"Don't Compare Yourself. That Game Sucks." Justin Li's Tips to Level Up Your Copywriter Portfolio
Michael O’Donnell / EDITOR
Our community of 100,000+ creatives extends across more than 45 different creative roles, which means our advice for putting your best foot forward and landing work isn't one-size-fits-all. So last week, we launched a new monthly series called Level Up, which offers role and industry-specific advice from hand-picked experts on everything from portfolio sites to bios to pitches.
To kick things off, we tapped Ray Smiling, Malika Reid, and Justin Li, some of the best in advertising, to lead three crash courses on the do’s, don’ts, and tips to make your portfolio stand out to hirers and creatives alike.
Scroll down to read some of the key takeaways from Justin Li’s Copywriter Room.
If you’re an art director or creative director, or just want to take in more portfolio advice, see the takeaways from Malika Reid’s Art Director Room and Ray Smiling’s Creative Director Room.
Justin Li is a Creative Director and copywriter based in Amsterdam. He was previously a Creative Lead at the Google Creative Lab, their in-house product marketing and development studio. Now he works on brand strategy and creative stuff with his wife at Hello Astro. Here’s Justin’s portfolio site.
According to Justin, his portfolio site is now on iteration 4.0. Your portfolio should continue to evolve with you. Justin comforted his class of copywriters, recalling what it was like to have to level up from Portfolio 1.0 to Portfolio 2.0. His initial advice: Give yourself credit. It can be as difficult leveling up your portfolio as it is breaking into the industry.
After you’ve been in the game for several years, being able to write an ad or a headline is table stakes. His ad projects would rarely even come up in interviews. For Justin, it was his freelance editorial writing for publications that helped him stand apart. Typically, passion projects will say more about you than client work. A portfolio is about inviting people to get to know you, your taste, and what they can count on you bringing to the table.
When it comes to writing itself, use website-blocking tools that keep you present and help you avoid constant distractions. And write a lot. It’s the only way to get better. Not better than other people, but better than the current you.
“And finally, this is the most important advice I can give: show your writing to other people and ask them if they understand it… Copywriting is a part of advertising. Advertising is a part of marketing. And marketing is essentially communications. Your writing needs to make sense to people.”
Designs by Working Not Working Member Martin Salazar