07/21/25
“So, tell me about your process.”
I froze. Then proceeded to fumble out some BS answer about how I browse agency case studies to get starter ideas from. Which was a lie.
But let’s digress momentarily.
Early in my career, I was having an identity crisis.
I’d been doing mostly nonprofit and association brand work. It was safe, cause-driven writing. Not the slick, cultural stuff I wanted to be known for.
I worried it wouldn’t translate to the bigger, cooler agencies.
Then, out of the blue, one of those trendy unicorn shops sent me this email:
Hi Jonah,
We came across your portfolio and would like to interview you for our Sr. Copywriter position!
Fifteen minutes into the interview, things were going great. The Creative Director wasn’t turned off by my nonprofit-heavy portfolio. He actually seemed to admire it.
Then came that question.
And I lied.
Not because I didn’t have a process. In the moment I said something I thought was what a seasoned copywriter would say. For an agency that’s built on being wildly unique, it’s not what they wanted to hear.
But the truth is, my process is meticulous and constant.
It’s scribbling headlines into my notes app 24/7.
Collecting books of different genres.
Listening to music outside my taste.
Reading drafts to myself out loud.
Stealing from sports, architecture, art, and my own personal experiences, memories, and voice. It’s stashing away anything that stirs something in me, and waiting for the right moment to use it.
It’s feedback systems I build, break, and rebuild every few months.
Here’s the lesson.
You can’t fake your process. You have to find it.
Then learn to love it.
Because, when the pressure hits, it’s the only thing you’ll have to fall back on.
I froze. Then proceeded to fumble out some BS answer about how I browse agency case studies to get starter ideas from. Which was a lie.
But let’s digress momentarily.
Early in my career, I was having an identity crisis.
I’d been doing mostly nonprofit and association brand work. It was safe, cause-driven writing. Not the slick, cultural stuff I wanted to be known for.
I worried it wouldn’t translate to the bigger, cooler agencies.
Then, out of the blue, one of those trendy unicorn shops sent me this email:
Hi Jonah,
We came across your portfolio and would like to interview you for our Sr. Copywriter position!
Fifteen minutes into the interview, things were going great. The Creative Director wasn’t turned off by my nonprofit-heavy portfolio. He actually seemed to admire it.
Then came that question.
And I lied.
Not because I didn’t have a process. In the moment I said something I thought was what a seasoned copywriter would say. For an agency that’s built on being wildly unique, it’s not what they wanted to hear.
But the truth is, my process is meticulous and constant.
It’s scribbling headlines into my notes app 24/7.
Collecting books of different genres.
Listening to music outside my taste.
Reading drafts to myself out loud.
Stealing from sports, architecture, art, and my own personal experiences, memories, and voice. It’s stashing away anything that stirs something in me, and waiting for the right moment to use it.
It’s feedback systems I build, break, and rebuild every few months.
Here’s the lesson.
You can’t fake your process. You have to find it.
Then learn to love it.
Because, when the pressure hits, it’s the only thing you’ll have to fall back on.