Who Is A Marketing Copywriter, and Why Should You Care?

As the saying goes, "The secret of all effective original advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words but of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships". Leo Burnett said this. And we can see it in his work. To create successful ads, you need someone who can blend your product with what your target audience needs. And this can only be achieved with the help of copywriting.

Copywriting is a form of marketing that uses persuasive language and promotional materials to motivate people to take action, such as making a purchase, clicking on a link, donating to a cause, or scheduling a consultation.

You might not realize it, but copywriting is all around you. If you look in your mailbox, you'll see some prominent examples. Promotions for local restaurants, catalogs, fundraising letters from charitable organizations, and sales letters for various products and services are all forms of copywriting.

Copywriting is one of the most critical elements of any marketing campaign. If you want to learn more about what a marketing copywriter does, keep reading!

A copywriter is a professional writer who writes promotional text or copies for marketing purposes. 

A copywriter is responsible for crafting the words used in marketing campaigns, ads, website content, press releases, social media posts, and other forms of communication. They research your brand's voice and style requirements to create content that persuades people to use your products or services, create more brand awareness for your business or explain the company's goals and mission.

The history of copywriting dates back to 1477, when a Babylonian prayer book was promoted using persuasive language. Using this example, ancient Greek teachers developed methods for sending persuasive messages. This was when persuasion first came to be in writing. And since its introduction, copywriting has evolved from those early days to become what it is today.

Marketing copywriters earn a salary comparable to that of other professionals. Let's take a look at the salary expectations of a marketing writer.

The average salary for a marketing copywriter in the United States is $54,682 annually, but the salary range typically falls between $46,134 and $59,573. The range can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills acquired over time, and understanding level within the industry.

It's important to note that these numbers are just averages—marketing copywriters' salaries can also differ widely based on location and experience level. For example, a junior marketing copywriter with no formal education may expect to earn closer to $46K per year. In comparison, an experienced senior marketing copywriter with a Master's degree might make closer to $60K per year.

Copywriting is the process of writing a text that will persuade people to do something. It can be a phrase on a billboard or an advertisement on TV, but it can also be a long-form article or blog post. Without copywriters, getting your brand’s information to prospective or current customers would be difficult.

Copywriters are responsible for making sure that your brand message is clear, concise and persuasive enough that your audience will take action after reading it.

Take Apple Inc. as an example. If you scan through their website, you'll find descriptions of their products, like this one for the MacBook Air:

Copywriters write product descriptions like these to keep customers interested and informed about the company's product. 

The use of artificial intelligence to generate written content is unlikely to eliminate the need for human copywriters in the near future. While AI technology can generate written content, it still lacks creativity and flexibility compared to human writers.

Additionally, having a human write your content creates familiarity. This can be particularly important for building trust and credibility with customers and readers.

Thus, while artificial intelligence may be able to automate some aspects of copywriting, it shouldn't be used in the place of a copywriter. Instead, AI can be used to augment the work of human copywriters by providing tools and insights that help them be more efficient and effective.

With the importance of copywriting in modern business increasing daily, there has never been a better time than now to hire one or to grow your own abilities in copywriting. In order to grow your copywriting skills, you must acquire some core competencies.

In a world where any information is just a few swipes away on a mobile device, words are now more powerful than ever. The ability to craft compelling content is essential to succeed in today's competitive marketplace. To excel as a marketing copywriter, you must groom the following copywriting skills:

Headlines have become increasingly important as a way of attracting readers and driving traffic from search engines. They are the readers' first impressions of your brand, and should convey why they should keep reading. 

One of the most effective ways to create a catchy headline is by using power trigrams which are groups of three words, e.g. “how to be'.' Using the correct power trigram in a headline can help boost the engagement of your copy.

According to a research by Steve Rayson of Buzzsumo, using Facebook as a case study, the average engagement count for headlines vary depending on the trigram used.

From the chart above, headlines with the trigram “of the year” have a high engagement. This is because most readers are interested in copies that are relevant to the current year. There are many other rules and tools for creating kickass headlines. And you should spend some time learning about these.

The point is, to be a good copywriter, you should know how to create captivating headlines that immediately brings your product to the readers' doorsteps.

In copywriting, the first sentence of a sales pitch is called the "hook." The purpose of the hook is to get your readers interested enough to read the following sentence. If you don't capture your reader's attention with your first sentence, you lose them forever.

Creating a good copy hook is a high-end skill every good copywriter should possess. The right copy hook tells your audience everything they need to know about what they'll read next: what kind of content it is, who wrote it, and why they wrote it.

Copywriter and business owner Joe Sugarman is credited with a saying that roughly states that the purpose of a hook is to get your readers to read the first line. All is lost if you don't enthrall them with that first line.

As the attention span of young people continues to shrink, to be a good copywriter, you must learn how to create compelling hooks that keep readers interested.                                                         

Below are some effective hook-writing techniques: 

Speak directly to the reader. A copy that speaks directly to the reader is more likely to raise their interest and cause them to pay attention because it feels personal.

Mention an exciting or shocking statistic. Data and statistics can be a powerful way to make your point. It's one of the best ways to get your readers interested in what you're saying.

Ask a question relevant to the audience. Engaging readers with good content is crucial. If they don't find your message interesting, they won't read it. That's why leading with a thought-provoking question is an effective way to grab their attention.

Search engine optimization copywriting is the process of creating search engine-friendly content that, most importantly, caters to users and their questions.

To excel in copywriting, one has to possess the right SEO writing skill. As the latest Google algorithm updates have shown, there is a great demand for unique, high-quality content. Keyword stuffing and many other black hat SEO techniques don't work as well anymore.

One way to create an SEO content that ranks well is by using keywords naturally within the text of your copy. To do this, you should start by doing keyword research. This will help you identify which words are most relevant to your niche. It will also give you an idea of how many people are searching for each term so you can decide which ones are most likely to convert into sales or leads.

Below is a chart showing the impact of keyword research in SEO writing 

Once you've done your research, it's time to write. To optimize your pages for search engines like Google, use H1 tags and H2 tags appropriately so that they display properly when someone searches for terms related to what's being discussed on each page. 

You should also include strong calls-to-action (CTAs) where appropriate, so visitors know exactly what action to take next after reading through everything else on the page.

In summary, the right SEO copywriting skills can help you achieve the following;

A compatible website for both visitors and search engines.

Keywords help your site by placing them in the right places on web pages. 

It helps your site maintain the right balance of getting relevant traffic and converting that traffic into business.

Researching your target audience means understanding who buys the product you are selling. By understanding their needs, you can resonate with them and communicate more effectively.

To create content for online users, it's essential to keep usability and how people read on the web in mind. A copywriter's job is to appeal to a broad audience online; knowing who your audience is will help you do that.

Findings from Databox research show that target audience research is helpful, especially in content marketing.

For example, if you're targeting college students with a new product, you might want to use colloquial language and slang terms like "vibe" and “flex it." On the other hand, if you're selling a luxury car to affluent consumers, you'll want to choose words that convey elegance and refinement.

Some ways to carry out audience research include:

Market research: Marketing research can help you understand your audience by providing data on demographics, allowing you to tailor your tone of voice accordingly.

Customer interviews: Asking customers questions to get their insight on a product gives you knowledge of what the customers want.

Review mining: Reviews can help you understand how customers interact with a product. Reviews of the product or similar products can uncover the natural language people use.

Social media listening: Social listening is monitoring public online conversations to discover what people say about a brand.

Copy research is finding your messaging hierarchy or the order in which your messages go. It's also the process of discovering the words and how to say them. Ultimately, research is the data that helps you write the right words in the right way and the right order.

Content/copy research is essential to create informed content that satisfies both offline and online users; as a copywriter, you need to be able to research thoroughly and quickly. You may sometimes have to write about topics you lack prior knowledge about. 

Knowing where to look for information, whom to ask for help, and how to use a search engine efficiently is vital. It's also important to stay informed about the latest trends and current affairs, particularly on social media.

A copywriter's main objective is to make their audience understand the product or service they are selling and to make it interesting enough for them to want to buy it.

To accomplish this, you need to write in a way that makes it easy for readers to understand. This means using simple language and avoiding unnecessary jargon. It also means keeping sentences short and focused on one idea each rather than rambling on about multiple points at once. And finally, it means writing in a way that flows nicely from sentence to sentence.

Creating simple, easy-to-read content is essential as it helps you to:

Make a good impression. Having an easy to read content can help you make a great impression, especially on your new readers. 

Increase reads. According to a 2008 study by Jakob Nielsen, only about 20% of the text on the average page is read.  Having straightforward content increases the percentage of reads on your copy.

Appear friendly to your readers. Readers frequently visit sites with simple content and may quickly click away if your content looks challenging.

Copywriting is a sought-after skill that businesses need to survive. This is why the industry has grown rapidly over the years and continues to do so.

If you get all these points right, you'll see the power of words and experience the impact of good content through improved page rankings, social media sharing, and sales. I hope this article has given you insight into what it takes to be a successful copywriter. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!