We have seen all those pictures of someone laying in a beach hammock, working on a laptop. And we think, “that would be nice.” Go wherever you want whenever you want and work online as a copywriter.
Maybe this is you.
And maybe you don’t really dream of working on the beach but from your favorite spot on the couch would be nice.
But how do you even begin to get there? How do you leave your 9-5?
You may hate it and can’t stand the people you are working with but its steady. It’s something you know and can make money doing. The best part is that you can leave that job.
You can start something new that is completely rewarding. It doesn’t take any formal education or even any experience to learn how to become a copywriter. This can be a lucrative job that will make you a lot of money all while allowing you to have a great work/life balance. You can become a full-time copywriter in just a few short months. But first a little about the job itself.
What is a Copywriter?
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To understand what a copywriter is and how to become a copywriter, you first have to understand what they do.
Copywriting is the writing of content usually for the purpose of marketing or advertising. Essentially it is moving words around in combination with pictures and other graphics to get people to not only stop and read it but also be interested enough to buy.
To be a good copywriter, you have to understand the science behind why people buy what they do. Its asking questions like what drew them to that product or to a specific manufacturer of that product.
And then applying those answers to produce content that will draw in more and more people to your product. A good copywriter understands how to combine words, graphics, and buttons in a way that keeps readers engaged and wanting more.
Jobs & Duties
Think of all the companies out there. There are literally millions of them. Now think of all the content they need to create on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
There are brochures for each of their products, forms to fill out, ads on radio, TV, and online, press releases, content for their websites and social media accounts, scripts for their sales associates and customer support, and much, much more.
Any given company usually needs to hire a copywriter to get these things completed and done so in a way that converts to sales.
Some will hire copywriters on contract or just for a period until they have content on hand to get the job done.
Other companies will employ several copywriters year round to ensure they always have someone to create content that sells.
There are even some larger companies that require most of their employees, no matter what their job title is to have excellent writing skills. This helps the owner to cut down on the extra costs of hiring more people if they don’t have to.
How To Become a Copywriter
Getting started is the hardest part of just about a new adventure.
Learning how to become a copywriter is no different. It takes a lot of hard work, effort, and time.
There are basically two different ways you can approach copywriting. You can either get hired on to a company as a full-time copywriter, or you do it freelance.
To do the first, you can go about getting this job in the usual ways by applying through job boards or directly to the company when they are hiring.
For the freelancer, it looks a little different. Sure you can search job boards and contact marketing agencies directly, and this will get you some work.
It may even get you some of your highest paying clients. But the thing that most people don’t realize is that starting as a freelancer is essentially you starting your own business from the ground up.
You will not become a freelance copywriter with tons of money or success overnight. It’s easy to give up and look for another career. But if you can stick it out, it is worth every minute.
Here are a couple of tips to getting started.
Become popular in a specific niche
One of the best and easiest ways to learn how to become a copywriter is to become good at writing about specific topics or niches.
There are a lot of people out there that say they can write about anything and everything.
While you might think this gives them more options, it really just makes them look like a jack of all trades, not really good at any one thing but OK at several. This is not the look you want.
You want to be known for your expertise and skills. You can not afford to be passed over for jobs you know you have the skill for just because you are afraid of limiting yourself in the slightest bit.
Think about it. You probably wouldn’t ask your financial adviser for tips on landscaping. While he might know a thing or two about it, he isn’t an expert in that area.
You would be far more likely to ask him about the best stocks to invest in or the current rates on CDs. The same is true for anyone.
If you advertise yourself as a copywriter that is an expert in one or two certain areas you are far more likely to get companies from those niches to reach out to you and want you to work for them.
Especially if you connect yourself with people and groups that are found within that niche or demographic. So rather than saying you are “a copywriter,” let it be known you are a copywriter who specializes in technology or whatever your field is.
Finding your niche does not have to be hard or take very long. Find something you enjoy working on or you have experience with and run with it.
You can always change it down the road if you find something that works better for you. As you grow in your skills and experience, you will find some niches may pay better than others.
You will also find larger companies are more likely to pay a higher price for your services to make sure they get what they want.
They are often investing a lot of time, money and effort into whatever they need the content for and therefore do not mind paying whatever you demand to get the job done right.
These jobs can be much more lucrative but also much harder to get. It usually takes a special skill set and experience with large corporations and how they work to understand what exactly is needed.
Build A Simple Portfolio
As you begin the process of how to become a copywriter, your clients will want to see samples of your work. They need you to prove to them you know what you are doing and can provide them with a work.
The best way to do this is to put together a small, simple website or place where they can go to see these samples. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive.
Usually the simpler, the better. This portfolio needs to include your name, your expertise or your niche, a few samples of your work and information on how they can contact you or book a session with you.
This gives them all the information they need to know and only leaves them with one option and that is to contact you.
Market Yourself
As you learn how to become a copywriter, you will find the need to continuously market yourself. Let people know you are for hire. Let them see what you can do.
Post it on Facebook and other social media. There are a ton of groups out there designed specifically for certain niches.
Go to your favorite search engine and type in copywrite your niche. You will be surprised at how many sites you will find that are the perfect place to look for clients.
In many of these, you can simply post you are a copywriter for hire. Let them know what your expertise is and what you charge. You could get a lot of new jobs this way.
You will also most likely find several people who are looking for copywriters just like you. Be careful with some of these as they may not be super great jobs.
However, you will find quite a few that are legitimate offers and may pay you handsomely as well.
These will help you build your portfolio even if they are not the kind of jobs that are really looking for on a regular basis.
Conclusion
Learning how to become a copywriter can be the single best thing you do with your life. It could be your ticket to anything you want to accomplish or see in life.
But it can be grueling hard work, especially in the beginning. And there will be days you are tempted to give up and go back to that 9-5 that you hated so much.
Don’t quit. Continue to be patient and put forth the effort needed. Becoming a copywriter is fun and very rewarding when you put your mind to it.
Use these tips to begin your own life-changing career in copywriting.
Featured image: CC0 by mohamed hassan via Pixabay
