What is copywriting
Copywriting is an activity, the task of which is to write texts for advertising or marketing purposes, with their further distribution on printed materials, Internet pages, advertising paraphernalia and oral quotation. Yes, I did not confuse anything and not misprinted, the text that is written for his further reading, can also be copywriting. But, let's talk about everything in order.
Long before the creation of computers and even more so before the Internet, people used copywriting techniques to achieve their commercial or presentation goals. The names of small shops and corporations, slogans and slogans, commercial proposals and customized articles in printed publications - all these are the fruits of the minds, then copywriters. After the lapse of time, fortunately for marketers all over the world, the majesty of the Internet has seen the light of day.
A huge platform for advertising and trade, as an unplowed field required a lot of attention and development of its unseen resources. Most of the techniques from newspapers, magazines and brochures have migrated to the pages of websites. Since then, the Internet, from the previous sources of advertising, has pulled the blanket over itself and has become the most important marketing tool of any company.
This importance and scale of the network, left an imprint on copywriting, creating in the minds of most, a stereotype that this kind of activity, relate only to the vastness of the Internet. Clearly, that not everyone thinks so and most professionals involved in advertising activities, understand all the differences and nuances. But I will note that people who are just discovering the world of copywriting, often associate such work exclusively in the context - text+site=money, instead of the formula - text+n=money.
Note - The term “copywriter”, used in Runet in relation to people who are engaged in filling websites, is not quite correct. The original name for the current web-copywriting, will be (website content writer) - if we use the most appropriate translation, it is - “webwriter”. But people like to simplify everything and therefore, now in Runet, everyone who writes to order, under one comb become just a copywriter.
Having dealt with the history and its implications, I will tell you how to recognize copywriting in the text. The main difference between copywriting and other text is the uniqueness of the structure. In this case, I'm not talking about uniqueness by search engines. Real copywriting, is created by the author based on his experience, knowledge and thoughts on the topic of the text. Note that you should not exclude the fact that the use in articles conclusions made on the basis of other people's work. All, for some reason believe that the unique text implies something unrivaled unique - but it does not happen.
The experience and knowledge I mentioned earlier comes from reading other, previously created materials. The only question is how the author structures all the information in his head and presents it to the public in the form of a text. Unique presentation, using his vision or based on his experience and knowledge - is copywriting. Speaking in the context of the Internet, the text should also not be similar in structure to any other available in the search engine web.
To summarize - the final product of copywriting (article, text), should be structurally unique in comparison with the materials already available in the public domain.
Who is a copywriter - qualities of a successful copywriter
Many “experts” say - “anyone can become a copywriter, the main thing is to be able to type on a keyboard”. Yes, they can. They can be exactly the same as being a financier, mechanic, astronaut or anything else. A “green” copywriter can, for example, like a financier, count on a calculator, like a locksmith to screw a pipe or like a cosmonaut to press the buttons of his machine. But does the ability to perform elementary actions make him a financier, a locksmith or an astronaut? Definitely not! I'm of course exaggerating, using these professions as an example, but the fact is that copywriting should be studied no less than any other specialty to earn a decent living.
Definitely, the entry threshold to start practicing this craft and making the first profit is much lower than in the above examples, but it all depends on your goals. Writing for 50-200 $ per month, it's also work, but is it worth it. “Cheap” copywriting will require a lot of time and effort to earn, more or less decent income. In order for copywriting brought a big profit, you need to constantly improve and show your competence in the matter. Develop not only in terms of grammar, but also marketing, SEO, psychology and a number of other related sciences. If you really want to earn a lot, not typing 12-14 hours a day, you should develop in the following directions:
•Literacy. Undoubtedly, writing texts requires knowledge of the language in which it is composed. But at the same time, you should not forget that copywriting is not grammar - its purpose is not to study the correct construction of the sentence, but the impact of the text on the reader. Creating the necessary response from the audience is what matters. Grammar only allows you to pick up the keys to the addressee's thoughts.
•Writing speed. More you write - more you get. The speed of movement of fingers on the keyboard significantly affects the earnings of a copywriter. You should constantly strive to increase the speed of writing, to the level of unconscious typing. To begin with, you type words with two fingers, then several, then you learn to write “blindly”, and after that, to write “blindly” without thinking about where the button is located.
•Curiosity. If you don't know much, you are not interesting. The description of any product, service, action, etc. requires details and needs some zest. If you write, for example, about a lawnmower, and you only know that it can mow the lawn, the text will probably not stand out against the background of hundreds of the same. At higher levels of copywriting, there will be no opportunity to break through at all, if you will only give out all known and boring information. Constantly read, communicate and delve into things that you were not interested in before.
•Learning English. Undoubtedly, working with translations or writing articles for foreign sites is profitable, even if it is Spanish, French or another language, but English is always a priority. The fact is that the English-speaking audience of the Internet, is more than 1 billion people, with a global number of users in 2.5 billion. In comparison - the Russian-language segment of the world web, occupies only 80.5 million. A good knowledge of English will open the way to the world's largest content market. In addition, the average prices for copywriting in English, translated into rubles, hryvnias, soms, etc., will be higher than in the CIS.
•Constant search for an expensive direction. Most copywriters, start out with rewriting or posting, then move on to copywriting and partially master SEO. But then, as a rule, just try to squeeze the maximum from writing texts to fill sites, not really delving into other currents of this craft. They try to write faster, to gain clients who pay more and order steadily - but quickly bump into the limits of earnings due to the great competition and the value of the product. You should constantly try your hand at different types of copywriting. Start by writing speeches for friends and acquaintances, speaking in public, try to conduct marketing campaigns, make commercial proposals for companies, slogans and texts for promotional products of various kinds. Write articles for magazines, starting with the most unremarkable and poor, gradually moving to the famous and expensive. Do not be afraid to experiment and offer your services to likely customers.
I hope that I was able to reveal to you the versatility of copywriting, its meaning and possibilities. I understand that a lot of questions remain, including programs that check uniqueness, earnings on exchanges, protection from fraud and much more, but you can't talk about everything at once, so wait for the continuation in the next articles and don't forget - author's freedom is great, the lack of bosses is amazing, but in copywriting - money is the main thing.
