Copywriting is a lucrative niche where writers produce pieces for their client's blogs, brand websites, social media, email campaigns, advertisement, and so forth. It is essentially a fusion of writing and marketing. Copywriting is meant to be witty, succinct, and catchy. It is meant to attract consumer engagement to pitch a product or service. Copywriters will write site headlines, site content, about me pages, product or service descriptions, social media posts, emails, advertisements, and much more. In a digital landscape that is oversaturated with brands and business paired with dwindling attention spans, a copywriter's job is to catch the attention of potential consumers through writing.
This is a growing niche accompanied by the boom in digital businesses and brands. However, it can be a tough niche to break into. Landing that first big gig or first big client can make all the difference. Companies will also hire copywriters on their marketing teams. These job positions, though plenty, tend to be competitive. So how can you get started as a budding copywriter?
The most essential starting point is to build a digital portfolio of your work. This means creating a savvy website that captures your identity and your talents. Building a portfolio and collecting writing samples can be a tough start. Many writers have to work for free or for cheap commissions to build up their first couple of writing samples. However, most careers include that initial startup where the effort is mighty and the return is underwhelming. Things get interesting after a portfolio is developed.
Once your portfolio is in hand, take the time to build up social media engagement. You do not need to thousands of followers, many copywriters do not. You just need true engagement and connection to a demographic you can serve. Do not get caught up in the social media game, unless you intend to also pursue a path as a social media influencer. Display your work in an aesthetically pleasing manner on social media and produce content following social media trends to boost visibility.
Start taking on those first few clients. Give them quality work and exceptional customer service. Request testimonials that you can then feed back into your portfolio to build trust.
On a side note, how can you find clients? Start local. Ask friends and acquaintances if they have blogs, social media accounts, websites, or small businesses that you can write copy for. Put those works into your portfolio. Then branch out and start messaging and emailing small brands you find on social media. Develop a compelling pitch to market you services. Now usually, most social media brands do not respond back. However, even a few brands working with you can give you that experience needed to get to the next level. Use instagram, facebook communities, reddit threads, twitter hashtags, tiktok, and linkedin to find clients.
Linkedin is a particularly useful tool. Set up a neat and organized linkedin page. Add your work samples and also create posts about your work and copywriting in general to garner more attention. Linkedin will effectively serve as that first impression when you are applying for jobs or reaching out to potential clients. Your LinkedIn can prompt those who are interested to further look into your work by visiting your website.
TikTok is currently the most active social media. An abundance of users on there are displaying their talents and skills. Make videos about copywriting on TikTok. Don't be pushy, gimmicky, or act like those internet gurus pedaling their business courses. Be authentic and simply document your journey in writing. Authentic followers will accumulate as a result.
Lets say you are really in a pinch and are having a tough time getting clients to build up a portfolio. Get creative. The point is to show your capabilities. Go on popular brands sites and social medias. Look at their written content. Identify content that is weak or can be improved. Create videos or posts of you fixing that written content. Present what you would do better.
Once you have a developed a decent portfolio and online following, start applying for jobs, gigs, or market your freelance services. Develop professional expectations and setup a payment tier and method.
Copywriting is a fluctuate field that changes and adapts to the online environment. You have to keep yourself educated on the newest tools, practices, trends, keywords, and SEO strategies. Take digital courses on Coursera or Udemy, watch Youtube and TikTok videos, read articles, and observe others in the field.
With the emergence of several AI tools, writing has become automated and efficient for many small brands. However, many long-term brands understand the value of an actual writer. While AI is an exceptional tool, it can not read the pulse of the people. It simply draws conclusions based on the data available on the internet. A skilled copywriter can actually develop true brand voicing, target the potential demographic, and create relatability to target audience. Many writers now use AI as a tool to generate ideas and drafts for their copy. They then revise, refine, and add their own written additions to it to create a masterpiece. Google knows when something is AI generated versus human generated. It's algorithm favors content that is authentic yet relevant. If many small brands are copy pasting AI generated writing, it is not going to do them any favors in the long run.
As with many digital pursuits, many question the longevity of copywriting. The answer is that even if copywriting dwindles in the future, which it most likely will not, writing will always remain an essential skill. Effective communication is at the core of what keeps businesses running. Different niches of writing can come and go. But writing itself will remain as it is the most fundamental form of expression for human beings.
Copywriting does not just foster skills in writing. It encourages creativity, marketing savviness, artistic development, and teaches the fundamentals of business. If you get tired of copywriting or it doesn't work out in the end, this skill is so rudimentary and essential, that you can use it as a stepping stone to pivot into a related field of work. All in all, it is a skill worth investing time and effort for.
With a surplus of internet gurus telling you how to achieve things while pushing their digital courses, I am here on an organic journey in copywriting. Follow along if you have similar endeavors!
Thank You For Reading,
- ISBAH XOXO
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