A put-down-your-pen list for copywriters

Because other people’s words can be resources, too.

Writing for other people can be a brain drain.

Tackling tricky copy can leave you at a loss for words- when you need them the most.

We advise a healthy dose of putting down the pen and absorbing someone else’s lexicon, for as long or as little as it takes to get your breath back.

Never underestimate the power of the podcast for moments where time seems well spent trying to ‘work’- public transport and waiting rooms being main culprits.

A fool proof way to learn in these spaces is through headphones, and through the wealth of free spoken resource available on the internet.

Hot Copy is a copywriting podcast for copywriters, established and presented by two Australian copywriters, Belinda Weaver and Kate Toon.

Light hearted but heavy hitting, topic’s traversed include learning to trust your writing and how to market yourself when most of the time you’re marketing others.

A recent episode catches up with Kira Hug, whose own American podcast The Copywriter Club features in depth interviews with other expert copywriters.

TED talks are everyman’s university lecture. This, hosted by piano playing, ex lawyer-travel-journo-now-copywriter Jean Tang, is truth filled humour with a message.

What is copy, she asks? “Copy is a story that punches you in the belly then swells up like a 3 second pregnancy”. Couldn’t agree more.

If disillusionment has hit, take a moment to absorb the wisdom of old and new, or mavericks and mavens. The DMA’s very own mini doc discovers the leaps and bounds copywriting has (and maybe hasn’t) made. Rewatch it here.

Finally, if visual bite sites are what your scrolling thumb needs to get it away from a typing keyboard, One Minute Briefs is a tongue in cheek feed of light relief mixed with some serious ideas. Take five minutes and you may find yourself with a new way to attack a brief.

So there you have it. Be it a post office queue or writer’s block, putting down the pen until you can pick it back up and write something sterling again is essential for any copywriter. Now, you have a decent list of resources to help you do it.