A job of a copywriter entails writing for a living without necessarily having a formal education. The question “how to become a copywriter” isn’t something you should put out of your mind. The word ‘copywriter’ sounds ominous, but in fact, it’s a job many can attempt with very little trouble.
Of course, with certificates and degrees, copywriters of all levels are even more in demand. However, there are even those copywriters who never went to college and are pretty well-paid.
As a freelance copywriter, there is no working full-time – if you don’t want to – but you can also make a good living, working just part-time.
What Is A Freelance Copywriter?
Copywriting isn’t just writing. So what is copywriting and what does the word ‘copy’ actually mean? It’s essentially taking text from other websites and rewriting it in a much better, upgraded, unique kind of way so that it attracts interest and sales.
Copywriting And Copyright – Don’t Confuse The Two
How to be a freelance copywriter? First and foremost, it requires knowing what copywriting is all about. Don’t get confused with the word ‘copyright’. That is something totally different.
Copyright means someone has the exclusive legal right to publish or sell someone else’s work. Copyright protects the material, preventing the illegal use of it.
In turn, copywriting is looking at information someone else has provided, and then chopping and changing the sentences around in such a way that the information is unique and fresh.
SEO copywriting uses special key phrases that readers would use to search for certain information, and the keywords help the website rank higher in the search pages.
Copywriting isn’t beyond anyone’s dreams, and the answer to the question “how to become a copywriter with no experience” simply requires a bit of research and know-how. There is plenty of valuable information you can find on how to learn copywriting.
So, let’s learn the ins and outs of copywriting:
- It goes without saying that copywriting involves persuading a reader with your words to take a specific action. You’ll discover that blog writing is somewhat different from copywriting as it is educating a reader rather than trying to persuade them.
- Learn to understand precisely what is required by the audience you’re writing for – how you can solve their problems.
- Know what the client wants and how you’re expected to deliver on their expectations.
- Understand the basics of copywriting – learn what a good copy is, how to arrange the information in a logic fashion, how to write properly, how to edit and proofread. It is vital to know how to write so that you don’t steal anyone’s information and ideas. That is known as plagiarism.
How To Become A Copywriter
Researching and understanding precisely what is a copywriter, is your first step on the way to becoming a copywriter. Once you understand what copywriting is about, you can sign up with any of the copywriting sites – some of them are free, and some are paid.
Businesses of all sizes are churning out new information for their customers to digest. Nobody wants to read stuff that’s been on the website for months – they want fresh information for their:
- brochures
- sales pages
- landing pages
- radio and TV advertising
- ads on the Internet and in magazines
- social media posts
- website
How To Become A Freelance Copywriter – Getting Started
How to become a copywriter quickly? Generally, it requires signing up with freelance copywriting sites for beginners. Also, getting into copywriting requires you researching some of the good writing sites there are for freelancers.
Some good sites you can consider when looking for writing work for beginners as well as for more seasoned writers include:
- Writingjobz.com
- ProBlogger
- Freelancer.com
- Wordgigs
- iWriter
- People Per Hour
- Upwork
- TextBroker
- JournalismJobs.com… and many others.
Some freelancer writing platforms invite writers from their own country to apply, some invite writers only from certain countries, and others are international.
Nearly each of them will require you to know how to build a copywriting portfolio. You don’t have to be intimidated – there are many simple online guides to show you how. There are also creative copywriting portfolio samples to download online.
Why You Need A Portfolio
- Your portfolio is just a guide to let people looking for your services to see who you are and how good your copywriting skills are.
- You can include whichever type of content you’re good at – press releases, grant writing, rewrites, general articles, e-books – you name it.
- You can write about health, finance, product reviews, technology, stock market, casino games, legal issues, pets, and much more.
- Wondering how to become a better copywriter? As a rule, it means having diverse writing abilities.
- If you find that writing standard articles is no longer enough, learn other copywriting styles – press releases, e-books – in fact, the broader your writing menu, the better your chances of writing for a broader audience and having more work.
- Finally, how to start copywriting? Once you have registered (hopefully with a free sign-up writing company), you may require writing a sample article, although this is not always the case. Most of the decent clients will pay you for the sample article.
Then, you can start looking for some copywriting work. If you see something that appeals to you, apply for it, explaining in a short manner why you would be a good fit for the job.
If the client chooses your particular pitch, you’ll know about it because of an email sent directly to your email box congratulating you on getting the job.
Your Client Has Requirements You Have To Meet
Learning copywriting requires your understanding of the expectations and instructions from the client. You can’t just dilly-dally on the writing project either, as the client will give you a timeframe. Most of the assignments are expected in two or three days – longer projects a week, two weeks, and so on.
If the client is satisfied with your work, it can mean repeat work – the same client requesting your writing services again.
You Start Slowly At First
Starting copywriting is pretty much the same as starting any other business, as you have to start with nothing and then build yourself up.
Copywriting is all about putting in long, hard hours of research, writing a useful paper, possibly dealing with revisions if needed, and then getting paid for it.
There’s No Simple Answer To Your Earnings
Everybody starting out as a copywriter wants an answer to the question ‘how much do freelance copywriters make?’, and there isn’t a definite answer.
How much you earn as a freelance copywriter is a way too broad field to answer, and the figures you see on the Internet are often self-reported and vary a lot.
Some people get two or three cents per word; others get $10 for 1000 words – it’s a case of what you’re after, what you can deliver, and what the client is ready to pay.
Enhance Your Success By Understanding The Industry
The answer to the question “how to become a copywriter” isn’t a dead-end street. You can become a paid copywriter if you adhere to some simple rules and advice.
Like already suggested – you don’t need any formal qualifications to become a copywriter, but you do need to know something about it to enhance your chances for success.
The time is ripe for becoming a freelance copywriter, and many businesses need competent copywriters to help them sell their products and services.
Why not investigate some of the freelance copywriting platforms mentioned and see where it takes you?