7 Years of Writing Copy and What I Learned the Hard Way

Year 1-2: Everything is a headline

When you start, you think copywriting is about writing great headlines. You obsess over word choice. You A/B test everything. You think the craft is in the words.

It's not. The craft is in the thinking that happens before the words.

Year 3-4: Strategy enters the picture

You start asking "why" before "what." Why does this brand need this campaign? Why would anyone care? Why this message and not another?

This is when you stop being a writer and start being a strategist who writes.

Year 5-6: You learn to kill your darlings

The best line you've ever written gets cut because it doesn't serve the brief. And you're okay with it. That's growth.

The mark of a senior copywriter isn't the ability to write brilliantly. It's the willingness to delete brilliance when it doesn't serve the work.

Year 7: You realize you're still learning

Seven years in and I still get briefs that stump me. I still write first drafts that embarrass me. I still have days where nothing works.

The difference is I'm no longer surprised by this. It's the job. The frustration is structural, not personal.

If you're starting out and this sounds discouraging — good. The people who stick around despite the discouragement are the ones who get good.