From a blog writer to a professional copywriter
You love to write; your successful blog tells you that you're good at it, and you've had enough of the 9-5 daily grind. Becoming a professional copywriter seems to be the obvious choice for your next career move.
Much as this might, on the surface, appear to be a smooth side-step; if you are looking to freelance or own your own business, there are many fundamental differences from writing a blog to becoming a professional copywriter which you need to consider before taking a dive into the professional copywriting waters.
The scope of your writing tasks is instantly increased - future employers can ask you to write about anything and everything.
You need to learn to write under pressure and within somebody else's time constraints
Your work will be critiqued by someone who won't take your feelings into account to get their desired results.
Professional copywriting covers a multitude of tasks, and you'll often find that 'anything goes' You'll be asked to write web copy, advertising copy for brochures, activity and product descriptions for catalogues and ghost blogs to name just a few. If you're confident that you've got what it takes to make the leap, here are a few tips and tricks which will help you well on the road to your success.
Utilize online learning tools: There are stacks of online learning tools available for copywriters. While creativity is essential, there are also some technical methods of content creation which you really should be aware of. Copywriters are a caring bunch so while you'll have to pay for professional courses, if you sign up to some e-newsletters you'll be adding skills to your writing repertoire before you even know it.
Be prepared to let go of your creativity: A lot of copywriting tasks these days are directed by a brief of your employer. You will be asked to write in a style that suits their brand about subjects of their choosing. Sometimes, you might think you can do it a better way, and while it's fine to make those suggestions, the employer's word is final. And that's just the way it is.
Build a portfolio: As a professional copywriter, your future employer will want to have a look at examples of your work before hiring you. This can be a bit tricky if you've been ghost-writing and your blogs are examples of work on subjects of your choosing, so the sooner you can build a portfolio the better. This will show a range of your skills and give a broad spectrum of your writing styles. In the early days, build your website. You can direct all future employers there; it is a perfect example of your own, unique work.
Awareness of marketing concepts: While a copywriter needs one primary skill; the ability to write, an understanding of marketing concepts is beneficial. SEO copywriting, inbound marketing and an understanding of basic business principles will help you understand your client's needs when they make the first contact. Hubspot is an excellent resource for all things marketing, sign up for their newsletter to extend your knowledge base across a broad range of marketing subjects.
Increase your online presence: There is no reason for a professional copywriter to have no online presence. A lot of the copy that you're asked to write will be for some form of the online medium so it's essential that you are in the pool too, a professional copywriter without a website is like a mechanic without a car. It'll probe the question 'why not'? A website, social media pages, blogs and e-newsletters are the basics which will get you started.
Gather testimonies: Other people's opinions of your work are industry gold. No company will put their name to shoddy workmanship, so remember to ask your satisfied customers for a testimony for your website. It's one of the first pages that prospective clients go to when they stumble across your technically accurate and engaging website!
Network: Online and face-to-face. The more people that know and like you, the more people will have you at the front of their minds when the time comes. Everyone needs a copywriter at some stage in their life, even if they don't know it yet. New businesses simply can't get off the ground these days if their copy isn't up to scratch. Enter you, your bubbly personality and your ability to write well
Insist on a brief: If you're running your own business and you begin a copywriting job without a thoroughly completed brief; you're inviting hours, if not days of extra, unnecessary work. It's been proven that for your client to spend 30 minutes to an hour completing a brief before the task begins will avoid misunderstandings, misinterpretations and confusion throughout the job. If your customer completes a brief and changes their mind halfway through your job (which can happen), you have no grounds to ask for payment unless what they initially asked for is in writing. We can't stress this enough, always insist on a brief.
Decide how to quote: This is one of the hardest parts of taking your writing to a professional level. You don't want to quote too high, but you don't want to undersell your services either. As a blogger, you should have an idea of how much you can achieve per hour which will help with this part. However, do you charge per hour, or per word? And how much for each? The internet is a great tool for this too and you'll be able to find recommended rates for copywriters in your area at various levels of their career. You are within your rights to be flexible depending on your client.
As a creative industry, people's personal opinions of your work is what will ultimately help them decide if they'll hire you. While there are plenty of copywriters to compete with, there is also enough copywriting work to go around. It's your writing style, ability to write in a variety of ways to appeal to different audiences and your business ethic which will see your success as a professional copywriter skyrocket.
Much as this might, on the surface, appear to be a smooth side-step; if you are looking to freelance or own your own business, there are many fundamental differences from writing a blog to becoming a professional copywriter which you need to consider before taking a dive into the professional copywriting waters.
The scope of your writing tasks is instantly increased - future employers can ask you to write about anything and everything.
You need to learn to write under pressure and within somebody else's time constraints
Your work will be critiqued by someone who won't take your feelings into account to get their desired results.
Professional copywriting covers a multitude of tasks, and you'll often find that 'anything goes' You'll be asked to write web copy, advertising copy for brochures, activity and product descriptions for catalogues and ghost blogs to name just a few. If you're confident that you've got what it takes to make the leap, here are a few tips and tricks which will help you well on the road to your success.
Utilize online learning tools: There are stacks of online learning tools available for copywriters. While creativity is essential, there are also some technical methods of content creation which you really should be aware of. Copywriters are a caring bunch so while you'll have to pay for professional courses, if you sign up to some e-newsletters you'll be adding skills to your writing repertoire before you even know it.
Be prepared to let go of your creativity: A lot of copywriting tasks these days are directed by a brief of your employer. You will be asked to write in a style that suits their brand about subjects of their choosing. Sometimes, you might think you can do it a better way, and while it's fine to make those suggestions, the employer's word is final. And that's just the way it is.
Build a portfolio: As a professional copywriter, your future employer will want to have a look at examples of your work before hiring you. This can be a bit tricky if you've been ghost-writing and your blogs are examples of work on subjects of your choosing, so the sooner you can build a portfolio the better. This will show a range of your skills and give a broad spectrum of your writing styles. In the early days, build your website. You can direct all future employers there; it is a perfect example of your own, unique work.
Awareness of marketing concepts: While a copywriter needs one primary skill; the ability to write, an understanding of marketing concepts is beneficial. SEO copywriting, inbound marketing and an understanding of basic business principles will help you understand your client's needs when they make the first contact. Hubspot is an excellent resource for all things marketing, sign up for their newsletter to extend your knowledge base across a broad range of marketing subjects.
Increase your online presence: There is no reason for a professional copywriter to have no online presence. A lot of the copy that you're asked to write will be for some form of the online medium so it's essential that you are in the pool too, a professional copywriter without a website is like a mechanic without a car. It'll probe the question 'why not'? A website, social media pages, blogs and e-newsletters are the basics which will get you started.
Gather testimonies: Other people's opinions of your work are industry gold. No company will put their name to shoddy workmanship, so remember to ask your satisfied customers for a testimony for your website. It's one of the first pages that prospective clients go to when they stumble across your technically accurate and engaging website!
Network: Online and face-to-face. The more people that know and like you, the more people will have you at the front of their minds when the time comes. Everyone needs a copywriter at some stage in their life, even if they don't know it yet. New businesses simply can't get off the ground these days if their copy isn't up to scratch. Enter you, your bubbly personality and your ability to write well
Insist on a brief: If you're running your own business and you begin a copywriting job without a thoroughly completed brief; you're inviting hours, if not days of extra, unnecessary work. It's been proven that for your client to spend 30 minutes to an hour completing a brief before the task begins will avoid misunderstandings, misinterpretations and confusion throughout the job. If your customer completes a brief and changes their mind halfway through your job (which can happen), you have no grounds to ask for payment unless what they initially asked for is in writing. We can't stress this enough, always insist on a brief.
Decide how to quote: This is one of the hardest parts of taking your writing to a professional level. You don't want to quote too high, but you don't want to undersell your services either. As a blogger, you should have an idea of how much you can achieve per hour which will help with this part. However, do you charge per hour, or per word? And how much for each? The internet is a great tool for this too and you'll be able to find recommended rates for copywriters in your area at various levels of their career. You are within your rights to be flexible depending on your client.
As a creative industry, people's personal opinions of your work is what will ultimately help them decide if they'll hire you. While there are plenty of copywriters to compete with, there is also enough copywriting work to go around. It's your writing style, ability to write in a variety of ways to appeal to different audiences and your business ethic which will see your success as a professional copywriter skyrocket.