If you're at university and thinking about going into copywriting as a career, or you've already graduated and are ready to get your copywriting career started – our guide provides some essential info to help you on your way.
What kind of skills do I need to get an entry-level role in copywriting?
What else will I need to show in my application for an entry-level job in copywriting?
What kind of work experience do I need to get an entry-level role as a copywriter?
How should I prepare for an interview for an entry-level copywriting job?
Are there any organisations or events that could help me start a career in copywriting?
Are there any online resources that could help me learn more about copywriting?
What kind of entry-level roles are there in copywriting?
There are lots of different types of copywriting work, but the main split is between advertising copywriting, and other forms of copywriting. Ad copywriters work in ad agencies and almost always work as a creative team in partnership with an art director. Getting into this kind of copywriting is a bit different to other kinds of copywriting, so we've got a separate guide about ad copywriting here.
Outside of advertising, there are roles as generalist copywriters, as well as more specialist roles – like B2B copywriters, SEO copywriters, direct response copywriters, medical copywriters, financial copywriters, technical copywriters, email copywriters, speechwriters, long-form or short-form specialists. You'll also see job ads for content writers, and while this term is also flexible about exactly what it means, it often describes long-form marketing copywriting.
Most junior copywriting roles are generalist rather than specialised. And outside of advertising, many copywriters start their careers in a related profession like marketing, PR or journalism, then decide to specialise in copywriting.
What salary should I expect as a junior copywriter?
Here are some salaries for entry-level roles that were being advertised in September 2024:
Junior Copywriter, NSPCC: London or remote, £21,840 - £23,480 plus London weighting allowance of £3,366
Copywriter, The Good Marketer: London, £26,000 - £28,500 (6-12 months' marketing agency copywriting experience required)
Junior Creative (copywriting), Future Publishing, £26,000
SEO Content Executive, The Good Marketer: London, £26,000 - £28,500
Copywriter, The Profs: London, £25,000 - £35,000 depending on experience
Medical Writer, Publicis: London, £28,000
Junior SEO Copywriter, Future Publishing: Bath or Cardiff, £24,000 - £25,200
SEO Content Writer, Direct Ferries: Remote, £25,000 - £27,000
Salaries tend to be higher for roles based in London compared to other regions. Note that the 2023/24 UK Living Wage as an annual salary is around £23,400 and the London Living Wage is around £25,642.50. More info on the Living Wage.
Where should I look for a role as a junior copywriter ?
Take a look at the copywriting category on our jobs board. Our job ads exclusively focus on junior roles and always include the salary.
Other places where you'll find copywriting jobs advertised include The Dots, Creativepool and If You Could.
Junior copywriter job ads are usually in fairly short supply and so you may want to consider broadening your search out to include related roles that involve copywriting. It's worth knowing that most established copywriters didn't start out in a pure copywriting role – it's more common for people to start out in fields like marketing, PR or publishing before moving into copywriting later on. A different entry-level role that provides copywriting opportunities while also building your understanding of audiences, brand and strategy can be a great launchpad for a future copywriting role.
What kind of skills do I need to get a job as a junior copywriter?
Starting with the obvious – the ability to produce excellent writing is top of the list of skills you'll need to be a copywriter. What constitutes excellent writing will vary depending on the type of role you're applying for, and the employer's particular expectations for the role. You'll need to read the job description carefully to understand what kind of writer they want and what kind of writing skills you'll need to show them in the application process.
There are lots of other skills which can be important for copywriting roles, such as:
creativity
research
editing
proofreading
accuracy in spelling and grammar
an understanding of how brand, design and copywriting work together
understanding and responding to creative briefs
SEO practices
organising your work and balancing different tasks and priorities
time management and meeting deadlines
attention to detail and ability to spot mistakes
communicating and working with others
presenting your ideas to others
understanding and responding to feedback
managing client relationships.
What experience do I need to get a job as a junior copywriter?
Job applications will often ask you to show that you have experience writing for a range of audiences, or of writing specific types of content.
If the job ad says that you need a certain amount of experience, this doesn't necessarily need to be from working as a full-time copywriter – your experience could be cumulative across previous employment, freelancing, internships and voluntary work, and it can include writing experience gained in roles where copywriting was one of your tasks but not the only one.
How should I prepare for a copywriting interview?
Spend time going back over the job description and thinking about how you can show that you have the skills, interests and experience they're looking for. These are things you should have done for your initial application, but it's worth going over it again and thinking of more examples or experiences you can share.
Spend time researching the company – if it's an agency, which clients do they work for and what kind of work do they produce? Reflect on the work they've produced, what you think the aims were and how you might have tackled the same project. If it's an in-house role, sign up to their email newsletter and read as much as you can across their website, marketing materials, email and social channels. Build a good understanding of their audience, tone of voice and writing stye.
Think about what you might ask if you were interviewing someone for this role – perhaps you'd want to know which brand they'd most like to write for and why? Or a brand they really admire for their copywriting style? Or perhaps you'd want to know how they'd describe the tone of voice for your brand?
Do I need a degree in English to be a copywriter?
No, you don't need to have a degree in English. ProCopywriters' 2024 copywriting survey gathered data from 422 copywriters. 58% of respondents had an undergraduate degree and 28% had a postgraduate degree. 37% had studied English language or literature, and 27% had studied marketing, advertising or communication.
Employers will be most interested in the quality of your writing, rather than what you studied at university.
For some specialist areas of copywriting, like technical writing or medical copywriting, then it can be helpful to have a degree in the relevant area – and some job ads will specify this as a requirement.
Are there any organisations or events that could help me start a career in copywriting?
ProCopywriters is a membership organisation for commercial writers and runs online events for members, covering topics such as B2B copywriting, UX copywriting, and writing effective landing pages.
For less formal events, follow #copywritersunite on LinkedIn to find details of gatherings of copywriters in pubs in London, Manchester, Leeds and other locations around the UK.
Are there any online resources that could help me learn more about copywriting?
Here are a few places where you can get insights from successful copywriters:
YouTube videos showing talks from copywriting conferences: CopyCon and Copy Cabana.
Copywriting: it's more important than you think with Dave Harland, Vikki Ross and Eddie Shleyner, The Marketing Meetup (1 hour)
The Subtext – a website and monthly Substack newsletter that celebrates great brand writing and is full of insights into the working processes of established copywriters.
It's also worth following some established copywriters on LinkedIn, to see posts where they share copy they've written, as well as copy they have thoughts on (the good, the bad and the ugly...) It's a great way to gain insight into other people's work and creative processes, and to start building your network too.