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Copywriting: Breaking
Into a Hot Freelance Market
By Helene Vance
Copywriting, or writing copy, is the art of marketing. Most copy is intended to
sell a product of service, from diet supplements to car insurance. But with the
ever-growing presence of the web, the world of copywriting has expanded.
Nowadays, you can write copy for websites to boost readership or membership,
ranging from attractive web content, ad writing, frequently-asked-questions
pages, and entire marketing campaigns.
Copywriting can be a very rewarding profession, especially for the talented.
Just like writing a novel or short story, copywriting is both challenging and
exciting.
Understand Good Copy
Skilled masters of copywriting know the art of persuasion. As a copywriter, your
job is to persuade and convince readers to buy a service or good. How can you
tell the difference between good and bad copy?
Your copywriting career starts right in the heart of junk mail. From now on,
save every piece of unsolicited mail and read it. Everything from credit card
offers to subscription offers will serve as part of your research.
As you read your mail, you will begin to understand the power of writing good
copy. Pay close attention to copy that really catches your attention; especially
the ones that make you want to get what's being offered. The ones that were
bland and boring are also just as important. Ask yourself why it was ineffective
and what your inner copywriter can do to make it better. Soon, you will know
what makes good copy.
Just a word of caution-- skip the ones you have zero interest in and save them
for later. You might make the mistake of calling the copy "bad," when in fact it
is excellent.
Learning is Key
When you know good copy from bad, you are half-way there. You got a taste of
what the business is like, and you still want to shoot for it. This is a good
place to be for anyone interested in copywriting.
Here comes the tough part. You already have the passion, and now is a great time
to start learning. Read books and articles to hone your skills. It's a good
idea to take courses in persuasive writing or copywriting. If this isn't an
option for you, keep reading your junk mail and practice writing copy. Pick a
company or a product, and pretend that you were asked to write copy for them.
You want to know certain things about your fake audience. How old are they and
what is their level of education? Where do they live and what is their average
income?
Be tough on yourself-- critique and evaluate everything you write. It's nice to
have an honest friend who will tell you what she thought of your work. Writing
pretend copy is a great way to enhance your writing skills and prepare you for
the real thing.
Whatever you do, keep yourself educated through courses, books, articles,
journals, and the Internet. There is always a way to learn, even with a limited
amount of money or time.
Open For Business
When you feel confident in your skills, start your business today! Business
cards are all you need to start. It will probably cost you about $15. List
yourself in free directories at Yahoo or Excite. A website is also a must-have.
Through a website, you can suggest all your services and have writing examples
available. You can get free web hosting almost anywhere nowadays. Many provide
templates to build your site.
Market yourself to potential clients. It's a good idea to perform free work for
friends and family who own businesses or websites of any sort. Have them spread
the word about your new service. Don't limit your potential-- find every avenue
for writing copy. Send e-mails and letters out to business owners and suggest
your services. These people may never have heard of copywriting, or perhaps they
didn't know how helpful it could be to them. Make suggestions in your marketing
letter that are specific to their business.
Don't stop there-- the possibilities are endless. Here is just a short list of
what you can offer as a professional:
Ad writing
Sales letters
Reminder notices
Debt and late payment letters
E-mail marketing
eBay and auction sales writing
Web content (to draw more readers / customers)
Opening pages for websites and newsletters
Slogans
Brochures and Pamphlets
Keyword articles (to improve site rankings on search engines)
Keep learning and improving every step of the way and you'll see your business
blossom. In the meantime, content writing and keyword article-writing is a great
first step for any up and coming copywriter. Don't forget to search job listings
pages and local newspapers. Opportunities to increase your skills and experience
may come to you in subtle ways-- don't miss them.
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 Helene
Vance is a freelance writer and the editor-in-chief of WriteSpot.org, an
online community for writers. Her writing gigs include copywriting, ad
creation, content management, and technical writing. In her spare time,
she tinkers about with WriteSpot.org, eats Lean Pockets, writes short
stories, and works toward completing her fantasy novel. You can visit
Helene's website at
http://writespot.org.
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