Product descriptions on the marketplace, posts on social networks, and even this article are the results of copywriters’ work. We tell you how to enter the profession, what skills are needed, and where to look for orders.
Who is a copywriter?
What does a copywriter do?
Differences between a copywriter and an editor
Advantages and disadvantages of the profession of a copywriter
Basic knowledge and skills of a copywriter
How to make money on copywriting
How much does a copywriter earn?
Where to start to become a copywriter
Expert advice
Who is a copywriter?
Table of Contents
A copywriter creates texts to solve marketing problems, such as increasing brand awareness or attracting new customers. They can write an article about skin care for a clinic’s blog, or a post about a new collection for a clothing store’s social networks. The reader’s desire to buy will depend on how useful and informative the texts are.
Some copywriters write on one topic and in one format — for example, only articles about data analysis. There are also multidisciplinary ones who work with different formats and topics. A copywriter can also be called a commercial author, an advertising writer, a content author, and even a ghostwriter — from the English ghostwriter, “ghost writer,” if he creates texts that are published under someone else’s name.
A copywriter who understands marketing is more in demand by employers and can expect a high salary. You can learn how marketing strategies are developed , what the customer journey consists of, and why a brand needs positioning in online marketing courses.
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What does a copywriter do?
The copywriter receives a technical assignment from the customer – a document that specifies the requirements for the text: topic, number of characters, deadline, etc. Then the specialist analyzes the information: expert comments, competitors’ texts, the customer’s internal materials, etc. Based on the collected data, the copywriter works out the structure of the text, then writes it, submits it for approval and makes edits if necessary. What texts can a copywriter write:
● SMS and push notifications are short messages that pop up on a phone or computer screen;
● posts for social networks;
● descriptions of goods and services, instructions;
● scripts for videos;
● texts for presentations;
● advertisements;
● email newsletters;
● SEO articles for blogs and company websites. These are texts that are optimized for search engines . Their copywriters write them according to certain criteria: topic, volume, number of keywords, level of uniqueness, expertise.
A copywriter must adhere to the Tone of voice — the style in which a company communicates with its audience. TOV can be conversational, formal, respectful, humorous, etc.
Differences between a copywriter and an editor
Often, an editor works on the text together with a copywriter, but their tasks differ:
● A copywriter
creates a text from scratch: develops a structure, searches for and studies information on the topic, writes the text.
● The editor
supervises the copywriter: helps to find experts, work out the topic and plan of the text, makes edits, monitors logic and compliance with TOV. The editor communicates with the customer, understands the task, draws up the technical assignment and passes it on to the copywriter.
IT companies have specialists who are immersed in digital products and combine the duties of an editor and a copywriter — product editors. They work with texts for website interfaces and mobile applications: push notifications, button names, messages in chat bots, instructions.
Sometimes employers look for writing editors — universal specialists who will both write and edit texts. There is another niche between a copywriter and an editor — a localization specialist. This is a person with knowledge of a foreign language who translates inscriptions in the interface of applications, documentation, instructions, texts on product pages of websites.
Advantages and disadvantages of the profession of a copywriter
Pros
✅ You can work remotely
A copywriter, especially if he works freelance, is not tied to a place, and most vacancies are remote.
✅ Sometimes all you need for work is a phone
For example, if a specialist writes posts on social networks.
✅ Wide range of topics
You can write about finance, pet food, beauty, interior design — about anything you like.
✅ Personal development
To create a text, a copywriter studies a lot of information and eventually begins to understand different topics.
✅ Low entry threshold
A copywriter does not need specialized knowledge to start in the profession, as, for example, developers do.
✅ Possibility of combining
If the copywriter is a freelancer, he determines the number of texts and plans his workload himself.
Cons
❌ Revisions
The copywriter can make edits to the text until the result satisfies the customer. Sometimes this takes more than five iterations.
❌ Due to the low entry threshold into the profession, there are many people who work with texts.
❌ Monotony
A copywriter can work on a text from several hours to several days – it all depends on the complexity of the topic and volume.
❌ No stable income
If a copywriter works as a freelancer, his salary depends on the number of orders.
Basic knowledge and skills of a copywriter
A copywriter needs different skills: both professional and non-professional.
Hardskills
Literacy and erudition
to express thoughts clearly and without errors.
Understanding of business processes
because he writes commercial texts that must solve business problems.
Fact-checking
Inaccurate information affects the brand’s reputation.
Knowledge of search engine optimization basics
An SEO copywriter should know how to select keywords and set meta tags.
Analytics skills
For example, through Yandex Metrica you can study the viewing depth, the number of text readings, and audience parameters.
Skill in working with programs and services
Figma, Google Docs, Powerpoint, Yandex Wordstat, Text.ru, Orfogrammka, Glavred — to check the uniqueness of the text.
Soft skills
Time management
A copywriter or editor may have several tasks from different clients, it is important to be able to manage time.
Analytical thinking
A copywriter studies a large amount of information before writing a text. It is important to filter out the unnecessary and understand what is missing.
Communication skills
These are needed to understand the customer’s request, explain your idea to them, interview an expert, clarify details, and discuss the editor’s edits.
Responsibility
In any work, including texts, it is important to be responsible for the result and meet deadlines.
Perseverance
A copywriter can spend several days working on a text: from collecting invoices to writing and approval.
Resistance to criticism
Comments and edits are frequent, it is important not to give in to emotions and separate personal opinion from professional one.
Ability to work on mistakes
It is important to correct what did not work out and not to make the same mistakes over and over again.
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How to make money on copywriting
A copywriter can work for themselves, in an agency or in a company. Agencies often work with universal authors who write on different topics and in different formats. They usually pay per thousand characters – these are letters, numbers, punctuation marks. In a Word document, a thousand characters are about ⅓ of the page. For example, if an article has 10,000 characters, and they pay 500 ₽ per thousand, the copywriter will receive 5,000 ₽.
Sometimes the author is given a whole project for which they pay a fixed amount. For example, for 50,000 ₽ for a customer you need to write 10 posts on a social network and three SEO articles. A full-time copywriter receives a fixed payment. In such work, the number of tasks may be less than in an agency, but you will have to deeply immerse yourself in the product, study the audience and the company’s metrics .
A freelance copywriter works as a self-employed person or individual entrepreneur. He negotiates with clients and determines the amount of payment. You can look for orders through colleagues and acquaintances, through ads on job search sites and social networks, and also through copywriting exchanges. Here are some popular ones in Russia:
● Text.ru
● Advego
● eTXT
● Turbotext
How much does a copywriter earn?
According to the catalog of professions “Rabota.ru” , the average salary of a full-time copywriter is 58 thousand rubles. On hh.ru there are most vacancies with an income of 40 to 85 thousand rubles, but you can find offers with a salary of 100 thousand rubles – for example, for a copywriter-editor.
Where to start to become a copywriter
To start in the profession, it is not necessary to receive a higher philological or journalistic education; online courses are enough, where you can study:
● what formats there are in copywriting,
● where to start working on the text,
● how to write a sales or image text, what techniques exist,
● how to communicate with customers.
You can read books on how to write texts, such as “Write, Shorten” by Maxim Ilyakhov and Lyudmila Sarycheva. Watch videos on YouTube, such as on the “Redach” channel , read specialized Telegram channels, such as “What to Read for an Editor ,” and practice. You can start with small orders on copywriting exchanges, such as writing descriptions of product cards for marketplaces. Write articles of different formats and put them in a portfolio.
