The Busy Words Blog

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.

Good copy, that’s text, words – the bit that people read, is, most business women and men agree, crucial.

In a marketing campaign, good copywriting is as important as the design, the timing and the media used; sometimes more important. Often though, copywriting is overlooked, the approach taken is that everyone can write, so why pay someone to do copywriting.

In reality though, copywriting goes hand in hand with graphic and web design; you wouldn’t leave that to an amateur and neither should the copywriting be left to anyone without proven skills.

A Copywriter’s Value
A copywriter with experience will think of new approaches, use gripping and inspiring phrases, use subtlety and avoid tackiness. A copywriter will find a balance between predictability and surprise; and will vastly improve your company’s written communication, ensuring it doesn’t read unprofessionally, irritate or bore. And even better, a good copywriter will ensure it stands out in a competitive market place.  

Anyone Can Claim to be a Copywriter
The trouble is, unlike graphic design and web design, there are no technical barriers preventing someone from becoming a copywriter. Copywriting can be done on any PC. So you must choose your copywriter with care, there are many freelance copywriters out there and all are charging different rates for their vastly differing copywriting skills and experience.

Choosing a Copywriter
When choosing a copywriter, always ask to see work samples, this is a great guide of how good they are, make sure you ask to see their copywriting in at least three different formats. For example, a sales letter, an advert and a brochure. There are no guarantees that they actually wrote it though, so you can also ask for references, professional people who have worked with your copywriter before; make sure you follow them up.

Copywriting Ideas
Have a chat with the copywriter, ask them to suggest some copy ideas and explain how they will approach your project. Don’t necessarily expect them to have hundreds of ideas off the top of their heads and they will only be as good as the brief you give them, but the copywriting ideas they do give you will help you judge their suitability as the copywriter for the task they have in mind.

Copywriting Rates
The rates a copywriter will charge for his or her time can be as varied as their skills, be sure to ask for quotes from a selection. Please be aware though, you get what you pay for and getting a price for copywriting is more complicated than just asking for an hourly rate. Ask for a price to complete the copywriting project, you have no control over how long the copywriter will take to do the job, so an hourly rate is meaningless. One may charge 50 an hour and take two hours, another 25 an hour and take six hours to complete the copywriting project.

Richard Jebb
Freelance Copywriting Services
www.wordsthat-work.co.uk