Copywriting: A Hot Freelance Market

Copywriting, or writing copy, is the art of marketing. Most copy is intended to sell a product of service, from diet supplements to car insurance. But with the ever-growing presence of the web, the world of copywriting has expanded. Nowadays, you can write copy for websites to boost readership or membership, ranging from attractive web content, ad writing, frequently-asked-questions pages, and entire marketing campaigns.

Copywriting can be a very rewarding profession, especially for the talented. Just like writing a novel or short story, copywriting is both challenging and exciting.

Understand Good Copy

Skilled masters of copywriting know the art of persuasion. As a copywriter, your job is to persuade and convince readers to buy a service or good. How can you tell the difference between good and bad copy?

Your copywriting career starts right in the heart of junk mail. From now on, save every piece of unsolicited mail and read it. Everything from credit card offers to subscription offers will serve as part of your research.

As you read your mail, you will begin to understand the power of writing good copy. Pay close attention to copy that really catches your attention; especially the ones that make you want to get what's being offered. The ones that were bland and boring are also just as important. Ask yourself why it was ineffective and what your inner copywriter can do to make it better. Soon, you will know what makes good copy.

Just a word of caution - skip the ones you have zero interest in and save them for later. You might make the mistake of calling the copy "bad," when in fact it is excellent.

Learning is Key

When you know good copy from bad, you are half-way there. You got a taste of what the business is like, and you still want to shoot for it. This is a good place to be for anyone interested in copywriting.

Here comes the tough part. You already have the passion, and now is a great time to start learning. Read books and articles to hone your skills. It's a good idea to take courses in persuasive writing or copywriting. If this isn't an option for you, keep reading your junk mail and practice writing copy. Pick a company or a product, and pretend that you were asked to write copy for them. You want to know certain things about your fake audience. How old are they and what is their level of education? Where do they live and what is their average income?

Be tough on yourself - critique and evaluate everything you write. It's nice to have an honest friend who will tell you what she thought of your work. Writing pretend copy is a great way to enhance your writing skills and prepare you for the real thing.

Whatever you do, keep yourself educated through courses, books, articles, journals, and the Internet. There is always a way to learn, even with a limited amount of money or time.

Open For Business

When you feel confident in your skills, start your business today! Business cards are all you need to start. It will probably cost you about $15. List yourself in free directories at Yahoo or Excite. A website is also a must-have. Through a website, you can suggest all your services and have writing examples available. You can get free web hosting almost anywhere nowadays. Many provide templates to build your site.

Market yourself to potential clients. It's a good idea to perform free work for friends and family who own businesses or websites of any sort. Have them spread the word about your new service. Don't limit your potential - find every avenue for writing copy. Send e-mails and letters out to business owners and suggest your services. These people may never have heard of copywriting, or perhaps they didn't know how helpful it could be to them. Make suggestions in your marketing letter that are specific to their business.

The possibilities are endless. Here is just a short list of what you can offer as a professional:

-Ad writing
-Sales letters
-Reminder notices
-Debt and late payment letters
-E-mail marketing
-eBay and auction sales writing
-Web content (to draw more readers / customers)
-Opening pages for websites and newsletters
-Slogans
-Brochures and Pamphlets
-Keyword articles (to improve site rankings on search engines)

Keep learning and improving every step of the way and you'll see your business blossom. In the meantime, content writing and keyword article-writing is a great first step for any up and coming copywriter. Don't forget to search job listings pages and local newspapers. Opportunities to increase your skills and experience may come to you in subtle ways - don't miss them.