Most people who know me today tend to think of me as the web tech geek and that’s great – that would mean the foundations of my brand is strong. But like many of you, I’ve worn many hats along the path of finding my ‘true calling’. One of the hats I wore was a Junior copywriter at a small local advertising agency. You see, back then, I was totally enamored with the advertising and PR industry. Those interests have not gone away. I am still very much interested in copywriting.
Interest aside, this skill has really helped from the time when I was working outside until now. Even more so now as a business owner. The good thing about copywriting is it’s a skill that you can learn and the more you practice the better you get at it. Remember, copy is not just writing ads or marketing material (though that’s what I did most as a Jr. Copywriter) but good copy can also be carried forward to blog posts, videos, emails and communication with your staff. So it definitely is a good skill to learn. Thankfully there are also a lot of free resources online to get you started on sharpening your copywriting skills. These are some I found. I hope you save this post, keep the information close and don’t discount their value because of the $0 price tag.
- Top 10 Words That Say Buy and Why They Work (PDF) – discover the trigger words that get people excited about your product.
- Netwriting Masters Course
- Make Your Content PREsell – I bought this years ago now it is free still very relevant (good copywriting doesn’t go out of style)
- Micro-Script Rules – this is an amazingly insightful ebook. The author explores what makes people remember micro-scripts (more commonly known as taglines) and how you can use it in your marketing.
- Marketing Writing Tips: 5 Mistakes To Avoid
- Content Marketing Swipe File – Handy reference when you are stuck with headlines, transitions, call to actions and closings
- How To Add Credibility To Your Writing With Statistics and Quotes
Nice list Lynette, i liked the 10 words that most of the times work, seems that ” FREE ” is something none can resist 🙂
I absolutely love lists like that too. Am always download or clip them to Evernote wherever I can find them. It’s super useful when writing just about anything – emails, autoresponders even blog posts that are intended to sell.
Wow. Great resource for business owners who need some help in this area. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Brandon, our pleasure. If it is good why not pass it on. One thing I’ve learned is no matter how good one is at copy, you can always use help.
Agreed. Thanks for the reminder about Evernote as well.
As everyone aware of this that copy is not just writing ads or marketing material but good copy can also be carried forward with blog posts, videos, emails and communication your colleagues. So you can use it a good practice to learn.
There are lot of free resources availabbe to enhance your skills in copy writing.
Thanks.
“The 10 Words That Say Buy” is the kind basic info that all writers should keep at the forefront whenever they are writing copy. I think as people get more experienced they try to get more fancy and it is not necessary.
I would however, put the word “YOU” at the top of that list. I am always amazed at sales material and web sites that start off talking about themselves.
“For 10 years XYZ Corp, has been a leader in widget technology….”
Nobody cares. Keep the focus on the customer and off of yourself and you at least will have a shot at gaining a customer.