At Designity, every creative brings a special “something” to the table, whether it’s a passion they’ve had from childhood, an unexpected detour in their career, or a love of creating that they just couldn’t ignore!
And for copywriter Megan O., her special “something” is the power of persuasion!
From the art world to the classroom and then finally to the world of content marketing, her career path has always been driven by one thing: getting people excited by the things she loves!
And now, she’s challenging that passion for persuasion into writing the kind of copy that connects, engages, and gets her clients the results they’re looking for!
So, how did Megan go from rubbing shoulders with David Lynch and other renowned artists to crafting killer ad copy with Designity?
Now’s your chance to find out! Today’s blog is a 1:1 with copywriter Megan, so you can hear her story, check out some of her stellar work, and get to know her just a little bit better!
Get comfy because it’s time to meet Megan!
How did you first get into copywriting?
So, this is kind of what I always say, but it's true: I've always liked to convince people to like the things that I like.
I've looked back on my career trajectory, and it all started with me working in the art world. I've always loved art and a big part of me working in the art world was convincing people that this piece or this artist was really cool, and it's not just like, “my kid could do that. It's so much more than that.”
Then, in 2016, I recognized that we probably needed better history education. So, I got my master's in teaching and started teaching history. I did that until 2023.
But teaching is just all-encompassing and exhausting and it wasn't a sustainable career path for me. So, since I've always had a knack for writing, I started taking content marketing classes and content writing classes and realized that I could actually use skills that I've just naturally been adept at and take my desire to force people to like things and combine them into copywriting.
So, you were in the art world before becoming a teacher?
Yes, I got my master's in art history, and I worked in the art world in LA for a few years.
I enjoyed it! I mean, I got to meet David Lynch, which is the coolest thing ever. And I got to meet some of my favorite art heroes. So, it was definitely a really cool experience.
That is cool! What kind of work did you do for the art gallery?
I worked for a company in LA where we wrote gallery guides and created events for the public.
The art world is very inaccessible. So, the goal was to make it more accessible to the general public. We curated events and made sure that people could gain access to this really inaccessible world.
So, how did your career lead you to Designity?
When I was looking to shift to copywriting full-time, I wasn't sure where to start.
And my husband is a web designer, and he worked with Designity for a little bit in 2021. He worked really closely with Pooyan and Collins. So, he told me about Designity and reached out to Pooyan, and I applied and went through the interview process. I think Pooyan probably was a major help!
But I passed the test and I started a month or so after I applied.
Do you have a favorite kind of project to take on?
I think it kind of depends on the client.
I've done so many different types of projects for so many different types of clients, and it's been everything from drayage, which is a real thing that exists, to skincare. So, I find the more D2C projects a lot more fun because you get to talk to customers and be a little bit more casual.
It’s hard because I don't have a specific thing I like to copywrite for the most; I have fun doing Meta Ads and I have fun doing Google Ads because they're challenges and you’re trying to get a point across in as few words or characters as possible. So, it's annoying but also really fun if that makes sense.
I feel like with long-form copy, you just kind of write, but for Meta Ads or even social media captions, you really have to think about how you can be economical with your words while also making the largest impact.
I think first the content subject is important, but second I really do like the challenge of ads and digital ads.
What type of project challenges you the most?
Sometimes, if the content is super dry, it's challenging because I don't want to write this, let alone read it!
I try to find ways to make it more interesting. That's probably a mean answer.
What is your favorite thing about working at Designity?
I really love the Creative Directors that I've been lucky enough to work with; they're so supportive.
I feel like I've made a really good network of creative people where they've given me the opportunity to let my freak flag fly a little bit. They let me experiment and then rein it in if I need to, but I just really love the people that I have been fortunate enough to work with. Everyone is so talented, and I love being able to work with other copywriters because they can come up with ideas that I would have never dreamt of, and it pushes me to my creative limits.
I also just love the fact that I can work on so many different types of projects. It’s like working with an agency, you can work on so many different clients, do so many different things that it never gets boring.
How do you keep yourself up to date with marketing or copywriting trends?
I think it's probably accidental how I've kept up with trends, but scrolling on TikTok and Instagram. But it actually has been helpful; I'm going to just pretend that it's for my job and not because I am on my phone all the time.
But, truly, going on Instagram and TikTok helps me kind of see different types of marketing techniques. For copy, I just look everywhere in the world. Sometimes I'll see a billboard and I'm like, “This is amazing copy.” And other times I'll see copy that's really bad. And sometimes I find really good copy in places where I least expect it. So, just kind of looking at copy everywhere and anywhere is how I keep up.
Is there any insight you can give about any current trends you notice?
Yeah, especially for direct-to-consumer (DTC), I think people really respond to — this is such a generic answer, but I'm going to qualify it! — authenticity.
And by that, I mean copy that isn't necessarily perfect, copy that's maybe self-deprecating or self-aware. I think that that's been a trend that I've been noticing a lot more. Brands that can make fun of themselves.
One example is Nutter Butter. They’re off the wall right now. Yeah, Nutter Butter for sure, specifically their TikTok.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I have cats who I'm obsessed with; they are my favorite things in the whole world.
I also really love vintage furniture so anytime there's a vintage flea market or modernist flea market with furniture from the 1950s to 1990s, I will go. I'm starting to collect a lot of Memphis design. And not from Tennessee, it’s Italian — Memphis Milano.
If you remember Taco Bell in the 1990s, that's a palatable version of Memphis design. It's really weird and fun and colorful.
So, I'm slowly collecting Memphis things to fill my house with.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/63695243d096983691046ac3_Potential-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Like to work as a freelancer with consistent income?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Designity's collaborative model is designed to give you all of the perks of being a freelancer without the income instability.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Join Our Creative Community</strong></a></div></div></div>
Do you have any words of inspiration for someone considering a career change to copywriting?
Just do it.
I was really scared to make the transition; I felt like I was going to be stuck teaching forever.
And with the very patient support of my husband, who had to listen to many meltdowns, I was like, "Okay, I can't live like this anymore. I'm just going to do it."
And I did it. I became a copywriter and I haven't looked back since. So, I would say making big changes can be scary, but it's totally worth it.
