For years, I was confidently pushing a door marked ‘pull.’ I set my sights on a career in design and poured myself into it, certain it was the right path. Along the way, I realized my creative abilities were leading me elsewhere. Guided by career advice, a pivot to copywriting reshaped my creative process and how I bring ideas to life. Now, with a few years of experience to draw from, I’m taking you behind the scenes of how I write and why I write. 

I’ve been a professional copywriter for a little over two years now, but that was never the game plan.

As a kid, I obsessed over art and design. By age 12, I had already mapped out my design career. Branding, logo creation, color palettes, packaging design—I loved it all. In college, I studied visual communications, so I could deepen my passion and learn more. I was fully expecting to become a designer. Then one day, over halfway through my college program, an advertising professor gave me feedback I didn’t expect: the words in my projects outshone the visuals. He urged me to consider copywriting as a career direction.

He was right.
It was scary.

Up until then, everyone knew me as a painter, a designer, an illustrator. Visual art was a huge part of my identity. But something shifted. I was growing into an artist who expressed ideas even more naturally with words—and that was okay.

I chose to lean into the advice, trusting the instinct that told me he had a point. After all, writing headlines for those spec projects in school was instinctive. It was the fun part that brought everything together. The part that made me want to do homework on the weekends. Copywriting was the career path hiding in plain sight.

By embracing my creativity in ways I never expected, I not only discovered advertising copywriting but also found a way to make sense of ideas, organize my thoughts, and turn moments of inspiration into work I feel damn good about.

So, after four years honing my skills, writing thousands of headlines, hundreds of scripts, and just enough Instagram captions, this is the process that helps me reach my Copy_Doc_Final_Final_Draft without the mental spiral:

Step 1: Source Inspiration from Unexpected Places

Yes, you’ve heard this advice before; that’s because it works.

Chip packaging with a cute headline.

That perfect rhyme in a new pop song.

A friend’s 6-minute-long voice text.

Anything and everything is inspiration. 

Inspiration doesn’t always come from award-winning campaigns.

It hides in the everyday. 

The pursuit of inspiration demands commitment and enthusiasm. To receive inspiration, you must keep your mind open to the possibilities. This means training yourself to notice tone, word choice, and rhythm in places that aren’t intended to be studied, such as text messages, coffee cup sleeves, and even error messages on a website.

Observe these tidbits of information, keep them in your back pocket (I take pictures of them or write them in my notes app), and then use them as thought starters for your next line.  

Step 2: Write The Way You Speak

After getting inspired by outside sources, look inward. 

This next step is all about writing in a way that’s true to you. I like to think of my communication style as short and sweet. Concise when needed, but detailed when appropriate. Words like witty, playful, and intentional come to mind when describing how I communicate. What are some of your words? Lean into those descriptors. 

Say ideas the way you’d say them to a friend. Even if that means your billboard starts as a rambling paragraph. Or your 60-second script begins with a single word. Get the ideas out, read them aloud, and let them sound human before anything else. 

‍Step 3: Push and Pull

This is where you polish up that writing.

After I write copy that feels like me, I get ready to push it and pull it in a few different directions. Does it also sound like my client? Does it sound like a billboard? A closing line in a commercial?

Is that adjective pulling its weight? This step means getting granular, checking rhythm, sentence length, and how each word flows into the next.

Every word needs to earn its place. For me, word choice, sentence structure, and pacing all get a second, third, or twentieth look in this phase. You can push and pull by testing different variations of the line: Swap out weaker words, adjust line breaks to keep the energy tight, and consider other line endings or openings. This is the most iterative part of the process, where your lines are free to take a new shape. Have fun!

Step 4: Share it Out

Writing words that work can take a village. 

Share your writing with your peers. Allow outside perspectives in so that you can see your work in a new light. Fresh eyes might catch what yours can’t, especially after you've been deep in the writing.

When you've taken the time to revise, refine, and invite other eyes, the final version becomes something that’s built to connect. This piece alone has been reviewed by 7 Gatesman team members and my mom.

Step 5: Get Excited and Reflect

The best part. 

At the end of this writing process, I land on some copy that I’m proud of and want to show the whole world. I hope you arrive here, too. Celebrate your creative abilities, and give your project the space to be a learning opportunity. What new insights did you gain? What stretched you? How did you grow? Remember that growth can only happen when you care about the work. And the more you care, the better it gets.

Creative work isn’t just about feeling proud of the final product; it’s about knowing why you’re creating in the first place. Finding your “why” gives your work direction and purpose. When you’re connected to that deeper reason, you can bring more heart to every project.

Beyond the fun, chaotic, and incredibly rewarding process, the deeper reason why I’m a copywriter is simple: I want to show more people what copywriting is. I was once someone who didn’t know this path existed. And now that I do, I’m not keeping it to myself. When I write, my creativity feels clear and alive. I want other young creatives to know they have this outlet too.

Ideally, people pause when they see my ads and think, “Oh, I love that.” I hope audiences remember my work because the words made them smile, laugh, think, or feel something unexpected.  

Those feelings are exactly what hooked me when I first tapped into copywriting. It was a deep, unexpected connection to creativity that changed everything. 

Now, I’m committed to spending my time in this industry helping others experience that same joy and wonder through the power of words. 

‍Hear more about Kayla’s career path and creative journey: https://nonametags.buzzsprout.com/2358520/episodes/16143534-get-rid-of-the-what-ifs

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