What are the common qualities of a copywriter?

Ok, I'm going to throw this one out there to get some opinions. I was recently asked what qualities make a good copywriter and was expected to answer with 'being able to write'. But I didn't. Obviously, you need to be able to write to dictated styles and be grammatically accurate, but it's not the be all and end all of professional copywriting and I believe that there are a few other things that are more important to make your copywriting career success.

I have a few colleagues who are putting their toe in the water and looking to move into this area from graphic design and other areas, as they are looking to branch out a little and they've been scratching around to find out whether they would be a good 'fit'. One colleague has a literature degree and is pretty sure it will be a easy move over, however I believe becoming a copywriter requires a few common traits.

These are my thoughts on what racks up to be some of the important qualities that a person needs to become a good copywriter:

Versatility: A great copywriter has to be able to talk to a variety of people in a variety of ways. You need to know your corporate entrepreneurial lingo, and you need to have the ability to talk emotionally and spiritually too. As a copywriter, you're going to get called on to write about a range of products and ideas and will need to appeal to that target market. If you don't have the writing skills to switch between various styles of communication, copywriting might not be for you.

Ability to multitask: Unfortunately, copywriting tasks don't wait for one to be completed before the next one starts; you'll be editing, proof-reading and working on first and second drafts for a variety of projects at any one time, and just when you think you've got it under control, the phone will ring, and someone will want to discuss an entirely new project with you! A successful copywriter will need to be able to switch between a range of copy styles as and when required.

Curiosity: The key element that makes well-written copy, is research. If you don't know about a subject, then there's no way you can be expected to create engaging content on it. If you don't have any interest in learning new things, then you might want to rethink your career as a copywriter. You'll need to learn whatever your project owner tells you to; fountains, business strategy, history, rock collections, mammals - there are no limits to the subjects that a content writer will be expected to pull sentences together on! In the past I've heard someone say that copywriting for them was like being set high school assignments every single day, that isn't too far from the truth!

Introversion: A copywriter has to cut off from the outside world for hours, sometimes days at a time and be happy doing it. You might get called upon for a mammoth project which requires complete focus and masses of research (in fact, at some stage of your career it's likely). If you're someone that gets their energy refuelled by socializing with others, this might not be the best way to get the job complete.

Humility: For the majority of copywriting tasks, you won't get a scrap of credit for your work, and you need to be OK with that! The person browsing the internet doesn't stop to view who wrote those inspiring words that are making them click 'buy now' on a page; they associate it all with the brand. And that's OK because that's what you're paid for. If you want to scream from the rooftops "that's my work, that's my work" every time you see something you've written printed, then copywriting, and certainly ghost-writing, is not your avenue!

Being a Chameleon: Probably the other trait you might need would be the 'Chameleon' factor. Let's face it, with writing you need to switch head spaces and channel in your target audience based on what and who you are writing for. One minute you might be writing copy for an insurance company targeting baby boomers, the next minute you might be writing for millennials for a product or service that is targeting 30-somethings. Variety is the spice of life and copywriters need to be able to channel in a range of styles to meet briefs.

So what do you think? Writing skills are of course important, but in my opinion, without a few of these personality traits to go with it, you won't get too far as a copywriter.

I look forward to your thoughts.