6. Exercise good judgment.
A copywriter has meetings to attend and research to conduct, but the majority of his or her work hours are spent, well, writing copy – and often under the pressure of exceedingly high expectations and incredibly tight deadlines.
Talent is important. But so is good judgment. Whatever you’re writing, you have to have both the experience and intuition to choose just the right words for the assignment time after time.
You also have to decide for yourself when to let go of your work and share it with your colleagues and clients.
As Roger von Oech writes on page 110 of his book, “A Kick In The Seat Of The Pants”…
“The judge performs the evaluation function of the creative process. When you adopt this role, you decide what to do with the idea: implement it, modify it, or discard it completely. In carrying out this task, you should recognize imperfections in the new idea without overstating them. You should also be open to interesting possibilities and use your imagination to develop these without losing your sense of reality and perspective.”
This is the sixth in a 10-post series on how to succeed as a copywriter. Over the course of the next few months, I’ll publish the balance of the series, one post at a time (not necessarily consecutively), here on my blog, A New Marketing Commentator. Please stay tuned. And if you have any feedback on this series for me, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or click “like” below. Thanks.
Previous Posts in This Series
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part One
Dare to be different.
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part Two
Care deeply about results.
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part Three
Walk in your readers’ shoes.
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part Four
Develop strong presentation skills.
10 Ways to Succeed as a Copywriter, Part Five
Keep your head out of the sand.
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