The job of developing copy for web content is an art of its own kind. While many have mastered it, others are stumbling on their way to it. There is always an easy way out of this, which generally translates into copy-paste method, but doing justice to a creative would require much more than that.

So, here’s what a creative writer can do:

Keep a Sharp Eye: True, a copywriter would be required to have an eye for details. No matter how small but if a word, a caption or a slogan, seems impactful, should make way to the copy bank of the writer. This adds on to ideas and gives perspective on subjects related or unrelated.

Save the Searches: This is important because there are way too many sources that one comes across every single day. So, to keep a fool proof reference to a work, it is good to save it with proper indexes. This helps in getting back to the copy and pooling thoughts out of it.

Sort the Best: It depends entirely on the copywriter as to how he likes to shape up the work based on the brief. In which case, sorting out the best is his job. At the same time, feedback is always welcome as it helps bending and tweaking the fine lines.

Improvise Critically: When nothing else works from memory and resources, the only possible solution lies in innovating. Trusting that the person is creative, this should be a cakewalk. But one may hit the writer’s block. Don’t fret, have patience. That works too. It does come along and from a very odd place indeed.

Keeping these nuances in mind can help any creative person get over the copy blues over time. However, it is important that this becomes a habit as natural as breathing for the best results.

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The rapid growth of the Advertising Industry has made the aspiring youth to channel their creativity and ideas into a lifestyle unconfined to the daily rut that a typical 9-to-5 job has to offer.

Its most remunerative jobs are:

1. Account Supervisor/Sales: The sales and account supervisor positions are best suited if you are a people’s person and have a sales background. The annual salary is based on your past experiences and the number of new accounts you bring in. The day-to-day responsibilities include client communication, keeping the company competitive, and creating client billings and reports.
2. Copywriter: People with the talent to write and are not willing to settle for meager wages like Journalists can pursue a career in copywriting. By writing print, web or radio ads, the copywriters can earn fast cash.
3. Creative Director: The position of a creative director is to create and manage ad concepts and their execution. A long experience in advertising and a sense of art and design are the right ingredients to make big in the position of a creative director.
4. Online Brand and Marketing Manager: Online Marketing Managers are hired to manage the clients’ presence on the web. Good knowledge in social networking and a marketing background can make this a top-paying position.
5. Chief Communications Officer and Chief Public Relations Officer: To pursue a career as a Communications Officer or Public Relations Officer, you need an excellent written and verbal skill. A good network and being a people person are the traits which are essential. The job encompasses reputation building therefore the job can be expected to pay very well.

The stiff competition and the knack to emerge from the growing completion have certainly made Advertising Industry a one stop solution for various career opportunities.

Image courtesy Fliptalks

Radio is among the most economically viable mediums of mass communication. It is also regarded as a powerful medium as its reach is universal. However, in order to exploit radio’s true potential you must know how to use it effectively.

1.    Know Your Tools: A radio copywriter only has limited tools at his disposal like emphasis, tone, pitch and pace. Writing intended for radio can only be vivid and emotive by utilising these tools well. Variation in tone helps to break the monotony and animate the radio copy. The pitch must complement and illustrate the key message of the copy as retention value of radio is low.

2.    Opening and Closing act: For radio copy to be effective, the opening words must grab the attention and the closing words must have a lasting impression on the listener. As radio is a passive medium i.e. it does not commands full attention of a person, the writer must compensate for this shortcoming.

3.    Economy of Words: This principle applies to all writing but it is all the more critical for radio copy. A lengthy radio copy has little or almost no effect, as it not possible for the listener to remember long details by listening to them just once.

4.    Kindle Imagination: Radio is a medium which lacks visuals but that does not means that it cannot paint a visual picture. Creative use of sound effects and adjectives will grant a unique vividness to the radio copy.

5.    Humour:  Humour is something which if well used can establish a rapport with the listener and can effectively propagate the message. Humour also helps to augment the retention value of radio advertisement.

Writing for radio warrants a slightly different approach as you are writing for the ear not the eye. The aim is to influence the listener which can only be achieved by offering something interesting to listen.

Image courtesy: Traffic Coleman

Be it a book author or a blogger or for that matter any kind of writer, what connects them with the reader is the words they write. The reader creates an image of the writer through his/her columns, blog posts, books and articles and tends to perceive the likes and dislikes of the writer from what he/she writes.

As the festivities come to an end in the office and we all get back into work mode, I thought it would be interesting to interview some of our writers, so that you get to know the people behind this blog. Read on to know about three people from our team of young and enthusiastic writers.

Isha has been with us for 7 months and believes chocolates help her fight writer’s block. Full of mischief, you’ll always see a smile on her face.

CWI: How do you manage to come up with interesting content even when the project is not very inspiring?

Isha: Although I can never make out if the content written will be able to please or interest the reader but I make sure that I’m not bored while writing on the topic. That’s the only way I keep myself going. Creating a milieu of various notions and incorporating different perspectives into a topic makes it writable and readable. Well, I too after a point surrender in front of the failing-to-cease and not-so-happening projects and just plain write.

CWI: Okay, now a non-work question – What would you prefer: A shopping spree or an evening out with friends?

Isha: Oh! It’s like asking a mother to choose her favorite child among her children… I can’t let go of any of them, since the happiness quotient attached with both of them are different. Going by my past track record I will say ‘ an evening out with friends’. Woohooo… Where’s the party tonight?

Our next writer Shrey is from Goa (one of the biggest reasons we like him!). He is the motor-mouth of our office and is known for coming up with witty articles consistently.

CWI: Before you start off with a new project, do you play around with different ideas or follow a similar format every time?

Shrey: It depends on the deadline. If it’s tight then I usually follow a simple and common format. But if I have some time on my hands then I usually try something new and different. To tell you the truth, I generally just copy a nice format from my colleagues, saves a lot of time. I hope you edit out that last part. (Sorry Shrey!)

CWI: Apart from playing computer games nonstop, what is your idea of relaxing on a weekend?

Shrey: I usually just sleep all day or read books and play video games, but every now and then I am surrounded by a couple of friends with a bottle of beer in one hand and something to eat on the other one. Sitting in a bar or on the terrace watching the sun drop down into the city, talking about absolutely nothing in particular. Though following Monday becomes a nightmare!

Sid is one of the most versatile writers we have in our team. From a travel writer to a tech expert, he can churn up interesting content even under the tightest of deadlines.

CWI: Sid, we all know that ‘content creation’ is about creativity. What is your take – is the creative process exciting for you or plain hard work?

Sid: I dare say it is ‘plain hard work’. Creativity is the major player in content creation. Hard work is just a part of it, but you just can’t do away with that also!! However, deadlines are the ghosts. Creativity may go away for a vacation if deadlines are there to haunt you.

CWI: You’ve written a lot on gadgets, what is the most must-have gadget for you?

Sid: Undoubtedly the iPad. It’s the coolest gadget I ever saw. Though I am not as tech savvy as Shrey, but I would definitely go for an iPad. The features are just awesome!