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Copywriter or Content Writer? Which should I concentrate on?

by Salman Ravoof
16 replies
Hello Warriors,

Let me get started by saying that I have never written a copy text. I hold a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, but have decided to purse my career as a writer. Since there are many experienced members here, I will state my experience and current situation as clearly as possible.

My freelance writing journey started just two months back; I used iWriter to get gigs as it was easier to just select the listed projects and get going. Other sites such as Freelancer, Elance and Odesk looked daunting at first, especially when I had no background credibility to base my skills on.

In just a few days, I was able to attract special requests from a few clients on iWriter. It didn't take long for me to reach the 'Elite Writer' status; this opened up opportunities to choose more promising work.

However, even after being placed in the "favorite writer list" of 32 clients, I have come to realize that most requesters over there don't value your writing skills. Top put things in perspective, I've earned just $890 after writing 153 articles. Most of those articles are in the 500 words range, but I've written quite a few in the 700 and 1000 words range too.

Also, the clients there can reject your articles citing no cause without even giving a chance to revise; that is so frustrating. That is when I realised that I have to branch out and not depend on just one website for my income.

I have set up my own basic website (The Write Pla.net) with a few samples and contact details, but it is very crude and simple at best; do give your critiques.

Now, my question to you is: how should I go forward? What are my choices? Is Copy writing a suitable career option for me? Consider the fact that I've never put my hands in it.

If I choose to go with article writing, what should my plan be? With the competition offering work at dirt-cheap and moderate prices, will I be able to make a mark? Are there enough clients out there to pay me ~0.4-0.5 dollars per word?

I'm looking forward to your wise words.

Thanks

P.S. You can check out a few of my samples at my website that I listed earlier.

P.P.S. This is not a offer or hiring thread. I'm strictly asking for critique and advice; nothing else.
#concentrate #content #copywriter #freelancer #writer
  • Profile picture of the author ReferralCandy
    I was pursuing copywriting/content generation for a period of time, and at my most prolific I had a guy pay me $40 per article (300 words or so). It was a pretty good source of income for me. He contacted me through my personal blog and got me to write about things that I was already kind of interested in.

    You write pretty well. I'm not surprised that you progressed as quickly on iWriter as you did. Your site looks like a good start. If I were in your position, or you asked for my advice, I'd suggest putting more of your writing out there. Add more personality to your landing page- what are you interested in, what do you care about? Have a blog segment to your site- it'll pay off better than writing samples. This has double benefits- you'll get better quality responses from people with loftier goals, and you'll get stuff that's more fun to write about (which ultimately leads to better quality writing!)

    Also, get on social media! Why aren't you already? I"d totally follow you on Twitter. You can sometimes get job offers on Facebook and Twitter.

    To answer your question directly- I think you shouldn't limit yourself to one type of writing or the other until you've gotten more and better responses from the market. Let the marketplace decide your worth, rather than trying to figure it all out inside your head. Take every damn job you can get, and pay careful attention to what works well for you- then seek out more of that.

    I think you're off to a fantastic start. I look forward to seeing/hearing you grow. Hope you get famous someday! Good writing is remarkably hard to come by.
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    • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
      Originally Posted by ReferralCandy View Post

      I was pursuing copywriting/content generation for a period of time, and at my most prolific I had a guy pay me $40 per article (300 words or so). It was a pretty good source of income for me. He contacted me through my personal blog and got me to write about things that I was already kind of interested in.
      Good to hear from a fellow writer. May I ask for a link to your personal blog? You can PM me if you'd like to.
      You write pretty well. I'm not surprised that you progressed as quickly on iWriter as you did. Your site looks like a good start. If I were in your position, or you asked for my advice, I'd suggest putting more of your writing out there. Add more personality to your landing page- what are you interested in, what do you care about? Have a blog segment to your site- it'll pay off better than writing samples. This has double benefits- you'll get better quality responses from people with loftier goals, and you'll get stuff that's more fun to write about (which ultimately leads to better quality writing!)
      Thanks for the advice. I'll start a blog on my site and detail my experiences over there.

      Also, suppose I write articles on topics that interest me, but which cannot be part of my personal blog, how do you think I should put them out there in the wild?

      Also, get on social media! Why aren't you already? I"d totally follow you on Twitter. You can sometimes get job offers on Facebook and Twitter.
      I'm already present on social media, though haven't used it much to attract clients. I'll try to add social media widgets to my site.

      To answer your question directly- I think you shouldn't limit yourself to one type of writing or the other until you've gotten more and better responses from the market. Let the marketplace decide your worth, rather than trying to figure it all out inside your head. Take every damn job you can get, and pay careful attention to what works well for you- then seek out more of that.
      I get this, but how should I attract clients? What is the preferred method for someone who is new to the game?

      I think you're off to a fantastic start. I look forward to seeing/hearing you grow. Hope you get famous someday! Good writing is remarkably hard to come by.
      Thanks for the kind words and taking your time to answer my queries.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
    Hi Salman,

    I've not answered all your questions as I'm not in a position to tell you what you could or should do.

    Originally Posted by Salman Ravoof View Post

    Is Copy writing a suitable career option for me? Consider the fact that I've never put my hands in it.
    I can't tell you if it'll be a suitable career for you. But I can tell you that it's copywriting (ignore the red squiggle if it's there, your browser's spell-check is in the wrong on this one).

    And that your second sentence needs re-writing.

    And that it'll be hard work.

    If I choose to go with article writing, what should my plan be?
    Work out how to lift yourself above the half-penny a word bottom-feeders.

    With the competition offering work at dirt-cheap and moderate prices, will I be able to make a mark?
    You want to position yourself so they're not your competition.

    Ewen gives an excellent example in this thread:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/copywrit...-goes-bad.html

    Are there enough clients out there to pay me ~0.4-0.5 dollars per word?
    Don't charge per word (and yes, there are).

    P.S.S. This is not a offer or hiring thread. I'm strictly asking for critique and advice; nothing else.
    It's P.P.S.
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    Andrew Gould

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    • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
      Originally Posted by Andrew Gould View Post

      And that your second sentence needs re-writing.
      Is it "hands on it"?
      And that it'll be hard work.
      I know and I'm ready to learn. I just started two months back, though my writing skills have vastly improved since then.
      Work out how to lift yourself above the half-penny a word bottom-feeders.

      You want to position yourself so they're not your competition.
      I'm trying to build a strategy to reach that stage.

      It's P.P.S.
      Overlooked that; thanks. There are many things that I need to improve on.
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      • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
        Originally Posted by Salman Ravoof View Post

        Is it "hands on it"?
        "hand to it"

        You could also say "never tried my hand at it".

        But I don't think I'd use either as they're a bit awkward in this context.
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        Andrew Gould

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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Here's your short answer: yes...and no. Yes - keep churning out those shitty "articles" for zip. "No" - you won't cut it as a advertising copywriter.
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    • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
      Originally Posted by The Copy Nazi View Post

      Here's your short answer: yes...and no. Yes - keep churning out those shitty "articles" for zip. "No" - you won't cut it as a advertising copywriter.
      Is this meant to shake me out of my current mindset and spread my wings?

      Or you found some problems with my writing style, and perhaps the way I present myself?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
      Originally Posted by The Copy Nazi View Post

      "No" - you won't cut it as a advertising copywriter.
      As I recall, somebody told John Carlton the same thing.

      Granted, the OP has some hurdles to overcome, but if he's motivated enough, he can succeed.

      Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author copyassassin
      Originally Posted by The Copy Nazi View Post

      Here's your short answer: yes...and no. Yes - keep churning out those shitty "articles" for zip. "No" - you won't cut it as a advertising copywriter.
      why do you think he won't be able to become a copywriter.

      just curious what tells made you say that.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
        Originally Posted by copyassassin View Post

        why do you think he won't be able to become a copywriter.

        just curious what tells made you say that.
        Most likely: 1) English not being his first language and 2) Not immersed in an English-speaking culture.

        Alex
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        • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
          Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

          Most likely: 1) English not being his first language and 2) Not immersed in an English-speaking culture.

          Alex
          That's interesting. Are there any examples of non-native speakers who have made it big in the copywriting world? Or at least in the content writing world?


          Although English is not my mother tongue, I have been learning it since I was 2-years-old. Nevertheless, as you have said, cultural differences would've hindered and affected my proficiency in the language.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
            Originally Posted by Salman Ravoof View Post

            That's interesting. Are there any examples of non-native speakers who have made it big in the copywriting world? Or at least in the content writing world?


            Although English is not my mother tongue, I have been learning it since I was 2-years-old. Nevertheless, as you have said, cultural differences would've hindered and affected my proficiency in the language.
            Cultural differences was one of the obstacles I was thinking of in my original post. But as I said then, it can be overcome.

            You'd have to look for ways to immerse yourself in the culture. Entertainment, sports, politics, religion, etc. And of course consumer preferences and habits.

            It could be done.

            Alex
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            • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
              Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

              Cultural differences was one of the obstacles I was thinking of in my original post. But as I said then, it can be overcome.

              You'd have to look for ways to immerse yourself in the culture. Entertainment, sports, politics, religion, etc. And of course consumer preferences and habits.

              It could be done.

              Alex
              Thanks to the Internet and globalisation, I am very much averse with western entertainment (TV, movies, books), sports and religion. However, as far as consumer preference and habits go, my intuition stops at things relating to science, technology and health fields. I'd have to start reading books written on this subject by the experts to get an idea of how it's done.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheSalesBooster
    Depends what you want out of your writing career. Are you satisfied writing 500 word articles for peanuts for the rest of your life?

    I'm guessing no. So the next best thing would be to use content writing as a stepping stone to bigger things. If you want to make it as a copywriter you need to do more than just write articles. You need to learn everything you can about copywriting and make the transition over.

    All the articles you are writing now might look good padding you portfolio if you want to continue being a content writer, but most people who are looking to hire copywriters don't care about 500 word articles. They want to know if you are a good sales writer, not just some guy who gets paid $5 to pump out cheap content.

    If I were you, I would use that money you make from content writing to start writing sales copy for your own products or affiliate products and do some advertising testing with them. Two things will happen for you:

    1. You get really good at writing sales copy and instead of working for someone else writing copy, you write for yourself and make money off your own products or affiliate products (There's more money going this route than just being a regular old copywriter).

    2. You start building a portfolio of sales pitches for products that you've sold and if anyone asks for your past work you have a lot of sales pitch material to show off instead of a bunch of 500 word articles.

    Either way you'll be building up your skill set to make the transition from being a low paid content writer to someone who can write sales material for their own products or get paid good money to do it for other people.
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    • Profile picture of the author Salman Ravoof
      Originally Posted by TheSalesBooster View Post

      If I were you, I would use that money you make from content writing to start writing sales copy for your own products or affiliate products and do some advertising testing with them. Two things will happen for you:

      1. You get really good at writing sales copy and instead of working for someone else writing copy, you write for yourself and make money off your own products or affiliate products (There's more money going this route than just being a regular old copywriter).

      2. You start building a portfolio of sales pitches for products that you've sold and if anyone asks for your past work you have a lot of sales pitch material to show off instead of a bunch of 500 word articles.

      Either way you'll be building up your skill set to make the transition from being a low paid content writer to someone who can write sales material for their own products or get paid good money to do it for other people.
      Thanks. That really put things in perspective.
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  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    If you're determined and keep working at it, you can become a copywriter. The way I see it, you have two obstacles to overcome:

    1) You need to learn to sell, not just write. It doesn't sound like you have any in person sales experience where you were working for commission. That makes a huge difference. It forces you to learn what really works. Copywriting is more about selling than it is about writing.
    2) You need to get paid at least $50 per article. The more low priced work you do, the more you reinforce bad writing habits by having to rush through your projects. Working for low rates can make just about any writer sound bad because it creates anxiety and the need to rush through things. You need to find the clients who "get" this and who are willing to pay you enough so that you can take your time and deliver something well-written.

    Get a list of local marketing firms, creative firms, design agencies, PR firms etc and get their phone numbers, physical addresses and names of creative directors. Then, write a four step direct mail campaign and send it out over the span of 8 weeks. Follow up with phone calls. You'll get higher paying clients like this. Stay off bidding sites, iwriter and sites like that. Cheap clients hang out there so no matter how good you are, you instantly lower your perception of value just by being there.

    Get a few loyal clients who will pay you enough so that you can deliver quality and develop good writing skills. Then, work your way up as your writing improves. Finally, don't pay attention to people who say you can't do it...unless you're using their doubt as fuel to keep going. Haytrs gonna hate.
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