5 Tips for How to Write More Effective Copy

Writing effective copy (AKA copywriting) is a powerful skill and art that can make the difference between average and amazing content.

In a previous post about content marketing, I highlighted how this medium is increasingly becoming more popular and effective - especially among the most recent generations Y and beyond. The various forms of copy that can be incorporated into content marketing can be found in websites, blogs (like this one), articles and social media posts. 

By definition, according to copywriting.com, "copywriting is the art and science of writing to promote a product, a business, a person or an idea. And carefully selecting, editing, weaving and constructing those words in a way that they'll persuade the reader into taking a specific and measurable action."

Now that we have a general idea of what copywriting is, the next question is, how can we effectively write copy to improve our marketing efforts?

Here are 5 tips for how to write effective copy to improve marketing efforts:

1. Research more than you write. The old Pareto principle of 80/20 applies to copywriting also. In this case, you should spend about 80% of your time researching about a topic and only 20% actually writing. It's far better to write an informative and structured copy over one that's haphazard and running around in circles with large font to "fill up the spaces."

2. Start small, plan big. When you first start out in the realm of copywriting, it can seem quite daunting with the massive competition all around - especially in the major freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr. That's why in order to gain a footing, you need to start at the very bottom and scrap for your first few projects/gigs in order to build a reputation. To be honest, after such a long break from writing, I myself have found it difficult to re-orient back into the marketplace due to the huge gap in work history and samples. Long story short, start with small work and then steadily have a goal of achieving much more over time.

3. Be flexible. Similar to point number 2, you need to get started with as much work as possible (however meagre) and also work with as many clients as you can. Each client will have different themes, topics and requirements. Working with a varied list of customers will not only make you more flexible, but it will improve your writing skill and adaptability - not to mention provide handy samples/references for future clients. 

4. Give more, take less. Especially true for beginner copywriters, you need to be prepared to work for free and develop your writing craft before expecting to make the big bucks. I suggest you to create your own Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and other social media accounts to easily share your own content and relevant curated content around the web. This will help you to spread your name and increase your credibility. In one of our posts here, we provided some useful tips for new freelancers to spread their name and improve their earnings ability. 

5. Check and check some more. This may seem too obvious a suggestion, but it's quite startling to see just how many entry level copywriters and freelancers barely check their work before sending. It's especially imperative for those working in the field of writing to not only check their own work, but if time affords, have family and friends also check and double-check the work for any grammatical errors, typing errors and other mistakes that may degrade the value of the content - regardless of how chock full of information it has. 

Of course, there are many other tips and tricks that can help the fledgling copywriter start their craft but I've provided the core tips that you should apply in order to improve your chances of success.

We will continue posting about similar topics in the next few days, until then stay tuned!

Cheers,

Red R. 

(If you would like to reach out for any copywriting/content writing/blogging/marketing projects, feel free to contact me at frontierfreelancing@gmail.com or through my social links here.)