How to become a copywriter? Here are some tips!

You want to make money from writing. You feel that this is your path and a profession in which you will excel. You decide that you will become a copywriter. Just how do you go about it? How to become a copywriter? To write and… what next? What to do, what to learn and where to look for assignments?.

You want to become a copywriter? Great, but what kind of one?

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Do you dream of coming up with clauses or advertising slogans that the whole world will quote? Or maybe you have a degree in some field and want to share your knowledge with others? Or you just want to make some extra money, thanks to writing texts?.

You are on the right track because you are reading this article!.

Before you decide to become a copywriter, first consider what types of texts you want to write..

When choosing the copywriter path, you can take a job as:.

• SEO copywriter – you then create content that is optimized for search engines, which is what SEO copywriting is called in the industry. For example, you write blog articles, saturate them with keywords and side-phrases, link internally and externally, create alternative texts for images, and format the entire text accordingly. The main goal of your work is to write and optimize the text to display as high as possible in the listings for the selected keywords (not only in Google, but also other search engines)

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• Advertising copywriter – you come up with slogans, clauses and advertising slogans that have different (but specific) purposes: some are to sell, some to promote a brand, some to evoke some need. Such a copywriter, as the name suggests, also creates scripts for commercials – mainly TV spots and commercials.

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• Creative copywriter (creative copywriter) – you create newsletters, posts for social media, texts for brochures or flyers – these are some of the tasks of a creative copywriter. If you become one, you will create content probably both for the web and for the offline world. Sometimes this profession is related to the work of advertising copywriter.

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• Webwriter – you write for websites. From news, to PR messages or category descriptions, to sponsored articles. You may specialize in a particular field, but your texts are always published exclusively online.

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Sometimes these professions intersect and a copywriter is “for everything” related to writing. The position itself often has a conventional name; such a person can also be a content writer or manager. .

How to become a copywriter – a good and competent one?

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Read

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It seems obvious, but it’s not. And it’s not just books, but blog articles, trade journals, user comments or consumer reviews. For example, if you’re writing about a product, it’s a good idea to step into a potential customer’s shoes, read the comments others have left in the product sheet and, knowing the impressions of your target consumers, create a product description..

You expand your vocabulary..

You delve deeper into the topic you are supposed to write about..

You stimulate creativity..

You understand your readers’ needs better..

You learn about different aspects of writing: grammar, style, syntax..

Write

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Just start writing texts and with practice you’ll find out which type of texts (or literary genre!) will appeal to you. You may start with advertising slogans to make your way through specialized articles, only to find out after a while that you actually enjoy writing columns the most. On the other hand, you may have ambitions to be a novelist while discovering that you can apply storytelling to content marketing (and make money from it), and then you’ll focus all your energy on just that kind of content. The more you write, practice, proofread and edit, the better..

You create a portfolio, which is the basis for getting assignments and work..

You develop writing skills..

You write faster and better..

You experiment with different styles..

Check

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In your career, you will encounter a variety of assignments. Perhaps one day you’ll be writing about interior design styles, the next about concrete septic tanks, and another about potatoes. No matter what, you need to learn how to check in two aspects: the first is checking the factsand the second is checking yourself..

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet, in a book or magazine. Don’t trust Wikipedia implicitly. Don’t entrust your career to artificial intelligence chat rooms. Verify, research, challenge, analyze. Check sources, bibliography and even data you find in studies or reports..

When you verify a text for content, make sure it is well written. With the help of a proofreader, tools and your own knowledge, correct the content accordingly before you release it for publication. .

You will develop editing and proofreading skills..

You apply fact-checkingwhich is useful for both research and subsequent writing. .

You avoid making mistakes..

Learn

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Copywriting requires development, whether you create short advertising slogans or e-books of dozens of pages. In the copywriting profession, each assignment is a new adventure, ideas, creativity unleashed and… a test of skills. The broader your vocabulary, your knowledge of a particular topic and your skills on how to use it all, the better..

Go to at least one copywriting course to get another person’s perspective (but you don’t have to believe everything they tell you!)..

Read books on writing, marketing and sales..

Attend conferences and webinars..

Find a mentor, ask for feedback, submit your texts for proofreading, learn from your (or someone else’s) mistakes.

Where to look for copywriting jobs?

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1. Job siteslike RocketJobs, OLX, pracuj.pl and others. Such portals offer both permanent jobs and cooperation on temporary assignments or projects. Both an amateur and an experienced copywriter look there for assignments (or at least for inspiration and information on who to apply to).

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2. Groups on Facebook – although their members are hooked on every ad, it’s worth looking at such groups once in a while and looking for clients. You can find job listings there, and also get in touch with other industry professionals, which in turn can lead to interesting cooperation opportunities.
3. Usemewhere you can not only find orders, but also invoice. Ideal for people who want to make money, but do not have a business.

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4. Fixly, on which, in turn, principals find you. You don’t have to search for orders and “ask” clients to notice you. The principal, using the Fixly portal, specifies exactly what kind of texts the copywriter is to write, whether the content is to be optimized for SEO, what length it should be, and so on. Only after such an order is placed are its details sent to potential contractors. It is up to you to decide whether you will undertake the work.

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5. Content Premium from WhitePress – a platform for journalists, copywriters and proofreaders, on which you can even undertake permanent cooperation (and when you actually fulfill subsequent orders for the same company, the platform’s margin is lower!).
6. LinkedIn – a good copywriter can also sell with text… himself! That’s why building a personal brand is a great addition to becoming a copywriter and looking for assignments. The more credible and valuable contacts in the network, the greater the chance of referrals,

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7. Industry conferences and barcampswhich can be a great way not only to learn, but also to network with potential clients. Such events are a great opportunity to showcase your skills, exchange experiences and establish valuable business relationships.
8. Marketing and SEO agenciesthat often need copywriters to create content, blog articles, category descriptions, product descriptions and more. If you are looking for quotes or assignments for short formats, slogans or texts for social media, look around advertising agencies. If you are billing for signs and want to write longer texts, go boldly to SEO companies. Establishing cooperation with such agencies can bring regular assignments and a variety of projects.

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9. Friends – probably each of us knows someone (who knows someone ) who has a website or online store. And this someone can be helped with the creation of texts. All you have to do is apply to him/her.

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The order is random. If you know from the beginning that you want to be a copywriter who writes according to Google’s guidelines, you can limit your search to SEO companies only. However, if you don’t know where your pen will carry you – try your hand at different places and industries..

Does every good copywriter need to know SEO principles?

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Copywriter creates content that is published on the Internet in various places, so not all texts need to be optimized for SEO.

For example, in a newsletter, keywords don’t count, because the positioning of an email on an email depends on only one factor: the time the email was sent and received. Such a copywriter typically writes for the user – the newsletter recipient. He also does not have to fight for the attention of robots..

The situation is similar with news content, statements or other content that is simply on the page, but does not need to be high in some search engine. If you have to write a text that is just a short current news item (e.g., for a news story or a temporary promotion), you don’t need to know the rules of SEO at all..

There are, however, various assignments in the copywriting profession. Sometimes a short news item has such potential that it gains visibility for various keywords in Google search. Then it would be a good idea to expand it, saturate it even more strongly with phrases and exploit its potential..

Sometimes it also happens that a company will need PR content, which can easily be combined with SEO, creating so-called image positioning. A good SEO copywriter will know how to combine different formats and optimize them for a specific search engine (we’re not just talking about Google, but also YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and even Allegro).

Knowledge of SEO principles should therefore be one of the various skills of a copywriter. To make it easier, I toss a glossary of SEO terms for the copywriterwhich I compiled in 2022. Remember that even when you create advertising texts, you need to know not only copywriting formulas, but also the principles of webwritingso that the content not only sounds good, but also looks good on the website. .

When it comes to writing SEO texts, a copywriter often has clear guidelines on the number of words or characters, key phrases, headlines, the overall theme of the article or description. Wanting to write SEO texts that will not only feed robots, but also users, a copywriter must know at least the basics of content marketing, SEO and various marketing techniques.

The job of a copywriter in practice

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1. Research – at the beginning, a copywriter searches for an idea for an article and the information needed to write the text, and sometimes performs keyword analysis. For this, he can use free or paid tools, such as Senuto, AnswerThePublic or, simply, Google search engine itself.

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2. Plan-After the initial research, establish a plan of action, such as in the form of a handout. It is also worth supporting with a brief, establish a style and language tailored to the target group, know the place of publication and the purpose of this text. A good plan produces the best texts.

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3. The actual content – only after completing the above tasks does the copywriter write the actual content. For an SEO copywriter, who usually creates long texts, writing such content can take several hours or even days. Which is not to say that shorter texts and other forms of copywriter’s work will be less time-consuming. Sometimes the process of writing short sales texts or coming up with an advertising slogan takes weeks.

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4. Formatting-The copywriting process has one more step, which is to properly format the entire document. This is to help the person publishing the content and aesthetically present the entire text. And this point applies to almost every writer who does not work with a content editor or a publisher who does text composition.

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5. Correction – unfortunately, it is rare for copywriters to work with proofreaders, so they have to make corrections themselves, especially before sending the text to a client or publishing it on their own blog or in a portfolio.

Tools you can use to get started

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• LanguageTool or Orthographer – to assist in proofreading.
• Content Suite from Senuto – for SEO text optimization.
• ChatGPT – to help with language issues, text structure and the creative process.
• Google Trends – for keyword and trend analysis.
• Word Counter Plus – a plug-in for checking the number of characters.
• Script – a tool that determines the difficulty of the text.

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• Google Scholar and Google Books – for research supported by studies, reports, scientific articles or books.
• Google Docs – a word processor designed to work in the cloud.

How much does a copywriter earn?

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Writing good texts pays. Especially in the present, when we get AI-generated texts from everywhere and rates have dropped to as low as a few zlotys per 1,000 zzs. .

A copywriter’s salary depends on his skills, portfolio, and negotiating power.

• The rates for longer formats in terms of billing per characters start at around 20-30 zlotys per 1000 zzs and go up to several hundred zlotys per 1000 zzs.
• Social media management costs from a few hundred zlotys per month in permanent service.
• For an advertising slogan, you can get from a few tens of zlotys to several or several thousand (depends on who you create it for!).

However, each quote should be individual..

Not how, but… is it worth becoming a copywriter?

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I guess there is no good answer to this question, because – both yes and no..

NOif: .

• writing makes you tired,

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• you don’t like client contact (sometimes, even when you work as a copywriter in an agency, this contact happens!),

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• you have no imagination, sense of aesthetics or creativity,

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• you are closed to change or criticism,

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• you lack humility in getting feedback,

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• you think that all the work will be “done” for you by tools supported by artificial intelligence.

Yesif:.

• you enjoy writing,

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• you want to create,

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• you can present even a difficult topic in an accessible way,

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• you prefer flexible time and place of work (rather not applicable to salaried work),

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• you want to work in the creative industry,

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• you like challenges and variety,

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• you have an open mind,

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• you want to learn not only writing, but also sales and marketing techniques.

It is said that if you want to become a copywriter, this profession does not require a high entry threshold. Sure! If you’re a student who can be hired on a contract basis and will get as much net as gross; an intern or trainee who only cares about getting internship credit; a beginner who doesn’t care about the rate, just about building a portfolio (and will write the text for free); an agency that scrapes assignments en masse and offers subcontractors tragic rates… It’s actually a breeze. .

But seriously – wanting to become a copywriter, you first need to have at least a basic knowledge of language, dexterity and cleverness in finding information, and the ability to put it all together. Later, you need to work on your portfolio, that is, devote your time and energy to writing texts (usually for free), get contacts, jobs, single assignments or establish permanent cooperation, and then know the expectations of the client, the target group and create a text that will be accepted and fulfill its purpose. .

And this last stage usually shows that it is worth becoming a copywriter. Not only for the earnings, but also your own satisfaction, exploring a topic, promoting an idea, product or servicein a creative way and filling the web with valuable content..

This is what I wish for you. Good luck!