✩°。🦦ᵔᴗᵔ
I became a copywriter because the president of an ad agency I was working for noticed that I was highly expressive and encouraged me to do more with my creativity. She facilitated a meeting with the agency’s CCO and advocated for me as a writer. I went into that meeting with a collection of work nowhere near conventional for portfolio material: poems I wrote during messy heartbreaks, a cheeky email I’d written about a pop culture theory I had, and two mock ads I created with a script I wrote and recited in an aspirational tone as voiceover. I was told to “bring anything that shows my creative voice and writing style” so I brought something old and made something new.
That meeting led to a slow transition into the creative department, while still working with international teams in the account management department. My work day started at 7am as I answered emails from Europe before getting out of bed. Then, I’d rush to work to go from meeting to meeting while writing copy in any pockets of time I could find before staying at the office until 8pm on a good day, sometimes 9pm or later to do my work as a writer. Eventually, I became an official copywriter and was able to fully shift my focus. But those months essentially doing two jobs—and two hard jobs at that—were brutal.
This to say, I know how to work hard. It’s hardly ever a matter of work ethic for me. It’s a matter of meaning. If I don’t know why I’m doing something, it’s very very very hard for me to give my heart to it. And my heart is where my magic is, it’s what adds “unique value” to whatever I do.
I was willing to sacrifice my life outside of work because I was moving toward something that would allow me to express my creativity as a paid profession. I learned the craft, absorbed everything I observed around me, then learned how to discern. Writing is a lot of editing and so is shaping the work of art that is your life.
While spending years writing and storytelling for brands, I learned the importance of accurately and intentionally telling your life story. Even if you’re a very private person and have no plans of ever writing a memoir, there will inevitably be times throughout a career where you’re faced with the task of updating your digital presence or submitting some sort of resume or bio for something that you desire.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as I’ve been updating my resume, editing my website, and working to change the direction of my own life.
I took elements from two of my top-requested workshops “Rewrite Your Bio” and “Design Your Future” (maybe some of you reading this have been to one of these workshops I’ve been doing since ~2020!) and created “Copywriting For Your Life!” to share all the things I’ve learned about writing about yourself and thinking about the milestones you want to highlight.
If you:
have been meaning to update your bio but haven’t gotten around to it
freeze when someone asks “so, what do you do?”
want to make meaning and find structure from your life
are in the midst of a career transition or professional pivot and want to position yourself for the work you want
are excited by the idea of building or refreshing your creative ethos
Then:
This is a virtual workshop over Zoom. Pick one of the dates, either Friday May 1 or Saturday May 2 (both from 12-3pm PST/3-6pm EST) as both will cover the same material.
Hope to see you there! You can reply to this email with any questions!
🎀 Jezz 🎀
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