Everyone needs self-belief and confidence to work as a copywriter.
Copywriting is the venerable ancestor of the gig economy; hiring freelance copywriters was around long before anyone had Uber-ed anything.
Freelance writers have much more control over their time than their conventionally salaried counterparts – but they need a lot of nerve to juggle through the inherent instability and unpredictability of the way they work
Then, of course, copywriting isn’t an exact science. There are no absolute rights and wrongs. What makes good copy is pretty subjective.
So – as with the freedom versus volatility problem – there’s a tricky balance to be struck. You have to believe that your copy and content is good, even if others knock it and pick it apart, and yet somehow make sure that self-belief doesn’t transition into self-defeating over-confidence.
The quicksand of complacency
Just beyond over-confidence lurks the quicksand of complacency.
So how do we make sure our certain belief in our skill doesn’t become a tendency to dismiss client feedback and criticism?
A good start is to hold onto a few key maxims.
Being great at what you do doesn’t mean everything you do is great.
There is always room for improvement, even for the most experienced, most talented writer.
And there’s no better teacher than your own client.
It’s not just that they know their business sector or audiences better than you do (they do). You will also learn from how they work; how they deal with problems; how they interact and work with each other; and – you have to admit – how they write.
It all boils down to this one thing: never assume that you are being hired because you are a better writer than the client. You are being hired because they don’t want to do this writing assignment themselves.
Thinking that way keeps you on your toes, opens you up to new ideas and stops you getting complacent.
Treat every assignment as an opportunity to learn and you won’t go too far wrong.
Photo by Juan Pablo Rodriquez on Unsplash
