The State of Copywriting: 2026 Panel Discussion

Join the Copywriting Collective discord server here ➡️   / discord   Want a complete guide to writing copy, research, sales psychology, and landing jobs or clients? Check out our free Copywriting Megacourse ➡️    • The Copywriting Megacourse | The Only Cour...   And this is Copy That!'s Discord server ➡️   / discord   Listen to this on Spotify ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/episode/67VH... ~-~~-~~~-~~-~ 0:00 Intro: What this discussion is (and what it isn’t) 2:25 Panelist introductions and backgrounds 8:42 What would an experienced copywriter do if he had to start over again in 2026? 11:37 What would a copywriter do if she had some experience and had to start over again in 2026? 15:50 What would a newbie copywriter do with zero experience and had to start over again in 2026? 17:38 What can someone do to get work as a brand strategist in 2026? 20:23 What should someone with no experience do if they want to launch an agency in 2026? 24:15 What should go into a copywriting portfolio in 2026? 33:40 What are hiring managers and business owners looking for in new hires? 41:02 How do you build a network to increase your opportunities? 49:56 How do you leverage your network once you become successful? How do you get work with high-level people? 54:00 When is a newbie copywriter ready to start doing outreach? How can newbies start networking and growing? 59:23 What other skills should copywriters try to stack in 2026? How can you get noticed? 1:17:14 How obsessed must you be to become highly paid and successful? 1:27:46 How can someone start learning creative strategy? What should a creative strategist’s portfolio contain? 1:31:20 What sort of spec pieces should you make to get hired? 1:32:35 Do you need to study marketing to get into copywriting? 1:36:15 How much time should you spend researching demographics and audiences? 1:40:26 Is AI going to take over the copywriting space? 1:42:48 Some quick thoughts on Instagram DM outreach 1:44:45 How do you improve if you have no way of getting feedback? 1:46:09 How do you dimensionalize a benefit without seeming too hyperbolic? 1:47:31 Can someone not like copy and just do it for money? Is it a good skill to learn if I don't really care about it? 1:49:59 How did the newbie copywriter on the panel practice copy before doing outreach? 1:50:22 If you're anti-social and terrible at interacting with people, can I still do networking? Any advice? 1:50:55 Parting advice from each of the panelists