3 Easy Steps To Becoming An Expert Copywriter
The 3 easy steps to becoming an expert copywriter are simpler than you might think. They are tried-and-true writing practices that anyone can do and they have been used by advertising agencies and marketing experts in all forms of business for years.
Before I get to what the 3 steps are though, let me briefly explain what copywriting means.
Simply put, copywriting is the act of writing copy…
And copy, is anything that is a written verbal message to market or advertise a product or service…
So to summarize in one sentance…copywriting is the act of writing sales or promotional materials to get consumers to buy goods or services.
Think of “copy” as sales writing that trys to get you to buy something.
Copywriting is important for one straight-forward reason, to make sales.
Expert copywriters spend less time copywriting than “rookies” and amateurs do and get higher sales conversion rates.
In other words, they make more money.
It certainly pays to know how to write good copy.
So how do you become an expert?
It’s really quite simple, many of the experts and good copywriters never went to school for writing copy nor do they have PhDs in psychology and consumer behavior.
They’ve simply followed the 3 easy steps to becoming an expert copywriter I’ve outlined below:
1. Start reading copy – the first and most crucial step is to get an understanding of what copy is and the best way to do that is to read copy. You can find copy in newspapers, magazines and all over the internet. But be careful though, remember that copy is sales writing, don’t spend your time looking over picture ads because those are not copy.
For a good example go to www.IIUToday.com and look over the page. That’s the kind of quality copy you need to be looking at and studying.
2. Create a SWIPE file – A swipe file is a word document or text file where you copy (literally) and paste the headlines, sub-heads, introductions, special offers, closing statements, etc… of sales pages you come across on the internet.
This is best done by creating a separate file for each part of a page’s copy…for example, create one file exclusively for storing headlines, one for sub-heads, one for introductions and so on…
The point is to make a database for every part of a sales copy letter. You then use the database you create as a reference for your own ideas and copywriting.
Let me be clear though, you don’t just copy and paste other peoples words and use them as your own! That is not what a swipe files is for. Once you do create a swipe file and use it ethically, you save yourself tons of time creating copy and learn to recognize what good copy is all about.
3. Practice writing copy-So far you haven’t had to do much work except browse the internet, read a little, and copy and paste what you find…see its easy!
Now for the hard part that you’ve made simple already by creating a swipe file. You’ve taken advantage of the fact that people have already done the work for you, this is what I call “leverage”.
No need to re-invent the wheel, your just following in the footsteps of what expert copywriters have been doing for years!
Now just piece together a sales copy using your swipe file as a reference and…wala! You’re on your way to becoming and expert copywriter the same way the experts started.
Don’t be nervous about your copy being perfect, no copy ever is! Just start practicing, follow the 3 easy steps to becoming an expert copywriter and you will be in no time!
Enjoy!
Good info Darin.
You guys are always “right on target” in explaining and describing the ‘how tos” in this business.
Thanks for your leadership.
Keep up the good work.