If you've been looking around at freelance writing opportunities, you may be wondering if you should become a copywriter. The pay is certainly better than most types of writing. But is copywriting for you?
First of all, let's define this field. "Copywriting" generally refers to the type of writing that enhances public relations, promotes or directly sells. Copywriters may write materials that help sell products and services, build brand, and in the case of non profits, promote their causes and fundraisers. Examples of public relations writing include travel articles for a state's tourism department, web content that describes a corporation's social responsibility practices, pay per click advertisements for an Internet marketer, to name a few.
Copywriters create promotional articles, direct sales letters, ad copy, taglines, media kits, press releases, email campaigns, ghostwritten blogs for CEO's and much more.
Skills required of a copywriter are the ability to write persuasively and often creatively.
The public relations, marketing and advertising copywriting industry has its own sets of standards and ethics, although many individual Internet marketers don't seem to be aware of them, not when you consider the glut of fictional testimonies and false claims found in online sales letters. This may change given the new truth-in-advertising rules set forth by the Federal Trade Commission in October, 2009.
Copywriters who belong to the Public Relations Society of America are expected to abide by the PRSA Code of Ethics. If you are interested in journalism though, consider that the ethics are very different and that if you become a copywriter this could later make it more difficult for you obtain journalism work.
Copywriting work is typically found at bidding venues like Elance.com and Guru.com, at copywriting and marketing forums, and through the writers own Internet marketing efforts, such as networking and online advertising.
Pay varies widely, depending on the type of copy, the client's budget, the copywriters' skill and references and marketing ability. In general, copywriters earn much more than other writers.
Writer's Market reports the average earnings of $1.63 per word for an advertising copywriter and $367 per day for a business public relations writer - $367 per day. Copywriters often set their own rates, charge by the project or by the hour, and usually work on a retainer or with a 50 to 100 percent deposit.
First of all, let's define this field. "Copywriting" generally refers to the type of writing that enhances public relations, promotes or directly sells. Copywriters may write materials that help sell products and services, build brand, and in the case of non profits, promote their causes and fundraisers. Examples of public relations writing include travel articles for a state's tourism department, web content that describes a corporation's social responsibility practices, pay per click advertisements for an Internet marketer, to name a few.
Copywriters create promotional articles, direct sales letters, ad copy, taglines, media kits, press releases, email campaigns, ghostwritten blogs for CEO's and much more.
Skills required of a copywriter are the ability to write persuasively and often creatively.
The public relations, marketing and advertising copywriting industry has its own sets of standards and ethics, although many individual Internet marketers don't seem to be aware of them, not when you consider the glut of fictional testimonies and false claims found in online sales letters. This may change given the new truth-in-advertising rules set forth by the Federal Trade Commission in October, 2009.
Copywriters who belong to the Public Relations Society of America are expected to abide by the PRSA Code of Ethics. If you are interested in journalism though, consider that the ethics are very different and that if you become a copywriter this could later make it more difficult for you obtain journalism work.
Copywriting work is typically found at bidding venues like Elance.com and Guru.com, at copywriting and marketing forums, and through the writers own Internet marketing efforts, such as networking and online advertising.
Pay varies widely, depending on the type of copy, the client's budget, the copywriters' skill and references and marketing ability. In general, copywriters earn much more than other writers.
Writer's Market reports the average earnings of $1.63 per word for an advertising copywriter and $367 per day for a business public relations writer - $367 per day. Copywriters often set their own rates, charge by the project or by the hour, and usually work on a retainer or with a 50 to 100 percent deposit.
Sales copy is the most important "window' that actually introduces your product to potential buyers. If you fail to impress them in the sales page, you can then forget about getting the sales now or ever. The idea to making a conversion is to create a sales page that keeps the readers glued on till the very end of the page where the order button is
Here are a few tips that might help you in creating a good sales letter:
1) Create a good story. The thing to do here is to tell a compelling story of yourself and somehow connect that story to your product. An example, if you're selling a report on acne solution I would recommend telling a true story of yourself having acne problems that you feel people can channel and relate with.
2) Design. People get enticed when your website is colourful and easy on the eye. Spend a little on graphic designer as doing so can actually dramatically enhances the appeal of your website making it stand out from others who leave their website empty and blank white. So, make a great first impression, and get your copy read.
Here are 2 simple tips on increasing your sales copy appeal.
a) Use proper fonts. Try to use fonts that are easy to read, like Times New Roman, Verdana or Calibria. Make sure that the paragraphs are not too long and draggy. Break up the long paragraphs into several paragraphs to make it more easy on the eyes.
b) Highlight, colour, bold and italicize. Always, highlight all important keywords in your sales page, or Bold and Italicize headlines and phrases. It is important as many people just might skim through and their eyes will catch the phrases that are colored and in bold or italicize.
Here are a few tips that might help you in creating a good sales letter:
1) Create a good story. The thing to do here is to tell a compelling story of yourself and somehow connect that story to your product. An example, if you're selling a report on acne solution I would recommend telling a true story of yourself having acne problems that you feel people can channel and relate with.
2) Design. People get enticed when your website is colourful and easy on the eye. Spend a little on graphic designer as doing so can actually dramatically enhances the appeal of your website making it stand out from others who leave their website empty and blank white. So, make a great first impression, and get your copy read.
Here are 2 simple tips on increasing your sales copy appeal.
a) Use proper fonts. Try to use fonts that are easy to read, like Times New Roman, Verdana or Calibria. Make sure that the paragraphs are not too long and draggy. Break up the long paragraphs into several paragraphs to make it more easy on the eyes.
b) Highlight, colour, bold and italicize. Always, highlight all important keywords in your sales page, or Bold and Italicize headlines and phrases. It is important as many people just might skim through and their eyes will catch the phrases that are colored and in bold or italicize.
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