Copywriting is not easy.
It took me weeks to write my first article when I first started copywriting. I didn’t know where to start or how to create a simple structure. My first article was just a melange of random ideas and unorganized ideas compiled in a messy document. Luckily, I had some friends that were more knowledgeable in the area who gave me some good advice so that I could get started.
And look at me now! 4 years into the making and now I am a full-grown copywriter! I owe lots to a lot of people that helped me along my path, and I am nothing but thankful to them… So, today, as a way of showing my appreciation, I also wanted to give back to others, to the people that were in the same position as I was writing messy articles and don’t really knowing where to start, this article is for you.
These are some of the lessons I’ve learned from friends, mentors, books, and also my own experiences. Lessons that I wished I fully understood when I began working as a copywriter, and lessons that I know will be useful for you, and your journey in the copywriting world.
These are the 7 lessons I learned working as a copywriter:
1. Think about the end result.
To truly write something that makes sense we have to think about our project as a whole.
Being a copywriter, you’ll have the opportunity to work in many different kinds of areas, like working on ads, websites, newsletters, scripts, and/or articles. No matter the project, whenever you start working on something, try to picture the end result and create a structure around it.
Think about what your project is going to look like once it’s finished, what the purpose of your project is, and what you (or your client) want to achieve by doing it. And once you have a clearer idea of how you want it to look at the end, you’ll avoid writing random thoughts like I used to do when I first started.
This advice helped me a lot, by focusing on the end result you can attain a better focus and pay attention not to drift too far from your goal.
2. Never start with a blank page.
Okay, so now you have an idea of what your project is going to look like. Now the only thing you are missing is to wait for a ray of inspiration, right?
Wrong.
As a copywriter, waiting for inspiration is utterly wrong. Random inspiration is just the best-case scenario, but as someone who has to deal with deadlines and deliveries, you don’t wait for inspiration, you look for it. That’s why we never start with a blank page.
Sitting in front of your laptop racking your brain with a blank page in front of you is just another form of torture. You should never start writing just by looking at a blank page, and not even by writing random ideas… Start by reading.
Read background material, do extra research, ask questions, and look for inspiration elsewhere other than your blank page. Do whatever you can to best understand your audience and the context in which they’ll be engaging with what you create. You can also analyze the work of your competitors and think about: What they do well, what could be improved, and where would you add your own secret sauce… And once you have all of that figured out in your head, you’ll have what you need to really get going.
3. You are not the main priority.
For most people, this is a hard-to-swallow pill. As you could’ve figured from the previous point, when you are writing you are not genuinely writing for yourself, you are writing for your audience and your client.
When you start your project, those two personas have to be your goal. Your client, because, at the end of the day he’s the one that has to give the green light to your project, and your audience because they are the ones that your product is truly for.
You need to earn the attention of your audience, and you do that by empathizing with them. Think about their needs, concerns, and dreams. And now, with that in mind, what can you say — on behalf of your client — that might be relevant and meaningful to them? This is the place you should start from.
Thinking about your audiences’ needs and the problem your project is solving is one of your first duties when working as a copywriter. Only when you master that skill your writing will truly be attracting the masses.
And well, the other part of the deal is your client. Even though you think that what you’ve written is truly a masterpiece, it could never see the light of the day if it isn’t approved by your client first. Some companies’ CEOs won’t understand TikTok jokes that are aimed at an audience that is around 16-24 years old. That’s why when working as a copywriter for these kinds of companies you not only need to care about your project but also about how you are going to communicate your ideas to your clients. You should even think about creating a sales pitch for your presentations, that is if you truly want your ideas to see the light of the day.
This is one of the few lessons that I wished someone had told me sooner before I spent tons of hours working on a project that was rejected.
4. Understand the reason behind what you’re doing.
You should never create just for the sake of creating. If what you are writing is going to be used in real life, every word, every message, and every paragraph in your project should serve a purpose.
Think about what you and your client hope to achieve from this project, after your audience sees/hears it — digital ad, social media post, video, audio spot, billboard, etc. — how should they feel? And what should they do? You should know the answer to all of these questions, and make sure that everything is clearly defined and agreed on because the success of your project is going to be defined by whether it achieved what everyone agreed it should.
You might sometimes feel that since you are the expert, the client should just follow what you say, sadly it isn’t that simple. You have to improve the way you communicate your ideas in order to sell the idea as you envision it and convince the client of pitching in and trust you with this project.
Take a hold of the project and fully understand what it is, its goals, and its challenges so that you can write the perfect copy that will blow everyone’s minds.
5. “You” is the most important word in advertising.
Speak directly to your readers.
As you might’ve been able to notice while reading this article, mostly every sentence I wrote is directed to you. I’m always speaking to you, and communicating my ideas to you. Doing this is a MUST when starting to write your project.
Even though you might be writing from the commodity of your room, office, or agency, the ads, articles, and/or scripts you are going to create will be read by real humans all around the world. And to reach them — to move them — you need to speak directly to them and make it about them.
Using the second person will help you to connect to your reader on an individual and personal level. That’s why you should write as if you’re speaking to your friend, with attention, warmth, and care, as if you are starting to have a conversation with someone. That is the right way to make your readers feel special, and not like another grain of sand on a whole beach.
6. Speak to the right audience.
When you begin your journey as a writer wanting everyone in the world to care about what you wrote is a common mistake. It’s not about selling a bone to a cat, but about selling seeds to the birds.
You need to focus on the people that are already interested/need the product or service you’re writing about (or at least are thinking about it). Those are the people that will actually care about what you wrote, and to those people, you have to show them why they should buy your product — instead of a competitor’s — and why they should do it (or raise their hand about it) now. You have only a few seconds to get your audience to stop and read/hear what you have to say. So, assume they’re already somewhat interested — and get to the point.
Make an effort to reach out to your target audience and find buzzwords, phrases, and catchy lines that you know will get their attention. Remember, even a cliché is useful if you find an innovative way to use it.
7. Let your projects breathe.
So, you have just finished writing an awesome article, ad, or whatever it is. Once you are finished, you might be excited and most likely will feel a rush to publish it or to submit it to your client. However, the most recommendable thing you can do at this moment is to be patient and sit it overnight.
If you can avoid it, never send your copy the day you write it. Let it breathe, and look at it the next morning with fresh eyes and a clear mind… That way you’ll spot what needs to be fixed (because there is always something that needs to be fixed).
Remember, important things will reveal themselves to the well-rested. Even though you might be excited to get your article, ad, or script approved as fast as possible, sending it without double-checking it with fresh eyes can end up harming your work and your reputation due to repeated spelling mistakes, poorly written sentences, or simply because you wrote something you didn’t like. All of these situations can be avoided by just sleeping through your article for one night and checking it again in the morning.
That’s it for today folks!
I hope that learning these 7 lessons can help you as much as they have helped me in the past. Remember to take your time to fully analyze what every lesson means so that you don’t commit the same mistakes that I did.
I have tons of more tips and lessons I would love to show you in the future, so if you want to learn more about copywriting make sure to reach out and let us know!
Good luck!
