When it comes to sales and marketing, there is no higher form of leverage than copywriting. Here are some ways that you can improve your copywriting skills very quickly. But don’t expect to be a Jedi overnight.
To master this skill can take years. But by applying a few surefire techniques you can get better in no time. Be consistent and you will get better. Some people have a better knack for writing than others. No problem.
Pick up a book on the subject
Go to amazon.com or head on down to your local bookstore. Study the classics and legends. The legendary copywriters. Study their headlines and stuff like that.
Study all of the ads you come across
Whether it be billboards, emails, magazines, mail. Any ad that gets you to take an action, study it. Really try to understand the psychology of that ad.
Rewrite a sales letter everyday
Some sales letters may be 20 pages long, some shorter. But this is powerful. It gets you thinking like a copywriter. Write this out on a pad. Daily. You’ll see other people’s styles and you’ll learn how to format your copy. Over time you’ll naturally write copy more persuasively.
Practice
You have to practice writing copy to get better at it. And to find your own style. You can do all of the other steps but if you don’t practice you’ll never really get anywhere. Period.
Whatever your business is, practice putting out articles, emails, wirting sales letters for your own business. Sure, they may suck at first. But that’s the only way you’ll get better.
You can read all you want and everything else but you have to get out there and write. You want your own style to flow out on paper.
Create a swipe file
All of the good copy that you come across put in a swipe file. Put them in a folder. Whether it’s online or offline. And revisit that folder. Add stuff that you receive in the mail that gets you to open the envelope. And stuff like that.
You’ll discover that as your copy gets better, your stuff if very conversational. You won’t so much worry about being grammatically correct. Forget about your English teacher when you write copy. You may have a one word paragraph. Who cares? It’s copywriting.
So get at it, and you’ll get better.
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Hi Lonnie,
My suggestion is to borrow copywriting and business writing books from a public library. Then if the book is one the reader enjoys and finds easy to learn from, splurge on a book purchase. I find great bargains on gently used books at http://www.halfpricebooks.com.
Collecting and studying direct mail can speed up the copywriting learning curve. T.V. commercials (particularly infomercials!)are a great way to gather effective headlines. There are also plenty of free and paid online copywriting tutorials. But before you spend your money or time on these, decide what kind of copywriting you want to learn first: SEO, direct response, ad copywriting, etc.
Then when you’re ready to challenge yourself, listen to radio ads and write down why the ad failed or succeeded at getting your attention.
Keep in mind that it might not be worth your time or expense to to do your own copywriting. In that case, you can always hire talented and experienced copywriters that focus on your niche market.
Sonya Carmichael Jones
http://www.marketingbuddha.com