Really? The questions seemed legit to me so I replied. I never saw the point in people trolling, especially on a writing forum. They must lead very dull lives to have to amuse themselves through such methods.
Good to see people who understand the difference between copywriting and content writing. I've had to start calling myself a "sales and marketing copywriter" to avoid confusion with potential clients thanks to how muddied the term has become.
I've been a copywriter for a year now. I write anything from web content to scripts to taglines. I am a 'political scientist and historian' by education, writer by calling, and copywriter by profession. Being knee deep in words throughout my young adulthood onwards was enough qualification to make me a writer in the advertisement and branding world. I went in with some foreign affairs/political/opinion articles, a play, some unpublished poetry and short stories as experience. If you're a writer, intelligent, and are generally an interested individual, then any kind of writing position should be attainable. As @NigeTheHat said, it's a very reliable way to make money as a writer.
Have you ever written political propaganda? It's something I've always wanted to to but I've never had the opportunity.
I did a bit of (unpaid) consulting for the local Greens in the last election, though probably rather too late to have much/any effect. I quite fancy having a go at writing that stuff properly. That started after getting one of their leaflets and e-mailing them to say 'This is rubbish. Here's why...'
@NigeTheHat - I'm reading the sample of Influence on Amazon, it's pretty interesting! Got to the bit where people complied because the person used the word "because" and that reminded me of something that happened recently. A woman on the street was going around begging for money - she just showed me and my friend her polysterene cup with two coins in it and said, "Please... please..." I must say I felt kinda sorry for her cus she looked so sad, but I ignored her and carried on chatting with my friend. The woman left us, but later as we were walking towards the metro we bumped into the woman again. Again she looked at me and said, "Please, please." And then she added, "Food. Please." It's not like I didn't figure she wanted money for food before she said the word "food". But upon hearing the word "food", I got out my purse and gave her a coin. In my head, I told myself, "C'mon, give her something, it's for food." But only after I heard her say it. So yeah, the whole "because" thing just reminded me of that! Anyway what's the difference between copywriting and content writing? I remember when I worked for a website aimed at students, part of my work was to write FB and twitter posts and then track how many clicks each one got and "analyse why". I was a fresh graduate without a clue as to what I was doing, and neither of my bosses knew what they were doing either - they were hoping I'd come with the ideas without any kind of training... I think all of us suffered from the delusion of, "It's just writing - how hard can it be!? You don't need to know anything or be a professional!" And I remember how I'd try to use similar wording as I did in the more successful FB posts the next day or next week and it wouldn't work, and my boss would ask me why and I'd always scratch my head. There was something about trying to predict the market and what people would like that's so abstract that I never got my head around it
Like @Sigma081 said, the term 'copywriting' is becoming a bit blurred, and people are starting to use it to mean any kind of content writing. But what it originally meant was specifically writing to persuade - largely adverts and sales pieces, but also hard and soft propaganda, pieces designed to capture contact details and so on. The FB and Twitter stuff you were doing counts, as you're trying to get an action - in this case, the click. That kind of thing taken to an extreme level is how Upworthy was born.
I had severe panic attacks in my pre-teens. Doctors didn't have a clue. I found out from tv and got a book with CBT to help me. I still get anxiety but I've finally after yrs found ways to ease my worries etc mindfulness and yoga are very helpful
Thanks for the information and advice. Although I am not a sales/marketing/extravert type, people have told me that I write well so I might as well give it a shot.
Thanks for the information and advice and good luck dealing with your panic issues. Unless there is a serious core issue with this, it should gradually get better without any need for medication or seeing a psychotherapist.
A history of trolling? A rather unfair accusation I must say. Where is your evidence? Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean they are a troll.
Pardon the delay! I've written a script for a political candidate! I find today's political propaganda a little boring, what with all the sensitivities to navigate.
