Copywriting is a profession with a low entry threshold. Anyone with a computer and some free time can try to put words into a text and sell what they have created. There are many customers on the exchanges who will buy such work at a minimum price. However, the ratio of time spent and the reward received will not be in favor of the author. To change this, you will have to study and write, write and study.
What education does a copywriter need?
You don’t have to have a specialized education to write texts that people buy. If you already have a profession in which you are an expert, you can write on a narrow topic. For example, copywriters with medical and veterinary education are in high demand. Or technical specialists who write reviews and manuals.
- watch online lessons by Denis Kaplunov on business copywriting or neurocopywriting;
- learn to write interestingly about complex things from ROCKIN’ROBIN (their free articles and lessons can be found online);
- learn how to write creative texts in online and offline courses at the IKRA school;
- master info style at Maxim Ilyakhov’s school of editors;
- understand how slogans and presentations are written in Netology courses;
- SEO texts in online lessons of SEO academy.
Most course authors publish books that partially duplicate the information from the courses. For example, you can read “Write, Cut. How to Create a Strong Text” by Maxim Ilyakhov. This manual will teach you how to write texts “without fluff”. specific database by industry Denis Kaplunov has a book “Copywriting of Mass Destruction” about how to make advertising texts convincing. In Dmitry Kot’s book “How Not to Eat a Dog” you will find useful information and tasks at the end of each chapter.
Hint: many authors have public pages on social networks, where they sometimes post useful information for free. For example, marketer Igor Mann has an interesting (unfortunately not very active) blog.
Important! Knowledge must be supported by practice. Choose the strictest editors. If they agree to read and send your texts for revision, signs that the customer is not coming first consider yourself lucky. In a year, you will become a confident specialist.
Employers’ requirements for copywriters
Often, the work of a copywriter is assessed by people competent in other fields. Therefore, the requirements for this profession are vague. This has its pros and cons. The pro is that if you are refused in one place, offer your services in another. Sooner or later, you will find your customer. The cons are that even having reached the level of Taiwan Data God in copywriting, you will sometimes receive refusals.
However, there are a few key requirements for copywriters.
- The ability to clearly express thoughts and structure them. And the ability to make text readable by adding headings, paragraphs and bulleted lists.
- Literacy. Remember the classic “as he was approaching the station, his hat fell off”? The speller won’t correct these errors, you have to see them for yourself.
- Knowledge of advertising laws so that the text does not contain “the best products” that threaten the customer with problems with regulatory authorities. For medical texts, knowledge of telemedicine laws is also important.
- For remote writers, accessibility is important. Nothing irritates a client more than a copywriter who silently disappears before a deadline.
How to Increase Income with Copywriting
There are two reliable ways for a copywriter to increase income:
- learn to write faster and get more work done;
- increase the price of your services;
- acquire additional skills and competencies.
The first case is clear. The more you write, the better and faster it turns out.
How a copywriter can increase the prices for his services.
First, objectively assess your skills. A good sign: new clients become regulars, the volume of orders grows. You can simply announce to customers that from tomorrow the prices for your work will increase. In this case, someone will leave, someone will stay, but will start looking at cheaper options. Perhaps there will be such clients who will not want to part with you for any amount of money. In any case, you are taking a risk.
How to increase the cost of services without risk.
Expand your package of offers.
What additional skills should I acquire?
Take on topics that others don’t However, in Russia, there are also companies willing to pay decently for texts in other languages.
Finally, who is stopping you from acquiring related skills and expanding your functionality?
- If you are an SEO copywriter, learn how to select keywords and master the profession of an optimizer.
- Write advertising texts – move on, get a profitable profession as a marketer.
- Take courses in design and web design to supplement your texts with images or to design the websites you create content for.
- Master website layout to become a content manager.
- Learn how to set up targeted advertising and work with analytics.
This will allow you to smoothly move on to the topic of the next point.
What opportunities for growth does a copywriter have?
Some people think that you need to change your field of activity every 5-7 years. However, starting from scratch means wasting precious time. Therefore, it is better to build a career not vertically or horizontally, but diagonally. That is, master new areas that will provide opportunities for growth.
Who can a copywriter grow into:
- as a website editor and webmaster (if you have minimal programming skills);
- as a marketer;
- into a technical copywriter who understands complex topics and writes about them in simple language;
- into a UX writer who can create texts for interfaces in IT companies.
For some, starting their own business will be a continuation of their career. If you have a good understanding of a topic, learned how to promote and sell, why not try working for yourself.