Of course you have to be a good writer.
You have to be able to string sentences together and keep us reading them.
But that’s just one part of it.
The other part of it is an insatiable need to know.
When you’re writing about something, you have to want to dive deep into it and learn everything you can about it.
You have to instinctively understand that the more familiar you are with something, the more likely you’ll be to find a unique angle that’ll make your audience go “hmmm…” and want to know more.
And you have to believe that there’s something interesting about everything if you’re willing to put the work in to find it.
Yes, copywriting is about style. But it’s more about substance and research.
We can tell if someone’s mailed in that part of the job. Not because we’re professionals. Because we’re people who read. We know when our time’s being wasted with things we already know. And we hate that, because time’s ultimately all we have.
Want to write for us? Keep this blog post in mind. Then jump on the Google and check out the DDB Volkswagen ads from the 1960s. Read them over and over again. Enjoy them because they’re so well written, but also because they’re so well researched.
We can teach the craft. We can suggest techniques to get writing punchier and tighter. And we can edit the hell out of a piece until it sings like a boys’ choir. But we can’t teach someone to want to learn more. That’s instinctive. Either you have it or you don’t.
So, yes. We want writers. But more than that, we want learners.
Sound like you? Great. Let’s talk. We’d love to know more about you.