So… Anyone Can Be a Copywriter?
I’m often asked by friends whether they could be a successful copywriter. My response is always a resounding “Definitely!” Why?
The Truth of Copywriting
The achievement of successful copywriters has become diluted over the years. This is in part a result of massive increases in internet access across the world.
The massive increase in available online writers has made an impact on the quality of copywriting. As well, according to Copyblogger’s Brian Clark, the conversational tone of blogging can cause more mistakes and poor quality writing.
I was immediately swept away by these stereotypes for new copywriters as a relative newcomer to the copywriting community. Mistake-ridden blog posts, soulless content, and a culture of multiple rounds of revisions were what I expected.
ALSO – What is Copywriting and What Are Its Best Practices?
Discovering True Sellability
When I began my career as a copywriter, I looked into some of the selling gurus of the 20th century for inspiration for my copywriting strategy. I found a book by a famous entrepreneur by the name of Michael Masterson.
Michael Masterson’s best-selling book, Ready, Fire, Aim, gave me new insight into the art of copywriting. His words about selling a business not only inspired me as an entrepreneur but as a growing copywriter.
The most important take away from Masterson’s book for a copywriter is his advice about structuring advertising copy and marketing copy. What he describes in his book is paramount to achieving success in any sales driven content.
Michael Masterson: True Marketing Copy
Online marketing is exceptionally powerful. There are over three billion internet users, and online marketing has the potential to reach a huge number of them.
Michael Masterson focuses on what message you should send to all these internet users. And more specifically, how it should be constructed to create real interest. Sometimes this requires using variations to produce an epic and effective marketing campaign.
As an online marketer or copywriter, you’ve probably come across Optimal Selling Strategies (OSS). Masterson discusses the OSS as the optimal marketing direction for a certain product in a specific market.
Understanding the OSS of your field as a copywriter allows you to differentiate your product campaign from the competition. As a copywriter, you can do this through emphasizing the unique selling points (USP) of a given product or brand.
Pursuing a strategy for branding is powerful, so powerful it’s essential. “Your brand is one of your company’s most important assets… Properly managed, it can lead to either the success or failure of a business.”
All it Takes is Two
These two elements, the OSS and UPS produce enough potential for a copywriter to exponentially increase their ability to sell.
Embracing either one or both of these copywriting strategies has the potential to turn a modern copywriter into the elite sales machines that once called true writers of advertising copy.
Any copywriters interested in better equipping themselves to sell their services should consider these two concepts in order to rethink the way they create content for their clients.
