Ad Agency vs. Freelance Copywriters

Ad Agency vs. Freelance CopywritersAd Agency vs. Freelance CopywritersBecoming an advertising agency copywriter or freelance copywriter is an important decision thats leid just for someone new to the ad industry. Many agency copywriters wonder if they should leave their cushy jobs behind to start freelancing. Many successful freelancers wonder if they should close their business because they long to work in an ad agency. There are many differences between the two career paths. Evaluate both sides of the copywriting career to decide which route is best for you Clientele Big name clients almost always have a large, outside ad agency on retainer. As an agency copywriter in a well-known agency that handles major clients, youll write copy for national ad campaigns. A vast majority of copywriters wont start off working in an agency that handles these types of clients, though. The harder you work your way up the ladder to gain copywriting experience, the more recognized your clients wil l be among a national audience. Most freelance copywriters will never touch any national brands on their own. It is especially true for those freelancers without any ties to national agencies through previous in-house work with that agency. Those star clients with high price tags attached to their advertising campaigns are usually handled in-house by the ad agencys creatives and not freelancers. However, the clients you gain as a freelancer are your own. Your clients can be ad agencies who need a freelancer to write some of the projects their in-house copywriters are too busy for or the agency may not even have full-time copywriters on staff simply because they cant afford the overhead associated with a permanent employee. You can also work directly with business owners who need a copywriter but may not be able to justify the cost of an agencys retainer or have the need for a full-service agency. Salary How much you earn largely depends on where you live and how big the agency i s. Salaries for a Level I copywriter generally range between the low $30Ks and low $50Ks. Some Level III copywriters report earnings in the upper $70Ks, and senior copywriters can easily earn six-figure salaries. The money you make is roughly up to you. Full-time freelancers may see the low teens or they could earn six figures. Your salary will fluctuate based on the clients you seek out, your rates, experience and even how committed you are to bringing in new business. Hours Working in an ad agency is never a typical Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 job. One of the agencies Ive worked with actually has services like a car wash, oil change, and hair stylist come on-site because their employees work such long hours and dont have a lot of time outside of work to get these simple tasks done in their free time. So that basketball game you thought you were going to at seven may have to be sidelined because your copy just came back with red ink, major changes, and a yesterday deadline. M ost of the time youll be able to gauge when those long nights are required, but advertising junkies working at successful agencies will agree the long hours that are usually required are well worth it. Once you get going in your freelance career, you can establish a fairly solid routine. Youll be able to set your hours just by the work you take on or dont take on. You will be able to extend your hours for rush projects where you may pull an all-nighter for a client, but you also pull in a rush job fee on top of your regular rate. Environment Ad agencies are usually a laid-back environment. Everything from the clothes you wear to the way you act can have relaxed rules. One national agency I worked for made sure there was junk food on hand at all times. We spent years on a sugar buzz because the break room looked like a candy store at any given hour. It wasnt uncommon to down some chocolate covered raisins at your desk and then bang out a national companys product brochure. Anothe r agency I worked for took a different approach. The boss would break out a case of beer every day at 5 p.m. for any employee who wanted one. Think about that the next time you see a national commercial and wonder what the creatives must have been up to when they came up with the ads concept However, this no rules attitude changes on the days when clients are coming to the agency so youll be expected to dress up and behave, so-to-speak, when the client comes for a visit. As a freelancer, your dog can be curled up at your feet while youre in your pajamas and brushing your teeth is optional. You work alone, and thats how youll spend your time so if you can work productively wearing a tutu and thats what youre comfortable in, theres no one stopping you. Fast-Paced vs. Self-Paced You might sit in abrainstorming sessionfor a new clients ad campaign. You might travel to the location where the TV commercial script you wrote is being produced. Youll continuously have deadlines you need to meet or even beat. The pace is very fast, and many budding creatives crumble under the high stress that can come with working in an adagency. A freelancers life is still hectic, but you have more control over your own pace. If youre starting to feel burned out bythe number ofprojects youre writing, you can pull back and stop accepting so many projects with shorter deadlines. Teamwork vs. Lone Ranger Youll work with theCreative Directorand the entire creative gruppe to develop campaign concepts for clients, and you may even be involved in the client pitches. Your copy might get approved by 10 a.m., and at noon youre sitting down with the graphic designer to look over the layout of your copy within the ad. Teamwork is key to any ad agencys success, and your role is crucial to how well the team does on every campaign. If youre working with local clients, you may have occasional meetings with them in person, but most of the time you will be alone. Freelancers become quite familia r with the four walls they work within, and thats something you have to consider if youre thinking about starting down this career path. If you cant tolerate spending large amounts of time in solitude, freelancing may not be the best option for you. Work for the Boss vs. Be the Boss You may not sit at a desk and write copy all day long as an agencycopywriter. Youre always a member of the creative team, and that means you have plenty of otherresponsibilitiesto your team and the clients. Your Creative Director may have you working on a client pitch, sitting in meetings, developing new concepts with other creatives, among other duties. Agencies have their methods on how they pull together to produce ad campaigns so you will have to adapt to what your boss wants from you. It means you couldspenda lot of time away from your tastatur instead of hammering out new ad materials. Youre the marketing team to help grow your business. Youre the accounting department to send out invoices so y ou can get paid. Youre the creative team that writes copy for a variety of projects. You will wear many hats as a freelancer becauseyouare the business. As your boss, you have to be disciplined enough to make every aspect of your business run smoothly. You dont get a day off just because you feel like curling up in your hammock to read a book. Theres always something for you to do, no matter which department youre working in at the moment. No matter which copywriting career track you decide upon, be flexible and keep an open mind. As an agency copywriter, you may be dead set on working within an agency for life, but you never know when layoffs or even burnout may hit you. As a freelancer, you may love the freedom you have as your boss, but then one day a better opportunity with an ad agency comes your way. Each career path has its perks, and youre never lockedintothat particular route you initially chose. You can always change your mind, and every bit of copywriting experience youve gained will help you along the way.