So, you want to be a copywriter?
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
I’m Alex.
And I’m Sarabeth.
We’re copywriters with AppSumo, and today we’re going to give you the answers to your
most-asked questions, like 'what is copywriting?'
And why is copywriting the BEST CAREER EVER?
And of course, we’ll breakdown how to jumpstart your copywriting career.
Before we do, why don’t you smash the subscribe button and ring the bell?
AppSumo continually brings you the hottest deals on tools to supercharge your business,
and you don’t want to miss out.
Alright, let’s start with the basics.
What is copywriting?
In its simplest form, copywriting is the language a business uses to move a consumer closer
to a purchase.
This can include writing the copy (AKA words) on a website or blog, on the back of a carton
of orange juice, or on flyers passed out at events.
You’ll also find copy in emails, newsletters, video scripts, social media posts, billboards,
and much much more.
Frankly, without copy, businesses can hardly communicate anything to customers at all.
That’s right.
Buuuuut that doesn’t mean copywriting is just putting cute words on a marketing promotion.
Copywriting is equal parts creativity and science: We’re salespeople and marketers
first, writers second.
So, the next question we want to answer is: who can be a copywriter?
While there isn’t formal training required, having a background or love for writing helps.
That said, you’ll quickly find copywriting is nothing like your high school creative
writing class or even academic essays.
That’s because crisp writing sells.
As a copywriter, you can’t be flowery or verbose.
Good copy is easily readable, clearly communicates an essential idea, and nudges the reader toward
taking a certain action.
That means the best copywriters are fierce editors, breaking down sentences into their
most concise and effective form.
There are a few different types of copywriters.
An in-house copywriter works a standard 9-to-5 office job within an organization’s marketing
department, writing copy for that one organization day in and day out.
Then there’s an agency copywriter, who also works standard office hours but juggles multiple
brands at a time.
Comparatively, this is a more fast-paced environment that gives you a wide array of experiences
working across industries.
And of course, there are freelancers, who can build their workday to fit their style
but often take more of an agency approach, working for a number of clients.
Be warned, though: freelance copywriting can make you good money but is *not* a get-rich-quick
scheme.
It can take time to build your expertise and client base.
Speaking of expertise and client base, we’re going to breakdown the process from landing
your first gig to growing your career into 4 phases.
Phase 1: Learn the fundamentals.
You may not need a college degree to become a copywriter, but it certainly helps to show
you’ve studied the fundamentals.
In lieu of a degree, there are loads of online courses, books to read, and mentors to reach
out to.
We can’t possibly teach you everything there is to know in this video… which is why we
broke down some of the fundamentals, attached examples of great copy, and linked to a number
of additional free resources in our blog.
Alright, Phase 2: Practice.
When was the last time you became an expert at something just by reading a book!?
At some point, you have to put your fingers on the keyboard and try it for yourself!
There are a few ways to get some practice.
You can write for a nonprofit or small business that you love, rewrite lackluster copy you
find online for practice, or tell people in your network that you’re new to copy and
are offering a limited-time discount for your services.
Phase 3: Get Paid to Write.
Once you’ve gotten a few samples under your belt, it’s time to land a job or clients!
For the former, head to any of the normal job boards.
Freelancing, on the other hand, is its own beast - so we tackled that in another blog
post for you.
Phase 4.
Prove your value or multiply your expertise.
Most top-paid copywriters have one thing in common: they can show a direct line between
their copy and increased business profit.
So once you’ve learned the ropes, the next goal is to climb the copywriting ladder to
riches.
Pro-tip: Measure the impact of your words through testing and validating your copy against
existing copy.
You can also learn to manage or train others in your field, passing your knowledge and
experience onto fledgling copywriters.
Sumo-lings, there’s no way we can possibly tell you everything there is to know about
copywriting in one video.
So we rounded up a few more shortcuts in our blog to help you out, like how to mine reviews
to use real customer language to make your copy more powerful!
We’d love to hear what else you want to know about copywriting, so leave us those
suggestions in the comments down below.