As a copywriter, you’re never the finished article.

There’s never a point where you sit back and admire all you’ve written, happy in the knowledge that you can do no more.

Every single thing you write can be better.

There’s always more you can learn, another word that would be better suited, a more succinct way of conveying a message.

The moment you rest on your laurels, that’s the moment you should consider another career.

There’s a plethora of elements involved in this job. All of them can be picked up and sharpened as you go. It takes a lot of maintenance, but that’s just another moving part to the job.

But there does need to be a strand of decent writing ability to begin with.

It’s like a seed. If you can already put together something without errors and you can make it interesting, then that is enough to grow.

The different techniques, the large vocabulary, the drive to constantly write and sculpt your talent? That can all sprout from your inherent ability to scribe something that’s worth reading.

Can you adapt your writing to fit a particular tone of voice? Can you flex that tone for different forms of content? Let’s be honest, you’re not going to create some social posts that have the same inflection as a case study or whitepaper – and a promotional email will be much more sales-driven than a news article.

That ability comes with time and you’ll notice that your writing becomes more flexible, the more you stretch it.

But you need to regularly work on it, otherwise that pliability disappears if it isn’t used.

A copywriter is asked to do a lot. We need to wear a mask that bears the face of someone else. We then have to assemble words that don’t belong to us and take into account form, key messaging, audience.

Is your headline an attention-grabber? Does it hint at treasures to discover at the turn of a page? Or is it one that can be passed by and forgotten in seconds?

Where is this piece of content pushing the reader? Is it a product launch? Is it a form to be filled in?

For business owners who are reluctant to seek help in their communications, this is why your previous campaign could be a lot better – and get better conversions.

And for you, fellow copywriter? Don’t worry about the things you don’t know yet.

Worry about thinking you already know them.

Neither of us do. We’re always learning.

You can check out my previous blogs for more helpful copywriting advice, or get in touch!