How to Become a Successful Copywriter

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A copywriter is a person who is responsible for creating persuasive written content for a brand or product. Likewise, copywriting is a process of writing persuasive marketing and advertising content to engaging people to purchase a product. A good copy is created in such a way that it will convince the people to take action. For instance, when we go to buy chocolates the first name that comes to our mind is Cadbury and not any other. Why?. Because the ad displayed on the television is so fascinating in terms of its text or story.

Have you ever wondered, who created these ads and why is it so important from the perspective of the market? These ads are created by copywriters to persuade the customers to purchase their product. 

A good copywriter can attract the audience towards the product by their creative text, like ad jingles or tunes, a tagline, and a job description on a website.

A copywriter is a very important part of marketing because the business professional doesn’t have any experience related to writing or they don’t have time to write. So, the company hires a copywriter for expanding the awareness of a product. Good copywriting is crucial to growing your website and creating relevant landing pages that notify current or future customers.

A great copywriter will understand the core of the business and translate that into a copy that helps you gain customers. Writing a fresh, unique copy, and solution to their problem, that will connect with people’s emotions.

Difference between a Copywriter and Content Writer

Content writing is popular and nearly everyone has an idea about it. However, it is different from copywriting. The major difference between them is the purposes they hold.

Content writing focuses on the creation of content to educate, inform, explain, and entertain the target audience. The primary purpose is to produce valuable and high-quality engaging content for the readers. The style of content is usually long-form, involving a lot of information on a topic. Moreover, the effect of content on readers is short-term. Example of content writing includes blog posts, social media posts, news articles, etc.

Whereas, copywriting involve the creation of copy intended to pitch customers to use products or services. Here, the primary purpose of a copywriter is to create eye-catching ads, slogans, or taglines for the product, which ultimately persuades readers to take some type of sales-related action. For instance, if you are trying to sell a product, you’ll need to convince customers that the product is worth buying by designing creative text. The style of copy is usually short form with a long-term strategy. Examples of copywriting include landing pages, slogans, taglines, social media ads, website sales copy, sales emails, etc. 

Find out What Kind of Copywriter you are

Not all copywriters can write every sort of copy. In the beginning, each new copywriter has an unclear vision about what kind of content will help him/her to thrive in their role. Many of them take a circuitous way before building their career in a particular style. It’s not wrong to take a long way at the start of your career rather you will get a deeper knowledge of copywriting. Here are the different types of copywriting that exist:

• Sales/Marketing

The most prominent kind of copywriting in the market is sales copy, which makes up the majority of information on the web. The copywriter makes use of trends running in the market to help write ads and address the consumer’s needs at the same time. Sales copy involves advertisement text, text used in billboards, advertorials online or in magazines, product or category descriptions.

• SEO

For every online business to thrive, needs to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO). It helps to find your business through google result pages with the use of keywords or searches terms. SEO is found in online content such as web content and product descriptions

• Web content

Web content is the most sought-after content of the internet. It inspires, informs, and engages the audience. The major part of web content is found in blog posts, articles, social media, etc.

• Technical

Technical copywriting is to produce content that benefits the company’s decisions or the best use of a product. It is a less sales-oriented aspect to copywriting and different from sales copy. White papers and in-depth industry guides are some examples of technical copywriting.

• Creative

This is the most familiar copywriting in our day-to-day life. Creative content is used to build an advertisement for the product. It’s widely used in jingles and commercials.

• Digital Copywriter

Digital copywriting is used for the development of content that gets website visitors and app users to click on the right information. A digital copywriter works on on-page navigation, social media copy, button copy.

How to Develop Copywriting Skills as a Beginner?

There are no specific prerequisites needed to become an advertising copywriter, but a degree in English, journalism, or marketing will be beneficial.

And of course, one just needs to have the ability for creating compelling copy and ads that catch the limelight. Therefore it is recommended to aspiring copywriters develop the relevant skills. Without suitable skills, one will not able to climb the ladder of success in copywriting.

So, how do you develop the required skills to become a successful copywriter?

No need to worry because the solution unfolds hereinafter.

Following are some of the steps to help you build a career as a copywriter.

1. Courses

Course by Henry Harvin Education

The Copywriting course provided by Henry Harvin Education is one of the finest training courses. Henry Harvin Education is acknowledged by the American Association of EFL, Content Writing Association of India, and recognized as a winner of the Top Corporate Training Award. The training is given by experts having comprehensive experience in the Industry.

Benefits:

• The course covers a full range of topics such as how to research for copywriting till the enhancement of the interview skills.
• Get a profound knowledge regarding fundamentals of writing, purposes of social media posts, effective copywriting techniques, and writing for graphics.
• Get access to 1-year gold membership of Henry Harvin. The membership includes access to recorded videos, projects, case studies, and many more.
• Candidates are free to attend as many sessions as they want with multiple trainers.
• After completing the course get a guaranteed Internship at Henry Harvin or partner firms.

Duration and fee:

16 hours online training sessions

Rs. 9500/- 

Check Other Henry Harvin Courses

• Research Writing Training Course
• Medical Writing Courses
• Instructional Design Training Course

2. Books

Copywriting can also be learned by reading books and here are some of the best books that will make your writing skills strong.

• Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
• Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
• Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
• The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step to Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W.Bly
• Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
• Made to Stick by Chip Heath

3. Practice writing different kinds of copy

As mention above there are different types of copywriting that one can go for. As a beginner try to write different types of copy other than your subject to know the flaws and strengths of your writing. The practice will help to discover numerous ways of creative thinking and collectively improve your writing skills.

4. Get to know your target audience

The connection with your target audience is as important as creating a captivating copy. A copywriter can’t persuade people if he/she doesn’t know the liking and disliking of them. The foremost way to connect with an audience is to look for the trends in the marketplace then relate with the needs of current customers, and characteristics of best-selling products in that field.

Skills required to become a successful copywriter

• Strong writing skills

Writing skills are one of the most important skills in modern times, they allow people to get a point across without being physically present. The ability to communicate clearly and thoughtfully through writing is a necessity for many representatives in today’s business.

Professional knowledge about writing conventions, writing style, and convincing the audience to take action in some form is an integral part of the copywriter’s role.

Copywriters create different types of copy ranging from the long-form of content to short Ads or slogans.

Candidate can showcase their writing skills even before the interview, through their resume, cover letter, and email communications. Writing skills determine the quality of your work and how others perceive your professional behavior, which can directly affect your ability to get through an interview and excel at work. Developing a strong understanding of writing methods enables to maintain clear communication and accurate documentation in any workplace.

• Communication skills

Apart from writing skills, copywriters also need to have powerful verbal communication skills. It is necessary to present the point during meetings and collaborate with co-workers, and initiate sales pitches to customers these may be the ways that help copywriters be successful.

• Technical skills

A technical copywriter is specialized in selling software or technical products and services. It seems that technical writing and copywriting are interconnected with each other, but technical copywriters work on digital marketing and advertising projects. For example, the ability to handle content management systems, create web pages, and implement basic formatting. They also need to know the technical and computer skills to be successful in online and digital marketing.

• Research skills

Research skills include the ability to gather information about your topic and analyze and describe the information in a manner that it brings out a solution to the problem. Strong research skills are pivotal for copywriters, primarily when it comes to more complex types of writing projects like white papers or technical guides. 

When a copywriter creates promotional material they may research competing companies to discover what kind of advertising is working. These kinds of research skills are essential to help copywriters in building a writing framework and strategy for reaching customers.

• Writing for your end-users

Know your customers by researching before writing. Each individual is different, but understanding the point for whom you are writing makes your job easy. The population is divided into three broad age groups and the needs or liking of one group is varies from others. 

For instance, an Ad for soft drinks, displayed on a television set will make the maximum sale, because it is a drink consumed by most of the population. In contrast, if an Ad for skateboards is placed in a local senior citizen newsletter is not likely to generate a lot of sales, since the target audience for skateboards is youngsters. 

Try to evaluate your customers’ category and put together a demographic outline of your most valuable customer, so you can advertise the right ads to the right people at a right time. 

• Creative thinking

Creating thinking is a way to develop novel content that does not present so far. Copywriters are masters in this kind of thinking, due to their significant amount of creativity and imagination. Creative thinking skills help copywriters to build unique links between ideas and find innovative ways to promote brands and businesses.

Rules for Successful Copywriting

The fundamental copywriting rules include:

1. Match the characteristics of the product with benefits, applications, and demand in the market.
2. Use proof such as data or credentials to get people to believe you
3. Overcome objections by giving relevant solutions
4. Nudge people to take actions towards the product
5. Be bossy in your call to action

The steps may be taken as, Firstly, gather all your persuasive discussions list such as features, benefits, potential objections with possible solutions, and proof that can help to build your reliability. Collect this material by doing research about your potential customers and following the steps mentions in rule 1.

The second step is to arrange all your persuasive arguments in a consistent order like the most important arguments come first then comes the other. This arrangement will help to write your first draft.

Further, review and edit your copy and optimize your copy for search engines.

You should also keep in mind the following points while writing your copy:

Write your copy with clarity and creativity which will make your audience understand you. Present it in a funny and curious way, also tell its irresistible benefit.

Know your audience’s pain points. You can’t offer an answer if you don’t know the problem. Target your customers’ problems and provide a solution by giving them the options to solve the problem, share your product value, show them your offers such as characteristics, pricing, and availability.

Advantages of Being a Freelance Copywriter

• Be your own boss and at your own pace 

A freelance job is entirely on your own. Suppose you have vacation plans with family for a week, then you don’t have to aks leaves or be physically present at the place. You can choose to write or not at your own pace for the week. Freelancers have the freedom of working from home or an office in their own space for the clients they want.

• Get abundant work

Nowadays all companies need a copywriter to showcase their product in a convincing way to the customers. Many business professionals are too busy to write or don’t have the quality of convincing people with the words. Even small businesses require copywriters to develop their business, for that reason business professionals turn towards copywriters.

• Variety of work

You can write various kinds of copies from the subject you choose. From the topic like healthcare, politics, travel, finance, and education. All organizations require good copywriting. Most copywriters ultimately find a niche and a portfolio in a selective area. 

• Develop a creative mind

If you like writing then copywriting is fun. From researching to writing interestingly is just fun. In addition to that, the marketplace continues to develop and change, allowing copywriters to develop skills needed for varieties of writing projects.

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Conclusion:

Copywriting is an essential part of online marketing. The engaging texts and the presentation of these texts are necessary to connect with the customer. The art of good copywriting is to combine content with market-oriented and target-audience-specific needs to convince the potential customer to induce them to take the desired action.

Employment opportunities for Copywriters can be found in several areas. It is a very immense industry and interested aspirants can get relevant jobs easily, some of the sectors are listed below:

• Advertising companies/PR firms
• Commercial radio or TV
• Multinational advertising firms
• Print Media
• Market research

Now you know various sectors of copywriting jobs, let’s have a look at the salary of a copywriter. A copywriter’s salary varies based on their field of expertise, level of experience, type of clients, and many other factors. According to the ‘U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017’, a median annual salary of a copywriter is $61,820 ($29.72/hour). However, the top 10% annual salary is more than $118,760 ($57.10/hour) and bottom 10% annual salary is less than $30,520 ($14.67/hour).

Whereas in India copywriters salary ranges from Rs.2,50,000- Rs.3,00,000 per annum for beginner to Rs.5,00,000- Rs.8,00,000 per annum for senior level.

Copywriting is the most demanded skill that businesses need to survive. It is a thriving industry that pays well and has nearly an innumerable amount of work.

As long as you put in the effort to learn the art of copywriting, you’ll always be in demand and able to enjoy the income with stability in a copywriter job.

Recommended Reads:

Copywriting Courses in India

Best Copywriting Courses Online

SEO Content Writing vs. SEO Copywriting

Top Copywriting Interview Questions and Answers

How to Become a Successful Copywriter

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