by Team AllYourVideogames | Apr 30, 2022 | Content Marketing |
You know when an ad comes out and it can't get out of your head? You can be sure you have a Copywriter behind it. It can be in jingle format, small texts, big stories, YouTube videos or whatever creativity allows. He is the professional responsible for the development of the text and known as a Copywriter (also called a “copy”). Now, how to be a professional Copywriter?
The professional is not a novel writer, more than that, the Copywriter is a researcher. He needs to be constantly researching and be aware of the market, the audience and many other subjects that go beyond his niche. So that, in this way, you have a stocked repertoire when writing.
Copywriter writes for various sectors of digital marketing: ads, capture pages, sales pages, sales letters, remarketing ads, email marketing. However, Copy doesn't just write what comes to your mind, but what needs to be said for the client to make a decision.
Our team interviewed the Isabella Pontes, proofreader and content producer at a communication agency in NiterĂłi, Rio de Janeiro. She tells how she was enchanted by the communication area, what her journey as a Copywriter has been like and much more! Come check it out!
Learn more: Creative Ads: 18 Creative Ads to Get Inspired
Copywriter or Copywriting, what's the difference?
It is common to confuse these words, copywriting and copywriter. The copywriter is the professional who creates persuasive texts and copywriting is aimed at writing content for decision making. Let's exemplify, the copywriter is the one who writes using copywriting techniques, that is, content production strategies in order to convince the reader to perform a specific action.
The aim of copywriting is to direct your audience to make a decision, as mentioned earlier. But what would that be “decision making”? It can be related to a direct purchase or some action that is within this process. This usually happens when talking about a product or service and when selling an idea or offering content.
The Copywriter's job is to develop a text with persuasion and using mental triggers (mental triggers are a set of writing techniques, they are terms in order to act as influencers of the human brain), to arouse interest in the reader, with the aim of generating conversions and sales for your business.
And anyone who thinks it's a recent profession is wrong. We can say that since 1828 this craft already existed. The American Noah Webster and also a lexicographer, produced original texts both in writing and in print. Time passed and gained more and more space and, in 1870, the first copywriter was identified, who became known as the professional responsible for writing advertisements.
And even today, to be a good professional in this area, it is necessary to know how to write well, understand the subject, create persuasive texts and be able to convert into sales.
Learn more: What is copywriting: 6 tips for a copy that converts
What does a copywriter do?
But do you really know what you do and how to be a professional Copywriter? Below are some of the responsibilities of this role.
- Video and article guide: whatever the type of content, whether it is written or spoken, what will determine is its structure. A structure known by this professional, who knows very well how to create content that is engaging, relevant and with specific techniques that make an article more captivating.
- Online ads: With the internet becoming more and more common, being used by companies and even small businesses, today it is possible to regularly see ads on social networks, YouTube or Google. All this to draw the attention of a target audience, with communication being the bridge and image and language being its tools.
- Telemarketing Roadmap: did you know that all good telemarketing communication must be created by a copywriter? As much as it may seem outdated, telemarketing is an area that also requires a lot of good communication and an attractive script.
- E-mails: e-mail is a sales channel widely used by companies today. Your content is also produced by a copywriter. Companies that adopt this tool of selling by email not only can, but should, have a copywriter who has these skills on their team to direct this channel.
- Product catalog: the use of catalogs or menus is very common not only in the physical environment, but also in the digital environment, it is worth mentioning that it is part of communication and is also done by copywriters. They are the ones who apply the necessary copywriting techniques to convince the client.
- Sales letter: The Sales Letter is one of the most important functions for a copywriter who wants to gain prominence in a company. The creation process means that one click can generate thousands of results and returns from people who want to buy a certain product. Of course, but for that, it is essential to use copywriting techniques.
Mistakes You Can't Make as a Beginner
If you want to become a professional copywriter, you need to know that there are some practices that are not recommended for those who want to gain notoriety and attract good results for their brand.
- Weak and repetitive text: try to make your text not only cohesive without Portuguese mistakes, try not to leave it with precarious language, in addition to the absence of relevant information for the persona;
- Talk only about yourself: know that the public does not want to be informed only about products and offers. It goes far beyond that, your user wants to find affordable solutions for their needs;
- Incoherent language: the copywriter needs to be straight with the company's target audience. This will help him to also be familiar with vocabulary and, with that, be able to establish solid and efficient communication.
Learn more: What is the best digital marketing course?
How much does a Copywriter make?
Have you ever stopped to think how much a Copywriter makes? The profession has grown a lot in recent years and has been increasingly valued in the market. In the position of Copywriter, you can start earning a value of R$ 2.500,00. A copywriter salary can reach up to BRL 30.000,00 per month.
The average salary for Copywriters in our country is BRL 5.000,00. The internet has become a place full of opportunities and has further expanded work not only for permanent employees, but for the self-employed and freelancers.
Learn more: Marketing Salary: know the salary ranges in the area
Copywriting book tips
Learning is never too much. Read a lot. Explore the internet. Here, we have gathered titles for those who want to learn or improve their knowledge in the field of copywriting. Both in related topics such as digital marketing, sales and technology and personal growth. And for those who don't give up a good book, these will help you further leverage your career and your business. Check out the 10 best books on copywriting.
- Permission Marketing (Seth Godin);
- Sell or be Sold (Grant Cardone);
- Weapons of Persuasion (Robert Cialdini);
- Pitch Anything (Oren Klaff);
- Big Black Book (Mark Ford / Rocky Vega);
- Uncomplicated Copywriting (Victor Palandi);
- Experts Secrets (Russell Brunson);
- Copywriting Secrets (Jim Edwards);
- The 16-word sales letter (Evaldo Albuquerque);
- Deep Work (Cal Newport).
Join discussion groups
Always be on top of groups that talk about the area you are interested in. Remember that at the beginning of the text we talked about copywriters being researchers? So, always be researching, attentive to the news and so on. Discussion groups serve as an environment for clarifying doubts and exchanging experiences among members. Not to mention that there is a very high chance of getting tips and opportunities in these environments. See what we separated:
- Facebook group: Copywriting our country
- Group not WhatsApp: Copywriting our country
- Non-Telegram group: Storycopy
Tools Every Copywriter Needs
If you are starting a career or already working with copywriting, you need to know what are the main tools that will help you succeed. We know that the help of tools is fundamental and indispensable to facilitate and expand your work even more. That's why it's so important to invest in the right tools when setting up a project, managing teams and tasks, and even planning future goals. See our tools below:
- Google Drive – An important App for those who manage many projects, great for storing, sharing files and folders using any mobile device, tablet or computer. The App is free.
- Google Docs – With Google Docs, you can write, edit, use offline, comment and collaborate wherever you are. It really makes it easier to work. And its features are free.
- Google Forms – With Google Forms, you can collect and organize information in small or large amounts. You can do research, understand who you're talking to to start a project and make it more like you! The App is free.
- Bear App – Serves to customize your notes. You can organize and tag your documents in hashtags, have word counter and reading time marker for each note. Free too, but up to a certain limit. Then, if you want, you can pay.
- Evernote – An App that serves to make summaries and content for Instagram, allows you to record notes as a voice message and edit PDF files. The App is also free and you only pay if you want to access more features.
- Odysseus – Ulysses is also an App for writing. It allows you to manage documents, its synchronization is fast and organize your projects. It is paid, but you can try the free option.
- Dictionary of Synonyms – Great for enriching your vocabulary when writing. Swap complex words for words that are easier to understand and that better fit your text. The site is completely free.
- Click Up – ClickUp is a management program. It helps you manage your projects, organize documents and tasks, spreadsheets, time tracking, even screenshot and recording. There is the free but limited version and there is the paid version which has more features.
- Monday – Monday is a program that also helps in the management part. It helps you delegate, organize your tasks and organize the tasks assigned to your team. The program is paid, but a free trial period is available.
- Trello – Here you can collaborate, organize projects and reach new peaks of productivity. Trello lets you manage your tasks and even customize them to suit you or your team. Its resources are free.
What you do and how to be a professional Copywriter with Isabella Pontes
Hello Isabella! How are you? Tell us a little about yourself!
My name is Isabella Pontes. I'm 23 years old and I'm a Literature student at Universidade Federal Fluminense, as well as a proofreader and content producer hired by the communication agency Goldoni Conecta.
Why did you decide to work with copywriting?
I fell into the parachute communication sector and fell in love. I believed that a Letters undergraduate student could only be a teacher or proofreader, but I discovered that writing (my passion) could be used to convince and charm people, and not just to teach the difference between adnominal adjunct and nominal complement.
We see that this position is quite occupied by Social Communication professionals, but we also realize that this market is very versatile and adaptable. As a Letters student, were you already thinking about working with digital content or did you have a wider range of options?
As I said earlier, I didn't know I had options other than teaching and reviewing, because unfortunately, the Faculty of Letters trains us for an academic career and not for the job market. Having contact with communication at Goldoni expanded my horizons and made me develop an interest in areas of language (such as semiotics and discourse analysis in linguistics) that I didn't pay much attention to before. However, I emphasize here once again that students of Letters are not prepared to think about many options, they do not even have the opportunity to have contact with them to know if they will be interested or not.
What was your biggest influence as a Copywriter?
Maybe the expected answer is the name of a person, but I have to say that my biggest influence was seeing the first content I wrote published, because I went from passive consumer of this type of content to the producer. Most of the time, I think: if I were interested in such a subject, would I want to be reading this? Would these words convince me? And then I shape my words or my approach to what I would like to read if I were in the consumer's shoes. It's a game I love to play.
What is it like to work with copywriting? Do you feel fulfilled in this area?
In my mind, working with copywriting is almost as rewarding as teaching, because it is often linked to the dissemination of knowledge and information, which I believe is always beneficial. It was an area that I fell in love with at first sight, so yes, I feel highly accomplished.
How do you assess the market for copywriters who are graduating today?
I stopped being an intern a short time ago, but I can see that the communication market is getting bigger and more in need of volume. We all always look for the pain of our problems on the internet, don't we? Copywriters are there to make sure questions are answered.
Learn more: How to get a job online
Should Copywriters Choose a Niche to Work?
I believe that no matter the area, specialization is always a double-edged sword. When you specialize too much in something, you become highly efficient at the subject, but this reduces your learning time in other segments. In a growing market such as communication, I believe it is important to always be an expert in a niche, but never stop updating and training in others, after all, knowledge is never enough.
Finally, if you could give a tip or advice to anyone studying copywriting, what would you say?
I believe the most important advice is to never stop studying and learning, because all the information we absorb can be useful to us at some point. I say this because, despite having studied literature and Portuguese my entire life, I managed to use my knowledge in a different area from what I and others expected of me.
A more concrete and more famous example of what I mean is the typography course that Steve Jobs took in his youth. He was an economics student taking a typography course. At first, it seems highly useless, right? What does one thing have to do with the other? But it was precisely this course that led him to have an idea, now realized for us, decades later, on the options of writing this text in Arial, for example, and not in Cambria.
We have the font choices on the computer because he came up with this idea when it seemed irrelevant. Today, working with communication, I ask myself: what would become of us in a world without Time News Roman? How to give credibility to a thesis with a source like Courier New robotics? Or the dreaded Comic Sans? They seem like typical designer concerns, and they are! But so are copywriters, academics, presidents, and judges. By that, I mean that, no matter what course you decide to take, all knowledge is relevant, especially when it comes to creativity, which is the area of ​​communication.
Interested in learning more about becoming a professional copywriter? Tell us in the comments
