As a copywriter, the pieces you write will almost always include a call to action, or CTA. A CTA is the action you want a user to take. So, if you’re writing an email and the goal is to get them to buy a certain product, it may mean linking the text “shop now,” or even working with the designer to put copy on a button or include small arrows/carrots (>>) next to the … [Read more...]

I probably don’t need to say it, but there’s more opportunity than ever to work with remote clients. (I guess that’s one small bright side to a pandemic, though the trend was definitely on the upswing before 2020.) And that means that not only can you write for clients on the other side of your country from you, you can also write for clients on the other side of the world. … [Read more...]

There are a lot of “genres” of copywriting that really aren’t genres at all; they’re just buzz-y marketing. “Conversion copywriting” is a good example. Since all copywriting is focused on achieving its goal for a project and if that goal is conversion well then, guess what? All copywriting is conversion copywriting. Calling oneself a conversion copywriter is just marketing, … [Read more...]

We freelancers have a love/hate relationship with deadlines. We love them because there is nothing that will get your rear in a chair and your fingers typing like a looming client deadline. Aaaaaand we also hate them because what gets our rear in the chair are twinges of panic at the idea of not getting the work done in time. Deadlines are essential because they ensure … [Read more...]

Copywriters aren’t designers. But when it comes to concepting ideas, you do need to come prepared with ideas for the project. For example, if you’re writing a banner ad to get people to book a vacation and want the copy to say something like “Go from ARGH!!! to Ahhhhhhh” you may envision someone yelling in an office contrasted with someone relaxing in a beach chair. … [Read more...]

Okay, pop quiz, copywriters: Once you found the client, landed the work, and written the first draft, the next step is just to send the draft back to your client with a friendly, “Let me know what you think!”, right? (Hint: If that were right, this would be an awfully short post.) Believe me, I certainly understand the impulse to send a draft off an get it off your … [Read more...]

A confession: I can’t diagram a sentence. I mean, I could once. In seventh grade, I was a master. But now…participles, gerunds, modifiers? I’ve got no fricking idea. Here’s the thing about rules of English—which is pretty much the same for any set of rules, really—it’s important to understand them so that you can intelligently break them. Unless you’re teaching English … [Read more...]

Everybody needs a contract, right??? After all, we need to be safe—to protect ourselves!!! But…to protect ourselves from what, exactly? Like the topic of whether or not to bill upfront, the question of contracts comes from the same impulse to “protect ourselves” from nefarious clients. People believe that having clients sign contracts means that they won’t have to worry about … [Read more...]

I get this question a lot—“how many rounds of revisions do I give my client?”—and I understand the thinking behind it. People are worried that clients are going to “take advantage” of them and request round after round after round of revisions until it’s perfect. But here’s the thing: Our copy is supposed to be perfect. (Or, at least, as close to perfect as it can be.) It’s … [Read more...]