One of the best things about being a copywriter is that you can always become better—sometimes, it’s just hard to figure out how. You’ve already read the books, taken the courses, and written some copy of your own, so now what? How can you keep improving? Here are five tips you can use to become a better copywriter, whether you’re a newbie or already a pro.
1. Try a Daily Writing Challenge
Practice may not make perfect, but it does make improvement. Consider doing a daily writing challenge, like:
- Rewriting the first call to action you see each morning.
- Developing a short copy project for a brand you see in your kitchen.
- Writing a two-sentence short story.
- Revising the first headline in your morning newspaper.
- Writing a one-paragraph pitch for a product you used that day.
It doesn’t have to be a serious study. Challenges like this are a great opportunity to have fun with your craft! Even if no one else ever reads what you write for your daily challenge, it is still helping you sharpen your skills and learn how to write solid copy for any and everything.
2. Read Everything
Okay, maybe not literally everything, but reading is a great way to sharpen your copywriting skills. Whether you prefer fiction or nonfiction, collegiate-level research or lighthearted novels, seeing how other people use words in their own work can help inform your future word choices. Chances are, you won’t even have to think about it! Instead, you will unconsciously absorb more writing variety the more you read. From sentence structure to vocabulary, reading a lot can help you expand the options at your fingertips when it’s time for you to write.
3. Discover What’s Working Now
Have you ever seen an advertisement from the mid-1900s and thought, “How did anyone think this ad would work?” That’s what it’s like to see outdated copywriting in practice. The best copywriting of two decades ago may not work for today’s consumers because expectations have changed. Don’t let your copywriting skills become a blast to the past—unless nostalgia marketing is your thing, in which case, go right ahead. If you use basically any other marketing strategy, staying up-to-date with what today’s biggest brands are doing with their copywriting can mean the difference between conversions and crickets.
4. Break Out of Your Bubble
Copywriting has an art to it, and like any art, it can be subjective depending on who is looking at it. Make sure that you are following and speaking with a wide variety of people so you can create copy for more potential audiences. This may also be a good time to take a look at the experts you’re following on LinkedIn or YouTube and explore whether there are any voices you may be missing out on. Different people notice different things, and it’s always good to learn about other perspectives.
5. Revise Ruthlessly
One of the things that sets copywriting apart from other writing styles is its demand for conciseness. In many creative writing avenues, it’s perfectly fine to wax poetic about the scenery or other details that may or may not impact the outcome; in copywriting, you only have a few seconds to capture attention, and you need to make every syllable count.
Some ways to improve your revisions include:
- Writing Variations: Sometimes, writing the same thing in different words over and over can actually work in your favor. Try writing multiple variations of whatever you’re working on, even if some of them aren’t very good, to stretch your creative muscles. Then, you can pick your favorite to move forward with. Your top pick might surprise you!
- Take Breaks: This can be tricky if you’re working on a tight deadline, but if you can, take plenty of breaks while you work on a copywriting project. While you take a break, your mind may just happen to come up with a new idea, or when you come back, a pair of fresh eyes might’ve been exactly what you needed.
- Read Aloud: Listening to your work as you read it can be a great way to catch repetition, awkward phrasing, or sections that don’t make much sense.
Try out these techniques next time you’re revising your own work and see which one is most impactful for you. You might be surprised how much easier it is to find the spots in your project that need a little polishing!
Let Matcha Design Help Your Skills Shine
Whether you need help with copywriting or any other part of your marketing strategy, Matcha Design is here to help. Our work spans across web design, video editing, branding redesigns, and so much more. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help your skills shine and get results for your business or organization.
