I advise my copywriting students to start small.

That’s the way I started a couple of decades ago. I was running a small business and wrote some very jazzy ads. Other small business people saw them, and asked me to write advertising and public relations material for them. Before I knew it, copywriting became a complement to the novels I was writing, and I had steady clients.

So start small - write an ad or two, or a radio spot, or a speech. Take whatever gigs you’re offered.

Want to get started as a copywriter? The above article will help.

It’s easy to find work as a copywriter. The marketing departments of large companies use freelancers, as do the tens of millions of smaller businesses worldwide.

Until you’ve got some experience, it’s best to work with local clients. In many cities, you’ll be the first copywriter who’s ever approached a business. Do some cold calling, or if this spooks you too much, take out a small ad in your local paper.

I receive many questions about copywriting each week from writers who'd love to work as a copywriter, but doubt their own abilities. The niggling worry behind most of the questions is: "After I learn how to write copy, how do I find copywriting gigs?"

My answer? Learn copywriting. Writing copy is a skill, and so is finding clients. Any good copywriting classes teaches you both how to write copy, AND how to find clients.

Long before the class is over, students in my copywriting master class for example, have all the clients they can handle.

For years, many of us who work in advertising or corporate video have relied on two-column Microsoft Word () templates. Unfortunately, with this approach, as you change content in one column, the other column falls out of sync. As a result, a good chunk of the time you spend writing is devoted to the housekeeping tasks of formatting, inserting carriage returns, and adjusting the alignment between sound and video on the page. Final Draft AV 2.5 does much of this grunt work for you.

Do you write audio visual (AV) copy? I often write scripts for videos, commercials and radio spots, so I'll be getting Final Draft AV 2.5.

As the review points out however, there is a concern. You can't import images into the script. This is a prime nuisance. I know it's a lack which will annoy many AV copywriters, so I hope they correct it in an update -- and fast.