Do you want to become a copywriter or get better at copywriting? Well, this is the information you’ve been searching for.
Whether you are familiar with what copywriting is or not, just think of it as words written for business or making sales.
Copywriting is the content you see written in the caption of a Facebook ad. It’s the headline of a Google ad or the description of a YouTube video. It’s the text on a website, from the landing page to the product page.
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Why Copywriting?
Copywriting is one of the many writing skills that allow you to get paid with nothing more than your laptop. It’s a learnable skill and is all about communicating and connecting with your audience.
What Makes a Good Copywriter?
Passion and Enthusiasm for Reading and Writing
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
There is a great deal of truth to this quote by Joseph Addison. Here’s why:
- Reading improves your focus and concentration. When you read, your focus is immersed in whatever material you are reading. Copywriting can sometimes be demanding and involves long hours of research and writing. If you’re an avid reader then you can concentrate and remain focused throughout the entire process.
- You gain and acquire more knowledge. Everything you read fills your mind with new bits of information. The more knowledge you have as a Copywriter the better equipped you are and the abler you become to tackle challenges.
- It strengthens your critical and analytical skills. Critical thinking skills and analysis are essential in copywriting. You can solve problems given just certain elements by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out.
Here’s a quick list of books that every copywriter should have.
Creative Abilities
Creativity is a fundamental human skill that we are all born with; it can’t be taught. Not only is creativity one of the keys to successful copywriting, but also any way of life.
Creativity is truly the one element that distinguishes the good from the great.
A study done by The Journal of Effective Teaching states that:
Creativity can also be encouraged by establishing a class environment that accepts and reinforces new ideas. These ideas can be weighed on their own merits.
Why Should a Copywriter Aspire to be Creative?
Well, copywriters need to be extremely good at using different ways of thinking to achieve their goals. You can look at a problem and come up with a better solution to solve it. Copywriting is not just a skill but an art form.
Therefore creativity is as important to a copywriter as it is to an artist.
An Open-Minded Learner
According to statistics by NCBI, “Open-mindedness (OPM) is a construct that is considered a key foundational aspect of learning in individuals, groups, and organizations.”
Being open-minded simply means a willingness to consider new ideas. Like any other skill copywriting is a continuous learning process. It is okay to make mistakes along the way because you learn. It is okay for someone to point out your mistakes because you get better.
For example, a good copywriter can accept all kinds of opinions and consider them.
Exposure to an ongoing involvement with a broader range of views on urgent matters can help educate Copywriters to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
The main challenge faced by most inexperienced copywriters is overdelivering. The fear that your work might not meet industry standards or be good enough might lead you to compromise quality over quantity.
Like we mentioned above copywriting is a continuous process, therefore it is impossible to deliver work that is 100% perfect. There is always room to grow and improve your craft.
4 Ways You Can Become a Better Copywriter
Understanding Your Audience
Understanding your audience can be a little daunting. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of how to write copy.
Instead, spend the majority of your time researching your audience, get to know what their goals are and how they prefer consuming their content.
Learn as much about them as you can before you begin to write.
You have to think about the message you want to convey and the tone you want to convey it in.
It’s crucial to look at “What am I trying to convey? What do I want them to understand?” And when it comes to copywriting, “What do I want to entice them with?”
When you understand your audience you have a much easier time crafting a message that resonates with them than just writing.
Doing Effective Research
By Failing to Prepare, You Are Indeed Preparing to Fail
Benjamin Franklin
Copywriting mostly involves research and re-writing. The more time you put into research the better you will be able to communicate with your audience.
- New copywriters often create copy they think sounds good and make assumptions about what the audience is looking for.
- Research time is never wasted because it is your message and ‘big idea’ that connects with the audience.
The more research you put into coming up with a message the audience hasn’t heard before the more you can connect with them.
A master copywriter, therefore, needs to have an organized research process.
Organizing your Ideas
To become an excellent copywriter you need to be highly organized. Avoid writing long slabs of boring texts where nothing stands out. Organizing your ideas allows you to deliver the message coherently.
Always begin with a few pre-writing exercises. Some of the prewriting exercises that you can utilize in the first stages of copywriting and when you’re trying to generate ideas are:
- Creating lists
- Asking questions
- Freewriting
- Clustering
- Outlining
Sometimes you may use more than one of these prewriting techniques. Some may work better than others.
The two most effective techniques that you may use to organize your ideas are clustering and outlining.
Clustering allows you to consider ideas as they occur to you a lot like free association. When clustering, choose a word or phrase that is essential to the subject that you’re going to be writing about. Then move out to any idea that you might associate with that particular word or phrase.
Below is an example of clustering:
Another technique is Outlining. You begin with the big idea while brainstorming ideas. Then organize any potential supporting ideas.
Practicing Writing
People assume that copywriting is easy because it is written in simple English which is the easiest form of writing to consume. However, it is the language that is communicated subtly.
Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. As cliche as it sounds, practice does make perfect. Becoming good at copywriting needs practice. There is no shortcut or magic formula for mastering copywriting.
It’s a language that you must practice daily and must immerse yourself in if you are to become skilled at copywriting.
Watch this to help you get started.
What are the Benefits of Becoming a Good Copywriter?
When you master the art of Copywriting it becomes a very rewarding career.
How?
Saves Time and Money
Having a clear strategy that guides your content saves on time and effort without wasting time creating pieces that fail to connect with your audience.
You Earn More
As a freelancer, you are always striving for financial independence. This means you will be able to earn enough to become financially independent.
Produce High-quality Content
When you have the skills, you can produce consistently high-quality content with ease. Clients are more selective when deciding where and whom to devote their time and attention to.
If your work stands out you are then able to attract more prospects and therefore more clients.
Whenever you have an opportunity to “flex” your copywriting muscle, do it. One good way to do so is by enrolling for an SEO Copywriting training course. Small Revolution offers you the tools you need to succeed in your copywriting career.
Enroll now to learn new relevant skills through experience and gain confidence in your abilities as a copywriter.
