💡 Why it matters: Every advert, slogan, caption and email was written by someone. Brands and agencies pay for sharp writers who understand their audience's language, humour and culture.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Nigerian ad agencies and brands pay for sharp writers who understand local language, humour and culture.
- United States: Jobs for writers and authors are projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦1M – ₦3M
- Mid-career
- ₦3.5M – ₦9M
- Senior
- ₦9M – ₦25M
≈ ₦292k – ₦750k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Writers and authors. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Hourly wage low/high x 2,080 hours (no national median shown). Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Write slogans, adverts, captions and scripts
- Come up with campaign ideas with designers
- Research what customers care about
- Edit and improve your own writing
- Present ideas to clients
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Writing
- Creativity
- Understanding people
- Humour and wit
- Working to deadlines
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Build a portfolio of sample adverts and write for small businesses
- Intern at an advertising agency and train as a junior copywriter
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Advertising or marketing apprenticeships
- Start as a junior copywriter or intern with a strong writing portfolio
🇺🇸 United States
- Internships at agencies or in-house marketing teams
- Freelance writing and a portfolio of samples
🇨🇦 Canada
- Work-integrated college programs with agency placements
- Junior copywriter or freelance work with a portfolio
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study adverts and notice what makes them work
- 2Practise writing slogans and short captions
- 3Write for school clubs and small businesses
- 4Build a portfolio of 6 to 10 writing samples
- 5Join an agency or freelance for brands
⏰ A day in the life
A drinks brand wants a new slogan. You brainstorm 30 ideas with a designer, narrow it to five, and write a short radio script. By evening you present your favourite to the client.