Hello copywriters and welcome to my first post on my brand new site Copywriting Jobs. I’ve put this website together to be a resource for all the latest copywriting jobs online so that you don’t have to spend hours searching the job boards for job that has already been taken.
You will find a daily post from me with all the latest job ideas plus some copy writing tips and a few ways you can start to use your writing skills to make money right away without having to even be employed by anyone.
Writing jobs are few and far between so you need to be first on the train when something comes up in copy writing.
I hope you enjoy reading my stuff and let me know if you have any questions.
If you have been following along with out “How to Write a Sales Letter Fast And Easy” series you can see part two below. We continue this topic with a very important concept.
Step #4: Deliver a message of importance
After having listed the features of your product, be ready to explain why each feature is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Explain why a lead-free paint that colors the product is good than the lead based one. You can use the benefit bullet for this one. Benefit bullet? Take a look at the samples below:
*Solar Panel Shingles- enables you to go solar without having to make your rooftop look like a space lab
*Lead-Free paint-not hazardous to your child’s health
* Contains L-carnitine-makes you burn fat while you enjoy this refreshing juice drink
See? It’s simple. Not only the process is easy, but it surely highlights the advantage. Write 50-100 of this feature-bullet formats and you’re on the right path.
Step #5: Put yourself in the customers’ shoes
Having done the first 4 steps, it’s high time that you put yourself in the shoes of the customers. Now, if another person sold you the product you’re selling, pointing out everything that you’ve pointed out as advantages and their importance, how would you take it? Would you care about what you’ve pointed out? Would it do you good? So, another thing to help you highlight your product’s features would be to know the following things:
*Products have to solve a customer’s problems
*In most cases, a product has to solve the issues of the prospective client, such as:
1. Make money/avoid losing money
2. Protect himself from emotional, mental and physical pain
3. Save time
4. Have fun
5. Become more attractive to others
6. Be envied by others
7. To gain prestige
8. Be different from the rest
Step #6: Collect and collect and then select!
After knowing all the selling points and highlighting them in forms of bullets, the next step of the preparation process is to aggregate all what you’ve written and review the facts carefully. Take it upon yourself to choose your strongest weapons as you separate the “real guns” from the “deceiving toy guns”. You have to know what really can help you in your quest to get that resounding yes from your prospective customer. Use the feature that sends the strongest appeal message and the one that solves the biggest problem. This will heighten your sales pitch.
Step #7: Ready. Get Set. Go!
Now that you know where your sales letter should revolve around, you can get started and compose that sales letter that promises you to rake in the cash. No more dilly-dallying as you might lose your momentum in writing. And when writing, state your points clearly without beating around the bush and the over-flowery and lick-ass type of introduction. You can start that sales letter by saying:
“If you are suffering from ( state the problem that your product solves) and would like (solution your product offers), (product name) is just the answer to this disturbing problem of yours.
Short but concise should be the game plan of sales letter.
Step #8: Keep the ball rolling
Just like anything else, it is usually the first step that is the hardest. You may experience difficulties in structuring your first few sentences but once you get through the initial stages, everything will follow smoothly. As indicated in #7, you can start your sales letter by mentioning the problem that a client may have, followed by mentioning the solution your product solves, then the introduction of your product. What’s next then? Here goes:
Opening paragraph( You can mention the supporting facts of your product)
Zero in on the adverse effects of the problem that your product has a solution to. Elaborate on how bad it is.
Slowly, shift away from the problem and say that there’s a solution
Introduce your product as heaven’s solution. Of course, you don’t have to make it sound literally.
Expound on how your product solves the problem.
Mention the other benefits of your product in the bullet feature format.
If your product has a limited promo, mention it as well while highlighting the promo price and the regular price difference and/or other perks that go with it.
Offer a money-back guarantee. This will prove how confident you are about your product.
Step #9: Make your letter eye-friendly
Personally, I don’t like reading articles and letters that are so continuous that sometimes you get lost as to what the main point is. The best way to avoid this visually heavy format is to break your article or letter by using sub headings. Each subheading should no be longer than 2 lines and have to be relevant to the points under it. This way, the reader can easily spot the gist of each paragraph by looking at the subheadings. For example, you’re selling solar panel shingles, you can break the whole letter in this way:
What is solar panel shingles.Expound in a paragraph or so
How different is solar panel shingle from the regular solar panels.Expound in a paragraph or more as well.
How to install solar panel shingles.Just the same, expound in a paragraph as well.
Step #10: Write an attention-grabbing headline
This is the part where you can make use of the first process where you searched and copied numerous taglines of various products. Of course, as stressed, only get an inspiration from them. Use your own creativity to come up with one. But make sure it has to be straightforward and sends an attention grabbing message in one phrase.
Step #11: Practice correctly constantly
At the onset, I mentioned that it is seldom for a newbie to strike a home run at the first bat. The key word here is practice. Practice is not enough to make things perfect. Constant correct practice does the trick! Just follow all the steps I told you and in no time, the power writer in you will be unleashed and soon, writing a killer sales letter that delivers the desired results will be as easy as pie!
Maybe you have heard of blogging but you don’t know what it is, then you’re relatively better than the one who has never heard of it.
What is blogging?
Technically, Blogging is the other word for Web Log. But, what is Web Log or Blog? When a person blogs (blog is both a noun and a verb), he simply uploads articles, short or long, onto the same place on the Internet on a regular basis. This regular basis can be daily, weekly, monthly or any time frame that has a regular pattern.
Who can blog?
More often than not, the best bloggers are those professional writers or just those people who just have the passion for writing. In short, you don’t have to be the kind of writer who has a by line in the newspaper, magazine or books. As long as a person knows how to play with words and is passionate in expressing those played words in the written form. Some people who blog are those who are into travelling and adventure. Since they are on the road most of the time, they don’t really have enough chance to send emails to family and friends in order to update them about the latest events in their lives. So, the best way is to blog! It’s a generic way to keep your people you know (and even those you don’t) to be informed of what’s going with you.
Blogging for other purposes.
It can’t be denied though that blogging has evolved in purpose over the years. Some have used this way to make attacks on those people who are in their bad graces, have irked their ire or those whom they just want to heckle. A blogger can turn a hush-hush into an international headliner, especially if the ones involved are celebrities in the likes of politicians and movie stars.
The perks of blogging
Apart from getting the chance to be the “authentic voice on the Internet” and honing one’s writing skill that can be used either in a positive or negative way, a person can actually make profit out of blogging. Many PR firms and marketing firms have actually employed bloggers to increase the media visibility of their clients’ products or services. This, however can a take a toll on the very purpose of blogging, which is to write what is true and actually happened or felt and not to write to get paid for licking other people’s ass.
You must have known by now that a copywriter’s job is one of the most exciting jobs in the world, not to mention that it’s also prestigious. Because of this, many people who want to enter the world of advertising engage in a cut throat competition just to get the job and stay afloat once they’ve got it. But how to Become a Copywriter?
Sad to say, even if you are a person with the smarts for words and imagery, talent alone can’t guarantee you the job. Surely, there’s more to it. If you really want to be a copywriter but yet you are constantly denied of the opportunity, don’t be downhearted. In time, you will realize this dream as long as you hold on to it. And while waiting for your dream to come true, I suggest that you do these things:
Step 1
Give yourself two years to fulfil your ambition to become a copywriter while preparing yourself to be one. Does this mean you have to turn down other job opportunities that come your way? Of course not! What I’m trying to say here is never depart from what you really want: to be a copywriter. Remember the difference between success and failure: Success happens to those who wish and work. Failure happens to those who wish and wait. While doing a job that has nothing to do with copywriting, continue preparing yourself to be a copywriter. Volunteer for your church, community programs and other venues by doing a lay out of the brochures, streamers or tarpaulins. If you are an expert in computer, you can probably do an AVP for a friend’s birthday or wedding. The important thing here is to have something to present in an interview when the opportunity for copywriting arrives.
Step 2
Say that you have a copywriting experience now, what’s next? Demand for a high price? Wrong! While some companies may tend to exploit your talent by giving you less for your real worth, it’s always better to keep your pride at bay. The keyword here is negotiate. Throw that take-it-or-leave-it attitude. It’s better to have one client for a low price than not to have one at all. Agree?
Step 3
Pull those strings, use your connections. Remember that we’re not supposed to use people, only things. But sometimes, it’s a necessary evil. At one point in our lives, we will be faced with a situation wherein we will be forced to do so. When we come to think of it, it’s not really evil. It’s just lowering our pride in order to get closer to where we want to be. If you don’t have connections or strings to pull, then, it’s high time for you to get not just one but as many as you can. Make a calling card and distribute to those people whom you think can help you. The keyword here is socialize. Attend as many parties and events as possible to find prospective clients.
Step 4
Specialize. Yes it’s true that in the world of advertising, innovation is vital. Any copywriter needs to be reinvent his style constantly. But it’s also necessary for a copywriter to find his niche and cement his mark in the industry. From whatever style he has established, the innovation has to come from there. This will give him a hold of what he’ll be recognized for.
If you’re trying to find out What Does a Copywriter Do? you’ve come to the right place. An Advertising Copywriter is responsible for an advertisement’s verbal or textual content, which may often include inputs from the client. A copywriter works for advertising agencies, public relations firms, company advertising departments, store and marketing firms, broadcast stations and written media firms.
A copywriter usually works as a part of a team. Advertising agencies may assign a copywriter in a team to work with other copywriters and art directors.
A copywriter has many duties and responsibilities, which are discussed below.
Key Duties
When an advertising agency is commissioned by a client, a team is formed to handle the tasks required by the client. The team is usually made up of an account director, an art director, a media expert and the Advertising Copywriter.
Start of the Project
The project starts with a meeting among the team members. The Advertising Copywriter’s role is to:
Intercede between the team members and the client
Take notes of the client’s specifications for the project
Brainstorm with the team
Come up with creative and unique concepts
During The Project
With the client’s input and requirements in mind, the Adverting Copywriter or copywriters in a team create and write drafts based on the client’s specifications. This process involves:
Coming up with creative texts, taglines and lyrics and tune for jingles
Editing. Refining the ideas brought up during the brainstorming
Writing formal drafts for the client to review
Presenting the concept drafts to the client
Taking down notes of the clients’ ideas for revisions
Formulating and creating ideas to satisfy the clients wants and needs
Presentation of the newly developed or improved concept to client
Redoing the process in a cycle until the client and all parties are satisfied
End of the Project
Upon agreement with the client, the copywriter must polish and refine the concept to further satisfy the client, or even exceed expectations. The copywriter must:
Write a finished copy of the ad, or tagline or concept whichever the client requests
Check content, semantic and syntax
Proofread the copy, grammar, etc.
Cast actors or voice-overs
Commission experts for print work, photo shoots, ad printing and designing
Other Duties of a Copywriter
An Advertising Copywriter must perform other duties in the course of a project. These may include:
Working with more than one client or working with more than one project at a time.
Being well-informed and updated with current ad and promotional concepts
Identifying the client’s target demographic and consumers
Doing the actual marketing work
Researching market competition and other products and services related to the projects
Creating trade journal articles, writing direct mail pieces, and designing brochures or media releases to back-up advertisements
Come to think of it, you get to work with the celebrities, squeeze all those creative juices out of you and be paid with a lucrative amount of money that common people from other industries can only dream of.
It is no secret however that the advertising world to which copywriters belong is plagued with dog-eat-dog competition. A copywriter has to be constantly innovative in order to survive. As others would put it, copywriters are as good as their last presentation.
For anybody who aspires to be a copywriter, the best way to pull away from the competitors is to start with Junior Copywriter Jobs. As a junior copywriter, one can learn a lot from senior copy writers by asking questions and brainstorming with them to come up with the best advertising campaign to deliver the message of the product of a client. Just like other copy writers, a junior copy writer is also involved in developing press releases, suggesting ideas, proofreading and editing materials and carrying out other tasks given to him by the senior headwriter.
Thus, if you get the chance to be a junior copywriter, you can be sure that you are on the right track in terms of your advertising career. Never mind if it’s an entry level position. You’re already given the ladder with that post. All you have to do is climb your way to the top! You are placed in a position to learn the ropes of the industry while you get paid, and not just paid, but paid well. Should you decide to transfer to another advertising agency in the future, you will have a track record that will better your chance to get hired or even earn a bag a higher position in the advertising world. If not, you can always start your won business as a copywriter. After all, more and more companies nowadays hire freelance copywriters on a per project basis.
Having said all that, it goes without saying that you’ll never be at the losing end when you opt for a junior copywriter position in the advertising world.
Are you interested to have a job that will make you brush elbows with celebrities?
If your answer is yes, then I suggest that you take up an advertising course and be a creative copywriter for an advertising company!
Advertising agencies usually employ creative copywriters on a permanent or on a freelance basis. Their main responsibility is to create words and images that will deliver the main message of the product of their clients. Creative copywriters usually work as a group wherein they brainstorm for ideas that will help sell a product or a service.
Copywriters produce copy intended for either:
A) Above the line advertising which makes use of the mass media like TV, cinema, interactive media, posters and radio scripts that promote brands.
B) Below the line advertising that makes use of the conventional way of promoting through direct communication like brochures, press releases or direct mail.
Copywriters have to generate a concept that should grab the consumers’ attention either in the form of straplines, slogans, body copy, jingles and scripts. And in order to achieve this, they have to meet with account executives to know what their clients want and the message they want to send. It is also vital for them to be familiar with the product they are about to promote: what’s the market it’s intended for and what actions do its competing products do in the market.
However, even if they’ve already come up with the best concept in their opinion, it doesn’t mean that they’re already in the clear. The creative director can always reject the team’s product of sleepless nights and days of pressure if it’s not in his good graces. In short, even before a concept is presented to the client, its fate is at the mercy of the creative director!
‘But let’s say that a concept passes the standard of the creative director, does it mean that the job of the creative copywriters is done? Of course not! They’ve only passed the first stage.
Various copies have to be made that will be developed into a storyboard that, upon presentation to the client, can undergo several modifications or revisions. Making sure that the client-approved concept is put into action is the next job for the creative copywriters. Thus, they have to oversee the phase by phase progress of the work by coordinating with designers, illustrators, printers, photographers and production companies up to the booking of the models or other talents in the production!
While it’s true that the entire process of advertisement is no easy task for copywriters, it can’t be denied that they have one of the most exciting jobs in the world. In addition, they are one of the most well paid people: Don’t you know that in London creative copywriters are paid between 18,000-22,000 pounds a year?
Well, isn’t that cool? Not only they get to express their creative juices and brush elbows with celebrities, they get paid for fun too!
For those of you that want to Submit An Article to a Magazine you can skip my little story and get right to the tips at the bottom of this article…
As somebody who was always asked to write the scripts for classroom skits and some school program dramas, I sometimes wonder if I still have the talent for weaving a story out of what I see around me, out of my own experiences, out of the figment of my own imagination or out of the fusion of these. As a newspaper columnist and a magazine writer, I’ve focused on the kind of writing that requires facts and opinions, which is a far cry from the kind of writing that employs fictitious names and events that are free from the constraints (well, almost) of facts.
If only I had the time, I would definitely write one story that will talk about a new breed of superhero. As to what powers he or she will have, I still have to think about it.
But..eherm! Did you know that once I tried submitting a short story to a magazine (years prior to my being magazine and newspaper writer) and that it actually got published?
Well, the truth is that, the story was very simple but I guess it was just timely. You know, two friends, male and female who got into a feud because the female devised a plan to destroy her friend’s relationship with his girlfriend because she was in love with him. Though it may sound like it was taken from MY Best Friend’s Wedding, sorry to tell you that my story had been published three years before the movie was shown in the theaters. Now, what made it timely? Because the two reconciled at Christmastime with the help of the girlfriend who forgave the female friend, and that story was published in the December issue of the magazine.
I do encourage everybody out there to Submit An Article to a Magazine. I just don’t get the point of writing a short story that no one reads but you. If your story is good, there’s definitely a space for you in the magazines. Just make sure that what you’ve written is published in the magazine that features such kind of story. You just can’t expect a horror story to appear in a food magazine, can you?
Now, if you haven’t written a story yet but you are already determined to have it published in a particular magazine, I suggest that you obtain the guidelines of that publication. You have to know the maximum and minimum word limit for the story you will write. Of course, you also have to know certain limitations like use of foul language among other things. You also need to write your story under the format the publication requires.
After obtaining the guidelines, see to it that you follow what is required. Write your story well. Read. Revise.Read. Revise.
Once you are sure that your story is final, write to the magazine, addressing the editor politely and specifically mentioning his correct name. This will give him an impression that you are a professional person who wants to have a story published. Although online submission is popular nowadays, it is still better to submit your cover letter and manuscript through the courier.
Then, the next step of the process is to wait. Remember, patience is a virtue.
But in the event that your story will be rejected, don’t allow frustration to set in.
Everybody has experienced rejections after all!
You can always try and try as long as you hold on to your dream.
The great thing about direct marketing copywriting is that there is a wealth of copy out there that has pulled in millions of dollars in sales, and you can use this as a foundation when you write your own stuff.
You should never copy outright but just use the wealth of trial and error that has gone on over the years to your advantage
The first golden rule of copywriting is that you must learn from the best and keep a swipe file of any successful copy you can find.
The problem with most swipe files is that they are not set up correctly and most of the copy they contain will not really help you in your own writing. This is a big problem and one which I would like to address in this article.
Having a good swipe file will be the most important thing in your direct marketing copywriting toolbox.
So the big question is what on earth is a swipe file?
The answer is simple. Your swipe file is a place for you to make a note of anything that you find interesting in other peoples copy. Collect headlines, graphics, call to actions and slogans.
Anything that will spark off the ideas in your head and get you thinking of really great ideas for yourself.
Your main goal over the next week should be to start a swipe file, because without it you are trying to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to write.
You should get five plastic files and put a sticky note on the front of each one with a different area of the writing that you want to track…
Direct Marketing Copywriting Swipe File Topics
1. Calls to actions
2. Catchy slogans
3. Email messages
4. Money back guarantees
5. Graphics
Why not digital?
It’s true that you could save quite a bit of paper by putting all this in a file on your computer. But then you would miss out on the world of great copy to be found on the front covers of magazines and newspapers. They have the hardest job to trying stand out on the magazine rack so need to look at their tactics closley.
If you would like to include a web page in your swipe file just print in out and highlight the good bits.
The more you have in your swipe file the more powerful it will be, and you should remind yourself to take a look at it each time you start direct marketing copywriting.
The life of a direct mail publisher is a hard one. Without these direct mail ideas 90% of what your write will get thrown in the trash can. Making your mailing stand out from the crowd can be very expensive and very tricky.
But have no fear because I have 6 direct mail ideas for you that will help increase your conversion rate..
6 Direct Mail Ideas
1. People always open a telegram first – even though they’re not very common these days people still love that old style brown paper and rip it open fast. So the trick is to style you mailing as a telegram.
2. The free sample works – this will cost you a fortune but I guess that you have a few bucks to play with if you’re thinking of doing direct mail rather that email marketing.
The basic idea is that you give a sample of whatever your selling in your direct mailing piece. This works like ‘the puppy dog close’ where a pet store owner would let the customer take the puppy home for a couple of days to see if they liked it. You just try getting your kids to let you take the puppy back… no chance!
This also works with the law of reciprocity where your prospect will feel obliged to give you something back in return.
3. Make your letter stand out in the mail – I once used 45, 1 penny stamps on a mailing and it looked so weird that the open rate was great.
4. Think russian dolls – a nice technique is to include an envelope inside an envelope that helps to pre-sells your prospect.
5. The Christmas stocking rule – make your direct mailing have an interesting and intriguing shape that will force the recipient to open it.
6. Follow up – the fact is that it takes up to 7 messages for a customer to feel confident in buying your stuff. So try and take them on a journey with each piece, and leave cliff hangers in your direct mail so that they will be excited to receive your stuff.
photo credit: aprilzosia
