Everyone is adopting freelancing, but very few people can make it a stable source of income. If you are someone who wants to earn a full-time living, then these are some basic skills you need to be a copywriter
If you want to be successful at copywriting, you need to master some of the skills. Copywriting is not about just writing. It is more than just moving your fingers over the keyboard.
In this blog post, you will get an idea of the skills you need to be sharp at to have a competitive edge in the market and win big.
There are some areas where you need to be better than others to be successful.
I am listing 6 skills below that are super important and will make you win big in this field.
Creative Mindset
Editing and proofreading
Research skill
Understand your Target audience
Competitive research
Time management and organization skills
Creative Mindset
As I said earlier, writing is not just a game of words. It requires you to think creatively.
You need to come up with new and fresh ideas that creatively turn your audience into paying customers.
You will never know which piece of your writing will bring a flood of customers to your business.
Keep yourself open to the door of your subconscious mind and let your creativity flow in. Write first and edit later.
According to Joe Vitale (Author of hypnotic writing),
There are two types of writers
The first one is the master writer
The second one is Mr. Editor
Master writer, as its name suggests, is the master and flag bearer of your writing
Mr.Editor is the voice that reminds you of your mistakes when you write.
When you start writing!
Don’t let Mr.Editor spoil your writing by interrupting your process.
Let the master writer do his work.
After you finish your first rough draft,
Use your inner voice, Mr. Editor, to refine your writing.
Creative thinking is what makes you stay alive in this field; in this way, you can kill the boredom factor in your writing.
Proofreading and editing skills
There is no great writing, only rewriting
Joe Vitale Author of the book “Hypnotic Writing,” says
Proofreading and editing are the most important skills of all.
Proofreading is the process of rechecking your writing, while editing is the process of making the required changes to your writing to fulfill its purpose.
According to Joe Vitale
This is the phase where you let your inner voice, “Mr. Editor, do its job and correct your writing the right way.
Without proofreading and editing, your writing is like cleaning your house without cleaning accessories.
You should have this skill to make your writing shine like a sun among the stars.
Cut out all garbage and lame sentences so that your writing gets a proper finishing touch.
Research skills
Research is the backbone of any writing. Clean and thorough research makes your writing unique and versatile.
It means, that before you write any sales page, website copy, or any other piece of copy, you have to do your homework.
Do your basic research on the product or service you are going to write about.
Absorb everything about the product and gather all the possible information about it.
Feed your mind about all the information, read literature, and previous marketing pieces, and talk to customers to get an idea of how the product solves their needs.
Use the product yourself to see how smoothly it solves your problem.
Read the technical manuals for the product to write the copy more effectively.
For Example
David Ogilvy, wrote this Famous piece of copy for Rolls Royce
The headline reads
“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”
by reading the technical manuals for this car.
Understand your Target audience
The target audience is a person or a group of people for whom the product has been made.
The product or service is specifically designed for them, keeping all their needs and requirements in mind.
These are the people who are your potential customers and will later convert into paying customers.
It is very important to get a good understanding of your target audience.
Study your target audience thoroughly. Find all the answers to the questions mentioned below:
What is this product specifically designed for?
What is the age group of your target audience?
Whether they are teenagers, middle-aged people, or old-aged people
What are the main interests and activities of your target audience?
What are the common behaviors of your target audience?
How does your target audience relate to the product or service in terms of their problems?
Answering all these questions will bring clarity, making your copy super solid to reject.
Competitive research
Competitive research is another skill that will give you a competitive edge in the field.
It is a process of analyzing any piece of copy that is on the internet.
It will help you see your flaws and shortcomings and help you craft your copy accordingly.
Competitive research will make you see things in the bigger picture.
Read the website copy, sales pages,, and email marketing strategies of your competitors to get an idea of how you can make your copy compelling and exciting.
Pro tip: Don’t lie or make false claims about your product or service. Your target audience will lose credibility and trust in you. Don’t try to win your audience through fluffy content.
Time management and organization skills
These are the skills that are inevitable to have, no matter what field you are in.
Time management skills will keep you on track and help you be punctual in your conduct and proceedings.
It is said that “time is money.”
It is super important to be on time and deliver your projects on time if you are in a freelancing career.
Time management skills allow you to be on time and manage your time effectively.
Planning your day never puts you short on time. Give each task a specific period, and get that task completed before the deadline hits.
Organization is an interpersonal skill that refines your personality as a copywriter.
Organize all the tasks of the day. Put all the important tasks in the first part of the day and do the least important in the rest of the day.
Put some sticky notes mentioning important tasks on the wall in front of your workspace.
Conclusion
Not every person who starts as a copywriter can achieve stability in this growing field.
If you can get your hands on the above-mentioned skills, you will not only be able to achieve more in your career but also retain long-term clients that will grow you professionally and financially.
