Skin of a Rhino, Soul of an Angel

Juniors, and students, from all over the world, find me through this blog.

They ask me things like, “How do I break into the industry? How do I find work in another country?” and, “What does it take to be a copywriter?”

I answer every email I get.

I think one of the reasons I am ranked as the #1 English copywriter on Google is because the site is useful for everyone. It’s a reference.

Either way, I usually direct them to ihaveanidea.org. It’s a great site. I tell them to read Hey Whipple Squeeze This, Pick Me, as well as Cutting Edge Advertising. And I point them here.

This is an excellent article by Suzanne Pope, a writer I admire: An Inconvenient Truth for Copywriters.

But what does it take?

1. Determination
2. Resilience
3. A sense of humour
4. Oh, and some skills help too

Personally, I have always seen impeccable spelling and grammar as criteria. After all, if writing is your craft, words are your tools. I have always felt that if one is a professional, they should know how to use their tools professionally.

When I come across something I’m not sure of, I look it up. I am constantly striving to improve. I have grammar reference pages bookmarked (sounds exciting doesn’t it?). I follow the lead of the New York Times (for American English) and the Guardian (for British).

Sometimes I look on ihaveanidea, the copywriters' watering hole, and I am a little dismayed.

Learn how to write like a copywriter, and edit like an editor, and you will be doing two jobs at once.

Just my two cents.