When I was in school, I didn’t know what copywriting was.
No one told me there were grown-ups who wrote brochures and sales letters for a living – let alone that there were people writing words for web pages! (The internet was still its infancy in those days).
Hopeless in maths, sorrowful in science – it felt like writing was the only thing I was good at. But people who are good at writing only have two options, I thought. Author or journalist. Neither of those options appealed to me.
My little mind would have been boggled if I knew the possibilities!
In fact, it wasn’t until I left university that I realised there was a whole new career path for people like me.
Still equipped with only a vague idea of what constituted ‘communications’, I landed a job working as a communications coordinator for a national charity. Suddenly people were asking for my help with questions like “What word would work best here, Alice?” and “What’s a better way of saying this?”. I started writing their ‘thank you’ letters to donors. I was in my element and I loved it.
From there, my good fortune continued. I landed a coveted communications internship in Auckland. When that ended, I secured a marketing and communications role with one of New Zealand’s leading trustee companies.
These experiences and other ones since allowed me to polish my copywriting skills to perfection and taught me that my talents are in demand.
Lots of people have brilliant ideas but many struggle to articulate them. I don’t think a lack of copywriting ability should stand in the way of entrepreneurship. I realised I could help these people and businesses ‘find their words’.
Looking back on the sense of doom I used to feel when someone posed the dreaded question, “What do you want to do for a living?”, I wish I’d known earlier that copywriting was out there – my vocation, my niche.
If you’re here, chances are you’ve already found your niche. But I also bet you’re still looking for the right words to tell your brand’s story.
Penultimate can help you transform the way you speak to your customers. Get in touch via alice@penultimate.co.nz and we’ll show you how.
