Copywriting is one of the most popular and potentially lucrative gigs out there for people with a talent for the written word. There is a lot that goes into a successful copywriting career, and finding a job that challenges and excites you can be a lengthy process. Honing your copywriting skills and showcasing your abilities is key to helping you land that dream job.
It can be beneficial to start looking for roles on a freelance basis. This allows you to get some experience under your belt and make sure that you’ll enjoy the day-to-day tasks. If you’re looking for some tips on how to launch your copywriting career, this article will be perfect for you.
Perfect Your Call To Action
Almost all copy you will be expected to write will need to include at least one call to action (CTA). You’ll need to get this right as this is the most important part of any copy. Your CTA is often just as important as that catchy headline or engaging first sentence.
To write a successful CTA, you’ll need to appeal to the emotion of your audience and instil a sense of urgency in them. There are many ways to do this, and how you do so will depend on the type of copy you’re writing. Pride, curiosity and fear of missing out are all key emotions to appeal to for a successful CTA.
Identify Your Audience
Each piece of copy you write will be aimed towards a particular set of people. Sometimes it will be simple to identify your audience – the copy might be for a website catering to students or parents. Other times it might be more challenging, so you’ll need to do some digging to determine the audience you should be writing for.
Practice Writing In Various Tones
You’ll need to practice writing in a variety of tones and styles. Copy comes in all shapes and sizes, aimed towards all demographics, so being able to prove to potential employees that you can modify your style and tone to suit the copy you’re writing is invaluable.
Like any skill, the more you practice writing in different tones, the better you will become. You should write practice pieces in as many tones and styles as you can think of and ensure that you get out of your comfort zone. For instance, if writing interior design copy is your speciality, it is a good idea to practice writing technical or financial pieces.
Appeal To Your Audience’s Emotions
As mentioned above, you will need to appeal to your audience’s emotions for the call to action, but this is true for the rest of the copy as well. You should ensure that your writing is relatable and appeals to the positive emotions of your readers.
Know The Difference Between Editing And Proofreading
There are essential differences between editing and proofreading. Editing is used to make the copy flow better and improve its quality. Proofreading is done after editing and involves ensuring there are no mistakes or errors in the spelling and grammar of the copy.
Both are crucial to the writing process and can be particularly essential for specialised pieces like translated copy. As such, it’s crucial that you learn about them if you want to offer an exceptional service to your future customers.
Request Feedback
Feedback is one of the best ways for a copywriter to grow. It can often be hard to evaluate your own writing, so getting outside opinions can be invaluable. You should take on any feedback, whether positive or negative and consider how you can use it to change and grow.
Read Other Writers’ Copy
Learning from others is another excellent way to improve your skills. There is a wealth of resources out there to help you deepen your understanding of copywriting. You could follow some blogs that provide you with regular content to dissect and collaborate with other copywriters to exchange and critique each other’s work.
Tell A Story
Any engaging piece of copy tells a story. Stories are what people remember, so if you want your copy to stand out, you have to craft a compelling and persuasive narrative.
Hone Your Research Skills
Research is a crucial skill for any copywriter to possess. You will write about a huge range of topics throughout your career, and often you will need to familiarise yourself with the subject of a piece before you begin. You should learn where to find reliable sources and information to help you flesh out a piece.
Start With Your Intro And Conclusion
Getting started can often be the most challenging part of the copywriting process, particularly for longer pieces. One popular way to get started is to begin with the intro and conclusion. This can give your content a solid structure. It can also be helpful to write headings for the various things you want to discuss throughout the copy.