5 ways copywriters and other creatives can upskill and future-proof their careers in 2025
Here's to moving onwards and upwards to bigger roles and paychecks!
Welcome to Buhay Copywriter by Regina Peralta! It’s wonderful to meet you.
This newsletter is my way of paying it forward and being the person I needed when I was a young(er) writer.
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Hey everyone, welcome back to Buhay Copywriter!
I hope you’ve been having a good 2025 so far and had a restful and meaningful holiday break.
Now that everyone is circling back and touching base, it’s time also time to circle back to your career goals for 2025.
Whether this includes trying for a promotion, exploring a lateral move, or future-proofing your career in the age of AI, the start of the year is the perfect time to plan the skills you want to learn and the milestones you want to reach.
Here are 5 tips to help copywriters and other creatives upskill their careers:
1. Express interest in upskilling or taking on leadership roles.
If you haven’t yet, ask your boss if you can sit down and discuss last year’s performance. Use this as an opportunity to share your goals, and to identify the technical and soft skills you need to learn to get to the next level.
Ask about workshops you can join, projects you can lead, and cross-learning opportunities with other departments. You can explore new areas of writing, such as SEO or content writing, or dabble in basic data analysis.
2. Identify new skills you want to learn (even outside work).
Is there something new you want to explore this 2025? Perhaps graphic design, UX writing, video editing, crocheting, baking, pottery, or yoga? Having these new interests outside of work can give you new perspectives on human insights and creative strategy.
You can also invest in Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, or other online learning resources - these websites have a lot of material on both technical skills and soft skills.
Want to be more strategic about what to learn next? Choose skills that complement what you already know. If you’re a copywriter working mostly on social media, explore basic data analytics and reports creation. If you’re a graphic designer, you could look into honing your photography skills or learning web development.
3. Make time to learn that new hobby or skill.
Grab your calendar or planner and plot a weekly (or even daily) time block dedicated to learning your new hobby or skill. As I mentioned back in my Daily Creativity Challenge post, that 1% a day leads to significant growth over time!
4. Maintain a portfolio and a “Wins” list for evaluation season and job interviews.
A few years and jobs ago, I was scrambling to put together my portfolio for my next job hunt. I decided I didn’t want to go through that again, so I made it a point to keep tabs on my creative work once it was published, even when I was not looking for a new job. It’s easier checking the stats on a social media post that’s one month old versus trying to look for Facebook posts from two years ago.
I also make it a point to check for any post-campaign reports and client feedback the project might have received. As a copywriter who hasn’t always worked at big ad agencies handling media placements and analytics, I don’t always know how my copywriting drove sales or awareness. But if that data is available to you, it can make such a difference in your resume, portfolio, or interview answers.
That leads me to my next point - the “Wins” list. MindTools recommends keeping a “Success” journal detailing good results, commendations from clients, one-pass approvals from bosses, and notes of appreciation from teammates. This is helpful during evaluations, job applications, and when you’re going through a bout of impostor syndrome.
5. Stay updated on industry trends and new tech.
Subscribe to newsletters in your niche, follow thought leaders in your industry, and consider attending free webinars or talks about up-and-coming tech.
Also, learn how to stay ahead of AI. The AI age is, admittedly, quite scary for us creatives. But sharpening skills like emotional intelligence, innovation, and critical thinking can provide a much-needed human touch that AI just can’t generate.
Bonus: Build your network.
Stay in touch with former colleagues, show up at work events, and make new connections via in-person events or online communities. You never know where your next opportunity could come from!
As someone who works from home and prefers to stay at home (due to personal/family circumstances), showing up in person takes some effort. But I know that it’s important that my colleagues and bosses know about me as a person, and that I get to interact with them in real life, the way I did in the pre-pandemic, pre-WFH era.
Online networking is great for a lighter, more introvert-friendly touch. For colleagues who I became friends with, there’s Messenger group chats and Instagram. We’ve seen each other through job changes, birthday parties, and engagements! For those that I’m not close to, there’s LinkedIn and the occasional congratulatory or birthday message on Facebook. Keeping in touch with people I’ve worked with has led to employee referral bonuses and freelance gigs — not bad!
What’s on your to-do list for upskilling and future-proofing your career this 2025? Share them in the comments below!
Great post. I'm currently self-employed, so not all of the tips were for me, but I do plan to focus more on networking this year. Thanks for the great tips.👍🏽🌞