Tag Archives: how to do copywriting

Junior Copywriter and Web Copywriting

A junior copywriter is first of all someone who knows how to use words in order to communicate a message. The copywriter uses words to sell a product or service to either the public or to businesses. Often he works for an advertising agency or a publishing company. This a field that requires creativity. Therefore the junior copywriter will have to develop ideas to sell products.

The life of a junior copywriter in an agency is usually fast pace. He has to develop concepts for what he’s trying to sell. It is often required of him to have excellent writing skills, good grammar and be a good speller.  You may find the junior copywriter working in the field of radio advertisement or writing copy for billboards. Experience in this field is obtain through practice.

Junior Copywriter in Marketing

The junior copywriter will be writing sales letters offline and online, direct mail advertisements, booklets and even brochures. This is not a career for which you need a specific degree. It is really open for anyone. A university degree in English will not help you in copywriting. In fact it may even hamper you. The reason is that colleges are academic institutions who pursue goals totally different from those who are doing direct selling.

Journalism might be related to junior copywriter, but is not the same thing. If you decide to work for an agency, you should know how agencies run. You should acquire a certain familiarity with the different positions, titles and responsibilities of the various departments. Be aware that all agencies are not the same.

As a junior copywriter, you will have to write headlines for your copy. You will need to develop a concept. It usually have to be unique. Your piece will not only have a body but also a call to action. Meaning, persuade your reader to do something such as buyer the product.

Freelance Copywriter in the World of Marketing

Freelance copywriter has become an expression that is nearly meaningless. Many use the word copywriting to mean anything that has to do with writing. This demonstrates a lack of understanding between writing and copywriting, which are two different activities, albeit close to each other. This is very evident on the Internet, where this lack of correct understanding has cheapened this very noble profession.

Could anyone call the legendary David Ogilvy, a freelance copywriter who would just create content on demand? What a debasement of the value of this great genius! Who is this man? Why talk about him? Was he one of those graduates from an elite school of journalism? No. He was a Scottish-born French Chef. Yes, you heard me, a chef.

Yet, David Ogilvy was among the greatest freelance copywriters in the industry. A simple man, he was Amish and a door-to-door salesman. He found a job in his brother’s advertising agency. He revolutionized the advertising philosophy.

Interestingly enough the expression “freelance copywriter” is composed of two distinct expressions with different meanings. A freelancer is someone who sells their work or services rather than working for a salary. In another word, he is an independent contractor.

The freelance copywriter is the marketing mouth of the product

The work of a copywriter is to sell print. Whether the print is offline or online, it has to do with marketing communication.  As, Ogilvy is so famous to have said, “If it doesn’t sell it isn’t creative.” This was a revolutionary idea. The world of writing encompasses many specialties. For instance, a journalist writes news, but may not be able to do copywriting. Editorial writing is another activity very much different from the above two. The characteristic of a copywriter is someone who writes to persuade a reader to take action.

Copywriting motivates someone to purchase a product or opt-in into a mailing list. But what distinguishes such writers from content copy, is the action. His or her work is measurable. It can be tested. He may write a brochure, a website or an email in order to ultimately bring a sale.  

It is rather amusing to observe many companies who are looking for copywriters with qualifications like a master in journalism or whatever lofty eligibility they may conjure.
The reality is that there is no such thing. Journalism is not copywriting. Someone with a degree may not be able to write persuasively to close a sale. It is interesting to note that the world’s highest-paid copywriter says that his education is the School of Experience.

Writing for content has its place in the marketing strategy of any business. Presentations, explanations and so on, are necessary. Having a blog is important from both an SEO perspective and a social approach. But the sales letter online or offline is  what drives your business and brings it to financial success.

Having a freelance copywriter working for you means not being burdened by salaries, tax, and legal obligations. By contracting someone to work for you, you simplify your marketing staff and you get copy that guides your leads to the sale button. Keeping in mind that nothing happens in business, until a sale takes place.

A copywriter will be able to write, for instance, two difference copies for the same product. The purpose is to test which copy is better. Both will run simultaneously, but competitively. This is called an A/B split test. This can also be applied for two versions of a web page. As a business owner or corporate executive, you want your visitors to convert.

You can see that the freelance copywriter has a definitive role in the marketing strategy of a business. One that is different from the content marketer or the press release writer.

 

The Skills of Copywriting

When we speak about copywriting, what are we talking about? This seems to be an almost ridiculous question, but it isn’t. There are many kinds of writing. For example, novel writing is one of them. However, copywriting has nothing in common with novels. Those are totally different things.

Copywriting would be considered more likely as some form of commercial writing. Now, advertising is commercial writing, but is not copywriting. Writing advertisement requires different skills than copywriting. Writing an article is not copywriting. Many people are confused on that point and think that because they post an article in their blogs, they do copywriting, not so.

What is Copywriting?copywriter in ecstasy

The essential question is about intent. The question is why are you writing? The purpose of copywriting is to bring the reader to an action. And so this style of writing is not only commercial, but it is a tool of marketing, more specifically sales. In copywriting, you introduce a product and strive to convince the reader to take an action.

Whether you do copywriting in print, as on a mailed sales letter, or on a flyer or whether you do it on the web, the steps are identical. It’s not about the product. It’s not about the media. It’s about the person on the front of your communication piece. It’s about his or her needs and desires.

It is a human being who buys the product or service. There are some who are infatuated with the Internet and want to convince themselves that writing for the web is different from writing on print. I believe that this is not an accurate perspective. In fact, online marketing is complementary to offline marketing.

People have needs and desires. There are products and services out there that would offer a solution to them. In order to communicate the existence of these product, copywriting is done. Features and benefits of the product are presented.

 

Introduction to Copywriting

Generally there are two reasons why someone would have a website. One is to sell a product or service and the other, is to provide information. In both cases copywriting is necessary.

There are different kinds of copywriting depending upon your purpose. A very traditional meaning of the word copywriting applies to sales letters or otherwise known as direct response letters.

You will find sales letters both offline and online. In fact the Internet is a media of communication. In the offline world, copywriting is done for mail sales presentation. A product or service is being presented with features which are characteristics of the product. And then benefits are introduced.

The Art and Science of Copywriting

The sales letter is the sales pitch for the product. It usually is a pretty long letter that ends by a call to action. This is where, in the copywriting piece, you are asked to make an order. You have been given a numerous amount of benefits of the product, and now make an order.

CopywritingDoing effective copywriting is an art and a science. You can read many books about copywriting. The great ones in the industry have written much about it. Reading about copywriting is certainly helpful, but will not make you a writer. You might want to think in terms of science.

Reading about copywriting is a presentation of how to do copywriting. The author will point out to you general elements. It’s like reading about driving, it will not make you a driver. To be a driver you’ll need to get behind the wheel and be guided by a mentor and drive away.

The reality of copywriting is to sit and write. In fact, can anyone become a writer? The answer is yes. It doesn’t matter your gender, color or age. Everyone can write. It all has to do with practice.