In a modern world, you can definitely earn a living by writing. Someone like J.K. Rowling or James Patterson is earning tens of millions of dollars from their best-selling novels. To make the New York Times best-selling author list, you have to sell 10,000 copies of your book. If you earn at least a 10% royalty, that equates to about $20,000 in your pocket as the author. There are other types of writing by which to earn an income, however, such as copywriting.
To be a successful copywriter, you’ll want to develop additional skills besides those associated with basic writing talent. In this post, we’ll discuss four copywriting skills you should have if you want to take your career to the next level.
Copywriting skills includes the ability to research
There’s research, and then there’s research. As a copywriter, you might perform various styles of writing, one of which might be to create news-based blog posts for clients. Such posts typically include a link to the source. If you are not adept in your research skills, the sources you choose might be poor quality.
For instance, if you are sourcing a news article to create a post for a personal injury attorney, you wouldn’t want to use a story where an automobile collision occurred but there were no injuries and no one was at fault. In other types of copywriting, your research can help you gain a better understanding of your topic and how to phrase your sentences to get a particular message across.
Successful copywriters know how to show rather than tell their readers things
The ability to show rather than tell something to a reader is known as ”visual thinking.” To develop top notch copywriting skills, you must be able write engaging copy. Engaging copy means that your words take on a life of their own. Readers are drawn in to an experience. They feel your words and see them in their mind.
Develop your critical thinking skills
Critical thinking ranks high on the list of copywriting skills you might need if you are using analytical writing. It is important to be able to infer ideas and to ask questions and spark thoughts in a reader’s mind. Critical thinking skills help you form judgments and interpret ideas. Such skills also help you present arguments of persuasion in writing.
Copywriting skills extend beyond basic writing skills, such as mastery of grammar and punctuation. Excelling as a copywriter involves many talents and skills rolled into one. Working closely with an experienced editor is another way to improve your skills as a writer. Copyeditors can make recommendations to revise written material, which, if implemented, can improve readability, and this is something all successful copywriters strive for in their work.
