Maybe you’re in love with Don Draper from Mad Men. Or you’re head over heels in love with Peggy and just want to BE her (even if you’d rather dress as her as Joan). Maybe you make up headlines and slogans in your spare time, trying to outdo the pros.
Somewhere, somehow, you got bitten by the writing bug. Can you become a professional copywriter? Sure. But it’s not all three-martini lunches and high-flying meetings. Copywriters can make a lot of money, but that’s because they require some serious skills.
Copywriting is harder than it seems. Cheap online content writers flood web forums with promises of 500 words for $5 and similar fees. A 500 word sales letter written by a high quality copywriter could easily be billed for thousands of dollars. They can charge these high fees because their work sells!
In an agency, copywriters enjoy the best salaries, often earning almost twice as much as graphic designers. Look at the names of all the big advertising companies. Most of the time, they are named after a copywriter. Leo Burnett. David Ogilvy. Carlos Saatchi. Bill Bernbach (he is the B in DDB).
Types of writers
Some copywriters specialize in particular industries:
- medical writing – Marketing materials for doctors, hospitals, clinics. You may be promoting the services of an entire hospital or department as a whole, or selling specific surgeries, procedures, or treatments. You can also sell medical equipment to hospitals and clinics, instead of writing materials aimed directly at consumers.
- pharmaceutical writing – This lucrative niche requires highly specialized skills and knowledge of local regulations. Pharmaceutical copywriters are in high demand and are handsomely rewarded for their work.
- financial writing – Another big money market for copywriters. You must have a solid understanding of investing and finance and what makes investors tick. If you can master this, get ready to rake in the gold.
- Travel and hospitality writing – A focus on hotels, resorts, spas and other travel products. Hospitality writers often visit luxurious hotels and exciting destinations. It’s a jet-setting lifestyle, and while the pay isn’t usually as high as the other three specialties listed above, you get to see the world while your client foots the bill.
Aside from industry specializations, many copywriters specialize in a particular type of writing. Each writing medium requires a different skill set. That is, copy that works in a brochure is not the same as copy that works on the web, which are different from successful copy for a direct marketing email.
Some of the main specialties:
- copywriting – Crafting cha-ching cha-ching headlines from magazine pages and billboards or TV commercial scripts that will get the tagline repeated in bars and diners across the country.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimized) Writing – Sculpt online content that will reign at the top of search engine results. SEO copywriting requires more technical knowledge than most forms of copywriting, but it is one of the fastest growing subfields in the industry.
- Writing DM (direct marketing) – Hard to sell. DM copywriters create mailers like sales letters or e-blasts that need to grab attention, convince the audience of the details, and then seal the deal with a strong call to action.
How do you become a copywriter?
Many copywriters enter the field with a degree in a relevant area such as Advertising or Marketing. They can work as freelance copywriters or take a full-time position with an agency, progressing from junior copywriters to senior copywriters and working their way up the corporate ladder to positions like creative director.
If you don’t already have formal copywriting training through a specialized college degree, there are still plenty of other places to learn the tricks of the trade. Sign up for an online course, pick up some classic copywriting books, or surf the web for free copywriting tips. Jump in and start honing your skills today.
