Your creative writing or English degree isn’t useless. Explore the benefits of studying creative writing and how to sell your writing skills to employers.
As writers, we know our job is more complex than stringing words together on a keyboard. But how do you sell your writing skills in a way that convinces other people this is true?
You need to get creative. And if there’s anything writers are really good at doing, it’s that.
I work as a content writer now, but I didn’t study communications, marketing, or public relations in college. Both my degrees focus on creative writing, meaning I basically spent my entire education reading fiction and creating fake scenarios (ha).
Breaking into content writing was a frustrating process for me. I knew I had the skills to write blogs, articles, newsletters, and email copy, but my degrees alone didn’t carry the weight needed to land a job.
This blog breaks down the various skills creative writing teaches you and how to sell those skills to employers to score job opportunities.
The Value of Studying Writing
While you don’t need a college degree to improve your writing skills, many people who do study writing declare English as their undergraduate major. Or they claim a writing minor. Data shows the number of English graduates has been steadily growing, increasing from 1.51 million in 2021 to 1.54 million in 2022.
It’s no secret English majors tend to get a bad rap. Outsiders mistakenly believe all we do is sit around and talk about books, but it goes much deeper than that. And it seems like employers are finally seeing that. A report by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education reveals English majors find jobs at comparable rates to other majors.
I guess these supposedly useless English degrees offer societal value after all. On that note, let’s explore the benefits of creative writing and how it teaches skills that enhance our competitiveness in the job market.
What Skills Does Creative Writing Give You?
Besides writing, of course, creative writing teaches many useful skills, including:
- Research: Creative writers conduct research to increase their work’s authenticity and credibility, often on topics they know little to nothing about.
- Time management: Maintaining a consistent writing routine involves strong time management and organizational skills, especially since creative writers typically need to plan writing time around other obligations.
- Communication: This is a big one. Writing teaches you how to express ideas clearly and persuasively, which can also inform oral communication skills. No wonder so many writers go into marketing or public relations.
- Creativity: A no-brainer? Yeah, maybe, but still worth mentioning. Creativity helps you generate new ideas, solutions, or methods to solve problems, perform tasks, or achieve goals.
- Problem solving: Ever run into a continuity error or plot hole in your writing? If you answered yes, then you know firsthand how creative writing enhances problem-solving skills. This combined with creativity can make you a wizard of conflict resolution.
- Attention to detail: Details enrich your writing, creating strong visuals that immerse readers. Paying attention to detail also ensures your writing makes sense, reduces errors, and enhances research.
- Self-sufficiency: A primarily solitary job, writing involves immense dedication, perseverance, and self-sufficiency to succeed. These traits make you a valuable, hard-working employee who doesn’t need constant reminders or manager supervision to get the job done.
How to Sell Your Writing Skills Like a Pro
You know you’re good at what you do and have the skills to slay in the job market. Now, it’s time to put your creative thinking cap on and show the world what you offer. Explore these tips on how to sell your writing skills, and take your career to the next level.
Decide What You Want to Write
This involves identifying your writing strengths and weaknesses. If snappy, short-form content is your thing, consider copywriting, advertising, or social media marketing positions. For those who gravitate toward long-form content, research content writing, technical writing, or journalism jobs.
Show Off Your Talent
Have you ever heard the saying show, don’t tell? Well, that advice applies to job seeking as much as it applies to writing. Show potential employers exactly what you can do by creating writing samples that showcase your style, voice, and expertise in writing across topics and formats.
Build a Writing Portfolio
Once you’ve accumulated enough samples, organize them into a writing portfolio. Choose high-quality pieces relevant to your preferred niche and audience. If you don’t have enough writing samples to build a comprehensive portfolio, try:
- Accepting low-paying or entry-level writing gigs
- Posting articles on LinkedIn
- Starting a website or blog
- Pitching ideas to small publications, websites, or blogs
- Volunteering or guest posting on other websites or blogs
Learn How to Pitch Your Ideas and Services
You may have the writing thing down pat, but you also need to learn how to talk about your skills, experiences, and processes. Consider who you want your target market to be, such as tech and SaaS, finance, healthcare, education, home services, or retail.
Next, identify that market’s needs or issues, and contemplate how your writing offers solutions. For example, online misinformation is a common pain point in the healthcare industry. Publishing high-quality, factual, informative blogs can enhance a company’s credibility and authority, building trust and confidence in potential clients.
Once you’ve determined this information, develop a compelling, personalized pitch highlighting your credentials, relevant work, and value to your target market to sell your writing skills.
Keep Learning and Improving
No matter how good your writing skills are, there’s always room for improvement. Search for online courses, webinars, masterclasses, or workshops to stay informed on writing trends and continuously learn new skills.
For example, HubSpot Academy offers free certification courses on topics including content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, SEO, and more. Paired with your writing skills, these certifications can boost your resume or LinkedIn profile, increasing your value to potential employers.
Investing in your career on your own time also underscores your dedication and motivation. This speaks volumes about your work ethic and commitment, helping you stand apart as a star employee.
Know Your Worth as an Expert Creative Writer
Don’t let anyone tell you studying creative writing is useless or a waste of time. Although fiction or poetry samples don’t typically lead to job offers, the skills you gain from studying and writing the form can.
In a nutshell, creative writers are experts at communicating, problem solving, paying attention to detail, and brainstorming new, efficient ways to complete tasks and accomplish goals. We’re also good at thinking quick on our feet and subverting expectations when a project doesn’t go according to plan.
When applying for jobs, you’re rarely, if ever, going to see employers list creative writing or even English degrees as a qualification. Our educational credentials are often grouped into the “or a related field” portion after the more desirable degrees.
This can be disheartening, but remember, you have the skills needed to succeed at that job, and you deserve to be there as much as those journalism and marketing majors. So, brush up your resume, apply for the job, and show that employer exactly what you’re made of.
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The Enlightened Storyteller 
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