Letters To A Young Copywriter

Dear Susie,

I was pleased to receive your letter. I can see why you might be attracted to Copywriting and I will share with you how and why I got into the business.

First, I am passionate about language. Second, it is fun to use big words that your "normal" friends don't know. Saying words like "vicissitude" sends your normie friends into a fury because they feel dumber than you. Copywriters, as a rule, are superior to those around them. Remember that.

If you are not incredibly good looking, give up your dream now. I mean, model good-looking.

We tend to be deeper than most. Start feeling your feelings if you haven't already.

Now about this business of breaking into Copywriting. How do you do it? You fight. You knock on doors. No, kick down doors. You call up strangers. Be everywhere. Have "Eye Of The Tiger" playing in your mind always.

My final (and unoriginal - check out Writing Down The Bones) thought is this: when you get to second grade start telling people that's what you do. You write. You are a writer. Be a stubborn little bastard about it. That is what you do, that is your profession. They will doubt you, Susie. They will say, "Emily, stop robbing convenient stores..." Er, wait. They will say, "You're only 7 years old, you can't be a writer and here's why your short story sucks." Then you kick them in sweet spot and run. Run like lightning, grab your pen, and write like you got somethin' to prove.

I hope this helps, young one. Keep it real.

Yours In Pen,

Emily, the Philly Wordsmith

10 Ways To Become An Expert In Anything

As a writer, I have to be a bit of an expert on whatever I'm writing about. If there's no knowledge and fact, then the writing comes out as vague generalities that don't get anything sold. So for me, writing begins and ends with research. Here are my methods...

1. Read the book.

2. Read the blogs.

3. Attend the events.

4. Meet the people.

5. Meet the teachers.

6. Attend a class.

7. Follow the Tweets.

8. Read the NY Times articles.

9. Ask other experts.

10. Write about it.

Fun With Analogies!

I love analogies. They are so basic that they are sometimes overlooked.

When I have absolutely zero understanding of something, the best way to explain is to place it into something I already know about. You'll notice my blog posts riddled with analogies. You'll also notice I love reading blog posts with analogies.

Here is my favorite recent analogy: The internet is like a town. Web pages are like little stores, clubs, and sometimes people. Would you go into a store if the lighting was wrong or you couldn't find anything or the salesperson wasn't helpful? I try to make sure all these real-life features are taken care of in the virtual world. Smart, easy-to-navigate web page design and copy that is informative and fun are the keys to a professional-looking store. I could keep going with this analogy, but I'll let you do the rest if you care to do so.

Analogies are to concepts what translation is to language. I don't know how to speak your language, put it into mine! I like to understand, so help me to understand.

Please take this last moment to reflect on the previous paragraph where I made an analogy out of analogy. I was quite pleased.

5 Reasons Why Every Writer Needs To Be On Twitter

I went to a PR function for young PR professionals. PR pros have to be good writers/communicators of information. One of the panel speakers mentioned Twitter and out of a couple hundred young and hip professionals, none of them seemed to have any idea about it. They have five hundred friends on Facebook, but no Twitter account. This is a mistake.

What has happened for me:

1) Increased access to other like-minded copywriters and marketers across America.

2) A step ahead of most of my fellow writers who could care less about the innovations happening in their industry.

3) Practicing sharing knowledge, rather than hoarding it and being cutthroat. So many people are paranoid about this economy that they're forgetting about that whole relationship-building thing.

4) It is just so cool to have people follow you, give you feedback, and pass along your little posts.

5) Blog promotion and blog discovery! I have found some incredible and informative blogs from Tweets.

Oh, Twitter, When Will People Stop Being Too Good For You?

So I go to this advertising event and a guy - an “expert on internet marketing” - from a major media consulting firm does not Twitter.

I asked him a few questions about Twitter. Again, he is supposed to be an expert on how to make companies money by using methods such as Twitter. He answered the questions intelligently and in a friendly manner. Great! Then I asked, "So, are you on Twitter?" I assumed the answer would be yes and was going to follow up with a follow on Twitter. Instead he said no and, caught off guard, I said, "Why not!?"

"Oh, I'm just not that exciting a person to follow."

Huh? This statement said two things and neither of them what he literally said. It said to me: a) I am too cool to be on Twitter and b) I am going to make fun of you for being on Twitter.

You may be thinking, "Philly Wordsmith, you're being a little sensitive, dontcha think?"

No.

If you're an expert in social media, get the hell involved in social media. If you're so excited about these innovations and your job, then start experimenting and stop judging.