Everything You Need to Know to Become a Pro Copywriter

What is Copywriting?

Copywriting is creating compelling, original, and purposeful texts usually for advertisements and promotions. Copywriting constitutes a critical part of many marketing and PR campaigns because copywriting is the main channel for attracting and engaging your target audience. Effective copywriting is the key element for the success of marketing campaigns for various industries, products, and services.

We can list the key elements of the modern copywriting, as such;

• Audience Understanding

You need to understand your audience's preferences.

• Clarity

Being clear and concise is critical for effective copywriting.

• Compelling Writing and Headlines

You need to attract the attention of your readers with compelling headlines.

• Call to Action (CTA)

Copywriting aims to create an action urge for the readers with a Call to Action.

• Storytelling

Having concise but understandable storytelling will benefit your copy.

• Emotional Appeal

Appealing to emotions is the main challenge of copywriting as it is for every piece of writing.

• Spelling, Grammar, and Proofreading

It sounds simple, but it is better to repeat again that spelling, grammar, and proofreading are critical for every professional copywriting.

• Conciseness

Being concise is necessary to keep the attention of the reader.

What does a Copywriter Do?

A copywriter's job is to create content that is curated mostly around the purposes of advertising and promotion. The main role and responsibility of a copywriter is to create compelling and professional content that appeals to the target audience, and addresses their communication style and expectations. Copywriters are creative professionals, aiming to create an action urge and compel a shift in perspective for the brand or campaign within the target audience. They can work in many fields and have the flexibility to work remotely such as an in house copywriter or plan an agenda of their own as a freelance writer. To summarize, copywriters combine compelling creative writing abilities with an understanding of the psychology of persuasion and try to compel their audiences into action. A copywriter may work on many different types of projects, including; 

• Advertising

• Digital Marketing Materials

• Websites

• Email Marketing

• Social Media

• Sales Letters

• Content Marketing

• Video Scripts

What Skills are Required to Become a Copywriter?

Basic Writing Skills

The core skill every copywriter needs to have for good copywriting is, of course, basic writing skills. Basic writing skills include mastering the rules of grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. It is also very important to have a unique writing style that is original and creative. Being concise and understandable is also very crucial for every copywriter. Your writing skills as a copywriter create the basis of communication and persuasion with your audience. 

Research

Research skills help you create your writing with a larger amount of knowledge, thus also allowing you to avoid plagiarism. Advanced research skills help you understand the project and the target audience better which helps you to mold your writing in that direction. Increased understanding of what you have in hand with your research skills reflects on your writing and your overall success as a copywriter.

Originality

Being original and creative is the key component for every copywriter and their online content strategy. You have to have a distinct voice to write copy that inspire action, target audiences, and affect costumer behaviour. Many copywriters create more compelling content when they build an emotional connection with the project they work on. Be careful to avoid any tropes, and keep improving your knowledge and writing skills throughout your career. 

Taking One Step Away from Perfectionism

There's a famous saying: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”. Being a perfectionist, unlike the popular belief, is not exactly a good thing for a copywriter. Many studies now have shown that perfectionism is one of the root causes of procrastination. The pressure of being perfect and not feeling satisfied with the work you put out fuels anxiety and avoidance. When you are so anxious that you will fail; you just don't start, and don't take any new challenges. This way you don't fail, but also don't grow. Psychologists suggest that there are a few mindset shifts you can acquire to overcome perfectionism and its consequences. You can just focus on doing the work, this is the first and simplest solution. Saying you will just focus on finishing it instead of worrying about it being good or bad, already puts you one step forward. Also adapting the mindset of being “good enough” instead of “perfect”, and increasing your awareness about your perfectionism can help you overcome it. Another approach is shifting your focus from the results to the process. You can try asking yourself “Did I give enough effort?” instead of focusing purely on the results. Lastly, increasing your gratitude for your previous achievements and your efforts can help. It is very well known that gratitude is a cure for many issues regarding our psychological well-being. So, don't forget to incorporate the good-enough mindset, process-driven perspective, and general gratitude to overcome your perfectionism and its consequences as a freelance copywriter.

What is Content Writing?

Content writing is a subtype of content creation that is arguably the main pillar of the internet. It is also an extension of a long tradition of humankind that has gained various shapes, expressions, and types throughout history. In a modern understanding, it refers to creating digitally written content for various platforms like blogs and web pages. It is created to generate value, educational knowledge, or entertainment for readers. Another main focus of it is to create SEO-friendly content that informs and educates the targeted audience and improves search-engine visibility. Content writing can create different types of materials, as such; 

• Blog posts

• Articles

• Reports and whitepapers

• Social media content

• Product reviews

• How-to guides

• Newsletters

What does a Content Writer Do?

Content writers conduct research, write, and edit content that is targeted toward increased search engine optimization. Content writers usually work for blogs, freelancers, social media companies, and digital marketing agencies. With the support of online content, writers websites, and businesses connect and communicate with their target audience while also increasing their ranking through improved SEO. We can list the main responsibilities of a content writer as such;

• Conducting research on various topics to create the content on in various mediums

• Creating well-written and easy-to-read content

• Considering SEO compatibility 

• Creating grammatically correct content with minimal to no spelling errors

• Creating content that is in line with the general content strategy and targeting potential customers

8 Differences Between Copywriting and Content Writing

6 Tips for Improving Writing Skills

We have touched upon the importance of avoiding perfectionism for copywriters. One thing we win when we overcome our perfectionism is the determination and resilience for improvement. Though people can have some natural interests and talents, no one is born perfectly capable of anything. We need to work to improve and master our abilities. Even an experienced copywriter need to focus on their writing skills to keep creativity and productivity alive. What can you do in order to improve your writing skills? Let's summarize with 6 points.

1. Read Regularly: Reading regularly and exposing yourself to new perspectives, new vocabulary, and different writing styles can help you improve your writing skills. Reading many different types of materials ranging from magazines to scientific articles, from poetry to novels, and analyzing the core structural pieces of each work can improve your writing. You can learn about storytelling, humor, conveying a specific message, and so on.

2. Write daily: All good habits are created upon the constant practice of small details. A copywriter needs to write every day, even if it is just a paragraph, or even a sentence: creating the habit of creative writing is the main focus. Consistently practicing your copywriting can help you find your style, and develop a habit of creating compelling copy at every time. This skill set helps a copywriter keeping up with the tight deadlines when needed.

3. Seek Feedback: It can be hard to have a neutral analytical perspective on your copywriting. You might look at your copywriting with pink glasses, or you might be overly critical of your work. That is why it is important to seek feedback from more experienced peers, to get a clear vision of where you are as a copywriter.

4. Edit and Revise: There is a famous saying: Writing is rewriting. Every story is a retelling of an old story, and every piece of information has been declared in many other texts. Since your writing is fundamentally a rewriting, don't be afraid to make changes to your work. Delete long chunks, write again, if necessary, start again. Writing experience might be toilsome, but a great copywriting is only possible with much effort and elaboration. Your writing truly gains shape after you restructure it after your initial draft.

5. Expand Your Vocabulary: Having a rich vocabulary directly reflects on your copywriting. But, don't force yourself to use some complex words to make it seem like you have a rich vocabulary. It can be a turn-off for your readers. Instead, try to go beyond the borders of your familiar style, and experiment with creative ways of telling a story. After all, work of a copywriter should be as creative and compelling as to influence consumer behavior and give the brand a significant advantage within the competition.

6. Work on Grammar and Style: Having a clear understanding of grammar is absolutely necessary. Also, work on different common writing styles like APA and MLA for academic writing. If you are more on the literary creative end of writing, try to create your personal writing style with the help of your favorite writers and their styles. Writing clear and understandable with a unique style that represents the brand voice is crucial for a copywriter.

Don't forget with enough desire and passion for copywriting, and with enough discipline and commitment, you can be a professional copywriter. Don't be hesitant to take courses or join workshops and reading clubs at every stage of your copywriting journey. Ask for guidance and feedback from your mentors.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it Take to Become a Professional Copywriter?

Though it is not a simple question to answer, becoming a professional copywriter usually takes around 1 to 2 years if you put in dedicated professional effort. You need to build your primary copywriting skills, grammar, and vocabulary, take any necessary courses and workshops, and build your portfolio in that time period. After these steps, you need to focus on networking and looking for new challenging opportunities in your career. Occasions such as press releases might be convenient for you to seek copywriting opportunities. Also, it is important to note that with copywriting, you always need to improve yourself, and it is an unending journey.

How do I Stay Updated with the Latest Copywriting Trends and Techniques?

Asking this question is the first step! Having a positive attitude towards improvement is the beginning of keeping yourself up-to-date with the latest copywriting trends. As a copywriter, you have to be following the latest marketing campaigns and understand the magic a persuasive copywriting can make in digital marketing. You can take seminars, courses and workshops, and join reading and writing clubs to continue your learning process. You can also follow the latest publishments both online and print ads, hard-copy, big media companies, and forums.

What are Some Niche Areas within Copywriting, and how do I Specialize in Them?

There are several niche areas of copywriting like technology, finance, travel, personal style, fashion, healthcare, lifestyle, and mental health. As a copywriter, need to make a clear analysis of your interests, education, and previous accumulation to decide on a niche. To become a successful copywriter, you need to be familiar with the terms and trends of the industry or the niche you will write in. Also, having a profound network and connections in that niche will benefit you further through your copywriting career.