Article Surfing Archive

Copywriting is essential for business success. It's so essential in fact, that many business owners learn the basics of copywriting so that they can create their own marketing materials. So what's the fast way to copywriting success?

Here it is in a nutshell: learn from the best, and then develop your own style.

Copywriting is salesmanship in print, and despite the growth of the communications marvel that's the Internet, it hasn't changed much in a hundred years. So what worked in advertising a hundred years ago, still works today. Many copywriters build huge "swipe" files of the best examples of copy they can find, so that they can model their success on copy that's worked for others.

Let's look at some ways you can build your own copywriting success quickly.

1. Constantly learn from the best - by learning from the best, you'll develop your own style

A copywriter's education never ends. There's always something new to learn, whether that's your understanding of psychology, or new copywriting skills.

Many expert copywriters have written books; studying these books builds your skills.

You should also be constantly aware of all the advertising and promotional material around you. Collect any material which impresses you, and add it to your own Swipe File. You won't copy this material directly, but your Swipe File builds your inspiration as you write copy, and also lets you model the structure of successful copy.

2. Try out new techniques on your own Web site, track carefully

These days, every copywriter needs his own Web site. It's not optional. Not only does your Web site save you time and energy in marketing your copywriting services, it also acts as a test bed for trying new techniques before you use them with clients.

Whenever you use a new technique, track the results. Tracking gives you case histories which are immensely valuable. Although many copywriting techniques are shared freely by copywriters, no one shares all their secrets. Tracking the results of your own experiments lets you see what works, and what doesn't. Don't be surprised when many techniques just don't work for you as they're supposed to.

3. Differentiate yourself from other copywriters - as you work with clients, you will naturally develop your own specialist skills

Although copywriters are always in huge demand, and there's never a shortage of clients, it's important that you differentiate yourself from other copywriters.

The easiest way to differentiate yourself is to develop a specialist skill. Writing advertorials, infomercials, and direct response copy are all highly paid, so many copywriters set out to specialize in these areas.

Other copywriters specialize in areas like business, health and technology. They usually have some background in these specialist areas, and decide to go with their strengths.

In your first few years as a copywriter, write as many different forms of copy as you can. Writing in many different forms gives you experience and confidence. You'll develop a specialty naturally, as clients in an industry hear about you, and hire you.

So there you have a fast way to copywriting success - build your own style as you write copy, and differentiate yourself from other copywriters as soon as you can.