Copywriter

Briefly explain what you do for a living. 

I'm a copywriter with a focus on communications and marketing. My three goals are effective texts, clear communication and productive marketing. The assignment can be a blog, article, brochure, campaign, advertisement, elevator pitch, clarification of brand communications or new website content, for example. Every now and again I get to come up with a new name for a company or service. I work as an entrepreneur in my own company called Paa.

How have you ended up in the profession of your choice? 

After my matriculation examination, I got a job as a summer reporter, and as a result, I ended up working as a journalist for the next seven years. At the same time, the Internet started to gain prominence. I had always been interested in advertising and writing, so I decided to study multimedia scriptwriting. I got employed in a new media agency, which are now called digital offices. I got more and more involved in marketing, so I became a copywriter.

Describe your typical working day or week. 

As an entrepreneur, the working days and weeks vary. I usually have a couple of meetings with customers during the week, and the rest of the time is spent on planning and writing. I have been a salary earner in an advertising agency for most of my career. Back then, the working weeks were very different from today. There were many more meetings and brainstorming session with the team, and I also monitored the production of radio and TV advertisements more. Today, I spent less time in the conference room, and the brainstorming happens in a chat with the art director or customer team, in my home office or alongside other everyday tasks.

What kind of work environment or working hours do you work in? 

I mainly work alone from home. I don't travel to customer meetings as often anymore, but I get to hop on the train every now and again, which is nice. Some of the customer companies are located further away, so travelling adds a pleasant variation to the working days. I used to work in an open office at the advertising agency, which required more concentration. On the other hand, they had invested in the workspaces, which offered a creative and pleasant environment to work in. As an entrepreneur, I can decide my working hours, but I try to work during the day.

What kind of competence or qualities are required in the profession? 

Creativity, experimentation and courage. You must be able to see the big picture, the goal of the work. For example, you need to understand what the ad wants to achieve. You cannot get too attached to your own ideas, and you must be able to take feedback. You must also be able to work in a team and prepared to develop and improve your ideas together with others.

Writing skills and the ability to express yourself clearly are a must have. You have to be able to write in a way that people understand and have a good grasp of grammar. You can make intentional mistakes in ads to attract attention, but most of the text I produce is normal body text. I revisit the comma rules on a regular basis. 

In addition, working as an entrepreneur requires self-management skills as there is no one to plan your schedule or working hours.

What is the best thing about your profession? 

When the work has a goal, you can influence its implementation and see how it produces results. For example, it feels rewarding when I produce website texts for a customer, and it brings more traffic to the website.

I find copywriter's work relaxing and fun. There is a saying in marketing that you cannot play with the customer's money, but you can make money for the customer by playing around. Those working in the field are also good people, almost without exception.

I get to work for a wide range of customers, which is also a positive. Recently, I have planned marketing for agricultural machinery, home sales, logistics, electrical contractor, credit cards, car dealership, excavation company and radio channel, for example.

What are the downsides of the profession or what seems challenging? 

Economic cycles have a major impact on the marketing sector. In an unfavourable cycle, the number of jobs varies. Of course, wise actors advertise also in bad times, and there is always work for skilled professionals. What is also challenging is that you cannot always come up with new ideas or think of the right words. In those cases, you just have to start somewhere and write down even the bad ideas. Sometimes it’s the stupid ideas that turn out to be the best.

What would you tell a person considering the profession of a copywriter? 

It's a good idea to build a strong general knowledge base and read a lot. Talk, meet different people and listen to the radio. Our aim is to influence, so it’s important to know all kinds of people and understand their thinking. All in all, I recommend the copywriter's profession, as it is highly rewarding when the work is successful.

How do you see the future of your profession? 

Copywriter is one of the oldest professions in the world, and I doubt that it will ever disappear. Delivering a message, speaking on behalf of someone else and making an impact are always needed. Artificial intelligence has entered the field, but I don't think that it will replace the work of a copywriter, which emphasises human knowledge and cooperation. For years, people have said that digital products will replace newspapers and that everything will go online. However, it doesn’t diminish the importance of our work, as effective messages are needed as much on social media as on the front page of a newspaper.

Read more

• Website of Paa (paa.fi)