Are you cut out for a copywriting career? It may look glamorous and with lots of perks, but that is mainly for the big shots in the industry. However, a copywriting career can be interesting and fun if you are passionate about writing.

A career in copywriting involves:

* Being creative - this is the fun part of the job, but the challenge is that creativity is on demand and may be restricted by a brief or written guideline for the job.

* Writing advertising and sales copies in which every word counts and the result of your work is either measured in $$$ or the number of leads or new clients it brought in.

* Whether you have a job with an advertising agency or you are a freelance copywriter it is a lot of hard work and the hours are often long. It is seldom the usual 9 to 5 job.

Personal traits of a successful copywriter:

* Sharp observer of people and trends
* Ability to understand what makes people tick
* Creative problem solver
* Move people to action with the magic of words
* Open minded

What qualifications are required?

* That depends what your career goal is. If you are aiming for a job as an advertising copywriter at a well-known advertising agency tertiary qualifications are more or less expected. But once you have made your mark on the industry nobody tends to ask for qualifications any more. They want to see your portfolio.

* If your aim is a freelance copywriting career then there are plenty of practical courses offered to learn the tricks of the trade.

* Whether it is your first job interview or your first meeting with a client you will be expected to articulate ideas and discuss how your sample ads were going to solve the marketing problems the ads were created for.

What should be included in a portfolio?

If you are just starting out you need to show enough good work to get your first job in the industry. As you get along your portfolio will grow and you will be able to select those samples most suitable for the next job you apply for or a new client.

* Include completed samples of work you have done already. Otherwise you need to develop "spec" ads as samples.

* Show the campaign concepts behind the sample ads - even if they are sample ads and the concepts are hypothetical.

* Provide a list of websites you've developed and written (make sure they are still current) or add a high quality print-out of screen captures to your portfolio.

If you get stuck there are portfolio development courses and workshops available in most big cities. Some of them will also give worthwhile industry contacts and feedback.

Review your work every year. Analyze where your strengths are and which weaknesses you need to work on. Then pursue the opportunities in those areas.

In today's world the jobs are only a click away. Here are some great ideas for you that offer various freelance copywriting jobs to get you started in your copywriting career. You select the job you like and put in a bid.

* Freelance Work Exchange

* Get A Freelancer

* Writerlance - freelance writing

* RentACoder

For an amazing arsenal of proven and tested strategies on copywriting and other advertising and marketing strategies that will explode your copywriting career check out the below website package of a good friend and colleague Trevor 'Toe Cracker' Crook - the Crocodile Dundee of Copywriting.

For "The Ultimate Direct Response Advertising and Marketing Tool Kit - Judgement Day".

Success with your copywriting career.