On Becoming a Wordsmith

Introduction

The age of Internet technology has made copywriting a much vaster category than it was just a few years ago. When copywriting was mentioned back in the 1950s, it usually meant advertising copy – or writing catchy jingles and phrases for products. Copywriting was meant to persuade a person to purchase a product or service or to swing their belief system.

Copywriting is still written to persuade, but the scope of it goes far beyond creating advertising copy. With the advent of the Internet, copywriting can be used to create content for your web pages, blogs, videos, audios and many other marketing pursuits on the web.

Writing effective copy is now imperative for anyone who wants to be in business, whether on the Internet or in a brick and mortar location. The copy doesn’t have to be promotional – it can be informational, such as the content written for press releases, white papers and informational web sites.

If you have a talent for writing, Copywriting can be a lucrative career – especially if you build your own business by providing clients with effective, well-written and well- researched copy.

There are many areas of copywriting you can choose as your area of expertise. Among the areas are advertising, Internet, television, direct mail such as catalogs, white papers, technical writing, blogs and social networking. You can choose to build your own business or become employed with an agency that needs copywriting on a regular basis.

This guide will help you decide if you have the knack for writing, how to turn your knack into a profitable business, writing techniques of successful copywriters and which area of copywriting might suit your talents.

You’ll also learn what equipment you’ll need to become a copywriter, how to make your copy sing with persuasion, how to get clients and keep them and how to master the basic techniques that all copywriters should know.

If you’d prefer to let someone else do the writing for your business, it’s important that you find a reputable copywriter who is willing to work with you and meet your needs. When a potential customer sees copy about or for your business, it should be structurally sound, grammatically correct and contain the information for the specific purpose for which it was intended.

Copywriting is an important business tool. Whether you write your own copy or not, you should know what constitutes effective copy.

Part One:

On Becoming a Wordsmith

So you want to be a copywriter? You probably already know that it isn’t the glamorous life of a best-selling author who travels the world over promoting his or her book. It involves being alone most of the time with your thoughts and creative juices and having a distinct talent for persuasion using the written word.

You can also build a lucrative business or career from becoming a wordsmith. To begin, you’ll have to have a good grasp of the language and very high degree of creativity. There are both online courses and college courses that you can take if you really want to learn to write.

If you already have a talent for writing, there are various ways you can go to realize your dreams of becoming a copywriter. The creative writing you’ll be doing in the job will likely entail selling products or services with slogans, jingles and images or simply providing information in a creative way about a subject.

You’ll need to choose the area of expertise you want to concentrate on. The main areas of copywriting include:

• Advertising

– Working as a copywriter for an agency might involve being a part of a larger department with a marketing or creative director, graphic and web designers or experts in social media or public relations.

Many advertising agencies employ copywriters on a freelance basis, but they’re coordinated by a marketing expert (director) in the department. If you enjoy working for an agency, you may be able to climb to the position of marketing director.

Before landing a copywriting position in an agency, you’ll need to build a portfolio and brand yourself as a copywriter. That means getting some experience first, so you can begin by freelancing with an agency you’re interested in and go from there.

• Freelancing

– Starting out on your own as a copywriter can be daunting, but rewarding. You won’t be working in a cubicle, but as your own boss – perhaps in a home office.

You’ll need a hard sense of disciple if you’re working on your own and some freedom of finances. It helps if you have a spouse earning the better part of the household income or some savings so that you don’t have to worry for awhile about bringing in enough income to survive.

If you hustle for clients and provide a dependable and outstanding service for them, you’ll eventually build your copywriting freelance business into a lucrative career.

• Businesses

– Many businesses (including online) need writers to create their ad and promotional copy (rather than hiring an outside agency) and you could get a job writing for one of them if you’ve developed an eye- catching portfolio.

Some of these businesses are brick and mortar and others are online. Choosing to work for a business may mean that you’re fed projects to work on and communicate with them through the Internet rather than having an office where the business is located.

This is a great option if you’re concerned about finances and don’t want to go it alone until you become more established. Working for a business guarantees that you’ll have a certain amount of work and you may be able to negotiate whether or not you’re paid by the project or by the hours spent on it.

The boundaries of copywriting are non-existent. You can write for agencies, directly for businesses (Internet marketing included) or work as an independent copywriter. Many writers move back and forth between these options all the time.

Essential Tools for the Copywriter

If you work in an office for a business, you’ll be furnished with all the equipment you need. If you’re a freelancer, you’ll need to begin with some essential tools such as a good computer, printer, desk and comfortable chair and place to work.

You’ll need to assume the responsibility for your own health insurance, taxes and any overhead you might incur as a freelancer, whereas if you work for a business you’ll likely have that provided for you.

As a freelancer, you’ll also need all the online trappings to brand yourself – a fabulous website, programs for your computer that will help and enhance your business and the necessaries of writing such as a great program that checks for spelling and grammatical errors (like Microsoft Word).

Many of these tools are expensive and time-consuming to set up and learn. If you don’t know how to set up a website, be sure and hire an expert to do it for you. You’ll want a site that looks professional and that’s easy to use and easy on the eye.

You may also want to consider joining some professional groups, both online and other and starting a blog and learning how to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.

Essential Skills for Copywriting

Besides the obvious skills you think of first – writing and creativity – there are others that you must know about if you’re to become a successful copywriter. Some that you may not think of are:

• Outgoing personality

– Even though copywriting is often a solitary business, you’ll need to sell yourself if you’re going to get that job in an agency or business. If you’re taking the freelancing route, you’ll also need to sell yourself, but it may take the form of how to present yourself online or in copy.

• Commitment to the customer

 – Whether you’re freelancing or working for a large corporation, you should always have the customer’s best interest in

mind. Even though you think you know what’s best, it’s what the customer wants that counts.

• Recognize the various uses for copy

– You should be able to recognize the difference in writing copy for promotion, sales and informative copy. As a copywriter, you’ll be writing in one category or perhaps a bit of all of them.

A good copywriter will make a real connection with his or her audience and either persuade, sell or change the beliefs of others. So, even if you have the basic writing skills necessary to write and be understood – unless you have the creativity and are willing to do the work it takes, you may not make it as a copywriter.

Exercises for Part One – On Becoming a Wordsmith

With pen and paper (or on the computer), jot down answers to the following questions to give you a better idea if you have what it takes to become a copywriter:

1. Where do I want to go with my copywriting skills? (Advertising, Freelancing or Business) This will determine how to begin gathering the information you’ll need to make your career successful

2. What tools do I have and what do I need? You may already have a computer, desk and chair, but jot down other things such as important programs for your computer to help in your quest, portfolio to present to businesses, web site and others.

3. What are my skills? What attributes can you name that you’ll want to tout to potential clients and/or businesses who might want to hire you? How can you market those skills effectively?

4. Formulate a plan – Whatever path you choose for your copywriting career you should have a plan to implement it. Having a plan means that you should know before you begin how you’re going to make it financially – without a regular paycheck coming in and to have a solid business plan.