Copywriting is marketing or advertising writing. It’s writing that is designed to sell or to persuade. It is not sales-y or pushy. (It’s also not copyrighting, which is a legal term for protecting intellectual property.)
But being persuasive doesn’t mean being underhanded. In fact, copy (the words that make up copywriting) that doesn’t provide a solution to the audience’s need is likely to backfire.
In this episode, we dive into copywriting basics: what it is, where you can find copy, who can write copy, and the career possibilities you have as a copywriter.
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Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Check out the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[2:05] Copywriting is writing that sales or persuades. It’s the writing in emails, it’s the writing on a company’s website, it’s billboards, it’s banner ads. And it’s designed to get people to take action. Maybe to literally make a purchase or persuade people to sign up for email, or it could even be to get people to think differently about a company.
[4:48] Like any other career, there is a full training involved. It’s a totally different type of writing, and even a different type of writing than content writing.
[6:08] Every company needs messaging because every organization has something—usually multiple things—they want people to do.
[14:40] One of the great things about copywriting is you always have certain parameters. You know what the objective is of the project, you know the audience you’re trying to reach out to, and what you’re trying to get them to do. Because of that, you’re never staring at a blank page. It’s this fun mix of creativity and strategy.
[15:50] You can do copywriting as a side-hustle, part-time, full-time—you can make it fit your lifestyle. You can be freelance and travel the world. You can work in an ad agency. You can work part-time freelance. And you can start freelance and go on staff or vice versa. You have flexibility to fit your copywriting career to your lifestyle and goals.
[21:25] The vast majority of writers don’t make much money. Copywriting is a field in which we get paid very well. Part of the reason for that is because companies can directly draw a correlation between the work we do and the revenue that comes in.
[26:20] There really aren’t any colleges that you can major in copywriting. But like any other career, you need to get training. And you need a system for finding clients. The good news: no one is born writing copy. You just need a willingness to take action.
Related Links
- What is Copywriting?
- What’s a Copywriter and Why Should I Become One?
- What Does a Copywriter Actually Do?
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 15+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.