Are you looking forward to getting into copywriting? Then you may have questions like
- What is copywriting?
- What does copywriting mean?
- What is the job of a copywriter? Or what skills does a copywriter need to have?
- How much do copywriters earn?
You will find all the answers to these questions in this blog. So, read right away!
Let’s first start by what is copywriting and its importance in the content writing industry.
What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is a part of the content writing industry. It involves creating write-ups for fulfilling the marketing goals of any company. The write-ups mainly advertise the brand or the product. The write-ups go by the name of a sales copy or a web copy.
Such copies initiate brand awareness in the audience. It makes them take the necessary call to action (CTA). It is a persuasive form of writing. The writer persuades the reader to buy a product and adds value to the product by their writing style.
The main aim of a copywriter is to target the audience and convert them into prospective customers. Copywriting is therefore an art to write ads, promotional copies, or blog posts with an idea to convince the readers to take any action in favor of the company.
Thus, copywriting is an important part of content marketing. It relies a lot on copywriting. Hence, the role of a copywriter in any company or a freelance copywriter is challenging. They need to come up with skills and ideas to frame a copy and make it persuasive.
What Skills Does A Copywriter Require?
A sales copy or a web copy should be such that it creates a positive impression on the audience about the brand. So, a copywriter should have the necessary skill set to create such content.
1. Creative Approach
A copywriter when gets to write on a topic, cannot apply the same method of writing to each copy. The approach should be unique. With uniqueness comes creativity.
The writer should get into the skin of the topic and explore ways to creatively present the topic. With creativity, it is also the copywriter’s responsibility to make it understandable.
The concept of the brand or product must strike the target audience. To find a balance between innovative ideas to lure customers and to make them understand the brand is the most important thing for a copywriter.
2. Research ability
A copywriter as we now know tells a story about the brand. To tell a story, the writer should also know, to what kind of audience they speak to.
So, the questions that need to research as a copywriter are
- What is the main aim of the brand?
- What does the brand represent the audience?
- What value does the product hold?
- What are the unique factors of the product and brand?
- How can the product help in building a relationship with the customers?
- What are the necessary keywords that can become a part of the copy?
- Amongst what demographics can the brand work?
- What are the sales points to address about the brand?
Such questions and much more help a copywriter to understand the importance of the brand and the audience. Putting the right keywords after research into the copy is very important.
A sales copy is generally concise, and hence putting the relevant keywords and not overstuffing the copy is crucial.
3. Convey Clear Ideas
To convey a clear idea about the product or a brand, it is first important to get a clear idea. That is where research comes into the picture.
Research on the brand, product, marketing goals helps a copywriter to frame the content’s outline. It can help a writer to understand what the content needs and what it can cater to.
If a copywriter does not have clarity on such factors, then a copy can become vague. The audience will struggle with the complications in the concept.
Thus, a copy should have the potential to convey ideas with clarity and directness. A copy is a good copy when it gets into the mind of the audience immediately.
Circling the brand’s concept and complicating simple ideas can do no good to a sales copy.
4. Passion For The Work
A copywriter has the responsibility to come up with innovative and thought-provoking content. The copy needs to be compelling to the customers. The copy also needs to be readable and understandable.
A copywriter can only juggle up with so many factors if they have a passion for writing. The work is challenging and demands creativity. It also demands submitting the work on target deadlines. With all these, for creating catchy content, the writer needs to be passionate.
For a beginner in the copywriting industry, writing skills would come with a lot of practice. Along with practice, observational skills also come into account. Analyzing several copywriting examples, working with the marketing team can benefit a beginner.
Professional copywriters learn through years of experience in writing and marketing. They develop a passion for writing over the years.
5. Flexibility And Open-Mindedness
A copywriter cannot succeed if they have a narrow-minded approach. It is in their hands to influence people and bring them close to the brand.
So, a copywriter should be open to ideas. They need to welcome new ideas and approaches. In the discussions, they should have the ability to accept constructive criticisms. They should also be direct in presenting their ideas.
6. Good Learning Ability And Observational Skills
How can one learn copywriting?
- By assisting the copywriter, in a sales or marketing team
- By taking up a course in copywriting, if necessary
- By attending copywriting workshops
- By reading books on copywriting
Any of the options can lead you to be a copywriter. All one needs is the ability to learn.
There are several online web resources and books that one can refer. One can learn the basics and in detail concepts of copywriting. There are books and online content that provide examples and case studies of copywriting. One needs to grasp such concepts. They can with their intelligence smartly apply concepts in their copywriting career. Such practices can make a copywriter successful.
1. Have A Unique Voice
Copywriting is a competitive field of content writing. A copywriter must know their worth and work confidently.
It is only natural to fall prey to comparisons in such a field. But, one should acknowledge the fact that there are copywriters in the industry with exceptional talents. Absorb the good qualities when one feels they are important. But, one should never underestimate oneself. One must know their self-worth!
Reading a lot of web content, practicing writing, reading books are all such practices that can give a copywriter a unique voice. Not only these, understanding logical facts about the brand, the audience also helps a copywriter to develop a unique voice.
A copywriter must analyze the case studies of copywriting, marketing benefits and falls off a good and a bad copy, etc. A copywriter can learn and benefit so much from the case studies.
2. A Focus On Quality
Good quality content should be the utmost focus of the copywriter. While they create content, they should not compromise on the quality.
The copy they create should be credible. It should be rich in facts, information, and value. Copywriters make a lot of money because they deliver high-quality content.
Therefore, a copywriter must see that
- The information they provide is reliable
- The copy is free of grammar and spelling errors
- The copy is free from plagiarism
- The copy has the necessary keywords
- The copy has a message for the target audience
- The copy is inducing CTA
- The copy is meeting the marketing goals
- The copy is legible to the readers
A good copywriter must therefore continue to deliver a good quality copy.
3. Create SEO-friendly content
Copywriting also, like any content writing needs the right SEO components. A copywriter cannot ignore the factors that affect SEO. After all, a good web copy has the potential to rank at the top of SERP.
Web copies can also induce traffic to a company’s site. Thus optimizing the landing page content, web copies are all important even in copywriting.
SEO parameters like
- Suitable keywords
- Images or videos
- Headlines
- Subheadings
- Main content
- Meta descriptions and titles are important components of copywriting too!
All such SEO parameters need optimization. A copywriter must consider optimizing all such things while copywriting.
4. Imagination
Copywriting is a creative writing skill. Such a skill can only come to a writer when they have or develop the ability to imagine. It is the imagination that sprouts creativity. It is the imagination that leads to innovative thinking.
Imagination can help a copywriter see the consequences of writing for the audience.
Imagination helps the copywriter to know
- The marketing goals and how can a copywriter contribute
- What questions the audience can have about the copy
- The frame of the brand’s story from the audience perspective
- Looks to fill the void in brand marketing strategies
- Creating versatile content for different social media platforms
- Widening the writing ability by welcoming questions from the audience
- Multi-tasking on various components and formats concerning the copy
- Thorough understanding of the way business works
- The ability for brainstorming several ideas concerning the subject
- Writing ability that can compel the audience for CTA
For a beginner apart from understanding what is copywriting, it is thus also important to know these necessary skills that a copywriter must develop.
For all such skills and values, copywriters get a handsome salary too. A successful copywriter earns for giving out the best quality content.
How Much Does A Copywriter Earn?
A copywriter earns according to the years of experience they have in creating copies. In the USA, the average pay of a copywriter is around $28 on an hourly basis.
A junior copywriter who has a minimum of two years of experience earns up to $60- $80 per hour. A copywriter who has a maximum of five years of experience earns around $100 to $120 per hour. Highly renowned copywriters earn more than $200 per hour.
Copywriters have the ability to up the market value of a brand and its products. That reflects in several successful sales copy examples.
One most famous amongst them is the small but the most efficient tagline of “Nike”. The tagline “Just Do It” and other ads of Nike create aspirations in the minds of people apart from selling their products. The ad creators use brilliance by using emotions that can build trust and credibility amongst their consumers.
Conclusion
Copywriting is an art that comes with experience. A beginner in copywriting needs to know what is copywriting and what it takes to become a copywriter. One can do wonders in the field of copywriting if one develops the skill. One also needs to be aware of digital marketing values when one is in the field of copywriting. A good copywriter can have many success stories and make a good amount of earning in the copywriting industry.