Quick And Easy Steps To Becoming A Sales Copywriter
posted in List Marketing |As with any field, becoming a Sales Copywriter, like ewen chia for example, requires studying and practice. It is important that you dedicate enough time to practicing and mastering the skills to become an effective Sales Copywriter. The time you invest will be well worth it once you are well-known and making a living writing excellent sales copy.
The first thing to do as you get started is to read every book on sales copywriting you can find. Start with resources on writing styles and if you’re at all shaky with grammar and English usage, brush up on these basics. You’re not going to get far as a copywriter if your work looks as if it was written by someone who doesn’t know the language. As for writing styles, the AP Style Guide and the Chicago Manual of Style are good places to start.
Keep up with the fields of advertising and marketing by watching the media carefully and reading as many resources as possible. Books like internet wealth system are a great starting place. Look at advertising with a critical eye for what sort of copy is effective as well as copy which falls flat. Pay attention when you hear people talking about advertising. When you hear teenagers talking about the latest video game or soft drink commercial, this is something to take notice of – so is the fact that your spouse turns to a different channel every time a certain commercial comes on.
Sales copywriting for different media takes different approaches. As a novice copywriter, you may want to begin by working on one particular format such as radio or television ad copy, copywriting for the web or writing for print ads. By watching out for advertising as you read, listen and watch the media, you’ll be able to make a decision about which format matches your interests most closely.
Many advertising agencies will suggest you have a college degree in a copywriting-related field. A college education helps but isn’t mandatory. Degrees in English, Advertising, Journalism, Marketing and other related majors will make you a more appealing candidate for a steady job at a copywriting firm. It doesn’t have to be a Master’s Degree, or even a BA. Some extremely creative sales copywriters have an associate’s degree, or in some cases, a couple of community college courses.
What really matters is the work you’ve done. So how can you become an experienced copywriter who agencies will want to hire? You can do an internship, which will give you some real-world agency experience and let you build your portfolio.
As an intern, you generally won’t be paid (or at least not paid much), but at this point in your career, the experience and opportunity to add to your portfolio are more valuable to you than a salary. Your portfolio is what agencies and prospective clients will be the most interested in – and interns who demonstrate ability and put together a good portfolio during their internship have a very good chance of being hired for a permanent position at the firm if one opens up.
A portfolio of quality work is what will get agencies interested in you as a sales copywriter. In order to make a career in copywriting, you have to learn to sell – starting with learning to sell your own skills as a copywriter.
