts people and the clients will approve, good for you. Everyone also gets paid. Bring out the beer and celebrate in your comfort zone.
2. Kill your baby.
Somehow related to the earlier post. Of course, you love your idea. You labored over it, you cared for it, so it is, in a way, your baby. Now, kill your baby. Metaphorically. This is a common advice in literary workshops. You have to learn to distance yourself from your creation and look at it objectively. Be honest with yourself and revise and edit until your ugly baby looks decent.
That said, if your supervisor kills your baby, take the criticism and learn from it.
If your idea gets approved, it's now the baby of your team. Then, the accounts people get to kill it. Same thing until it becomes the agency's baby and the client kills it. You think it ends there? If client approves it and chooses to expose it to focus groups, everyone's baby gets killed by randomly selected people. Then what finally airs is a Frankenstein's monster of babies. Hooray!
Now, criticism can be constructive or not. Take it all in. You are not perfect. This is how you grow, this is how you learn. But you also need to discern good criticism from bad. Ask questions to probe. Behind every criticism is a discomfort. That discomfort can be objective or subjective. Maybe your work does not follow the agreed strategy. Maybe your copy doesn't make the point clear. Maybe your work absolutely and objectively sucks. Winners never lose even in defeat because they learn from their mistakes.
Can't take people telling you that your work needs to improve? Find some other job, then.
3. You are not writing for yourself.
This point comes from a great Executive Creative Director who I've worked with. Everything you write is commissioned. Sure, you retain authorship, but at the end of the day, you are writing for the client. Selling is job number 1. This means that your voice should change depending on the brand you're handling and the target market. This is why you have to go through layers of approval, put up with all of the criticisms, and drink alcohol after work to soothe your soul.
4. Puns are not your friend.
Word play is essential and may help your ad get noticed. But puns should be avoided as much as possible. There is a reason behind the saying "puns are the lowest form of wit" and that reason is that most puns are horrible. Sure, you and your friends make puns to make each other cringe and laugh and then someone falls over and pukes because he's too drunk and that's where puns belong.
See, puns can either make or break your copy. And most often it breaks it. Use puns depending on the tone, the target market, or if it's essential to deliver your message. If your ad needs to be funny, try it. If you're doing an ad for a classy brand, puns will cheapen it. If you can make the same point without using puns, do it, goddamnit. While there are clever puns, never confuse puns for cleverness. If your Creative Director's idea of witty copy is puns, puns, and more puns, chug alcohol after work, and hope that you get transferred to another team.
And since we're on the topic, it needs to be said here: "Every Juan" as a pun for "everyone" has never been and will never be witty, amusing, or funny.
5. Grammar is your friend.
You're a copywriter. The minimum qualification for the job is knowing grammar.
And I'm not even talking about Oxford commas here (you should use Oxford commas). Basic grammar makes up around 90% of a copywriter's tool kit (the rest are wit, attitude, insanity, coffee, and alcohol). One pet peeve I have is copy that uses comparatives to suggest an improvement over the superlative.
What do I mean?
"Our biggest is now bigger!"
"Our lowest prices are now lower!"
"Our best ever is now better!"
Good job on the downgrade, person who approved this.
In my last agency, we were forced to adhere to one rule: "First be clear, then be clever." You should be clear with your message. Then, state your message in a way that gets attention. Bad grammar fucks up your message. Unless, of course, using bad grammar is in itself the idea and is essential to make your point, like if you're doing an ad for hiring a copywriter, for (a bad) example.
6. Brevity
If you can say your point in as few words as possible, do it.
7. Be humble. You are not a goddamn diva.
Part of this work is learning how to improve your skills and your self. If you act like you're god's gift to the industry, you better walk the walk. Most hotshot divas I've encountered can only talk the talk. The people I encounter who consistently come up with the best ideas are the silent types. Why? Because they are too busy thinking and focusing their attention on what they're doing instead of acting like a goddamn diva. Humility also means that you are mature and professional enough to take comments and criticisms without crying like a spoiled brat.
Sometimes, the goddamn diva actually does consistent brilliant work. They talk the talk, walk the walk, and some deserve it, but most are annoying pricks.
Take note, however, that I'm not saying that confidence is bad. Be proud and confident when you do good work. But, again, don't be an annoying prick.
8. Some days, your soul will die.
Everyone experiences this. No exceptions.
The baby you love gets killed. Client gives bad directions that backfire. The pitch materials you've been working on for the whole week gets disapproved by the big boss at the last minute and you have to start from scratch with one day left. That bastard co-worker of yours grabs credit for your work. Account people always choose to go the boring and safe route.
These are the days when you support the local alcohol industry. Or maybe find another way to recharge. It gets mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting, this work.
9. Love your craft.
Sure, with all the things that you will experience and will be exposed to, it is very easy to get jaded and cynical in this industry. But love your craft. If you half-ass your copy, it shows and it reflects badly on you.
There will always be late nights, there will always be 24-hour days, there will always be demanding and rude clients, there will always be bosses who think puns are witty, but you will still have fun with copywriting if you love your craft. Because when you do, you become motivated and dedicated to improving your thinking and writing skills. You become a better copywriter.
Of course, this is different from loving your workplace. If it becomes too toxic or stagnant, there will be no space for growth. You will become a cynical, half-assing copywriter. Leave before this happens to you.
And finally, time flies when you're having fun. Time also flies when you're chasing deadlines. You'd be surprised how fast 10 years can pass when you live by deadlines every week. Have fun - this is the most important thing. Creativity is intelligence at play.
Also, you will probably develop a strong tolerance for alcohol, get drunk most evenings, wake up sober, and maybe write something like this as a warning/guide for younger copywriters.
Yeah.