If you’re looking to make your copywriting career, you’ve probably wondered where you should focus your efforts. After all, there are so many niches out there, and it can be hard to know where to begin. Where do you even start?
The answer: find your niche, and then attack it with zeal. With so much competition, it’s essential to find a way to stand out. Luckily for you, we’re here to tell you exactly how to do just that. Let’s get to it.
Know What To Target
Nowadays, your average person spends a good deal of time online. Indeed, according to HubSpot Blogs research, the average person spends 4 hours and 57 minutes per day on the internet (that’s almost half a full day).
Given this, it follows that the average person is exposed to a lot of different content and advertising opportunities. While this might be great for your personal brand, focusing on a single area for your career might be a better idea. After all, if you can become pretty good at writing, why not consider writing as a career?
Writing is a form of content marketing, and content marketing is everywhere. Whether you’re creating blog posts for a brand’s website or social media pages, or you’re writing e-mails to prospective customers, everything counts as content marketing. Even traditional media like radio and TV appearances can be considered forms of content marketing. With so much competition, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. With this in mind, consider focusing on a specific niche.
Decide On The Purpose
Writing for a financial services company, for example, might seem like a great idea at first. After all, who doesn’t want to be rich? Well, consider this for a second. Your average person might spend 4 hours per day on the internet (that’s almost half a full day), and during that time, they’ll come across a lot of different websites and blogs. Now, if you’re targeting the financial services industry, how are you going to stand out? You might want to consider creating a blog for a specific purpose. For example, let’s say you’re writing for a company that provides budgeting and personal finance tips. In that case, your blog might be on the subject of investing. Or, if you have a significant other that’s a big fan of yours and follows your work, consider creating a blog for them. For example, if you’re a copywriter for a digital marketing agency and your significant other is into cooking, you might want to create a blog around this subject matter. The point is to create a niche for yourself within an already crowded field. When you do this, it makes your work that little bit more valuable. After all, there’s a good chance your readers will know exactly what you’re talking about. Plus, it shows that you’ve taken the time to find a specific niche, rather than just throwing some content at the wall to see what sticks. This is often the approach taken by those who don’t strive for excellence. So, if you’re looking for a way to separate yourself from the competition, consider focusing on a specific niche. In the same way with a restaurant, if you’re trying to be the best in your field, consider focusing on a specific type of cuisine. Why? It takes time to learn how to cook, and most people aren’t willing to spend the time to learn how to cook for themselves. So, if you can become pretty good at cooking a certain type of cuisine (e.g. Thai), consider doing so. There’s also the opportunity to create lifelong friendships through a kitchen table.
Pick A Name
One of the first things you might want to consider when naming your blog is how easy it is to type. Indeed, if you’re using WordPress, you can always add another word to your blog name for SEO purposes. So, if you have a financial blog named Investment Tips, you can easily add “Money” to the end of the name for maximum (SEO) impact. In the same way, if you have a blog about style, you may want to consider adding a fashion keyword like “style” or “fashion” to the end of your blog name. The idea is to pick a unique name for your blog. If you have a blog about technology, you may want to consider using some of the great WordPress plug-ins that can track the topics that you write about. Consider picking a name that’s a little on the obscene, yet still within the realms of possibility. As an aspiring copywriter, your biggest challenge isn’t going to be finding a job, but rather naming your blog. So, take your time with this and choose a name that will make your work stand out. Remember, the name you choose now will eventually be your blog’s URL. So, take your time and choose a name that will stick. In the same way with a restaurant, if you want to be the best in your field, consider naming your blog after yourself. For example, let’s say you blog about technology and you’ve previously done some freelance work for a digital marketing agency. If you choose a name like “Kevin O’Donnell,” you can use the “O” in your first and last names to create a blog that’s all about you.
Define Your Niche
When defining your niche, you want to choose a clear and specific topic. For example, if you choose to focus on technology, you may want to consider creating a blog around a specific industry (e.g. web design). Alternatively, if you’re passionate about fashion, you may want to consider creating a blog around a specific designer (e.g. Marc Jacobs).
Once you’ve decided on a topic, you can move on to the next step. Or, if you already know what you’re going to write about, you can skip to the next step.
Create The Template
Once you’ve decided on a topic, it’s time to begin creating the blog itself. Begin by creating a homepage using a web design template, like the one from StudioPress. After you’ve created your homepage, it’s time to begin adding content. To begin with, add a statistic showing the estimated number of visitors (this can be found under Settings > General > About).
In the same way as with a restaurant, if you want to be the best in your field, consider creating a blog that’s fully optimized for search engines. The idea is to create high-quality content that attracts a targeted audience. To do this, you need to choose your keywords, or search strings, carefully. Indeed, if you’re using WordPress, you can always add another keyword or two to your posts’ titles and the URL. So, if you choose to blog about technology, you may want to add “technology” to your keywords.
Add A Few Posts
After you’ve created your homepage, it’s time to begin adding content. To do this, you need to first create a few posts to get the ball rolling. For example, if you’re blogging about fashion, you may want to begin by creating a blog post explaining why fashion is so important to your life. After you’ve created your post, it’s time to begin setting up a schedule for when you’re going to post. Weekdays and Saturday work best for most people. So, if you’re looking to make your copywriting career, consider committing to at least three posts per week.
With each new post, it’s a good idea to leave a comment on one of your blog’s older posts. This is a great way to keep track of your content and maintain high search engine rankings. As you grow your blog, you may want to add more content creators (e.g. guest authors) or hire a virtual assistant to help manage your workload.