From the eyes of the intern: What exactly is copywriting anyway?

In my continued quest to figure out what I want to do with myself, the question became: Okay, so I’m here to learn about copywriting….um, what does that entail exactly?

Well, a copywriter does exactly what it says on the tin: write copy. Yeah, yeah, I know, super informative. For those of us not in the know, copy is essentially any material that has to be written. Originally it referred to the first draft of the newspaper that would be written in so that changes could be made before it was sent to the printer. Today copy can be anything ranging from the content of websites to the blurbs on the backs of cereal boxes.

Think for a moment about all of the written material you read over the course of a day—everything from brochures, to menus, to text in TV commercials. And of course this includes scripted content: the words we don’t see, but hear. Actors don’t just ad lib the benefits of over the counter cold medicine; someone has to write all of that. And that’s what being a copywriter is about.

If you’d asked me as a college student if marketing or advertising appealed to me as a potential career path, I would have said “absolutely not.” I don’t consider myself business minded; I’m not good at selling things. But I’ve come to realize that the thing about advertising is that it’s less about talking someone into buying something and more about helping to match products and services with the people who are actively looking for them or the people who are in need of them, but might not know they exist. That I can do!

And that’s where Tigermoth has an incredibly special and personal take on marketing. They’re not here to sell a product or company or program, they’re here to tell stories—to find the correct audience and let them know what the client is all about—to let them know why the client is so passionate about what they do. This unique take is beneficial for all parties involved, and is an approach to copywriting that I will take with me as I further my career.

Tessa Figeroa, intern

Tessa Figueroa is the writing intern at Tigermoth Creative. Having spent three years teaching English in Japan, she’s recently back in the U.S. and looking for new opportunities and adventures. As an intern at Tigermoth she works as a guest blogger, junior copywriter, and generally lends a hand wherever help is needed.