Have you ever come across a billboard or an ad that made you stop? Made you think? Maybe even made you laugh? When such an impression lingers there, as you connect it to the brand, the power of copywriting is hard at work.
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is promotional content meant to educate, persuade, or influence an audience. Copywriters create copy with the intent to establish a brand or company’s identity and drive customers to action! A copywriter has probably crafted any sales, marketing, and advertising messages you have come across. This includes newsletters, social media ads, press releases, radio advertisements, billboards, media campaigns and catalogs to name a few.
While copywriting comes in all types, ranging from technical copywriting that translates complex messages into simplified terms to sell goods and services, to Social Media copywriting it all boils down to selecting the right copywriting style to match a company/agency/brand’s marketing campaign and goals.
Depending on the company, some copywriters may work on a specific brand and channel, and others at an agency like Sarankco: Creative Studio work on various kinds of projects across the multiple brands the company works with.
Copywriting in Practice
Sarankco: Creative Studio is a New York design agency with Brand Strategy, Design, and Marketing expertise. Recently, I had the opportunity to connect with Sarankco’s Joanne Gaccione, Vice President of Strategy and Content, Kelly Clarke (who goes by KC), Senior Copywriter and Kelley Burke, Senior Human Resources Manager and UConn Career Champion to learn more about copywriting in practice and some advice for those who might want to explore this fascinating career.
As a Copywriter at Sarankco, you may be assigned projects that can range from writing the script for a video, a small banner ad, or speaker notes for a sales presentation that is going to be given to a client. “There’s a lot of variety which allows you to flex your skills,” said Joanne. For many copywriters, teamwork and communication are essential. According to Joanne, Sarankco has a “community and collaboratively based workflow” that relies on the contribution of all team members to make the final release. “It’s going to look different everyday, but projects have a clear timeline,” says KC, “We make sure everybody on the team, from the creative directors to the writers, to the designers to the client partners team, all feel good about it.” The copywriting process involves revisions, several drafts for the whole team to review, and client presentations to explain a team’s thinking process. “There’s a lot of collaboration that happens here at Sarankco,” Joanne added.
Insight & Advice on Preparing for the Role
Kelley Burke broke down the hiring process for us. Those in English, Journalism, Public Relations, Communication, and other majors who have a good writing foundation are considered. In a resume, experience with writing or communication can come in many forms. Internships can also provide a glimpse of your experiences and knowledge. Although media savviness, time management, strong attention to detail, and organizational skills are important in the role, creativity and a love for writing are important factors that people want to see in copywriters. Recruiters can look at your style of writing and the way you communicate your ideas and experience through your cover letter which help measure your voice as a potential copywriter and the extent of your writing skills.
Joanne and KC can vouch for this. As they put it, when looking for a copywriting candidate, they are interested in candidates who can provide an interesting perspective through a diverse set of writing styles. A portfolio or website is a plus! Even if you don’t have a degree related to writing, examples of your work in a variety of formats can strengthen your copywriter profile. Joanne said, “we’d love to see a little bit of creativity. Sometimes that comes to light in a portfolio of projects that an individual has done for work or for an internship. When I’m looking for a copywriter candidate, I love to see somebody who’s interested in a couple different kind of writings.” KC highlights the importance of curation in making your book, specifically, work that “shows the different sides of your writing style” and breadth of skills and creativity.
Like many other industries, the hiring process can include multiple interviews at a company. The first is an HR screening that allows the employer to get to know you as a person and verify your credentials. Followed by team members involved in the work of copywriting, to get a deeper dive into your experience and pieces of work.
KC encourages those interested in copywriting to “read everything in the built environment” around you and understand different brand messages and be eager to learn and dive into different things. For KC and Joanne, good copywriting is about “adaptation with clarity” that helps get the message across. A unique voice requires an interesting perspective to catch a person’s attention. It all comes down to making it worth someone’s time, and with so much messaging and distractions we are faced with each day, as Joanne puts it, “it is increasingly important for good copywriting to clearly convey and stop the thumb scroll or stop the person who’s walking by.”
