Everyone has a different way of learning copywriting for beginners. Which is probably why most people don’t learn about skill. In fact, it’s hard to dedicate the time needed to fully commit to something. That’s why I want to share my step by step process that thousands of copywriters follow when they want to learn a new skill. It breaks things down simple enough to actually get started.
Have you ever wondered how to master copywriting? There are many different ways in which you can learn copywriting, but the most important thing is that you actually go out there and do it.
What Is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the ability to use the written word to persuade someone to take an action.
Now that could be to respond to an email message you wrote. It could be to purchase your product or service. It could be to “click here” or “buy this” on your website or take some sort of action.
Copywriting comes in all different shapes and sizes. Take a look around you. It’s everywhere. Every email message, Facebook Ad, landing page, Youtube Ad, TV commercial, movie script, billboard sign, sales letter you see is copy. I can literally go on and on.
And behind every product you buy and every piece of copy you see, there is a copywriter. That copywriter came up with the concept, wrote the message and persuaded you to make a purchase all with the power of the written word.
So let’s get started.
1. Commit To Become A Lifelong Learner
First, you want to start with reading the classics and learning the basic principles of copywriting that are known to work. If you’re already thinking about skipping this step then please stop reading here and don’t waste your time. If not, then please continue.
Here is a list of books I’d like you to start reading:
“The Adweek Copywriting Handbook” – by Joseph Sugarman
“Scientific Advertising” – by Claude Hopkins
“Ogilvy On Advertising” – by David Ogilvy
“The Gary Halbert Letter” – by Gary Halbert
“Great Leads” – by Michael Masterson & John Forde
“The Boron Letters” – by Gary Halbert
“How To Write A Good Advertisement” – by Victor Schwab
Now, this is a small sample of books that will be well worth your time but it doesn’t mean you should stop here. Make it a habit to always be learning.
Keep in mind that it’s one thing to read books but another to use books. I prefer to use books. As you’re reading, learn to take a few key concepts and put them into practice.
Also, try to get your hands on any copy or sales letters that were written by some of these Hall of Fame copywriters and read them too: Joe Karbo, Gary Bencivenga, John Caples, Eugene Schwartz, John Carlton, Gary Halbert, and Joseph Sugarman. A good place to look is at: swiped.co
2. Build Your Foundation With Copywriting Fundamentals
Once you’ve done all the things above, you need to focus on one of the most basic but powerful practices in copywriting. And that is:
Handcopying.
When I say to handcopy, I literally mean “handcopy” with nothing but a pen and some paper.
Every time I tell people to do this, I’m bombarded with this question: Can I type it out?
The answer is NO. There is NO shortcut for this.
I remember when Alan had taught me this secret. He told me that he had asked several people to do this simple task but no one did it except for two.
And one of them was me, Dan Lok. They said it was too much work and that’s part of the reason they never became successful copywriters.
Now, what I would like you to do is handcopy the successful sales letters you found that were written by the copywriters I listed for you. But the key here is to write it out not once but twice. Or more if you’d like but at least twice.
You might be wondering why I’m asking you to do this. The purpose is to imprint the writer’s style and flow into your brain. Ideally, internalizing their voice so that when you craft your own piece of copy, you’ll be able to inject their voice into your writing.
A 2009 and 2015 study suggests that the physical act of handwriting with a pen actually increased memory recall and recognition of words better than typing on a keyboard.
So remember if you want to become a good copywriter, put your pen to paper and copy those sales letters slowly and thoroughly.
The 3 Types of Copywriting Jobs
If you want to tap into all that copywriting demand, there are three main ways to do it:
- Work as a staff copywriter at an agency
- Work as a copywriter for an in-house marketing team
- Become a freelance copywriter
If you want a deep look into how much each of these roles can earn, check out my guide to copywriter salaries.
Here’s the TLDR:
- Agency copywriters start at an average of $47k and work up to an average of $88k.
- In-house copywriters start at an average $48k and work up to an average of $84k.
- Freelance copywriters are all over the place, but more than 20% are doing $100k+.
Landing an entry-level copywriting job is just a matter of drafting a good resume and acing your interview… you know… typical job stuff.
And if you live in a larger city or just get lucky with a copywriting job opening up near you, I would definitely recommend going for it and trying to spend around 2-3 years there. In an entry level position, you are essentially getting paid to be trained.
That said, this article isn’t about “how to become a copywriter and make $80k after 10 years”.
I promised you six figures, and if you want to hit that $100k mark in the next calendar year, there is only one viable option for you as a copywriter…
How To Become A Freelance Copywriter
If you want to really make bank in the next 12 months, freelancing is the only viable option.
And frankly, that’s a good thing.
People like to think that employment is more stable, but that’s not really true.
- You don’t control your salary.
- You don’t control your job security.
- You don’t control your process.
- You don’t control your time.
- You don’t control who your boss is or how they manage you.
Becoming a freelance copywriter means you take control over and responsibility for all of these things simultaneously.
It’s not easy, especially at first, but if you persist, you will find yourself with absolute control over your career and finances to a degree you never previously believed possible.
If you want to learn how to become a copywriter, follow these 5 steps:
- Learn the basics of persuasive writing
- Learn these 6 core copywriting skills
- Land your first few clients
- Develop and refine your freelancing process
- Build a stream of recurring leads
Think of the huge amount of content a lot of companies have to put out.
A single insurance company will have to put out all this stuff:
- Advertising campaigns on TV
- Ads on the internet
- Ads on radio
- Brochures for B2C sales
- Brochures for B2B sales
- Brochures for every different product
- Forms to fill out
- Forms to fill out for various different product lines
- Google ads
- Facebook ads
- Update their Twitter
- Update their Facebook page
- Make content for their website
- Make the content for their website about each different product
- Make sure their content is converting
- Make sure customers understand how to signup
- Send customers packets explaining their policy
- Have scripts for their sales people to follow
- Have scripts for their customer support people to follow
- Write press releases
- The list goes on and on and on and on…
Conclusion:
When it comes to learning copywriting, one of the best resources I’ve found is Copyblogger. The team over at Copyblogger have put out a number of posts and resources to help people learn how to write compelling headlines and online copy. I’ve learnt so much from them and want to share with you what I’ve learnt along the way. Hopefully, this page will help you start your journey to becoming a better writer.