by Telhare'sha Dawkins

Created on: June 23, 2008

Careers in marketing and advertising are exciting and lucrative, giving people who have artistic minds and open personalities the opportunity to create as well as interact with audiences. The combination of marketing and advertising brings you from behind the desk to consider all of the people who will see, read or hear your client's message. It is more dynamic than, for example, an artist who paints and simply hangs their painting in an art museum.

Marketing and advertising merge well in the rewarding career of copywriter, among many choices. Copywriters are employed by advertising agencies to write, design and layout print, radio and television advertising copy. Many copywriters are self-employed or freelance, providing marketing and advertising services to individual, corporate and non-profit clients. They earn substantial fees for their professional copywriting work and can set rates commiserate with their years in the industry and their extensive portfolios.

Five competencies required to work in the fields of marketing and advertising, particularly as a copywriter, are good writing skills; great communication skills; the ability to draw by hand or to use design programs to create logos and animation; an excellent capacity to understand markets, trends and audience motivations; and an ability to consistently meet deadlines.

Good writing skills include grammar, spelling and punctuation. It's best to work with proofreader, if you're not good at one or more of these. Great communication skills means having an ability to speak to audiences (buyers), listen to sellers and buyers and provide advertising copy that mediates the product or service from the seller to the targeted customer.

The best college path for pursing a specialized career in marketing and advertising is to major in marketing and minor in journalism and or vice versa. This line of study should include course focuses on graphic design, advertising and public relations. In addition, marketing and advertising students should be sure to build portfolios of their work, while they are enrolled in college. Marketing and advertising portfolios include a variety of design work (even samples and internships), client lists and client testimonials with photos. Portfolios demonstrate to future employers, or future clients, if you choose to freelance, your capacity to creatively impact and draw a response from the person viewing your work, even a potential employer.

Anyone who is considering a marketing or advertising

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