You must have heard of copywriting nowadays. If not, know that It is the activity of writing the text of advertisements or publicity material.
If you have planned to start copywriting, it’s a very lucrative, particular type of writing that is often mistakenly overlooked as a career choice. You need to be highly skillful to stand out from others. Anyone can become a copywriter. You don’t need a fancy degree or any degree for this purpose. You don’t necessarily have to live in a specific part of the world. You can start copywriting anywhere in the world, whether working at the office or working from home.
Day-to-day copywriters are tasked with writing clear and concise copy for ads, marketing materials, and websites for virtually any audience and industry. Copywriting is one of those excellent skills that will always remain in high demand. It will keep growing in the upcoming years. According to statistics, the job market for copywriters is expected to grow by 7.6% by 2026. Keep reading this article to know all the necessary information about copywriting.
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is writing the text for advertisement or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to boost brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a specific action. Copywriters help create billboards, catalogs, magazines, newspaper advertisements, brochures, jingle lyrics, sales letters and other direct mail, the script for television or radio commercials, taglines, white papers, websites, and social media posts, and other marketing communications.
Copywriting is the skill of creating text to optimize a design’s usability and encourage users to interact with it. Designers should write in their brand’s voice and verify a solid understanding of target users. Excellent copywriting points shaping brand experiences and driving conversion through clarity, helpfulness, and trust. Writing is not complicated; all you have to do is cross out the wrong words.
Copywriting agencies combine copywriting with a range of editorial and associated services, including positioning and messaging consulting, social media, search engine optimization, developmental editing, copy editing, fact-checking, proofreading, page layout, and speechwriting. Some agencies hire in-house copywriters, while others use external contractors or freelancers. Usually, digital marketing agencies include copywriters, whether freelance or employees, that focus specifically on digital communication.
Sometimes the work of a copywriter will overlap with a content writer as they’ll need to write social media advertisements, Google advertisements, online landing pages, and compelling email copy. This new wave of copywriting born in the digital era has made the discipline more accessible. But not without a downside, as globalization has meant some copywriting work has been downgraded due to the comfort of finding skilled copywriters working at different rates.
How to start copywriting?
If you are a beginner and love to write, here are a few tips to get started:
Meet the basics
Before starting a copywriting business, you will need to meet the basic requirements of running a freelance company. First of all, ensure that you have all the supplies you will need to be a copywriter, including a computer, a stable internet connection, and a website promoting your services. If you purchase anything new for your business, make sure you track the expense so you can deduct it from your income taxes. You will need to register your business and purchase insurance.
Plan your copywriting services
Develop a plan of action that indicates your goals, business strategy, and target clients. Analyze your competition by looking up other freelance copywriting businesses in the market to see what services they offer and how much they charge clients for their services. You should also plan a promotional strategy for growing your business over time.
Choose your services
Think about the services your freelance copywriting business will offer to its clients. You can specialize in specific areas of copywriting such as advertising copy, website content, email marketing copy, and more. If you are an expert in a particular type of writing, you can choose to focus on that niche while getting your copywriting business off the ground.
Develop your brand
A strong brand can set you apart from your competitors and give your business a personality that clients can relate to. Your brand includes the style and tone of your business and the graphic look of your business, including your logo, fonts, and color palette. Once you have a clear brand, you can use it across all your marketing materials, such as your business cards and website.
Set your fixed rate
Once you set up your profile, set the rate you’ll charge clients. It is the essential step and can also be one of the most challenging tasks for writers who are new to freelancing. Take a look at what other copywriters in your surroundings charge so that you can set a realistic range for the industry in your city. Look at other copywriters offering similar services with similar experience levels to you and see what their rates are.
Setting hourly and per-word rates are reasonable to offer clients more flexibility. When developing your rate, it’s crucial to take into consideration all the business expenses that must be covered by your earnings, including your rent, utilities, health insurance expenses, and much more. Setting a low rate when you start attracting as many clients as possible can be tempting, but ensure your rates are sustainable in the long run and offer you a comfortable living.
Make a portfolio
If you have previously worked for a copywriting agency or brand, gather all the samples of your copywriting to start your own business. Build a portfolio and publish the best of your copywriting samples to showcase your talent and demonstrate the range of media, industries, and clients you have written for. If you don’t have previous copywriting experience, you will still need samples to show potential clients. Make sure to do the spec work to showcase your skills.
Spec work concerns producing ads on behalf of an enterprise without working for them. Often, writers start to develop copy for big brands to show the kind of work they would produce to make a splash for that company, even though they don’t work for them. Once you have gathered all your writing samples, you’ll have to display them so potential clients can see your work. Make an online portfolio showcasing your writing samples, listing your services and offerings, and a bio so clients can learn more about you and your background.
Sharpen your skills
As a copywriter, you should improve your skills and learn new skills to help grow your business. If you want to know about technical writing, SEO principles, or another new skill, consider rolling in classes at a local college or signing up for online courses you can complete anywhere.
Create a legal contract
When you start as a freelancer, you should have a templated contract that you can send to new clients to protect yourself and clearly outline the work your client will receive from you. An agreement outlines the services you will provide, the timelines for completing the work, and the amount your client will pay you for your services. It should be signed by both you and your client.
Establish an accounting system and pitch your business
Once client payments start rolling in, you’ll need an accounting system to file and record those payments and manage your invoicing. Make sure to know all the basics of small business accounting and choose an accounting system that works for you. You can handle your business accounting manually, tracking payments, and creating invoices in MS Excel or word. You can simplify your small business accounting using a cloud-based accounting service.
To run a successful copywriting business, you know how to convince clients to hire you. You can send pitch emails to market yourself to potential clients. Pitch emails should introduce yourself and your services and offer a persuasive reason why you would be the perfect freelance copywriter for their business.
Attend networking events
Networking events offer an excellent opportunity for freelance copywriters to meet with potential clients. In the initial days of your copywriting career, you will need to find new clients to keep your business afloat constantly. Networking events don’t have to be precise to the marketing or advertising industry. If there’s a networking event for tech startups in your city, it would be
An excellent opportunity to meet startup founders who might need the services of a freelance copywriter.
The goal of copywriting
The primary goal of copywriting is to promote concepts, businesses, opinions, or individuals. The term copy is commonly applied to printed items. Copy refers to promotional text when used in the term copywriter. It is created to appear in any medium such as print, television, radio, video, internet, etc. Promotional copywriting generates and increases interest in a product or idea using precise language. The goal of the copy is to persuade the viewer, listener, or reader to act, i.e., to buy a product or adopt a different viewpoint.
Copywriters may also be concerned about creating text for websites and social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. This may not be strictly for promotional purposes; in such cases, the copywriter may be referred to as a content writer. Usually, copywriters are involved in the process of creating all kinds of promotional material, including:
- White papers
- Web copy
- Sales letters
- Press releases
- Jingle lyrics
- E-mail
- Brochures
- Taglines
- Catalogs
- Online ads
- Direct mail pieces
- Radio commercial scripts
- Internet content
- Television adverts
Most organizations or businesses require copywriters to work as a creative team producing promotional copy. So, most copywriters work for advertising agencies, in-house advertising departments, marketing firms, public relations firms, newspapers, books and magazine publishers, and broadcasters and cable providers. However, copywriting is also a great profession for those wanting to work freelance, and many copywriters operate in this way.
Copywriting examples
You can quickly become an excellent copywriter by collecting good copywriting examples. Here are some of the word-class examples of copywriting:
1. Brooklinen’s Wordplay
A few years back, bedding company Broooklinen made the marketing rounds when one of their marketing interns, Mark, mistakenly sent a ‘Black Friday’ marketing email to his colleagues for approval. The email went viral. Marketers rushed with enthusiasm, customers herded to capitalize on the mistake, and Brooklinen profited from one of the busiest days of the year – a week early. But it was later confirmed by Brooklinen themselves that Mark’s blunder was not unintentional. It was a brainiac marketing strategy employed by Brooklinen to get a head start on the competition.
2. Chubbies’ sense of humor
If there were a contest for funniest marketing, Chubbies would be in the running as a top contender undoubtedly. From joke-telling and meme-sharing in their emails to writing outrageous yet persuasive product page copy, Chubbies have carved a name for itself as a brand to be reckoned with.
Types of copywriters
Copywriters are always in demand. Some organizations do not solely depend on content developers. But instead, they make sure that each person on the team is well-versed in English, especially in writing skills. Here are some types of copywriters:
➢ Agency copywriter
These types of copywriters work for advertising agencies. This is a super creative job where the employees get the opportunity to work with big brands. The product could be anything, even a soap. Now, the soap you intend to sell is no different than any other soap on the market. The strategies for convincing the customers are up to you, which may or may not succeed. In addition, the agency copywriting has also moved towards social media as part of its digital marketing strategies. Therefore, those who are comparatively younger and are so fine-tuned with using sites like Twitter, Instagram, etc., can easily apply for this job.
It’s because those who have gained experience for over a decade or two are comparatively lesser in this department. The major disadvantage of an agency copywriter is that the owners would be skeptical of the writer who plans to change the strategies because they cannot tolerate even a 5% decrease in sales. It would directly impact the writers, and they may even lose their job as a result of a substantial loss of the finances. Currently, the operation is so high that getting placed in such branded advertising agencies is extensively tricky.
➢ Corporate copywriter
The corporate copywriters do a boring but stable job. They don’t need to interact with the consumers directly, nor do they need to plan the entire thing. They are told to write brochures, websites, banners, social media, etc. They are sometimes asked about their opinions if meetings are held, and they are part of those meetings. The significant advantage of a corporate copywriter is that employers probably would not ask for a professional degree while looking for a suitable candidate.
Most employers prefer native English speakers for the write-up, though many also look for those who demand less money despite being skillful and non-natives. These writers write solely about an organization’s products and services. It becomes tedious, and so the person may switch to another company from time to time.
➢ Freelance copywriter
The freelance copywriters are free to work as many hours they please and the exact time frame when they prefer. Most of their work is based on a contractual basis which is specified to a few months. These writers may also get regular paying jobs if the employers like their work and don’t want to look for the candidates now and then. But there are also some drawbacks associated with freelance copywriters. This job is not stable. You can get plenty of projects, or you may not get them. If freelance copywriters are hard-working and dedicated, it is possible to earn as much as over a hundred thousand dollars.
It’s a bit challenging for newbies to find this type of job very soon. Still, once they are well-organized for consistent hard work, they would be given a star rating by the employers themselves, which eventually leads to getting better offers in terms of employment and payment later.
Purpose of copywriting
Content writing is designed to generate and increase interest in a product or idea using persuasive language. The copy aims to persuade the viewer, listener, or reader to act, such as buying a product or adopting a different viewpoint. The primary purpose of copywriting is to create content for online marketing. With content, businesses can draw leads and foster positive connections with their audience, ultimately pushing them down the sales funnel. 87% of marketers use content to guide their prospects through different buyer journey stages.
Copywriting is beneficial as it provides your audience with quality content. It helps persuade the viewer, listener, or reader to act, i.e., to buy a product or adopt a different viewpoint.
Copywriting for beginners
If you are starting your career in copywriting, make sure to practice on a regular basis, as copywriting is no piece of cake. You will be an expert by practicing, but undoubtedly, the skills will take some time to acquire appropriately. What you have to do is to keep writing. If you don’t have client work, use that time to send cold emails with ideas to people you would like to write for. Write articles and publish on Medium. The more you write, the better you get over time.
In addition, the stronger your portfolio, the more client trust you will be able to build that will eventually lead them to hire you. Focus on the benefits more than the features. While writing a copy, know who it is you are talking to. Another thing that, as a beginner, you should do is to maintain a conversational copy. You should write copywriting in a way that makes a different form of writing to compel your target audience to connect with your message and take action emotionally. It’s more suitable to write in an active voice. Tell a story wherever feasible but keep your stories straight.
Before copywriting, do extensive research while writing a new article, blog post, or copy for a webpage. One of the most effortless ways to accomplish this research is to take the target keyword you plan to write on, google it, and read via the pages or posts of the sites that rank for that keyword. They will refer to your direction to what readers currently value and what google thinks is the top resource for that keyword.
What do you do as a copywriter?
A copywriter is responsible for brainstorming and developing concepts for advertisements and marketing campaigns and usually works in a partnership with a graphic designer. A copywriter writes copy for miscellaneous media formats and pitches ad and marketing campaign ideas to clients or company decision-makers. In addition, copywriters also research products, services, customers, website search trends, competitors, and entire industries.
Furthermore, copywriters develop brand voices or adapt copy to establish brand voice and analyze campaign results to guide future copywriting strategies. Copywriters edit and revise the writing, which means rewriting, and they are responsible for taking direction from stakeholders and reworking copy through multiple drafts until it’s on target. They compose the words, phrases, taglines, sentences, and paragraphs that sell products and services.
As a copywriter, you can write business-to-business (B2B) copy for companies selling goods and services to other companies and business-to-consumer (B2C) copy for companies that sell directly to consumers through a website.
Final words
Before starting your career as a copywriter, know the basics. It’s an excellent idea to have your samples to showcase your talent and skills to the clients. Practice makes a person perfect. You can quickly write by researching a keyword and start copywriting. Make your portfolio attractive as the more robust your portfolio, the more client trust you will be able to build that will eventually lead them to hire you.
