When Being a "Writer" Doesn't Mean What You Think it Means

So true story: In the middle of working on content to write this article, I attended a free class at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle (a school for creatives which I can't possibly recommend more), and the lecture was about portfolios, resumes, and interview success. A copywriter friend and I sat in a panel of recruiters in the creative industry, talking about what it takes to land a dream job. 

However, as the class went on, my friend and I looked at each other because we suddenly felt very out of place. 

She wrote on my notepad "I feel like this lecture is VERY designer centric." She underlined very quite a few times. 

I nodded my head in agreement, but rather than embarrassingly walking out of a crowded room, we sat and listened. And it dawned on us perhaps at the same time: While some of the specific strategies were design focused, the basic principles for good design and good copywriting are universal not only in execution, but how they are applied to the workplace. 

There was once a time where simply being a writer was good enough. For you millenials out there, we used to have this thing called a typewriter where you actually typed on these metal keys that would stamp ink onto actual sheets of paper. There weren't even emoticons to express what we felt. Instead, we had to use real words.  

It was a weird time for everybody. 

But along came the processor chip and our lives changed forever. Nowadays, being a writer means more than just typing words, it means thinking about the overall visual presentation. You are a creative, an idea person, and a better designer than you probably think you are. You know what looks nice and what doesn't, right? 

This probably sounds like common sense to you, but check out this stat that I definitely did not Google or look up for fact checking:

The average user spends less than 5 seconds on a website/link before they get bored and look elsewhere. 

What does this all mean for writers? This means that we as writers have to think visually, in order to truly put great ideas on the table. 

It will benefit you as a copywriter to learn a thing or two about good design. This doesn't mean you have to spend your life savings taking a design class at the Art Institute, it just means knowing what the difference between serif and sans-serif is. Knowing how to properly apply white space. Knowing your color wheel. Knowing the difference between a well designed page, and a page that is simply doing too much. 

What's more, think about the fact that you will probably be working very closely with graphic designers, illustrators, UX designers, AD's, etc. and you will likely have to learn to speak their language.

And in case that's not enough to convince you, just know that the hiring manager at a creative agency or enterprise will likely be an art director with a background in visual design, so it would benefit you to be on their same page (man, I probably should've just started with that). 

If you are a copywriter, marketer, content writer or pretty much anyone whose job it is to write words, and you aren't thinking about visual design; the chances are that you are behind the eight ball. 

Giant rats and telling the truth

I'm not really a fan of talking about work with people I just met. I feel like it's so contrived. I like to talk about things like why do we need a Full House reunion show, or how bad I want a pet Capybara (if you don't know what that is, google it. I promise you won't be disappointed). But when the job question ultimately comes up, and I tell people that I'm in advertising, their first reaction is "Ohhhh". And then "Okay". And then "That's coool." 

But not in the "cool" as in impressed, but cool as in, "Oh you're one of those slimy douchebags that convince people to buy shit they don't want or need like cigarettes and high deductible insurance policies." 

I think that used to be true about advertising back in the day but I don't believe it's true anymore. Advertising isn't about lying or making false claims about a product. In fact, ever since I've studied advertising, there is one constant theme that I've seen repeated throughout all of my mentors and advisors: Tell the truth. 

You see, despite the fact that reality TV and social media have slowly eroded our brain cells, we as a people still have an unbelievably effective bullshit meter. We can spot BS from a mile away. So in reality, the truth is more powerful than any other resource that you have at your disposal as a copywriter/designer. The truth is what sets you apart from your competitors. Perhaps your truth isn't as "sexy" as your competition, and that is where advertising can really make a difference. 

Take this classic ad from Avis (which has been seen by every copywriter in the universe):

Ahhhh! We're number 2?! The truth hurts so good. Avis' ad campaign positioned themselves as the number 2 in car rental companies. It doesn't get any "truer" than that. And customers love it. It means that Avis tries harder....a campaign that they still adopt to this day. 

I'm a big fan of stand up comedy. Some of my favorites include Louis CK, Dave Chapelle, Hannibal Burress, Demetri Martin, and Larry David. One thing that they all have in common is that they're really good at finding things that are true in life. Social interactions, the state of race in America, dating. Just as in advertising, comedy is based on quintessential truths that we can all identify with as a person living within this society. 

So if there's one thing to take away from this blog post it's this: You should look into owning a capybara. If there's a second thing though, it's that if you can find the truth about your business, you've found your best advertising strategy.