What Do Copywriters Do? (And Why Every Writer Should Try It)
Today we’re going to answer one very common question: What do copywriters do?
If you’re on the hunt for writing jobs, you’ve likely seen listings searching for copywriters. But for those who are new to the writing world, this terminology can be a little bit confusing. Fear not, though. It’s really straightforward.
Mediabistro sums it up perfectly: “A copywriter creates clear, compelling copy to sell products and/or educate and engage consumers.” The work a copywriter does can come in many forms. Brand blog posts, social media captions, newsletter blasts, or the text you see on ads. Any writing that promotes a brand can be considered “copywriting.”
While this may not sound like your dream job, it’s a great source of revenue for writers of all stripes. If you’re just starting, we strongly suggest that you consider and actively seek out copywriting opportunities.
To learn more about copywriting and find out why I recommend that all writers give it a go, keep reading.
What Do Copywriters Do?
As we touched on before, copywriters create all types of written materials for brands. Usually, this looks like marketing content: Blog posts, email newsletters, or captions for social media posts.
While some brands may have an in-house copywriter, it’s usually a job that sits within a larger marketing department. Just like any other marketing material, copywriting serves the purpose of promoting a brand or building a stronger brand identity.
Knowing this, copywriters create content that will not only inform potential customers about the brand, but they also ensure that their writing matches the brand’s voice and image.
On the face of it, copywriting is writing to sell products, but if you dig a little deeper you can see that it’s also about building a brand’s image.
Copywriting jobs vary from one brand to the next. It might be a permanent role, with one person creating all written content for a brand. It might be the responsibility of a marketing coordinator who writes all Instagram captions and newsletters. It might be a job that a company hires contractors to complete, periodically hiring when they need more content.
This means that someone who works as a copywriter can look like any of these:
Someone in the marketing department, who is in charge of creating all written content
Someone who works within a marketing agency, and is contracted out to clients who need copywriting services
Someone who works for themself as a freelancer, working for multiple brands at a time
Why You Should Consider Copywriting
We know that not many writers set out to become professional copywriters, using their words to sell someone else’s products. But whether or not you like the idea, we think that every writer can benefit from working as a copywriter at some point.
In our opinion, copywriting teaches you some very useful skills, which will benefit you throughout your entire career:
Dedication to a project: When you have a copywriting contract, you need to complete it. Having the constraints of a predetermined agreement will force you to complete the work you’ve promised to complete within a designated period. This is great for your overall work-ethic, but is especially beneficial to writers. As a writer, you likely have a few ideas of projects you dream of completing in your life: A best-selling novel, a groundbreaking investigative deep-dive in the New York Times. Whatever it is you have your sights on, you’re not going to be able to write that thing without dedication. Learning dedication to a project early on can teach you how to stick with something, even when it gets difficult or boring.
Working within constraints: Copywriting teaches you to work within constraints, writing to fit a particular style or content form. While this might sound limiting, it’s a great way to flex your creative muscles. Writing without any inhibitions is a great way to let it all flow, but sometimes a bit of direction works wonders for writing. Working within thematic, tonal and structural constraints will force you to get out of your comfort zone, and practice writing in ways that you may not be used to.
Mastering tone and voice: A major component of copywriting is to reflect a brand’s image with words. Every brand has a different vibe, a different target audience and a different way that they want to interact with customers. For each brand you work with as a copywriter, you need to adjust the tone and voice of your writing to reflect these aspects of the brand you’re writing for. By writing for different brands, you will soon begin to develop new techniques for conveying similar messages in new ways. While it’s great to have a signature style, it’s also very valuable to know how to adopt different ones when need be.
If you’re starting to think that copywriting sounds like a good idea, browse online for open positions. You might love it, or you might hate it. But you’ll never know unless you try!
Have any more questions about copywriting? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to give a good answer.
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