What Makes a Good Copywriter?
Whenever you come across the job description of a copywriter, it’s always the same – ‘must be good at English’, ‘must possess exceptional communication skills’, and, of course, ‘must be creative’. It should be obvious that any professional copywriter will possess these qualities.
The question remains, however, what exactly constitutes a good copywriter? To answer that, let’s take a look at some of the standout qualities that would suffice if you wish to call yourself a commendable copywriter.
- Understanding the Target Audience
Perhaps the most important aspect of providing a good copywriting service is knowing how to speak the language of your target audience. By language, we mean how they think – which words a typical person in your target audience would be interested in. Whatever the copy is – ad copy, blog post, or e-book – it is much more effective when you clearly understand what your intended audience is looking for.
1. Knowing When You Have Enough Information
A critical aspect of writing good copy is conducting research and learning more about the topic at hand. However, there is a limit. Most of the time, a copywriter can get obsessed with learning to much about the subject. Unfortunately, this leads to delays in actually getting down to writing – you know, the important part of the job! If you believe there might be some elements you’ve overlooked that could potentially strengthen your copy, you won’t ever get the work done.
2. Be An Excellent Researcher and Interviewer
Ideally, a copywriter should be well-versed on the subject matter they’re writing about. However, they have to jump from client to client and, correspondingly, industry to industry. As such, great copywriters will conduct in-depth research and interview the appropriate stakeholders so they know what they’re talking about. Conversing with a vested party can offer a new point of view which is pivotal for determining the direction of your copy.
3. Avoiding the Unnecessary Stuff
Being a prolific writer with a way with words is an art. However, it takes more than that. An experienced copywriter knows that writing good copy means giving the reader the information they want. They know that people like to skim-read whenever possible, so they know that their copy has to be punchy and impactful. As such, they know that they need to deliver first-class content writing services to satisfy their clients. A good copywriter understands the importance of attention-grabbing headlines, articulating the objectives of marketing and sales, and, of course, SEO.
4. Having a Thick Skin
Copywriting involves creating something from virtually nothing. Not only that, but sometimes the work copywriters do will be criticised and sometimes rejected. This is a difficult situation to control, but constructive feedback will make your writing stronger and more compelling. Rejection is just the price that comes with working in this subjective area.
5. Always Read
An exceptional copywriter is someone who always keeps abreast of the latest industry trends. They never lose touch even if they have achieved a lot of success in their career; a truly experienced copywriter is always learning.
6. Being Confident in Your Skills
A good copywriter knows how to find the perfect balance between addressing feedback and making sure that their point gets across. Sometimes changes can be minute – improving the word choices. However, other times, they can be drastic – changing the very direction of your copy – and that means a complete rewrite.
If you feel like your idea was something worth trying out, you need to have faith in what you’ve done and explain your reasoning to the client. The best course of action, however, is to allow everyone to bring their thoughts to the table so that agreement can be reached.
7. Never the Perfectionist
If copywriters waited until they were totally satisfied with the copy before sending it to a client, they would never get anything done. An important trait in a good copywriter is knowing that the pursuit of perfection is futile, especially since not everyone shares the same point of view. So, even if a copywriter spends an age in an attempt to achieve what they consider to be perfection, there is still a chance that the client might have a different view.
8. Knowing When to Ask for Help
Writing is a solitary art. Even if the brainstorming process involves multiple people, when it’s time to get the actual writing done, copywriters are on their own. It’s common for them to consider themselves as lone wolves.
However, a good copywriter knows that they should seek outside help whenever possible and that doing so does not equate to being a poor writer. They should look up to mentors who can push them constantly to achieve more and strive to be better every day. Most importantly, they should also understand when it’s time to start training young writers as mentors themselves.
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If you’re looking for a great copywriter, then you’re in luck – we have plenty! Our established copywriting agency offers a first-class copywriting service, and we’re confident that our highly skilled team of writers will not disappoint.