Copywriting is *so* much more than just words on a page. At its core, it’s about connecting people with the right solutions for their needs and wants, using messaging that truly resonates with them. (You’re basically playing Cupid—but with words instead of arrows!)

And sure, there’s no denying that writing killer copy takes skill. But remember that no one is born knowing how to write copy—even the highest-paid copywriting maestros had to start somewhere. We all learned how to do it, and with these expert tips from working copywriters, you can, too! 

1. Know Your Audience

When people think about what copywriting is, they often have this perception that it’s all about creating catchy taglines and witty wordplay. But if your words don’t speak to your target audience, then it really doesn’t matter how clever your copy is. To master effective copywriting, you have to tap into what makes a specific audience tick before you even consider sitting down to write.

Why would the reader be interested in this piece? What problems are you helping them solve? And how are you going to creatively present a solution to that daily headache they’re grappling with? 

Spending some serious time putting yourself in your customer’s shoes will help you tailor your message to speak directly to them. It will help you use the same language that they use and highlight the benefits that are most significant to them. 

With a good grasp of their pain points and motivations, you increase the chances that they will take the action you want them to take, whether that’s making a purchase, scheduling a call, or something else entirely.

2. Write with a Clear Purpose in Mind

We just touched on the importance of inciting readers to take the next step (whatever that may be)—but let’s not forget that is the essence of all copywriting.

So, before you even think about crafting your first sentence, make sure you are clear about what action you want your readers to take as a result of reading your copy. Do you want them to subscribe to a newsletter? Download a podcast episode? Whatever it is, your writing should be focused around that single goal. 

For example, say your client has asked you to write a social media post. Is your goal to boost engagement by getting more comments on the post? Is it to increase reach by getting more shares? There are many types of social posts and each type has a specific goal. 

Once you are clear on the objective, make sure you write to achieve that objective, leaving out any potential distractions.

3. Focus on the End Benefit

When it comes down to it, consumers are, by nature, pretty egotistical. They don’t really care about a certain business or brand—they care about how it benefits them. The moment a business stops providing value, customers won’t hesitate to leave. Pretty brutal, huh?

That’s why it is so crucial for any copywriter to understand the difference between features and benefits. One of the rookie mistakes when it comes to writing copy, is focusing too much on the “what” and the “how” (think lists of product features, technical specifications, etc.). But the key to creating persuasive copy is actually in the “why”.

And to effectively dig into the “why”, you have to get inside your customer’s head. What’s really keeping them up at night? What would make their life easier, happier, and more fulfilling?

For example, I highly doubt someone would be fretting at night about the ins and outs of a money management tool. But they *are* going to be kept awake by anxieties around debts, money troubles, or not being able to save for the future. 

Writing about the benefit is *the* most important tactic for crafting copy that converts. So once you’ve identified the key benefits for a particular audience, strive to always highlight them where you can—put them in your subject lines, headlines, and make them the first thing the reader sees. 

4. Imperfect Action is Better than Perfect Inaction

When you’re just starting out, it can sometimes feel like every other copywriter has it all together. That can often make your inner critic rear its head, causing a lot of resistance when it comes to actually sitting down to write.

Our brains don’t need much of an excuse to procrastinate, especially when we’re faced with a challenge. And with a whole world of distractions waiting at your fingertips, it’s easy to get sucked in. But if you want to set yourself up for success, one of our top pieces of advice for copywriters is to just get that first draft down!

And let’s be clear here: the first draft is by no means going to be the polished masterpiece you send off to the client (more on that in tip 7). Think of it more as a brain dump, where you get the chance to get all your thoughts out of your head and onto a document—just like chatting with a friend to brainstorm ideas. 

Embracing this mindset can help you dive into the writing process without getting bogged down by perfectionism (aka staring at a blank screen for hours).

It’s always a good idea to schedule out a time in your calendar (ideally at the time you feel most productive) to make sure you actually do this important first step. Because remember, getting started is often the hardest part—once you’re in the flow, the magic will follow!

5. Keep it Simple

It’s crazy how much information our poor little brains are expected to process. The average American is exposed to something like 4,000 and 10,000 marketing messages every single day. 

That’s why, for the majority of copy, you’ll want to aim for easy and simple language.  We don’t want to make our readers work too hard when they’re sifting through that much information on a daily basis!

When you first start out copywriting, there’s certainly a temptation to jazz up a piece of writing with long, fancy words. But in reality, that could be a surefire way to lose your audience’s interest, or—even worse—make them look for the information elsewhere. Our job isn’t to add unnecessary fluff, it’s to maximize the number of people who will read, absorb, and act on your words.

If you’re worried you’re overcomplicating things a bit too much, the Hemingway App is a great tool also great to make sure you’re writing as fluently, precisely and concisely as possible. It’s great for checking passive and active voice, the use of adverbs, and it also offers ‘simpler’ forms of phrases and words.

6. Break the Rules!

This one is definitely the most fun tip…mainly because it appeals to my rebellious side. But yes, as copywriters, we get to break the rules!! (Woohoo!)

Remember all those rules that were drilled into you in English class? All those things you were told that constitutes “good” writing? Well, I hate to break it to you but when it comes to copywriting, they’re usually not that helpful.

Good copywriting is like good driving—you shouldn’t notice it. When your writing draws attention to itself, it takes attention away from the message underlying the words. And the whole point of copywriting is to communicate a message. 

Of course, it’s still writing, so the usual rules of writing apply. But it’s also about having a conversation with the reader, which means communicating in a way that reflects how people speak and makes it effortless to read.

To keep the conversation flowing, sometimes that means breaking the rules a little. So yes, you *can* start sentences with “and”, ‘but”, or “because”. (Seriously, someone even made a website to end this debate for good!)

7. Self-Editing is a Must

Remember we told you copywriting was not just about throwing words onto a page? Well, part of that is also because a large chunk of copywriting is actually editing. And we don’t just mean looking for typos and grammatical errors (although that’s still important, of course). When you self-edit your copywriting, you also need to focus on making sure the actual copy is as strong as possible. 

Every word should convey something important—duplicating a word misses an opportunity to convey something new. Read through your work carefully to make sure you’re not wasting precious space and opportunity by repeating words or using unnecessary words (planning in advance is a personal favorite). 

Bonus tip: Reading your work out loud can make it a LOT easier to catch these things and de-jargon your work!

8. Be Open to Feedback

We get that receiving feedback can feel uncomfortable when all you really want to hear is, “Wow, it’s absolutely perfect!” But as copywriters, it’s part of our job to embrace feedback so that we can get the project to the best possible place.

Getting feedback or requests for revisions doesn’t mean that you’ve “failed”; instead, see it as just a normal part of the process. And if you don’t receive any feedback, don’t hesitate to ask for it—it’s only going to improve your work and allow you to deliver more value to your clients.

9. Keep Learning

One of the most important things to remember when you’re learning a new skill is that it’s supposed to be hard. This is a brand new career, after all! If it doesn’t come easily to you when you first start out, that’s perfectly okay (performing heart surgery for the first time probably didn’t come that easily to a surgeon, either!).

It all comes down to practice. And one of the ways we always encourage our Comprehensive Copywriting Academy students to improve their copy, is to look out for copy in the wild. Read the ads you see around you and analyze how they’re written. Is the benefit to consumer clear? Is it obvious what the next step is? Would this resonate with their target audience? Not all of them will be great—and when they’re not, that’s your opportunity to have a go at rewriting the copy to improve it!

10. Avoid the Niche Trap

At the start of your copywriting career, you can’t possibly know what kind of copywriting you’ll enjoy. Even if you *think* you’d like writing for a particular industry or in a certain medium, it could turn out that a different industry or medium is just as fun. Plus, most clients want a copywriter they can work with on multiple types of projects—not just one!

Limiting yourself to just writing email copy when you’ve never written copy for an ad or a sales page, is only going to limit your career and prospects. And now is not the time in your career to limit what you’ll be working on. Give yourself a chance to explore lots of different projects before deciding if you want to choose a niche. 

11. Never. Stop. Pitching.

OK, I’ll admit it…when I was first starting out as a copywriter, I made some (ahem, a lot) of mistakes. And one of those was certainly when I stopped regularly prospecting for new clients.

As soon as I had work coming in, I was a little…distracted from sending out pitches.

The inevitable result? Dry spells and financial worries. Not recommended and definitely something YOU can avoid.

You can easily have an entire freelance career as a copywriter without any dry spells. But that means you always need to be pitching, even when you have a steady client roster.

Continuously prospecting puts the control back in your hands and ensures that work never dries up.

In case you’ve forgotten that important nugget from the start of this blog, we’ll remind you again: No one is born knowing how to copywrite. And that includes all of the wonderful students in our Comprehensive Copywriting Academy who have gone on to achieve remarkable success.

Remember, they started right where you are, armed with determination, a willingness to learn, and the right training. And that’s exactly why we created the Comprehensive Copywriting Course (CCA)—to give you everything you need to get started as a copywriter, whether you want to work on staff at an agency or company, or build a thriving freelance copywriting business of your own. 

Want to follow in their footsteps? Get started with our free, on-demand copywriting training, “How to Land Freelance Copywriting Clients … Without Wasting Time on Frustrating Job-Bidding Sites or Cold-Calling Strangers.” Even if you’re not ready to land clients, you will still get tons of useful information to help you dig deeper into the tips we’ve mentioned today and get you on the right track to becoming a successful copywriter!

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When you’re just starting out as a copywriter—or even just learning if you want to become a copywriter!—there are a lot of questions like is this even possible for me?

Hear from working copywriters who were once in your shoes—many just a few short months ago—on what they wish they knew when they started. They’re offering up their best-of-the-best advice so you, too, can reach your career and income goals!

Your turn!

How do you plan to implement these tips into your copywriting practice? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Top Advice for New Copywriters (From Working Copywriters) appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[3:19] There is NO benefit in hand-copying ads when you’re trying to learn copywriting. Instead, Nicki and Kate encourage students to analyze copy out in the wild, as that focuses on the principles and strategies that went into creating that copy.

[10:16] Many so-called copywriting gurus will tell you that “the riches are in the niches.” But choosing a niche when you’re just getting started unnecessarily limits yourself and is not the smartest move when you don’t yet know what you’re going to like or not like.

[15:22] Clients, by and large, are looking for a depth and breadth of experience across different industries and different types of copy. Copywriting itself is your niche.

[18:20] The perception is that you can charge more when you have a niche. In reality, if you only have very narrow experience, you are not providing more value and it could be a red flag for clients. Breadth is valuable and makes your work more varied too!

[23:28] Copywriting and content writing are not the same. Using blog writing as a way to break into copywriting is bad advice because they are very different skill sets–plus, content writing is not paid anywhere near as well as copywriting. If your goal is to be a copywriter, then you should focus on writing copy and getting experience writing copy.

[29:41] Using job bidding sites like Fiverr and Upwork is not the best way to start landing work. Pitching and following up is a much more effective strategy for getting clients, and gives you more control over who you work with and what you charge.

[35:57] New copywriters tend to worry about bothering people who don’t need their services. But when you send a pitch that is based on providing value, clients are much more likely to hang onto it and call you when they do have a project.

[38:57] Don’t undermine your own copywriting skills by leaning on templates and formulas. The challenge that you’re going to be solving is going to be very specific to that company, that target audience, and that tone of voice. By all means use them for inspiration but remember it is your own creativity that will create great work.

[42:00] When you volunteer to work for free, you are essentially saying that your skills are worth nothing. Even if you don’t have any clients yet, you have experience, which means that you have skill, which means that you should be paid for it (even if it’s friends and family!).

[49:33] The internet has created an echo chamber of bad advice, so be discerning about where you get information. Taking advice from people who are successful and have been successful for a while will prevent you from veering off the path to success.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“Our brains want things to move really fast, we want that instant gratification, we want that instant yes. The analogy I like to use is it’s like planting a garden, each pitch is a seed that you’re planting, and the follow-ups are like watering it and eventually it will sprout into a big, beautiful, and wonderful garden. It’s a long-term strategy, it doesn’t have to take tons of time, it’s just not necessarily going to happen overnight. And so I think people do that, get discouraged, go to Upwork because they think, ‘well I can just go to this platform and tomorrow I’ll have a client’ and then they spend hours on Upwork and realize ‘Oh I’ve just wasted weeks and weeks of time on Upwork because I thought it was going to be easier, I thought it was going to be faster’ and then they came back to pitching and realize that that is actually the most effective way.” – Kate

“You may not have clients yet, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have experience. Again, our CCA students know, you’re going through the action sheets, you’re getting feedback, you are honing your skills, we have a lot of action sheets in there, we have a lot of opportunities for you to practice and to get feedback and make changes on that feedback and improve. So yes, you might be at the moment that you do not have any clients yet but you have experience, which means that you have skill, which means that you should be paid for it.” – Nicki

“One of the things that I’ve learned in my career and just in my life–and I’m glad that I did–only take advice from people who are successful and have been successful for a while at what it is you want to do.” – Nicki

Mentioned on this Episode

• 5 Ways to Improve Your Copywriting
• Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice
• What’s the Difference Between Copy and Content?
• Artificial Intelligence Copywriting: Do You Need to Worry?
• 1 Copywriting Tactic You Should Avoid at All Costs
• What is a Copywriting Test and Should You Do One?

Related Links

• How to Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap
• What’s a Copy Test?
• Content or Copy: How to Tell the Difference and What Should You Charge
• The Real Math on Job Bidding Site “Success”
• Should I use job bidding sites like Upwork?

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 164: Changing Roles Within Your Current Company – Joseph’s Story

The post Episode 165: Terrible Advice New Copywriters Get All the Time appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:49] A lot of the copywriting projects that you work on may not be of interest to you or they may not seem compelling to you. Make sure you start with the creative brief, as you would for any project, and don’t be afraid to reach back out to your clients to gather more information from a subject matter expert.

[3:42] The more you dig into a project and the creative brief, the more you get to understand why it’s compelling for the target audience, which is what really matters.

[4:35] It’s not often that we are our own target audience. That is why a big part of our job is to get into the heads of our target audiences and figure out what makes whatever it is that we’re writing about compelling to them.

[5:14] As a copywriter, you have a responsibility to dive deep into truly understanding the target audience because that can change an entire marketing campaign. It’s a good idea to ask about their biggest pain points, challenges, and what they are looking for in the service or product that is being offered.

[8:10] Don’t be afraid to get curious and question everything. Clients usually love it when you want to dig into their business and understand it inside and out.

[9:23] To make something interesting that’s fundamentally not interesting to you, think about what would make it compelling first, and then ask your client to see if they have anything that would support that point. 

[12:23] It’s important to not impose your judgment on the target audience. It’s not our jobs to judge how valid or important their need is and instead, we should go into it with our target audience hat on.

[14:15] Every copy project is a solution to a problem or need and deserves the same level of attention. It’s not about comparing project to project or audience to audience. It’s about the right message, at the right time, to the right people.

[17:05] Nicki cautions against going into a project thinking it will be boring (or even turning it down) because the more that you dig into projects, the more you find ways to make them interesting and to the target audience as well.

[18:34] Asking your client if they have done any client research can be a great way to really make sure that you and the client know who you’re talking to.

[21:17] No matter what you are selling, the interest point is there and it’s your fun job as the copywriter to find it, pull it out, and then share it with the world.

Must-Hear Takeaways

“it’s very rare actually that we are our own target audiences. Instead, a big part of our job is to get into the heads of our target audiences and figure out what makes whatever it is we are writing about compelling to them.” – Nicki

“We don’t just write words. We get into the minds of the target audience, we get into the minds of the people who are selling/trying to persuade and we find a way to connect both of those through our words. It’s not easy work, its valuable work (partially because it’s not easy work!).” – Nicki

“I think it’s important too to not impose our judgment on the target audience. Just because we think ‘oh that’s not a big deal’ doesn’t mean that whatever it is that you’re writing about isn’t the exact thing that someone has been looking for.” – Nicki

“It’s on us to treat every copy project with the same level of care and strategy and creativity. Every project deserves that, no matter what, because every person that we are helping this company to sell to or persuade or message or communicate with, every person deserves that.” – Nicki

Related Links

• Episode 137: How To Structure Your Copy for Every Project
• Episode 126: Good vs. Bad Copywriting: How Do You Tell the Difference?
• Ep. 5: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice
• How to Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

The post Episode 153: How to Write Powerful Copy (Even When the Product or Service Isn’t Interesting) appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher

Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Check out the episode on YouTube!

A Sneak Peek at the Episode

[1:26] What do we mean when we say niche? It could be choosing a type of industry, a type of copywriting, or a type of client. I only work with health coaches. I only write emails for financial technology. I only write for the makeup industry. I only write banner ads.

[2:50] So, why do people give the advice to choose a niche? Supposedly it means you can land more clients in the niche and charge more because you’re specialized. But as copywriters, we’re already specialized in a certain type of writing. And when you’re first getting started, you’re not necessarily an expert in writing for a particular industry. And you don’t know what you’re going to like and what you’re not going to like.

[4:48] You don’t necessarily know if there is enough work in an industry. When you choose a niche, you’re unnecessarily narrowing your pool of clients.

[6:39] When you niche, your website says that that’s all you do. So, if someone from another industry comes to your site, then all they see are samples from one industry. They’re going to assume you don’t want the work outside your niche!

[8:20] Your job is to be a copywriting expert. You can bring a fresh perspective to any industry. Your process should inevitably give you the information you need to effectively write copy.

[12:24] It’s important not to make assumptions about any company. Every company of every size needs messaging. The opportunities are immense—if you choose to explore them.

[18:04] 2020 made it clear that having diverse experience is so important. For example, if your niche was travel, but you have experience in other industries, you were in a better position to pivot.

[19:30] When a company can see you can adapt your voice to various company’s brand voices, they’ll feel much more confident that you will be able to come in and nail their brand voice.

[22:35] There may come a time when you’ve explored a lot of areas and you realize what you enjoy most. Then, it may make sense to choose a niche. But you also don’t have to.

Related Links

• The Niche Trap
• When to Break the Copywriting Niche Rule

Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it! 

Get all the details on how to get your recording here »

About the Build Your Business Podcast

Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?

Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.

Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.

See Previous Episode

Ep. 4: Meet Our Head Copy Coach, Kate

The post Ep. 5: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

It’s definitely no secret that—in spite of what a lot of gurus will tell you—I strongly advise you not to choose a copywriting specialization when you’re first starting out.

By copywriting specialization or niche, I mean either an industry (finance, travel, healthcare, etc.) or medium (email, landing pages, brochures, etc.).

Why not? Well, this article about avoiding niches will explain it in more detail but, suffice it to say that choosing a niche when you’re first starting out limits your portfolio and limits your job and work options.

And, what’s worse, it may limit you to a niche that you may not even end up liking or an industry or specialization that’s not broad enough to support you.

When you’re first starting out, you need to make your portfolio as broad and deep as possible, with lots of different media (emails, banner ads, print ads, brochures, etc.) and lots of different industries. If you learn the principles of copywriting, you should have 0 trouble applying them to any industry or any medium.

When it comes to your career, it’s a pretty big decision to go “all in” on one niche or another—especially if you can’t be sure that it will be a successful strategy. So, should you specialize?

The key to this niche rule are the words “when you’re first starting out.”

When to Start Narrowing Your Focus

Once you’ve established a broad portfolio and a good amount of experience in several different industries and types of media, you can start narrowing your focus.

I’d suggest (strongly suggest) that you start out by trying to get as much variety in your experience as possible. Do copywriting for consumer, B2B, retail, finance, tech, healthcare, and other kinds of clients in agencies, in in-house agencies and with freelance clients. This will help your resume and portfolio to look good, while giving you a feel for lots of different kinds of clients and companies.

By then, you’ll start to have an idea of what types of work you like to do, and for whom. You’ll also have a good feel for which industries and areas have ample work and opportunities, and which don’t.

It’s only at this point—when you’ve been working as a copywriter for at least two or three years and you’ve had a broad range of writing experience—that you should consider specializing.

You also need to make sure that either the jobs in this specialty are plentiful, or that you don’t mind moving to find new ones.

As 2020 showed us, entire industries—like travel—can collapse overnight. Having your eggs in multiple baskets means even if you lose one client (whether from a global pandemic or otherwise), you still have other work. Having experience in several industries keeps you inoculated against economic volatility.

Perks of Choosing a Copywriting Niche

The benefit to specializing at that point is that you can not only focus your marketing outreach, but you can also focus your marketing messages. Your blog posts, your ads, your networking can all be focused on this industry.

You should spend some time deciding exactly what constitutes your perfect client and your perfect work so that you can craft your message to appeal to those people and that opportunity. What industry do you want to write copy for? What size company? On-staff, contracting, or freelance? Digital or print?

This is also the time to revise your USP. You need to nail down not just what sets you apart as a copywriter for any client, but what sets you apart as a copywriter for your intended client.

What can you say about yourself that will convey just how perfect you are for your desired client? What makes you right for the project or job? And what kind of outcomes can you create for this client that no one else can?

If you’re going to specialize, your goal is to become the go-to expert for your chosen niche. You may find, too, that even after you specialize, you’ll benefit from making your target even more specific to help you meet that goal.

As long as the market has the work to support you, the narrower your focus, the easier it is to define your target prospects, make yourself a presence in their networks, build relationships there, and land work.

Making Assumptions About the Most Profitable Copywriting Niches

I get questions from students all the time that are something along the lines of, “It seems like there are a lot of financial copywriting jobs available in my city. Should I try to specialize in finance to have an easier time getting work?”

I definitely understand where this question is coming from. If you’re going to get into a new career, you want to make sure you have the best opportunities to get jobs and work. The temptation is to go where the money is. But there are two things wrong with this:

1. There’s no single “high-value” copywriting industry. There are solopreneurs with multi-million dollar businesses and giant corporations that haven’t turned a profit in months. There’s no way to know your potential client’s budget. Making assumptions is not only futile, it’s dangerous for your career.
2. You may get yourself stuck in a specialty you don’t enjoy (hello, burnout!) and then may limit yourself from getting work in other work areas.

Is Choosing a Copywriting Specialization Even Necessary?

In a word, no.

Again, many “gurus” will say you need to position yourself as the expert in your niche. I’d gently suggest you reframe that idea. You are the copywriting expert. Your clients are the expert in their field. You are the expert.

Specializing may not be all that necessary.  

Now, again, if you’ve found your passion and all you want to do is financial copywriting, that’s your call. But if you want to keep your options open, you probably don’t need to specialize to get that work. There’s a good chance that you’ll find it just as easy to get a financial copywriting job with one or two finance credits on your resume (among other types) as with mostly finance credits.

Watch More

Here’s the thing about niches: the “gurus” may say you have to niche (you already know what we think of the “riches are in the niches” saying), but you can focus on a certain type of client or work without choosing a niche.

Nicki and Kate dig deeper into how to focus your client outreach on industries you like without tailoring your entire portfolio to one specific industry and why making assumptions about who is a high-ticket client is a recipe for frustration (if not failure).

Your turn! Are you at the two-to-three year work mark yet? Are you considering specializing? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!

The post When to Consider Choosing a Copywriting Niche appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

Many so-called copywriting gurus will tell you that the path to success is to proclaim a niche right away. But that advice is 100% wrong and, worse, it’s potentially damaging to your career. Read on to hear why and find out what you should do instead.

The other day, a student said to me, “I’ve heard that I should pick a niche and focus on building samples and finding clients there. Do you agree?”

This is certainly not the first time I’ve gotten this question; I’m pretty sure some copywriting teachers hang their hats on the “niche” advice as if it’s some kind of magic key to success.

Except choosing a niche when you’re just getting started is not a magic key at all. In fact, it could be deeply, deeply detrimental to your career.

Let’s discuss why that is.

How Do You Know What You Like Until You Actually Do It?

When you’re just starting out in your copywriting career, you can’t possibly know yet what kind of copywriting you’ll like. And, even if you think you like a certain niche, you can’t know whether or not you’d like another one just as much or better.

Like any job, the people you work with can largely make or break your experience. So, even if you love travel, for example, you may find that you don’t love writing 10 banner ads around going to Cancun—without actually getting to travel to Cancun.

You also don’t necessarily know what mediums you like to work in. Saying you’re only going to write emails when you’ve never written a sales page or a Facebook ad is a surefire way to limit your career and prospects. Every email project is different so you may love one and be less jazzed about another. But the key is most clients want a copywriter they can work with on multiple types of projects.

Now is not the time in your career to limit what you’ll be working on.

Of course, if you love travel, you may focus some of your initial pitching on companies that align with this interest. But it doesn’t mean you have to put a permanent stake in the ground and design your entire website around this niche.

You’re Unnecessarily Limiting Your Career

But in addition to limiting the kinds of copywriting you’ll enjoy, you also may be severely limiting your career. For example, what if you choose healthcare copywriting as your niche, and there’s no market for that in your city? Or what if the current market dries up? Or the market that exists just isn’t big enough to support you? Or there are already too many other copywriters with more experience to compete against for each job?

Each one of those possibilities is very plausible.

Bear in mind, too, that in that scenario, all of your samples on your portfolio site will be for your healthcare niche. If someone from another industry is interested in you and they come to your site, it’s likely they’re going to assume that you don’t even want their work because it’s in another industry.

Does all of this sound scary?

It should.

Get More Experience Before Deciding to Niche

At this point in your career, you need to get as many different types of samples in as many different types of industries and for as many different types of clients as you can. Collect samples for ad agencies and in-house agencies, for B2B and B2C, for banner ads, emails, newspaper ads, brochures, websites, magazines ads and anything else you can.

Having a variety of different kinds of samples lets you demonstrate your depth and breadth of ability to any prospective client or employer that visits your site. You want them to see how versatile you are so that it’s much easier for them to imagine you doing great work for them.

This also helps you start learning what kinds of work you do and don’t like. (If, indeed, there is anything you don’t like—I happen to be partial to any work that will pay me money.)

When to Choose a Niche—If You Do At All

Eventually, you may decide to choose a specialty, but, first, you don’t have to. I never have, and I’ve been perfectly pleased with my career. But if you do choose to, you need to do it only once you’ve had experience with all kinds of different copywriting, and you have a good understanding of how much work that industry has to offer.

And when I say “eventually,” I don’t mean a few months into your career. I mean no sooner than five years into your career. Build your samples to show variety and you’ll give your career a flexibility and potential for growth that choosing a niche or specialty just won’t allow you.

Learn more on when to break the niche rule >>

Think of Copywriting as Your Niche

As a copywriter, you are the expert at understanding features vs. benefits and how to lead with the most compelling benefit to consumer. You know how to get users to take the next step with a clear call to action. And you know how to write in a brand’s tone of voice to connect with the target audience and build trust.

Think of copywriting as your niche.

You’re not a jack-of-all trades marketer, dabbling a little in copywriting while also knowing a little tiny bit about SEO, a little tiny bit about running paid ads on Meta, and a little bit about running an A/B design test on a landing page.

Your clients are the experts in their business. You are the expert in taking their knowledge and translating it into wildly effective copy.

Watch More

On Episode 5 of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate dig further into why choosing a copywriting niche is so detrimental to copywriter careers. It’s a complete myth that you need to choose a niche to land high-paying clients. And it’s also a myth that there are only certain profitable niches—you can be a profitable copywriter in any industry!

Here’s the thing: we have no idea what’s going on within a business. There are tiny companies that are wildly profitable, making multiple 7 figures. And there are giant companies that seem successful that are struggling to turn a profit. Unless you have an inside look at the finance records of a company, you can’t make assumptions about who does and does not need a copywriter and who can or cannot afford your copywriting rate.

Watch the full episode for more on why you don’t need to choose a niche and what to do instead.

Your turn! What other dubious (or downright bad) advice have you gotten about building your copywriting career? Let us know in the comments below!

The post How to Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

Some of the most memorable ads are the funniest ones, but how did the writer (and designer/videographer) get to that point? How did they take a creative brief and turn it into something that makes you smile—if not laugh out loud? Well, that’s exactly what we’re delving into today.

First, I want to make an important point. Similar to our previous post about creativity, you don’t need to be funny to be a successful copywriter. Many companies aren’t looking for humor in their copy—in fact, many more than those that are looking for humor.

Instead, companies are looking for writers who can craft benefit-driven copy that resonates with their target audiences and drives the companies’ goals ahead. If you don’t consider yourself funny but want to be a copywriter, you’re in luck: You have the potential for a lucrative career ahead of you.

Tips for Funny Copywriting

Now, on the other hand, if you do want to write funny copy, you can certainly pitch companies that have a cheeky, playful, and even humorous tone of voice. But there are a few principles to follow. And when I say “funny copy,” I mean truly funny copy. This is the kind of copy that people actually recognize as being clever and enjoyable—not the ads that are trying to be funny, but fail miserably. I also don’t mean the absurdist ad campaigns that try to be entertaining by being entirely bizarre and ridiculous. (I’m talking to you, Skittles.)

1. Get Inspiration from Real Life

The most common denominator for the most successful funny ads is actually a fairly simple concept: They point out the absurdity in real life through common, and relatable situations or perceptions. Sometimes those situations or perceptions might be turned on their ear, but the element of an absurd or relatable issue in real life remains.

Here’s a prime example in Samsung’s “Texts from Mom” commercial:

This ad takes the common idea that our Moms don’t know how to text, but they text nonetheless and make countless mistakes. What makes this so funny is that, even if you haven’t personally experienced getting a “bad” text from your mother, you can easily appreciate the situation.

Remember the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” campaign from the early 2000s? It was all about signing power ballads about the absurd things men really do on their nights out. And they hit home so well.

2. Make an Emotional Connection

Some of the most powerful ads that use humor also make an emotional

The “Hey Mom,” campaign from Google. It starts with a child covered in mud saying, “Hey mom? What’s for lunch?” From there, there are more relatable moments of children saying, “hey mom” in various scenarios. It ends with a mom herself asking her Google Home Hub to call her mom.

It’s relatable (even non-moms can remember doing this—and maybe continuing to do this—to their moms). But it’s also hitting on the power of what moms do, creating a small tug at the heartstrings amid the humor.

3. Zoom in on the Specificity

With copywriting in general, it’s all too easy to pack in too much. When we pare back, that’s when we get to the strongest writing because it’s more memorable. It’s not asking your audience to think too hard or understand too much.

That’s even more important with humor. If it takes too long to get to a punch line, you may have lost your audience. Or, if it’s too confusing, it may fall flat.

One way around this is to really zoom in on the specificity. Take the “Hey Mom” campaign above as an example. They could have simply started the concept with children screaming “hey mom.” Or, worse, they could have had kids saying “hey mom” and “Moooooom!” or “Can you come here, mom?”

Instead, the concept sticks to that single line. And it includes very detailed scenarios. Muddy child asking what’s for lunch. Child at kitchen table doing homework and asking “where did dirt come from?” Child coming home with giant bags of laundry. These are all specific moments that really make you go, “Oh yeah, that happens all the time.” People see themselves

Now, do these rules hold for every funny ad? Of course not—but they sure hold for the majority of them. When you’re tasked with writing a funny ad, the first thing to do is to identify what actually happens in real life that relates to the product or service you’re trying to sell. Explore everything that happens with, without, and around your product/service and industry. Chances are there are treasure troves of humor just waiting to be discovered.

Your turn! What are your favorite funny ads? Do they hold to the making fun of real life/making fun of perceptions rule? Let us know in the comments below!

Ace Your Next Copywriting Project

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The post How to Write Humor for Your Copywriting Clients appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

When it comes to your career, it’s a pretty big decision to go “all in” on one niche or another—especially if you can’t be sure that it will be a successful strategy. So, should you specialize?

I get questions from students all the time that are something along the lines of, “It seems like there are a lot of financial copywriting jobs available in my city. Should I try to specialize in finance to have an easier time getting work?”

I definitely understand where this question is coming from. If you’re going to get into a new career, you want to make sure you have the best opportunities to get jobs and work. The temptation is to go where the money is. And you  can definitely do that if you want to— but you may get yourself stuck in a specialty you don’t enjoy (hello, burnout!) and then may limit yourself from getting work in other work areas.

I’d suggest (strongly suggest) that you start out by trying to get as much variety in your experience as possible. Do copywriting for consumer, B2B, retail, finance, tech, healthcare, and other kinds of clients in agencies, in in-house agencies and with freelance clients. This will help your resume and portfolio to look good, while giving you a feel for lots of different kinds of clients and companies.

Then, if you find one particular area you really want to focus on, you can. I would say, though, that you need to also make sure that either the jobs in this specialty are plentiful, or that you don’t mind moving to find new ones.

The reason being, of course, is that specializing limits you. If a company that was providing a lot of jobs in your niche moves or closes down (stranger things have certainly happened), you don’t want to be up a creek without a paddle.

Bear in mind, too, that specializing may not be all that necessary.  Now, again, if you’ve found your passion and all you want to do is financial copywriting, that’s your call. But if you want to keep your options open, you probably don’t need to specialize to get that work. There’s a good chance that you’ll find it just as easy to get a financial copywriting job with one or two finance credits on your resume (among other types) as with mostly finance credits.

Now, for those of you who might be concerned because you happen to find yourself doing a lot of the same type of work but don’t necessarily want to get stuck with a specialty, remember: copywriting is flexible.

If you want to broaden your variety and experience while you happen to be working on a lot of the same style work for your day job, take some freelance work in the evenings. Your career is what you make of it—just make sure you’re always thinking about it strategically!

Your turn! Do you have the urge to specialize? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Copywriter Niches: Should You Specialize? appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

If you’re going to get into a new career, it makes sense that you’d want to know for sure that there are jobs and opportunities. We get it—who doesn’t have a rent or a mortgage to pay?! There are more opportunities for copywriters than there are good, trained copywriters.

Copywriters are in the marketing and advertising industry, but, as you may be able to guess, the marketing industry is a part of every industry. Every business that has a product, service, or offer—anything they are selling—needs marketing. “If you build it, they will come,” simply doesn’t work.

But there are certainly industries where there may be more opportunities for copywriters than others. That’s because certain industries are simply growing faster for many job opportunities.

Here are just a few to consider adding to your pitch list, but be sure to read the second part to this. There are far more opportunities for copywriters than in the industries listed below.

4 Hot Industries for Copywriters

First, that’s a simple question, so let me give you a simple answer. The industries that are seeing the biggest growth and need for copywriting are…

1. Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals

Five out of the 20 industries projected to grow the fastest between now and 2029 are in healthcare. People are getting older, more products and companies are being created, and those products and companies need copywriters. There’s also more of a focus on healthier eating and lifestyles, too.

Many products and services within the healthcare industry require translating complex language into ideas and concepts that are accessible to their target audiences.

2. Technology

This is the same as with healthcare: Technology is big business and these companies need people who get it and can write about it.

There is particular growth and demand in SaaS (or software as a service). Think: Google, Microsoft, and Dropbox. But also think: Zoom, Netflix, and Square.

Technology crosses into other industries, too, such as with healthcare (e.g., medical devices) or, as you’ll see below, finance.

3. Finance/Fintech

The ability to translating complex financial concepts to a target audience is a skill that financial companies are actively seeking (and paying for).

Fintech (short for financial technology) companies are also growing fast and in need of copywriters who can communicate the benefits of their services. Ever paid for drinks and had your friends send you money via an app at the end of the night? Or paid your credit card bill from your phone? Those are just the tip of the fintech iceberg.

There are financial technology companies helping both consumers and businesses make their lives easier, opening up a world of opportunities for copywriters to communicate their USPs.

4. Start-ups

More and more new companies are realizing that they need to start working with copywriters to refine their messages right away, not just once they’ve secured their big rounds of funding.

After all, in order to get people to know about their product or service, they need a message. And in order for people to remember and act on that message, they need someone who knows how to write messages that stick. Heck, to even secure big rounds of funding, they need really powerful messaging that communicates to investors why it’s worth pouring money into their idea.

5. Solar Energy

The solar industry is growing rapidly as it’s becoming increasingly cheaper to use solar energy than fossil fuels. This burgeoning industry is going to need copywriters as it continues to grow.

Along the same lines as solar energy, look for the eco-friendly industry to keep growing.

Every Industry Is Looking for Copywriters

While the industries listed above are certainly looking for copywriters, it’s important to underscore this point: Every industry is looking for copywriters.

Whether you’re interested in sports, beauty, health, children’s education, or dentistry, there are jobs for copywriters within your interest.

And sure, jobs in “high-profile” industries like sports or fashion or travel might have a bit more competition, but there are still plenty of jobs. As with absolutely any other job (in or out of copywriting), it’s up to you to make yourself the best candidate.

Use these industries to add ideas to your pitch list or help you focus some of your initial pitches. But don’t feel limited by these options.

High-Paying Copywriting Jobs Can Come in Any Industry

We understand the instinct of wanting to know exactly where you can look to get a high-paying job the fastest (though “high-paying” may not apply to start-ups until they make some big bucks). But you can’t make assumptions about what a company can and cannot afford.

As of a few years ago, there are about 4,000 publicly traded companies in the United States of the millions of companies in the country. This means we have no idea about the financials of the vast majority of organizations that may need our services.

If you see a company that you think you’d like working for, pitch them! The worst that can happen is they don’t answer or say, “no.” (In which case, you can always re-pitch them three, six, or nine months down the road.) Or maybe you do work for them and decide it’s not a company for you. As a copywriter, you have a skill you can take with you. You are never stuck working for a company you don’t love.

So, as much as possible, notice when your brain is making assumptions based on zero data and pitch! You have the tools to say “yes” or “no” to a project based on what happens after that.

Why You Need to Try Copywriting in a Few Different Industries

If you’ve followed Filthy Rich Writer for awhile, you know we don’t advocate choosing a niche when you’re first starting out.

That’s because it helps broaden your experience and help you discern what you’re naturally most apt at writing about. You may be surprised at what you enjoy writing about and what you don’t! You may love to watch sports, but you may find it’s not as fun to turn a hobby into work. (Playing tennis may be a lot more fun to you than writing about the composition of a tennis racquet and why it’s superior to other racquets.)

You should also not let one experience in an industry color your entire impression of that industry. You may work with one tech company and not enjoy it and do work with another that you absolutely love. Remember that the projects and the people can have just as big (if not bigger) impact on your experience as the actual copywriting.

Find Copywriting Work You’ll Enjoy

The most crucial takeaway? Don’t get into (or stay in) an industry just because it’s “hot” or it pays well. If you want a fulfilling job, a major factor is that you have to enjoy what you do at least some of the time.

And, as a copywriter, you can get paid well for what you do in any industry. It’s a matter of finding companies that value what you do. And those companies are, you guessed it, in every industry.

There’s a bit of a trap in staying with a job you’re not loving, too: You could begin to think you don’t like copywriting, when what you really don’t like is your industry or your particular job.

So, sure, try out pharmaceutical copywriting or tech copywriting or beauty copywriting or sports copywriting—there are writers who love their jobs and are making good money in all of them. But don’t limit yourself. Copywriters are needed in every industry (and in ad agencies catering to every industry). Explore and find the industry/job/work situation/part-time job/freelance gig that’s right for you.

Copywriting can be as flexible, creative, and fulfilling as you want it to be and as you make it. It’s up to you to take advantage of that!

Watch More: Copywriting Niches

On episode 130 of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate discuss some of the highest paying copywriting niches today. They also dig into why it’s very dangerous to your career—and income—to only have experience in one industry.

Your Turn

What industries are you most interested in? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Top Copywriting Industries in 2024 appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.