FAQ: how to get started as a copywriter or corporate writer

Most people ask me one of the questions below. So you may find your question answered, or well enough to plan your next step.

If you're serious about getting into this sort of writing, you'll need to read certain books. And you'll probably want to own them. I recommend several books and I've put links to each at Amazon Books. You may also find used copies there.
Many libraries have copies too, because the books are classics. I also point to two that are out-of-copyright and free on the web.

I just got my degree in English (Media Studies, Philosophy, etc.) and I think I'd be good at copywriting. I'm very creative. Am I on the right track?

What books have you read about copywriting?

[ Answer, usually: ] "Well, none. But I know what copywriting is."

You'll have happier job-hunting if you read a couple of the advertising classics. It's also a cheap way to find out if copywriting suits you (instead of wasting months or years). Don't try to wing it at an interview. Too obvious.

If you only read one book, then go for Ogilvy on Advertising, by David Ogilvy. An old book (in adland time) -- published in 1983. But the ghastly advertising mistakes it warns about (and smiles about) continue to this very minute. Each new tribe of copywriting recruits trips over the same stones. The book tells how to get a job in advertising and what it's like to work in the craft. It talks about tested advertising and research. Captivating photos, and entertaining to read. Bonus: the copywriting advice in this pre-web book works well for text read on a browser.

If you want two excellent books, add this one: Tested Advertising Methods, by John Caples. We quote from it in our website pointers. It's a how-to book. Its methods grew from expensive and exacting research. You find out which headlines work and which don't, which layouts and illustrations attract and sell, and how to write the copy. The book says how to test your ads, and shows examples of famous ads (including one that ran like a money pump for 40 years).

You could start a career on those two books.

I just got my degree in English (or Media Studies, or Philosophy...) and I'm sure I'd be good at writing reports and things like that for companies. How do I get work?

Your chances may be good. But you'll need to shift from the writing style you've learned at the university. Too stiff. (See my How to write things people will read.) Industry hires editors and writers to lift some of the mass of their business writing to easy readability -- all written according to the rules in their company style manual. That manual most likely resembles a cut-down version of:

The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors and Publishers. One fat book! It needs to be, because it covers everything (including how to cite sources from the Internet.) If you're an editor, you learn the value of keeping the book handy. If someone quibbles about a certain red mark you've put on their work, you quietly point out that uniformity and clear style are vital to the company. And look here: on page 567, there's the exact reason you made the change. End of quibble. The book is wonderfully readable (well it should be, shouldn't it?). And superbly indexed. You can find anything you need -- fast.

Even saying you own the book could help you get a job. And if you've looked through it carefully, you'll be able to chat to your interviewer (an editor, most likely) about style rules . Editors love rules. We heard one editor interview a woman and the editor went on and on about the different ways to punctuate sentences in bullet lists.

Buuuuuut.... if you're outside the US, you may be better off with a copy of this slim volume: The Economist Style Guide. It's a 144-page extract from The Economist magazine in-house style manual. The book is amusing. And it tells you a lot in few words. For example, are you sure when to use 'which' and when to use 'that'? The book explains in just 21 words: "Which informs, that defines. This is the house that Jack built. But This house, which Jack built, is now falling down." It straightens you out on the most urgent things you need to know.

If you'd like to look at a free style manual, here's one on the web: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk (www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk/). The 1918 edition. It's a book of powerful fame. E. B. White weighed in as a co-author, and there have been many updates. If you like it, you can get the 1995 edition for less than five dollars from Amazon: Elements of Style, by William Strunk & E. B. White" (Referred to by editors in sentences like: "Where the hell's my Strunk and White?")

You may be asked to write letters to difficult employees or customers. A PR job. Best to use The Classic Guide to Better Writing, by Rudolf Flesch and Abraham Lass. The title may sound harsh. But used right, the method yields pure diplomacy. Need to write a letter bearing bad news? Just put it up front: "I am very sorry I can't give you better news about..." Boom. This also works when your company needs to be combative -- say against someone who owes them money. Don't start by writing "In reference to your communication of the 25th February..." and creep to the point. Instead: "If you don't pay us in seven days we'll sue." That's part of Flesch's "Talk on Paper" style. The book also covers more mechanical things like using short words and sentences when you can, and preferring the active voice -- all the fundamental Strunk & White equipment.

Now here's a book for you, no matter what you write: The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, Edited by R. W. Burchfield. The first edition of this celebrated reference (written by H. W. Fowler in 1926) advised readers how to write natural but correct prose. The book campaigned against stuffiness and sloppiness. In England, it was as popular as sunshine -- a book you could read right through for pleasure. The same goes for the new Burchfield edition, which brings everything up-to-date. Equally useful in the US or elsewhere. For example (about using 'impact' to mean 'affect'): "...refrain from using the verb in ordinary non-scientific and non-medical contexts -- at least for the present. It is very likely that it will pass into uncontested standard use as time goes on. At present it has something of the air of a guest who has turned up at a party uninvited."

You can get a sample of Fowler from the web. A book he wrote 20 years before Modern English Usage. It was called.... can you deal with this?... The King's English (www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/fowler/). Published 1906. Still instructive. Much sly wit.

When you're thinking about where to search for jobs, don't overlook law firms. They generate fog-banks of words. The people in the company who occupy the high ground can usually see that. They know the danger to their business and what it means in lost opportunities. So they sometimes hire in-house editors.

I've lost my job, but I've had 19 years experience as a network administrator (quantity surveyor, aeronautical engineer, etc. ) -- and I can also write well. Can I use my industry experience to set up as a freelance writer?

Most likely. Corporate writing is simpler to get if you know the industry you want to write for. No surprise there. But you still have to get clients. That story is intricate and I don't feel like writing a book. Broadly, you have to attract the attention of the right people in a company (sometimes exactly one person). And without being a pest. How do you do that? When you get your foot in, you have to get taken seriously. But how do you convince a busy and critical person that you can do this work, if you don't have any samples to show?

After handling a few writing projects for the industry you know about, how can you use that to jump into work for other types of industries? What kind of clients should you avoid? How do you cultivate dream clients who keep coming back, trust you so much they don't bother getting competitive quotes or even ask you for a quote?

A few hints:

List some clients you'd like to have, find examples of their publications, and re-write parts of them. Send in the re-written samples, explaining why you think they're doing themselves an injustice by publishing the material they have been.
Yellow Pages. If you write a low-hype ad, you can get some work.
Take a course. Either copywriting or business writing. You'll get down-to-earth lessons on the writing. And some advice (usually) about the steps for setting up in business.
Write a non-fiction book. (OK, a small one.) Some tips on doing that. It gives people confidence you can write, and there's prestige in having a book "out there". It doesn't have to be a business topic -- anything you know about or you'd like to research. For example, The Fly in Your Eye has brought us a startling amount of business, including intricate jobs for well-known corporations. Connections and networks work in strange but golden ways. Ditto for this newer book: Your dog is watching you.
Be flexible. Don't isolate yourself with "I can't" and "I don't". If a client comes forth wanting a corporate video written, but you've never done one, you say "Sure!" Leave gracefully, then break into a sprint and find out what the right script format is (the web will tell you, or even a small public library). In an hour, you'll know enough to turn out professional text. Producing the video is another matter -- but fortunately not your job. Your job is hard enough. You don't have to get involved in design and graphics (where sensitive tempers can darken the scene).

Let me add this (9 Jan 2006):

I got the following email and realised that I hadn't said enough about using a non-fiction book for promotion:

I read an article of yours about how to get into corporate writing. One of the steps is writing a book. I'm in the midst of writing one now. Once it is published, how do I best use it and the status of being published on the topic to get corporate writing work?"

I sent him these comments:

* Show it to prospects when you're talking to them. (If you do face-to-face interviews with corporate prospects.) You can haul it out casually, with other confidence-building material that you have along.

* Make sure that anyone who reads the book -- or gets it in their hands -- knows what you do and how to reach you. The back cover is a good place for that. A kind of subdued advert for your business.

* If you put the book into Google Books, the back cover and your advert will be displayed there and luck may follow. Same with Amazon search-inside.

* Be alert for any other ways to use the book that chance throws your way. Party conversation, all that sort of thing.

A book ripples the world's mental space-time field, and even little ripples can return as waves that bear surprising boons. Even years after you think it's all over. It's odd how it works.

What's even odder is that a book with humour or cartoons has an even stronger effect. My book about bush flies has lots of cartoons and that helped to win me contracts with hard engineer-managers at mining companies. They would grin at the cartoons and say they liked the way I wrote!

-- Jim Heath