Related Posts
Saturday Wordle 525 4/6
⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨
⬛🟩🟩🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Bowl Leader
Vaynermedia, every 2 years.
Additional Posts in Copywriters
Coach
FCB, DAVID Miami, or Arts&Letters?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Read a lot of ads and critique them to yourself. Think backwards to what the brief could have been. Reverse engineering always helps me.
Also, and this sucks, a lot of it is time. You will get better with experience, same as anything. I think this industry reinforces this idea of a wunderkind creative that gets lions as a junior and it’s just not realistic.
Find ads with awesome VOs and transcribe them. It helps to see the words on the page and to actually type them out. Helps you reverse engineer the process. Start with Puma - after hours athlete.
That VO is the GOAT!
As others said, a lot of it is time and practice.
But, I know that’s not helpful right now. What works for me is talking about my ideas out loud. Usually I realize I can explain the core or the emotion of an idea better that way. Then it’s just writing those thoughts down. Try one version that’s the most verbose and overwritten way you can, then try another version that’s the most simple and succinct. That should open things up.
Most importantly, read. A lot. Fiction, nonfiction, blogs, comics, screenplays, whatever you want. The best way to become a better writer is to read
“Say it straight then say it great” - start by saying the thing as simply and clearly as possible. Then build on the language and construction from there
Try and fail often. Develop a thick skin and really listen to your criticisms. Look at what mistakes you keep making and become aware of them. The best lessons I’ve learned came from constantly crashing and burning in front of lots of people daily. Haha.
Keep a journal. But don't use it to write down the memorable events. Use it to write about things you'd otherwise skip over. Not the juicy details of your personal life. (That's a diary. This is a journal.) Write about the boring stuff. The everyday stuff. Write about the collection of crumbs underneath the toaster on the kitchen counter. You'd be surprised how often the uninteresting leads you to the most interesting advertising.
Writing. Don’t worry about it, just keeping doing it, suddenly you’ll be better.
If there are senior writers working on the same brief as you, pay close attention to their ideas and don’t be shy asking how they got there!
Also, write freely first to figure out what you want to say... then go back and tweak it to make sure you’re saying it in the best, and most succinct way possible. They’re two different modes of thinking and more often than not work best in isolation.
Read a lot and notice how the language works. Also listen to people talking and notice how it sounds. Good writers have good ears
Take a writing workshop! I took a fiction writing class and it really helped me with writing natural-sounding dialogue
That book “Junior” by Thomas Kemeny was frankly super helpful and entertaining.
200 headlines for every single headline
When I made the leap to copywriting several years ago, the first thing I learned was to discipline myself. Equity of words. (I had a rule of cutting my first draft by 30% to practice that mantra.) One idea at a time; each sentence builds off the previous. Hemingway App became my best friend.
Also, don't be afraid to ask people to look at your stuff. (It's incredible to me how few writers ask other writers to read their copy. My guess is ego because we're know-it-alls.) Lastly, while it's not possible all the time based on timing, but I found oldheads loved talking craft.
I started with the Copy Book. And then I just kept reading a lot of whatever came my way. It also helps to choose a good copywriter (French, Indra) and learn from their style.