Copywriting is one of the most in-demand jobs for 2021. With so many businesses looking to build a digital presence, the need for great advertising and marketing is evident. No one can feel the pressure as much as copywriters, who’ve been at the frontlines of the digital marketing frontier.
Copywriting is one of the most stressful jobs out there. There are constant deadlines to meet and a never-ending list of tasks to convert. You’re always worried about the quality of your writing and you’re constantly waiting for your drafts to be approved.
I’ve been copywriting for 3 years and I’ve been through it all. That said, there are ways for you to handle the mental stresses of copywriting and in this article, we cover them all.
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Why Is Copywriting Stressful?
As a copywriter, you’ll know that most writing is done under pressure. But that’s not everything there is for copywriting. Here are four reasons why copywriting is a stressful job:
1.) Writer’s Block
You won’t always have ideas and the copy won’t always be flowing. There are a lot of reasons for writer’s block to occur but common ones include timing, fear and perfectionism. It may just not be the right time, your ideas may be incomplete thought bubbles, or you want everything to be just right before you send out that draft.
Unfortunately, there’s not much you could do about it – except wait it out and just hope that you get a good idea soon. Take your mind off of things and try to do other stuff.
2.) Constant Deadlines
I cannot stress to you enough the fear I have for deadlines. As a copywriter, clients expect you to be able to come up with a better copy on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, that’s just not always the case and it only adds to the stress of the job.
3.) Need For Approval
Before you’re writing gets published, there’s always going to be someone who’ll have to check it out first. Whether it’s a client or management, the time delay between giving your draft and receiving feedback will always be one of the most stressful times of your life. The problem here is that there’s no exact science behind copywriting so approval for your work is largely subjective.
4.) High Barriers of Entry
If you’re just starting out, you’ll find some difficulty breaking onto the scene. Especially if you’re looking for work on freelancing platforms like UpWork or Freelancer, you’ll find that you’ll be competing with people from all over the world.
That said, the copywriting industry is extremely rewarding. There’s a ton of upside for those who know how to sell themselves and the stiff competition is proof of the rewards that await the best copywriters.
So find a niche and build a portfolio, you’ll have more clients than you can handle in no time.
How Can I Deal With Stress As A Copywriter?
Copywriting has many sources of stress but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take measures to handle them. I’ve been writing for years and I get stressed out often. I’ve found, however, that the best way to get out of your funk is to just keep moving.
If you hone in and focus on getting out of the funk, then you’ll end up digging a deeper hole. Stop thinking about it and let your mind wander – that’s just one of the many paradoxes of life.
Here are a few ideas to help you work through your mental anxiety:
Take A Break
If you’re stress negatively impacts the quality of your writing, don’t be afraid to take a break. Go outside and get some fresh air. Start running and get your blood flowing. Read a book and get new ideas.
The problem with being a creative is that when we burn out, we burn out. There’s really not much you could do about it.
I’ve found that taking a break allows me to escape the often suffocating clutches of deadlines and writer’s block. The two, after all, are much like anacondas, whose asphyxiating grip only grow stronger the more you struggle.
So take a deep breath and relax. Push the negative thoughts outside your mind and let the words flow out of you. They don’t have to be great, just let them flow and take the quality-riddled pieces out of the paragraphs you create.
Find Other Hobbies To Be Passionate About
If you’re feeling run down, reenergize your passion for writing by focusing on other things first. If you spend 16 hours of your day writing, you’re bound to run out of vocabulary. So take your mind off of things by working on other stuff first.
One thing that really excites me about working on other hobbies is the level of transmutability that the lessons have.
Copywriting is all about translating the value of a product onto a form factor that people understand. One of the best ways to convince people of the value of your product is through story-telling – but how would you have stories to tell if you didn’t have any experiences to share?
Having other hobbies leads to better copywriting because it takes your mind off of the writing. It allows you to view things from different perspectives and eventually allow you to share those stories through your writing.
Understand What The Client Wants From The Start
As a copywriter, one of the worst feelings in the world is working on a piece of copy for weeks only to have it rejected by your boss. Constructive feedback and minor edits are great but outright rejection is absolutely brutal. Unfortunately, I’ve found that a lot of this could have been avoided if only we detailed exactly what the client was looking for right from the start.
One of the things that confused me the most about freelancing was the fact that many freelancers, especially those that worked abroad, would refuse to ask their clients questions about the project.
I’m the exact opposite.
I want to know everything and anything there is to know about your platform and what you’re trying because I understand that it’s the only way for me to fully comprehend your business.
This might take up a lot of your time but at the end of the day, it helps provide a clear path for your project and tasks. It’s easier to get approval when you’re working within the confines of the owner’s mind. By simply inquiring more about your client’s business, the project path and process turn out much clearer reducing the mental stress and creative burden on your shoulders.
Create A Routine
Some of the most productive people in the world live monotonous lives. You wouldn’t think that to be true but it is.
The monotony and repetitiveness of their lives allowed them to focus all their creative energy on creating better content. It’s the exact same reason why creatives like Mark Zuckerberg, Albert Einstein, and Steve Jobs wore the same outfits on a daily basis. The monotony and repetitive nature of the tasks allowed them to focus on building great products.
In my case, the routine is as simple as waking up at 7 am every day and being in front of my table ready to work by 9 am. I typically have lunch by 12nn and resume writing until the late afternoon. I work out at 7 pm every day and continue working until I sleep at 12mn. This, of course, varies day by day but my general schedule revolves around these events that are set in stone.
Your routine doesn’t have to be the same as mine, it could be something entirely different. The whole point is to find something that works for you and stick with it until it works no longer.
Is Being A Copywriter Worth It?
Copywriting is stressful – you’ll find problems with deadlines, rejections, and creative constipation (that’s just my phrase for Writer’s Block). Unless you finish a project, all these problems will only continue to pile up.
That’s exactly why you’ll need to learn how to manage stress and anxiety as a copywriter.
At the end of the day, copywriting is one of the most rewarding experiences out there. Not only is the base pay of a copywriter innately high but the skills you learn as a copywriter are also transferable to other industries provided, of course, that you know their product well enough.
Copywriting is a passion of mine and I’m extremely excited to see the growth of this industry over the next decade.
If you’re looking to get started, feel free to let me know or leave a message if you have any questions.
