Where Do Copywriters Work?
Today’s question is relatively straightforward: Where do copywriters work?
I like this question. Do you know why? Because my answer’s going to show the depth and breadth of this industry for both full-time copywriters (i.e., people who work for someone else) and freelance copywriters (like me) who work for a variety of clients.
So let’s get to it.
Where do copywriters work? Ad agencies.
Ad agencies need writers. Think about it. They need words for all those ads, whether we’re talking TV commercials, radio spots, print ads, digital ads, and so forth.
Where do copywriters work? Marketing firms.
Like ad agencies, marketing firms produce a lot of content for their clients, and someone needs to write that stuff, right? Marketing firms will often have full-time writers on staff, with titles like senior copywriter and junior copywriter. But some of these places will also outsource to freelance copywriters like myself because the firm has overflow work. So they have the full-timers in-house, but they also have so much work coming in that they need a reliable “stable,” as we say in the biz, of other copywriters.
Where do copywriters work? Businesses.
And the larger the business, the more likely it’ll have at least one marketing writer on staff. In fact, really big brands/companies will often have a full-time team of writers in-house, usually as part of their marketing or creative departments.
Why? Think of all the content that a business needs. Content is what makes the business world go round. You need blog posts, you need social media posts, you need web pages, you need mailers, you need TV commercials. You need marketing collateral. So it might be a brochure, it might be an instruction manual, it might be a sell sheet.
And someone needs to churn out that content—someone with a deep understanding of the company, its target audience, and its marketing objectives.
(I’m using the word “business” loosely here. Nonprofits and academic institutions need content for their website, social channels, marketing collateral, etc. Some might have a writer or two on staff. Others might outsource directly to a writer or through a marketing firm.)
Where do copywriters work? The entertainment/publishing industry.
Newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, media conglomerates/streaming companies—many will have copywriters on staff as part of the marketing departments and/or part of the advertising departments.
Where do copywriters work? Content mills. (Sigh.)
Basically, any business that’s serious about its marketing will be producing content. And they need someone to write it. Sometimes, businesses turn to content mills, which I don’t typically recommend for writers. (Check out my video for further details.) My biggest beef with content mills is that they don’t pay writers enough, in my opinion. (Maybe there’s a great content mill out there somewhere that does pay its writers what they’re worth, and if that’s the case, great.)
Anyhow, so there you have it. Hopefully, that answers the question of where copywriters work. As for me, I mostly work for marketing firms and directly with clients. Some of my clients are larger companies while others are small businesses (sometimes consisting of a single person). It runs the gamut.
Bottom line: If you want to pursue a copywriting career, many opportunities exist.
Got a question for me, the Copy Bitch?
Do you learn better visually? Check out my video below where I talk about this topic.