Thread by @DennisDemori

The Difference Between Working As An In-House vs Remote Copywriter

In-house Copywriters works in offices
Remote Copywriters work anywhere they want

In-house Copywriters tend to work at advertising agencies OR for companies that are heavily into direct response (DR) marketing

The copy you write at an agency is generally NOT direct response

It’s “brand” copywriting

Nobody at ad agencies calls it that, though

They just call it copywriting (CW)

I suspect most ad agency employees don’t even know what DR is

I worked at several agencies over 5 years and I remember hearing the words “Direct response” once

The kind of copywriting created at agencies is what you see on billboards, subway ads, magazines, TV commercials, etc and hear on radio commercials, etc

Here are some examples:

This kind of copy focuses on branding, i.e. influencing the way people think and feel about brands

There isn't any Call to Action

No instructions to buy

Nike, Coca-Cola, General Mills, McDonald’s, car companies, etc all work with agencies to develop their branding

On the other hand, you have companies that are interested in the DR style of marketing

Financial publishers (Agora), health publishers (OmniVista), fitness companies (Kino Body) and self-improvement companies (Mindvalley) favor this style of marketing

So do many others

(There’s also some overlap where businesses combine DR and branding)

So if you want to get into copywriting, you need to ask yourself:

* Do I want to work in-house or remotely?

* Do I want to be an employee or a freelancer?

* Do I want to write “brand” copy or DR?

* Do I want to work with ONE client or several?

* Do I want a steady paycheck, benefits, etc or do I want complete control over my income?

*Do I want to write copy or freelance for many years or is this just a stepping stone to something else (e-commerce, info products, etc)?

The biggest, highest-paying agencies are usually located in big cities

Mainly:

- London
- NYC
- Chicago
- LA
- San Francisco
- Austin
- Minneapolis

You don't want to work for a small agency

(small agencies = small budgets = broke employees)

But your cost of living is going to be high

And as a Junior CW you might make around $35K a year

You'll also have to move to a new agency every 18 months to get a... 3% raise (not kidding)

Agencies are notoriously cheap when it comes to raises

Agencies can also be categorized based on specialty:

* General market
* Hispanic / Black / Asian / Multicultural
* Digital

Digital agencies tend to pay the most

Ethnic agencies tend to pay the least (because of small budgets)

Plus... ad agencies have become completely infested with Liberal Lunatics, SJWs, feminists and Trump haters (FYI)

They've become Far Left propaganda machines, similar to Hollywood and college

The "Mad Men" era arguably disappeared in the 80s

You've been warned...

Working in-house at a “DR company” can be a great opportunity to learn and you can make 6 or 7 figures if you’re good and work at a company with an aggressive compensation plan

I’ve considered it, but after working remotely there’s no way I can work in an office ever again

Freelancing is great if you want freedom and control and you’re entrepreneurial, but most people:

* Don’t have the risk tolerance

* Can’t make enough money to support their lifestyle

* Need the structure of an office environment

FYI: Writing copy and the meta skill of selling online are NOT the same as building a freelance business

These are two completely different skills sets you need to learn

There are plenty of good writers (including authors) who struggle because they lack BUSINESS skills

If you’d like something more “stable,” look for in-house opportunities

But if you’re interested in building your own business, working remotely and having more control over your income, my book for new freelancers and beginners will show you what to do

gum.co/NjPhB