By now, you’ve heard it more than once. Great copy creates extraordinary business opportunities. But what exactly is a copywriter? What skills do they have? And how can you become one? Is it worth it? What does beautifully written copy do for a business? You know you want an unbeatable copy at the forefront of your business, and you know you’re ready to dig your heels in and learn what it takes to reach your goals. You’re just not sure where to start. We’ve solved this for you. Read on to learn the real secrets of cutting-edge copywriting.

What Is a Copywriter

A copywriter is a marketing mover and shaker that dedicates their time to many different written projects. Some of these include:

• •Writing blogs
• •Crafting sales emails
• •Composing social media posts
• •Writing white papers
• •Writing digital copy for website landing pages
• •Creating unique press releases
• •Conveying important information from case studies
• •Writing ads that will appear in video, radio, print, or digital space
• •And more!

While the above list is not exhaustive by any means, there is one thing you can be sure of. If it’s a customer-facing text from a business or non-profit organization, you can be sure a brilliant copywriter is behind its composition.

What Do Copywriters Do Exactly? Is There More Than One Type?

While compelling copywriters come in all shapes and sizes, with backgrounds as unique and diverse as each individual, there is one thing they all share in common. An innate drive to understand their respective audiences and to create text that profoundly resonates with one or more groups of people. Generally, there are two different ways to approach a career in copywriting:

Freelance Copywriter

As a freelancer, you’ll get the opportunity to take life by the horns and set your own schedule. With that said, there are many responsibilities you’ll need to be able to learn how to master, including being able to find, pitch, invoice, and foster good relations with clients on your own accord. In this role, you’ll need the multi-tasking and time management skills of a Jedi, but if you take a good look around, you’ll see there are many people out there who are doing this quite successfully.

In-House Copywriter

An in-house copywriter foregoes the above requirement of wearing so many hats, but that doesn’t mean they get off the hook easily. In-house content writers are still required to retain their versatility, lending their talents to any project that requires a clever composition.

How to Become the Best Copywriter

As the core of any successful content marketing strategy, copywriters are an incredible force that can significantly drive the success of any business. You’ll need to master the following to become the best of the best at your trade:

• •Identifying your target audience
• •Understanding your target market’s defining characteristics
• •Identify the issues your target market faces and how they feel
• •Capturing and keeping the attention of your readers
• •Communicating the benefits of a service or specific product or group of products
• •Meeting the reader where they are
• •Convincing the reader to take the next step

The Skills You Will Need to Write Compelling Copy

If you’re ready to try your hand at copywriting but are unsure where to dive in, this article is for you. Use the following copywriting tips to help break into the industry, even if you’ve never had the opportunity to write or test any marketing material before.

• •Take a copywriting course or pursue further education in the field of marketing, advertising, communications, or public relations
• •Start locally. Take on small jobs from local businesses that are easy to work and communicate with
• •Grow your portfolio with several different copywriting projects you can use to showcase your talents across different mediums
• •Study search engine optimization (SEO) and search trends. Develop your skills to ensure your work is well-optimized, so it gets in front of the most eyes

SEO enables exceptional content to take the highest rankings in search engine results. And you know what they say—no one ever really looks past the first page of Google. Just keep in mind that while well-placed SEO can help you boost traffic, it’s not always going to generate the sparkling results you expect if it’s not backed up by solid, persuasive copy.

5 Copywriting Secrets Revealed

Earlier, we promised to reveal the best copywriters’ secrets to cultivate compelling copy. Now it’s time to deliver. While it’s not exactly rocket science, it can be easy to be led astray by the sheer volume of information that exists on the subject. Here, we’ve broken it down into the following 5 fundamentals:

1. Be conversational. In many cases, it’s possible and better to use a conversational tone, so the reader knows there’s an actual human behind the brand
2. Get rid of bad habits. If you recycle a phrase because it’s convenient, learn to ban it from your vernacular and dig deep for something better
3. Keep it simple. A simple sentence is more of a challenge to craft than a fluffy one stuffed with unnecessary words. Cut the fat to craft the best message.
4. Understand when to speak to features and when to speak to benefits. If you’re selling the lifestyle, don’t sell yourself short by just focusing on selling a watch.
5. Be genuine in your approach to selling. Avoid using shock tactics to draw attention.

Conclusion: Copywriting Is In-Demand and Is a Highly Transferable Career Choice

Investing in the knowledge you need to become an influential writer makes sense. Whether you’re considering a career in copywriting or your goal is to learn new skills to apply to your current business model, striving to be an efficient communicator will help you get to the next level. Did this article help you gain the information and confidence you need to make the most informed choices? Perhaps you’ve taken the initiative to implement some of our tips into your repertoire. We’d like to know the results. Please take a moment to fill us in on the details by leaving a few lines in our comments section below.