Ever wonder what it’s like to be a copywriter? What is a copywriter, you ask? Well, a copywriter is someone who is hired to write product descriptions, ad copy, blog posts, and other kinds of marketing materials for businesses.
So, if you have a specific skill set and you’re looking for a job, how do you find a job as a copywriter? How do you become a copywriter?
Decide What You’ll Need
If you are interested in a career as a copywriter, you’ll need to decide what you’ll need to have in order to succeed. It’ll help you determine where you should spend your time and effort to make sure you land that dream job. First things first, you’ll need a college degree in journalism, English, or other relevant subject. After that, you’ll need to secure some professional experience. Most copywriters need at least a few years of experience before they can consider themselves “experienced,” so you’ll need to put in the time and effort to build up your resume. If you’re looking for a leg up in the job search, consider taking some of the in-demand writing courses offered by top-tier universities. Doing so can open up many doors for you in terms of getting noticed by the right people and being able to negotiate a higher salary or more promising benefit package once you’re hired. If you want to be the best copywriter possible, you’ll need to have the skills to back it up. Luckily for you, we’re going to teach you some of the best skills required for this type of job. To start, let’s take a look at the main responsibilities of a copywriter.
Research
The first and most important responsibility of a copywriter is to research the product or service they’re writing about. This might seem easy enough, but you’d be surprised by how many people overlook this step. A lot of times, it’s not easy to know what keywords to use or what facts to include about the product. A good copywriter will have all of this information at their fingertips, which makes the whole process much easier. You can’t expect to do well if you don’t do your research first. While there are many tools available online that can make the research process much easier, nothing can beat going through a lot of printed material, looking for information that can be important to the piece.
Organize
A good copywriter is always organized. You can’t expect to write a well-researched, well-written piece if you don’t know how to properly organize your notes and information. This means you’ll need to be careful about everything from how you draft the piece to how you present it once it’s finished. For instance, if you’re writing about a new restaurant, you’ll probably need to do a bit of research about what kinds of food they serve and whether or not their menu is large enough to satisfy all of your culinary desires. Once you’ve found that perfect niche, it’s time to settle in for the long haul and start creating unique, interesting content that will keep your audience interested and coming back for more.
Edit
Once you’ve written the piece, it’s time to take it out for some serious editing. This is typically where a lot of the rewrites and fixes happen, so take your time calmly removing all of the sloppy or awkward parts of the piece. Even good copy needs a little bit of an editor’s touch to make it perfect. Take a look at some of the pieces we’ve got available and you’ll see what I mean. The key to a great piece is to take your time and make sure that everything is perfect, both in terms of the writing and the layout. Once you’ve finished the editing process, it’s time to give the piece an overall polish before sending it off to the client.
Presentation
When a copywriter finishes a piece, they usually send it to an editor or proofreader to make sure everything is presented properly. This means checking for spelling and grammar errors and ensuring that the information is easy to understand and, above all, presented in an interesting and creative way. Presentation is often overlooked by people who are just looking for the first job they can get, but a bad presentation can bring down the overall quality of a piece. Even if the information is solid and interesting, a poorly presented piece can still end up being uninteresting and, therefore, worthless. This is why it’s so important to take your time with the presentation phase. Be careful not to rush it and ensure that each part is done properly. A good copywriter will make sure that every aspect of their work is done with attention to detail, so be sure to take the time to do the same.
The Artistry Is In The Research
It’s important to remember that the artistry in a well-written piece comes from the research phase. You cannot expect to knock out a well-written sales piece on your first attempt. This takes time and a lot of practice. With that being said, you’ve got to start somewhere, so be sure to put in the effort and take the time to learn from your mistakes. Most importantly, have fun with it! Writing is a lot of fun when you’re doing it for the right reasons and know that you’re helping businesses to grow. Remember, having fun while working hard is the key to enjoying your job as a copywriter.