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Yes! I've viewed this as absolutely key to moving from writer to ACD (at least in the types of agencies I've been in).
For me it's always been about two things: 1. Being a more well-rounded creative who can intelligently collaborate with devs, designers, colorists, editors—whatever. 2. It became critical to my ability to market myself the way I want to. It's amazing being able to design my own resume and website (including creating my own case study assets) without being limited by whatever drag and drop shit squarespace offers.
YouTube for all its flaws might be the best learning resource in the world. Tons of tutorials. Same thing but organized way better is Lynda.com. I was lucky to have a membership through an employer and I spent a lot of time watching tutorials.
I also got a very quick yet functional understanding of html and CSS from codeacademy.com which is free. I also learned that JavaScript is a whole different beast and that I hate it lol.
Honestly, of you know that html creates elements, CSS styles them, and js makes them interactive, then you're already ahead of a very large portion of writers.
Thank you so much! I completely agree with your view as to why it’s so important to broaden skills. Thanks for supplying links too. Luckily my agency gives us a free Lynda account too. I’ll make sure to check out code academy too. Thanks again
I’m not a copywriter but I just have a passion for knowledge which is why I love this industry. I can learn about clients’ products and industries and whatnot.
With that said, I’ve taken on any chance to learn other things at agencies. I’ve created social content, coded HTML emails, learned a bit about video editing, and I just recently wrote a blog post, which impressed my boss in which they asked if writing is a passion of mine.
I do these things in moderation because I wouldn’t throw them at a hiring manager as a reason to hire me. If you hire me for art direction, that’s what I want to do. Art Direction is my strongest skill.
However, I feel smarter having worked with other things and it helps me relate to my colleagues better than saying “Well I saw a website use that feature, so figure it out.”
By all means, expand your skill set. It could help you or it may help with job opportunities in the future.