Many people tell me they would like to try copywriting for themselves, but do not know how to say what they want to say, they can’t put it into words and they get writer’s block. What I tell them is they need to learn some simple copywriting skills to get them through that intimidating first page.
Before becoming a freelance copywriter I learned some simple tricks to protect against writer’s block. If you’re interested in copywriting these simple tricks, this will help you out.
Say What You Want
Many fail as copywriters because they struggle to put something down on the page; their first words. They sit there eager to type something, knowing what they want to say but not knowing how to say it. They have a fantastic idea to improve their marketing, but can’t find the right words to express it. This is where they make their mistake, don’t do the same.
With copywriting, or indeed any writing, there’s no need to get it right first time. It’s ok to write it wrong, just write what you want to say. Get your idea down on paper. Don’t worry about grammar, style, punctuation or the words you use, there’s plenty of time for that later. Just start writing straight away; put your ideas down into words and instantly, the blank page is defeated. Your copywriting has begun.
Turning to Text into Copy
Then go back and ‘polish’ what you wrote; now you’ll turn your badly written text into copywriting. Improving clumsy copywriting is much simpler than trying to write it right, right from the start.
Perfection
Now that you have completed a re-write, you will have a reasonable piece, but don’t be satisfied, for it to be successful copywriting, it needs to be perfect. Remove all unnecessary words, replace with words that lift the meaning and enhance descriptions. Delete dull, overused words and add evocative and exciting ones. Keep reading through your work, try and do this through the eyes of someone else, it is selling to you? Hone it until your copywriting is perfect.
Less is More
Is it perfect now? I’m not so sure. It’s a cliché, but less really is more when you are copywriting. Try and limit the number of words in your piece. It will help you improve the impact of the copy, because you’ll have to choose and use only the best, most effective words. If you are to become a successful copywriter, you must recognise the value of words, so use them sparingly.