Our copywriting course students are always asking us for tips to help them in their careers. Here is a roundup of some of the advice that we have given recently to students on our online copywriting course. Feel free to read them, use them, pass them on and add your own!

Copywriting course tip 1:

Draw up a social media action plan

If you’re planning to become a self-employed copywriter, then you’ll need more than a website. You will also, need a strong social media presence, not just to promote your business, but to show potential copywriting clients that you know how to ‘do’ social media.

Your website is a showcase for good writing, good social media and good business practice. We tell our copywriting course students that an action plan will help to give direction and focus. So, list which platforms you want to use, when, and how. Try to limit the number of platforms you use to begin with, otherwise it can get unwieldy.

We only started using Google+ last year, and we introduced Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn gradually, over a period of years, when we had the staff and the time to manage them.

I suggest you do the same: only introduce a platform when you are confident you can maintain it efficiently. A Twitter feed or Facebook page look very unimpressive if they haven’t been updated for weeks, or even days.

The biggest challenge when you’re starting out with social media can be integration, so make sure you add this to your action plan.

Check that all your artwork, colours and design on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, email signatures and printed material all match one another. If you get this wrong at the start, it’s tedious and potentially expensive to correct later.

And, make sure you attach a timescale to your action plan, otherwise the plan becomes an ‘inaction plan’; a set of great ideas which you never get around to implementing. I put each element of my action plan into my Outlook diary, and set daily reminders during a few days, before each due date.

Copywriting course tip 2:

Write copy that readers can understand

We tell our copywriting correspondence course readers to put themselves in the shoes of the target reader.

These days, this usually means writing for people who are busy. They tend to skim text, especially webpages, so it must be a very fluent read.

So, try to keep sentences and paragraphs short. This is especially important when writing web copy. Readers’ eyes get tired more quickly, so it is important to break the copy up – slabs of text are difficult, if not impossible, to follow.

Sentences should be around 18-30 words, and paragraphs should comprise around 2-3 sentences maximum. Insert new sentences in places where you might normally divide long sentences with a comma. Our copywriting course also encourages students to make sure they write as they speak. Imagine you are chatting to a friend over a drink, then write in the same language. Be friendly, chatty and engaging.

You can also try using a text reader on your PC, because it often helps when you hear the article read back to you.

Make sure, too, that you construct the article naturally, so one section flows into the next. And pay attention to accuracy in your typing and your punctuation. There are several errors that I have marked. Editors will reject work that contains errors, since they will see it as unreliable.

Copywriting course tip 3:

Use a strong second paragraph

A lot of copy falls down in the second paragraph. It grabs the reader’s attention in the intro, but then weakens the momentum by getting bogged down with background detail, which should go lower down.

The second paragraph should amplify the intro and keep the pace of the copy going. So, you need to develop the interesting, exciting or unusual concept that you used in the first sentence, and not bore the reader with information like job titles, dates and addresses.

Copywriting course tip 4:

End well

If you want to learn copywriting skills, then it’s important to focus on how the copy ends, as well as how it starts.

This does not apply to slogans and copy for leaflets and posters. But promotional material needs a strong ending to send the reader with something to think about … and even better, something to do. Get them to make a phone call, visit your website, or fill out a form.

Copywriting course tip 5:

Include a photo

Good copy needs photos, and many clients like copywriters to include photos when they submit their content, especially if it’s for a blog or a webpage.

So, do yourself and the client a favour by attaching some free copyright images, or some links where they can download suitable images. This will save them time and trouble, and hopefully, put you in their good books for the future.

Copyeditors, webmasters and other businesses will always prefer dealing with suppliers who meet their needs and go beyond what they’ve been asked to do.

Copywriting course tip 6:

Use a fact file

Copywriting means presenting information quickly, clearly and efficiently. And a fact file helps. Include as many killer facts as possible.

Some fact files just provide the basic information and leave the reader to go and find the rest on a website. It is better to give them 10 or 15 key facts, so they can decide if they want to visit the website. This saves the reader time and effort.

You can also use fact files for snippets of product information. You can include nuggets of information, and even a call to action, that you wouldn’t insert into the main content.

Copywriting course tip 7:

Use a checklist

Some people doing our online copywriting course are just starting out in a freelance copywriting career, and find there is a lot to remember to begin with.

So, I advise devising a checklist, to make sure you don’t miss anything out.

Cover things like: does the copy have short sentences? One sentence per paragraph? Is it accurate – spelling, typing, and punctuation? Is it jargon free? Does the second paragraph focus on amplifying the introduction? Have I included a fact file and a photo?

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