A Day In The Life of A Copywriter: Pandemic Edition

So what does a day in the life of a copywriter look like?

Well, no 2 days are the exact same and if you asked me that question in 2019 before the global pandemic, my answer would be wildly different than it is today. So welcome to the first edition of my new series where I’ll give you an insider look at my life behind the scenes.

Read along with me as I share a day in the life of a copywriter – pandemic edition.

Hey guys, it’s Alex. What’s up!?

Since starting my channel a whole 73 episodes ago, I have received so many questions from my global community wondering what goes on behind-the-scenes here at the Copy Posse.

So today I’m giving you a sneak peek at what a regular work day looks like while I run my copywriting agency and academy.

However, this article comes with a big fat disclaimer — while my days would usually differ throughout the week, ever since the pandemic hit, my life has gotten a lot more consistent and a lot less – well – glamorous to say the least, thanks to restricted travel, canceled masterminds and temporary closures of my favorite cafes and working spaces…

But – aside from a drastically toned-down travel schedule – I’m so grateful that it’s basically been business as usual in my world… and that I’ve been able to use this period to continue to scale my business, grow my team, get new clients AND coach and mentor hundreds of amazing, inspiring students from around the world in my copywriter coaching programs.

Now, if you’re ready to face this challenging time head on, my blog is full of tutorials and guides on copywriting, marketing and branding tips that are working TODAY. So remember to join my newsletter to be first to know when my next tutorial goes live.

In just minutes, you’ll be well on your way to igniting your business this year… yes even in the middle of a global pandemic!

And I’m about to give you a taste of what that could look like for you! So here it is…  a day in the life of a copywriter — pandemic edition! 

6:41

Some of you might be surprised by this, but I wake up pretty early for someone who sets their own hours. 

On most days I’m up by 7am, unless Tater, my puppy wakes me up even earlier than that – which, if I’m being honest, is most days.

So, after heading downstairs and feeding Tater, I make myself an oat milk latte. I love getting up early, before the noise of the world starts up. But this doesn’t mean that I rush into my to do list. I love to ease into my mornings.

After making coffee, my partner, Jaxon, and I usually spend about 30 minutes or so together on the back patio before he heads off to his studio for the day. We try to do this every morning, as a way to connect and start the day with some quality time. As a rule, we set our phones aside so that we can be as present as possible. 

08:10

I try to work out at least a few times a week, and I personally prefer to do this in the morning because it’s a great way to get me energized before I tackle the day. 

I’m not someone who can exercise in the evening — if I don’t move my body in the morning, there’s no chance in hell of it happening later in the day, despite my best intentions. 

Before social distancing, I’d work out with a personal trainer at the gym or go to a workout class. But, these days I do my workouts virtually via a video call or I do my own routine in the back park behind my house. 

If you’re someone who mostly works from home, movement is definitely something I encourage you to keep up. If I even go a few days without exercising I get irritable, achy, and even have trouble focusing and being productive.

09:02

After my workout, I hop online around 9:00am. I try to never get online earlier than that. Boundaries are so so so important when you’re working for yourself.

Mornings are when I’m most creative, so I usually save them for writing or creating content. For this reason, I prefer not to schedule any client calls and save those for the afternoon, unless I have a call with my team or training with my students – who live all over the world

But before I get into the writing zone, I’ll spend about 30 minutes or so checking my emails and responding to any messages that need urgent attention. If the email takes longer than a couple mins to respond to, I mark them important and return to them in the afternoon.

I’m a big fan of inbox zero… or at least inbox “very little”! I like to keep my email organized!

09:33

Okay, now it’s time to write! 

In the past, I’d often go write from my favorite cafe, just so that I could get out of the house and have a change of scenery to get inspired. That option is obviously not as available to me right now so lately I’ve been doing all my work from home.

11:39

And, guilty admission, it’s pretty normal for me to stay in my workout clothes until about noon. See, I told you it’s not glamorous. But, I always always change and get dressed for the day at some point, I swear! I never stay in my sweatpants all day — ever. 

Now, while I do have a home office, I still love to switch things up and write from different parts of the house so I’m not glued to the same seat for hours. Changing up my environment really helps keep those creative juices flowing.

12:32pm

Once my creative tasks are completed, I like to break up my day by heading out for a walk with Tater.

This is usually when I run any errands and head to the grocery store to grab stuff for lunch and dinner. A little-known fact about me. I love love love to buy fresh flowers. You’ll almost always find multiple bouquets of fresh cut flowers around my house.

1:10pm

Once I grab groceries, I head back home and cook up a healthy lunch. I try to eat a lot of green, healthy foods to keep my brain sharp and avoid that afternoon crash.

During my lunch is usually when I have a quick check-in with my team, scan through social media and respond to all of your comments. So don’t forget to say hi below!

1:49pm 

After a morning of immersing myself in writing, it’s time to switch hats from creativity to communications. My afternoon is when I schedule copy reviews, strategy sessions and meetings with clients.

In between calls, I’ll do some administrative work and other business-related tasks such sending invoices, replying to emails and planning social media content.

This is also when I’ll do any copy editing or critiquing – any of those left-brain writing tasks that require more critical thinking than creativity.

Now, when you’re a freelancer on retainer or with regular clients, chances are there will be regular weekly meetings you’re expected to attend.

I try to have all my standing calls with these clients on Tuesday afternoons. Pre-pandemic, I used to travel often, and having a standard day and time block for these meetings made it easier for me to stay productive and consistent despite time zone differences…

I prefer to reserve Mondays for strategic planning of my week and catching up on work left over from the week before.

Wednesdays are when I upload my videos for the week and Thursday afternoons – like today – are when you’ll find me in the studio recording YouTube content. Given the current lame social life, this is usually the only day of the week when I put makeup on and actually do my hair! lol.

5:08

After my last call of the day, I spend about an hour doing client follow up and responding to any emails that have trickled into my inbox. 

5:52

6pm is my ideal cut off time to end work, although there are some days that I finish later depending on the project I’m working on. But, I try to stick to very consistent work hours every day to maintain a routine and stay productive. 

6:28

After my partner returns home from his studio, we cook dinner! Pre-pandemic you’d often find us out at fabulous local restaurants and cocktail bars, but at the moment that rarely happens. Right now, like everyone else, we are cooking dinner at home. And to be honest, I actually kind of love it. We almost always cook dinner together. We’ll put on some music, make a cocktail and chat about our days as we cook up a feast. Italian is our favorite!

7:49

After dinner it’s time to take Tater out for a long walk. We’ll head to the beach, the dog park, or just stroll around our neighborhood as the sun starts to set. 

9:03

If I absolutely have to do some work in the evening, it’s likely because there’s an urgent deadline or troubleshooting that needs to be done. Let’s be real — when you work for yourself, anything can happen and you need to be ready to put out any fires that flare up.

But as a personal rule, I don’t return to my office for this because it’s easy to get swept up and next thing you know hours have gone by. Instead, I’ll work from the kitchen. For some reason I get last minute evening tasks done way faster there!

10:17

Guys — I’m usually in bed and asleep by 10:30pm. Yes, I know that some of you may be night owls but I am most definitely not! I love my beauty sleep and my favorite time of day is climbing into bed, ready to fall asleep and conquer another day!

But hey — I do break the rules and have a lot of fun whenever I’m traveling, attending networking events, hanging out with friends or hosting my Flight Club mastermind, but I’ll save that for a future edition of A Day In the Life of A Copywriter. 

I have to say, despite the chaos and the restrictions, having more time at home and in my office has given me the opportunity to establish a healthier routine and manage my schedule more consistently. 

I’m not saying I always want it to be this way — obviously NOT — but I’ve been able to make the most out of this crazy time and put more energy into pivoting and growing my business so that the Copy Posse comes out of this pandemic fiercer than ever.

Now, I want to do a quick bonus Q&A round for those of you who have sent in specific questions about how I run my freelance copywriting business. Here goes!

Alex, now that you’re running a copywriting agency and have launched programs, how much time do you spend writing?

I would say I spend 50% of my time writing – whether it be for clients or my own business. I used to spend a bulk of my time writing, but now that I have a team, I have more help with copywriting so I can focus more on content creation, business development and strategies for growth! 

What do you do to take breaks? 

During the summer, I go outside for a quick walk or run an errand. I don’t “time” my breaks — I like to do tasks in one sitting and take breaks after I’m done. If the writing task is heavy, such as a sales page, I break it down into multiple steps so that I’m not continuously writing for hours at end. 

How do you coordinate client meetings to manage time? 

Unless it’s a branding or strategy session, which can take between 1-2 hours — I keep calls to 30 minutes or less. This helps me get multiple calls in and still have enough time to complete other tasks. The rule of thumb is, unless it’s a call that someone is paying for, I keep it to half an hour.  

You might think that doing longer calls might provide added value to potential clients… but honestly it’s not necessary because you risk over delivering value to the point that you have nothing left on the table! Keep your discovery calls useful but incomplete!

How do you keep yourself focused while writing?

I block off my writing time in the morning and have a dedicated playlist to help me focus. If you want to discover my complete work-from-home system especially given the times, check out the tutorial— 6 Tips To Work From Home.

So there you have it guys! That’s what any given work day looks like in my life right now.

Thanks for reading and keep those comments and suggestions coming. Until my next post, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

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