Things to study as a newbie copywriter

Here's a lesson I learned about 20 years ago from one of the greatest copywriters who ever lived... Gary Halbert

When I first learned this lesson it turned my entire world upside down. Because up until that point I was taught to be a great copywriter, we needed to be creative or follow formulas and techniques.

Like most copywriters, when I sat down to work I deliberately tried to be creative. I tried hard to be clever, and often struggled and struggled to "dream up" an offer that would make people buy.

But then I learned the truth...

And once I started looking at it from a different point of view, my copy got better and my conversion rates shot straight through the roof. And I never looked back.


Would you like to know what really separates a world class copywriter from the rest of the pack?

It's nothing mysterious. In fact, it's really quite simple. And once you hear it you may kick yourself for not realizing it sooner. Because it really is that obvious...

You see, when it comes to copywriting (or any type of selling), what really separates the pros from the shmos is one simple ingredient. And this simple Ingredient Is...

The Willingness To Become Intimately Involved With Your Market!


If you'll spend the time to intimately understand your customers (most people won't), you'll learn more about how to sell to your customers than 1,000 "creative" guys sitting around trying to dream up the next Giecko Lizard or Eveready Bunny.

What you must do, if you really want to learn how to sell through the written word (or sell in general), is you must go out and live amongst your prospects in their world.

You need to walk with them, talk with them, laugh and cry with them, and in general do whatever you can do to get to know your customers and what they're going through in their day-to-day lives.


This next soundbite Gary gave me only makes sense after you understand the above concept. Simply put...

"More Answers Will Be Found Through Movement Than Will Ever Be Found Through Meditation"


(Disclaimer: We're talking about selling here. If you're on a spiritual quest then meditation might be the better move)


Is getting to know your customers really worth the time and trouble?

The answer of course is a resounding "YES".

Because when it comes to writing great sales copy, it's not a matter of knowing how to write, it's a matter of knowing what to write.
And understanding what your customers want, how they feel, and the words they use in their daily lives will tell you exactly what to write.




Here's a real world example of why it's so important to understand your customers...

This real story goes back to the middle of last century, but the lesson is even more relevant today


Many years ago (back in the 1950's), the Betty Crocker brand was a household name selling recipe books and baked goods to the American housewife (this was long before people took offense to the term "housewife")

Anyway, the company came out with an instant cake mix. All you had to do was add water, stir it up a bit, and pop it in the oven.

The advertising slogan was: "We Do It All For You!"

The campaign bombed and sales were practically non existent.

Can you guess why?

The people at the Betty Crocker company had no clue, so they called in a marketing psychologist to help figure it out.

What the psychologist discovered (by actually talking with customers) was that even though women wanted the convenience of an easy recipe, when a woman bakes a cake it was an act of creation, and they took a great deal of pride in serving home baked goods to friends and family.

So the women were actually turned off by the idea that the "creative process" of baking a cake would no longer require any effort.

After they discovered this little nugget of insight, Betty Crocker changed the recipe.

They removed the powdered egg so women had to add an egg, then add water, stir it up and pop it in the oven.

They also changed the tagline from "We do it for you" to "We do it together".

The result...

BOOM! Hundreds of millions of dollars in instant cake mix sales!


Can you see the powerful difference between telling people what you think they want to hear, and finding out what they actually do want?
It's like flipping a switch and turning on a light. One minute you can't see, and the next minute everything is crystal clear.


So if you really want to be a great copywriter, go to where your customers live.

It could be facebook groups or chat rooms or niche forums, and when this whole COVID thing is finally over you can even go find them out in the real (physical) world.
Hang out with them. Talk with them. Laugh and cry with them. And in general do whatever you can do to get to know your customers.



Or, if you'd rather be a struggling copywriter, you can always spend your time trying to dream up clever ways to sell your products.

It's your choice.


Here's to connecting with more customers, for bigger winners, more often...

All the best,
Steve




TLDR -

If you want to be a great copywriter Study People and Markets. Learn what they want and find a way to give it to them.

It might take a lifetime to become a great copywriter.

In the meanwhile, keep reading, and reading, and
learning until you get "IT."

You will know when that happens and then you can
stop pondering about what you're missing.

And then keep reading, and reading, and learning.

Make sure you have the classics in your collection:

The Copywriter's Handbook
Ogilvy on Advertising
Scientific Advertising
The Ultimate Sales Letter
Advertising Secrets of the Written Word

And more.

Read what interests YOU.

Watch the expert old-timers videos.

Get some clients and learn by doing.

Stick to the fundamentals and you will be fine.

• Know who your Audience are.
• Know what they are searching for everyday.
• Know their Pain Point.
• And Use your product as a solution to their problems.

Cashvertising is also a good read.

Copywriting sometimes gives me a really hard time and a lot of work. But i think by reading 3 articles a day and sometime watching a youtube videos with a different topics can help me increase my skill of copywriting. I know that im no expert, but for me, those 2 things helped a lot for now

There are 2 influencahs you gotta consider.

One is ... the giants done good so far.

You cannot ignore the landmarks they set for travel in this areah.

Howwevah, the ONE THING this broad areah of expertise don't gaht there is YOUR CONTRIBYOOTION ...

as a once only hooman person lookin' in on select hooman person endeavors of worth.

Thing about alla our lives is how flux of possibility can nevah be universal.

Among the great twists of fate & expertise shapin' the world, we are pretty much nuthin' indiviyooly.

But once we figure there is a world to reach out to, summa that homesy stuff is actshwlly raw firepowah.

So ... we must endeavor to rest among our forbears with immense gratitood, but also naht diminish ourselves by acceptin' as gahspel the ceilings they presoomed without we gaht here next.

This is respectful progress with a view to solvin' prahblems we nevah seen yet.

Science nevah stopped aftah an apple dropped on Nooton's head, so we cannot seek to hold up Halbert, Bird, an' F*S F*** B**** C*** Kern as the last word on copy forevah.

What good would this gain nowan?

Like someone said above, learn by doing, as in specialize quickly (decide on a niche and read as much sample sales copy as you can find that targets the market you want to create copy for, then practice writing copy for that market)

If you read a lot of good copy, most of these copywriters will have done their homework, so you'll find that you soak up all these pain points that your target market has.

Then find where they hang up, as in forums like was mentioned and polish up your knowledge of your market.

That is one of the fastest ways to get good at copywriting. A good product I really liked that you can learn the basics from is Randy Gage's How To Become A Copywriting Stud

Happy plodding!

Hi Joseph,

Someone wrote to know your audience and know their pain point. That is the essence of it. You want to sell someone a good night's sleep, NOT the mattress.

Today people hire for different types of copywriting: SEO copywriting, UX copywriting and CONVERSION copywriting. The styles are different and I prefer writing the latter but am adept at all styles. Micro-copy is UX (user experience) driven. This is the type of copy you'd see as a CTA (call to action), such as an "I'm Interested" button or a "Grab My Copy" button to download something from a website.

Being a wide reader helps in ways.

The number one thing I practice is paying attention to Ads and Promos and Emails and take notes of the ones that actually made me want to reach for a credit card.

Then Take Notes on What they did.

Well, GREAT copywriter might be subjective, I offer this opinionated definition: a great copywriter reaches their goals.

You may have a different definition. Many of the 7 figure a year copywriters I have worked with and for, have set their goals and sights on that million dollar a year target. But there are others, whom I consider great, who had a target of half of that or even less. One lady only worked 3 days a week, and she was happy to earn 300k per year for her part-time copy writing.

One thing to study, right now, from the get go, is response. In order to do that, you need to have some sort of an offer in force, you need to sell something, right now.

Something you can write about, keep track of, get feedback on, and see with your own eyes how you are making progress. You need to start a personal file on your copy writing doings.

Before this month is out, start selling something with your own copy. Keep reading, studying and learning...but LEARN by doing at the same time. Frame your journey with goals and successes. How else will you know when you cross the greatness threshold?

GordonJ

That's a good step to follow. You also need to take note of your grammar competence to be good and make your work come out the best

Whilst creativity is great for writing in general, your copywriting can really benefit from understanding how and why people make decisions.

Try reading books about psychology and decision-making processes.

As mentioned above, core spelling and grammar are vital, however, also learn when it may be appropriate to bend or break some of these rules.

Just start writing after getting a grasp on the basics. These types of questions have been asked for years, and there's no special course that will give you the powers of persuasion... the only thing that really counts is experience. Writing out GH letters by hand is also one of the greatest things I ever did. to improve my skills.

Copywriting is such an occupation which requires lots of practice, but not theoretical learning. So, the main here for you as a newbie in this field is to find a freelance websites, where you will take orders. This will bring you enough experience to start learning major peculiarities of copywriting activity. Theory is pretty simple, always check your grammar and write in a proper style. You can read information about styles and their peculiarities and features, mainly because you have to understand how to write when you take an order. There is nothing difficult to start this activity, the most difficult task here is to find orders.

The fact that you read books is very good. When I was improving my writing skills, I was advised to do the same.

Must we admit into our roster of DEAD CERTS the way our lives unfold moment by moment against a backdrop of MIGHTY FORCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL?

Aw, gowan then ...

Evry word you write must summon sure steps forward from outta stiflin' uncertainty.

Lipstick confidence, whatevah the color.

Bcs mebbe a noo job, or Brad in the coffee bar is cute, or it tastes neat when I lick it.

How may I place a sweet kiss upon a planet don't care if I live or die?

*trips ovah*

*squeals*

The enablement potential of opportoonity vistas depends entirely upon the beholdah.

So you gotta write always for the people lookin' your way.

By learning and understanding your market completely you can do a pretty good on your copywriting. By completely understanding the problems your niche is having, you can agitate the pain, then solve their problem. Creativity is also a big plus.

Hey Joseph... welcome to the rough and tumble adventure of copywriting...

Figuring this stuff out takes time and experience... but man it's such an exciting journey. I've never been bored... there's so much to learn.

Imagine the amazing sense of power you'll experience, when you've written a piece of copy that can offer your client REAL help in growing their business. Your life will never be the same.

Speaking of books... I found Kyle Milligan's book "Take Their Money" was an important book for me. Especially in understanding the subtleties of writing copy... and how to break down A-Level copywriter's works.

Here's the routine, I follow, that keeps me sharp and feeling like I'm always moving forward... getting better and better every day.

• Writing a piece of copy every day.
• Read a piece of copy every day. (study and dissect A-Level writers work)
• And, come up with an idea, every day.
  
  Welcome...

Honestly, I agree with studying the masters, the classics, and in modeling after successful people, no doubt, it just makes sense to do just that.

Also, I have found glimpses of wisdom throughout the music I listen to (*and attempt to sing on occasion to fire off the ole throat chakra, lol) - but in seriousness, some of the books I read after being tossed off FB about 9 times last year taught me to look beyond traditional copywriting and since I have devoured the following books I found gave way more insight to anything you choose to market online or offline.

All of these can be found freely on YouTube... most of these are merely wise teachings, not religion, although had most absorbed these first, odds are probable you would recognize the patterns throughout ALL wise teachings including Christianity, Hinduism, and even Eastern Philosophy contains brilliant minds and masters!

- "The Emerald Tablet" - Thoth (Hermetic)
- The Kybalion - by The Three Initiates (Hermetic)
- Alan Watts - Lectures (*Buddhism)
- Michael Sugrue - (Princeton Philosophy Lectures)
- The Hermetica - (*Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs)

I could list a ton more concerning NLP, Psycho-Cybernetics, and a side dish of Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill always gets me... oh, and for the record, the women Sharon Letcher who finally produced "Outwitting the Devil" (*originally produced in 1938) in 2011 also co-authored 14 of the Rich Dad Poor Dad books with Robert Kiyosaki - I guess they had differences, but nonetheless, she and Robert also co-authored a book with Trump as well.

I find inspiration for writing sales copy in everything, I just haven't decided to what extremes do I desire to make writing copy my only passion(?), when I have been working on multiple disciplines for years (*decades really) which I think is crucial to really achieve any great heights in writing sales copy, understanding communications, and in marketing anything!

For you to become successful copywriter or anything else really on the internet, you need to invest a lot of patience and efforts in all activities you're performing as this is the only thing that will make you stand out eventually. This means that you first need to continue reading some blogs and books about copywriting tips, but you also have to put everything that you have learnt in practice and start making some personal project, open social media profile were you will make your own posts, create blog section on your site, and so on. This way you'll also start getting feedback from other users that will help you figure out what you need to enhance and what is working just fine.

Also, make sure to follow some famous copywriters or ones that you personally like, since this will also help catch some tricks and get some fresh and original ideas about your content.