This makes a copywriter essential in the advertising and marketing business, as these professions are in the business of convincing people and altering their perceptions about something. But the job is not as easy as simply saying or writing that something is good or bad.
The tone words imply, the explicit and implicit messages they convey, and the effect on the target audience are just some of the finer points of copywriting. Whether you understand them or not will spell the difference between a wildly successful advertisement and a total waste of time and money on the part of your employer—something you do not want to happen.
So keep these simple copywriting pointers in mind before you seek a career in copywriting. You would be surprised at how vital they are in getting you where you want to be:
Study the language
The very basic requirement for a copywriting career is to learn and understand the language you will be working with. A clean sheet of paper can be totally ruined by just one little ink drop; the same can be said for an advertisement. You would be surprised at how little most people know about proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence construction. These simple components of language are often overlooked in most advertisements, but are nevertheless of utmost importance. Learn these basics before you even think of a career as a copywriter, and you will have made the first step in a long journey ahead.
Know the people
No matter how skilled and eloquent you are in the English language, it will not matter, if your target audience only understands Japanese. Advertising is all about reaching out and convincing people. This then means that you must be able to understand the people you are reaching out to. Knowing their likes, their dislikes, what they love, what they hate, what they are confident of, what they fear—these are just some of the myriad factors to take into consideration when writing up an advertisement designed specifically to influence them in one way or another. You should then reach out and know the people; in doing so you will know what to say to them.
Find your direction
''Copywriting'' is a very broad and general term. There are, however, more specific media for writers to focus their direction to. Traditional print advertisements make use of written words to attract a potential consumer's attention. TV commercials on the other hand integrate both written and spoken words, taking their effects together. The Internet adds a twist to both the written and spoken words by offering more options for a consumer to interact with the advertisement. Find which direction or directions you will specialize in, and take the appropriate steps to master copywriting for that end.
Learn from the masters
Learning about copywriting is not just limited to the classroom. Look around you, and you will find a goldmine of resources on copywriting. School will pass the basics of copywriting down to you, and will do so in a very effective manner, but you can also learn about the art of copywriting by simply looking at the advertisements around you. Find those that are effective in catching the attention and persuading the readers, and you will find a practical example that you can learn from.
Be an intern
Speaking of learning from the masters, obtaining an internship is an excellent way of gaining some real-world knowledge on the world of copywriting. Obtaining an internship helps give you the practical experience you need in order to hone your edge in copywriting, and the easiest way to get that is through an internship with an established company. Put aside your thoughts of quick money and focus on learning from professionals who are the best at what they do. Shadow their activities, learn how they do things, and get their opinions and feedback. You will learn a lot more about copywriting this way than through a textbook, and you may even find yourself a job as a copywriter if your performance and dedication impresses the firm you signed up for as an intern.
Keep updated
Like all professions around the world, there is always the need to learn and become better at what one does for a living. Don't be contented with what you know and believe in when it comes to copywriting, for it is a quickly evolving profession. An advertising hit can easily lose its impact on people in a matter of weeks or even days, and you need to constantly come up with high-quality material to keep things fresh and new. So keep your eyes sharp and on the lookout for new innovations in advertising, and you will find yourself one step ahead of the crowd.
One last thing: there is a very big difference between copywriting and copyright law. The former deals with advertising and convincing people, while the latter deals with intellectual property. Thus, copywriters do copywriting work, while a lawyer deals with copyright law. Despite sounding very similar, they are worlds apart and should not be confused with each other.
