Over the years, we have seen many people just starting copywriting business lamenting. Some say, “I am a good writer, why is there no client coming up?” The truth is, it is possible. It is possible for you to be a good and experience writer, yet you are not anywhere near the qualities of a copywriter. You being a “good writer”; for example, if you are working in journalism or having a master's degree in literature doesn't automatically qualify you to be a good copywriter.
Copywriting is not just about “putting pen to paper”, or running a play on words on your keyboard. You should know that copywriting requires skills in different angles and knowing when it is important to apply them. Below shows the copywriting skills that is required of a person to complete a good copywriting job.
Psychology;
One major skill in copywriting is knowing the way people think so that you can persuade them. For your copy to be compelling enough, it needs to start pushing all the necessary buttons. Since you are dealing with humans and not machines, this skill is something you must never look down upon.
For example, you are expected to know a little about “psychology of money”, what people want out of their lives, how they tend to respond etc. To be clear, all we are saying is you need to do a lot of studying. Not just books (which you also need to study), but you need to study people.
Researching skill;
There is no doubt that this is an undeniable fact in the copywriting world. Like it or not, each day, new clients brings new challenges to copywriters to work on. And one of the biggest challenges is having to learn about them, their products and the targeted customers for that job. You may start up with one kind of sector or category as a copywriter, but in no time, you will see yourself extending to all sectors.
When researching your client's product, you should know where to go, and do your assignment fast. If you seem confused of where to get your information from about that product, the internet awaits you.
Storytelling;
Everybody loves to hear you tell them stories and this is a vital skill in copywriting. You should not forget that as copywriter, our main job is to sell. And to be a great salesman, you should be superb at storytelling. For instance, if you walk into a store to purchase something but along the line, you lost interest in it. The person in charge of that product can tell you stories relating to that product to make you interested in the product again.
However, while telling your stories, make sure they are accurate and provides positive outcome to the client.
Digital Marketing;
Gone are those days when copywriters just write taglines and nice little direct mail marketing piece. This is because the digital revolution has changed all that and made it wider.
For example, you will agree with us that if you are the client, you will prefer hiring those copywriters who can give your project some serious value with their digital marketing skills and SEO knowledge. You need to have it at the back of your mind that marketing and copywriting go parallel with each other.
Business skills;
This part isn't talking about being good in a team, or the art of multi-tasking. Although they are all essential skills to have, that is not our target. Most copywriters these days are freelancers that is running their business or whatever. So, we are indirectly talking about you running a business of your own as a copywriter.
You should be sorting out the accounts, knowing the rules and regulations, paying the taxes, doing advertisements, getting new clients and so on.
English;
We are using “English” because it is one of the most used languages in the copywriting network. Having this skill require you to be fantastic in Grammar, punctuation, spellings, abbreviations and so on.
To be clear, It is true if you say that you don't necessarily have to overuse them. It's a good thing that you should be a little creative to create a friendly atmosphere to the readers. However, you need to know them well-enough because there may be needs to break the rules someday.
In conclusion, having understood the points above, you should see copywriting skills isn't just dependent on one area or just being a writer. It's a lot more. And believe it or not, having a great sense of humor is also part of it.
