A copywriter’s POV on loving to learn*

Write what you know. For anyone who’s ever taken a creative writing class, this saying is sure to have popped up a time or two or ten. And it makes sense, right? But anyone who’s ever worked a stint as a copywriter knows that in this career, if you only write what you know, you won’t be writing much.

That’s not because we copywriters are an unlearned bunch. We know our fair share of stuff. For the most part. But what we know and love in our daily lives doesn’t always get to shine through in what we’re challenged to write about in our professional lives.

Take, for instance, a copywriter obsessed with, say, 1990s TV shows. He might have every episode of Family Matters memorized, but unless he can find a clever way to work “Did I do that?” into his hydroelectric battery charger sell sheet, he probably won’t get a chance to write about his obsession at work. That’s the downside.

But the upside is we get the opportunity to learn about a whole slew of topics, products and viewpoints we may not otherwise have been introduced to had we chosen a different career path. Because in this business, you can’t be scared to get down and dirty with what you don’t know. You have to love to learn. It’s like this quote I just made up, “Get busy learning, or get busy losing.”

So…what have you learned at your job(s) over the years that you never thought you’d know? Do you think it’s made you a better, smarter, interesting-er person?

~ Shae C.

*Not to be confused with learning to love.