In 2024, a copywriter can earn an average salary of $73,358 annually in the United States. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many individuals are thinking of jumping on this career path. Yet, it’s not so easy given the competition in the market.
There are several opportunities in different industries as nearly every business requires a professional who knows how to write a great copy. Given how important this marketing strategy is, most of these businesses tend to hire proven copywriters.
Nevertheless, not all of them might have the budget to hire professionals such as the likes of Dan Kennedy, Brain Clark, Joseph Sugarman, etc. In such cases, a newbie with a good grasp of the basics of copywriting can secure a gig.
To ensure you don’t embarrass yourself and to help you secure your first copywriting job, we’ve compiled this beginner’s guide to copywriting just for you. We’ll briefly explain what copywriting is, and then reveal the elements a great copy must have.
Let’s begin, shall we?
Table of Contents
Copywriting Explained
Copywriting is a marketing strategy that involves the use of written text to sell a business’ services or products. It is also used to establish the brand’s voice. The idea behind this strategy is to persuade your target audience to take an action you have designed for them.
This could be the purchase of a service or product, signing up, or any form of conversion you have in mind.
Copywriting is not restricted to just one form. It could come in the form of a company tagline, social media post, white papers, brochures, web pages, advertisements, and many more.
We could say that any written text that involves persuading the reader to take an action is a copy.
However, we must be careful not to think that any text is a copy. To truly be regarded as copywriting, the words must tell a captivating story and also represent the image of the brand.
It must pull the heartstrings of the reader to make a decision. Therefore, copywriting is selling lifestyle and emotion and not just services or products.
Essentials A Great Copy Must Have
Great copies are products of certain essentials. Without these elements, securing jobs will prove difficult.
Therefore, to ensure you don’t get frustrated in this industry, below are the essentials of the beginners guide to copywriting every great copy must have.
Free of Grammatical and Spelling Errors
It might seem like a no-brainer; however, you’d be amazed at how often copies that have entered the public space are riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. You can visit https://www.linkedin.com/ to find out how bad grammar and spelling can destroy your marketing efforts.
Such copies do not often achieve the desired goal. Individuals with keen eyes who notice such errors especially if it’s a short copy can develop a bad perception of your service, product, or brand.
When copywriting, you must ensure that your content is grammatically sound. Errors in short-form copies can be quite glaring and jarring to the reader compared to an error or two in a long blog post.
Therefore, take your time and don’t be in a hurry to submit the “finished” work. Use grammar editing software to double-check and also read it loudly to ensure you don’t miss any mistakes.
Copywriting Is Persuasion
We mentioned earlier that the idea behind a copy is to persuade your target audience to take an action you have designed for them. Therefore, the element of persuasion must be fully felt in your copy.
You must give them a reason to take that desired action.
For instance, if you want them to buy your watches, you must present them with an emotion they can resonate with. You can infuse the acquisition of luxury as a persuasive emotion to the copy.
Therefore, you must be able to find the emotion that will naturally cause the reader to react, and then use words that will evoke those emotions.
Free of Jargon – A Must In Beginners Guide To Copywriting
The fact that you are representing a business within a certain industry doesn’t mean you must litter your copy with industry jargon. You must remember that you are not writing to members of that industry (except where necessary) but to the public.
As such, your target audience might not be familiar with that jargon. Therefore, you must ensure that anyone who reads the copy can understand it expressly.
Do not use acronyms or slang. Not everyone will understand the acronyms. You can read this article to discover how acronyms block effective communication.
Also, using slang is usually regarded as unprofessional (the exception is if this embodies the brand image).
Emphatic Call-to-Action
When you write a copy, you want the reader to take action. But what if the reader doesn’t even know what action to take even after reading the copy? Well, this is usually the case when the copy lacks an emphatic call-to-action (CTA).
Your CTA must be strong, clear, and direct. Do not try to beat about the bush. It must be visible, legible, and captivating to drive conversions.
SEO CopyWriting Services
You can only bother about this if you’re writing website copies. If you are copywriting such, ensure that it is search friendly. One of the ways to do this is to make use of keywords. This will improve your page’s search engine results pages (SERPs) ranking.
Apart from infusing keywords into your content, there are other factors required to make your content rank high. You can consult an SEO expert to help you out if you can’t get it done independently with only SEO copywriting services.
Nevertheless, you don’t have to worry so much about ensuring your text is SEO-friendly as it’s not the ultimate factor for the success of your content. Therefore, if it’s affecting your copy’s quality, you don’t have to force in the keywords.
Direct Copywriting
Even though copywriting involves “storytelling,” you must ensure that the whole plot remains direct. Always try to use the fewest words to pass across your message.
It’s advisable to always keep your sentences and paragraphs short to enable you to keep the attention of your readers without losing them down the line. Also, avoid fluff like the great plague.
Captivating Lead
Every great copy follows the golden rule of having a captivating lead. It could be the headline, subheading, introductory phrases, or subject line. The bottom line is to ensure your readers are captivated.
Most copywriters make use of action and power words to capture the reader’s attention. You could also begin with an enticing fact, number, or learn how to use statistics in your content like we did at the start of this article.
The idea is to get them to read the first line, which in turn forces them to read the second until they read the entire thing.
Unique and Appropriate For The Channel
During a campaign, different channels are used. It is the job of the copywriter to tailor the copy to be unique and appropriate for each channel. That means no reusing or repurposing a copy for the different channels.
The one used for the landing page must be different from the one used on billboards. Consequently, that which is used for billboards must be different from what is used on social media.
Conclusion: Beginners Guide To Copywriting
In the article above, we’ve explained what copywriting is in this beginners guide to copywriting. We also discussed eight essentials that a great copy must have. A great copywriter must also have proper knowledge of the target audience.
Also, to ensure you do a great job, make sure you understand the offering before you begin writing. All these will help you create the perfect copy for that campaign.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 12 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
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Amazing information Lisa. I like the emphasis on the importance of a strong call to action, as this is often what separates good copy from great copy. It’s important to tell your readers exactly what you want them to do, whether it’s signing up for your email list, making a purchase, or visiting your website.
Thank you Aadiv. That’s an important one and one that took me a long time to realize as a blogger. Thanks for your feedback and have a great day.
Cheers Lisa. Will be in touch.