You’ll have new knowledge and skills after reading your first copywriting book. But, what should you do to make the best of these new skills? Here are tips on what you can do after you learned new writing skills from your copywriting book.
Perform the Exercises and Assignments from each Chapter.
Take on the exercises and assignments so you can practice what you learned. Even if the exercise is small, make sure that you apply the principles of the copywriting book you read. This gives you an opportunity to dig deep into the concepts and apply them in real-life scenarios.
Working on the assignments also allows you to gain more experience. It provides you with thinking and writing confidence at the fastest time possible. This will help you take on bigger challenges later on.
So if you see exercises in headlines, make sure to practice them. If you see assignments on a mock copy, write them. If the book asks you to try writing a strong close, draft them.
Exercises and assignments are ways to get you familiar with your thought process. It gives you the feel of writing you need to do.
Generate Copy for Practice and Educational Purposes.
To practice means to exercise often. After reading a copywriting book, practice writing a certain type of copy. This exercise tests your thought process and your choice of words. Because of this exercise, you will develop your writing voice.
The practice also helps you with generating ideas. It teaches you structure. It makes you realize the need for tools available to help with your workflow. With practice, you are sure that what you write resonates with the target audience.
And because you practice with consistency, the habit becomes a form of education. Copywriting is not something offered in most colleges and universities. Once you’ve reached an education level, you’ve built yourself a skill of a lifetime.
Develop Specialized Skills by Taking Courses or Attending Workshops.
The copywriting book you bought will not be the “end all be all” solution. Becoming a copywriter involves more than learning the fundamentals. You also need to know that there are many types of copywriting projects.
In the copywriting industry, there will be an entry-level form of writing. Advanced writing also awaits if you desire to get into a 6 or 7-figure income.
So it pays to know where the best copywriting courses are. Get a schedule of copywriting workshops to your advantage. If budget permits, your attendance might give you back 10x more than what you invested.
These are the 2 best ways to develop specialized skills. Books will be there for you for reference. But specializing in something requires more than reading.
Build a Portfolio of Your Work to Show Potential Clients or Employers.
After you’ve learned copywriting, it’s time to put your newfound skills into practice. Showcasing your work is key to getting noticed and boosting your copywriting career.
Build a portfolio by writing projects for yourself. You can start by reading copy written by other copywriting professionals. Analyze the copy and find out how you can make it better. Then write your own version.
When you finish writing your own version, review it as if you did not write it yourself. Edit to your heart’s content. When you are happy with the outcome, upload it to your portfolio.
Do this exercise on different types of copy that interest you. Get to the ones you are comfortable with.
Keep uploading them to your portfolio. When you have enough, you can share a link to them on your social media profiles.
Samples of the following are great portfolio builders:
- Advertising campaigns
- Press releases
- Blogs
- Brochures
- Ad designs
- Website content
Social media channels are excellent outlets for promoting yourself. So you will want to have profiles from platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter.
Your portfolio will prove your working knowledge and understanding of different copywriting projects.
Join Professional Associations for Writers.
Associations are a great resource for staying informed of current trends in copywriting. It also helps you expand your network of contacts. This also gives you the opportunity to find a mentor.
Joining associations means that you will have a community of like-minded writers. It’s nice to discover people who had struggles like yours. Even nicer to find stories of people having successful careers in copywriting.
So don’t brush off communities and associations. They do you more good in your copywriting journey.
Associations also offer valuable content libraries. You will have access to online forums. You’d be chatting with experienced writers.
Associations offer you exclusive webinars and events. You get discounts for being a member. These events can lead you to networking opportunities with other promising writers.
Your Next Step.
I hope you enjoyed reading this far.
If you’d like to read more on copywriting, I recommend you to go to AWAI’s quick course on copywriting here:
https://www.awai.com/what-is-copywriting/
Now. If you want to get into all the nitty gritty.
If you want to learn the process of learning to become a copywriter… how you can launch yourself as a professional who commands fees… learn the different projects you can take… and work from anywhere and anytime in the world… Look no further.
AWAI has set The Gold Standard in Copywriting Training. They will teach you how to write blog posts, articles, emails, newsletters, and PPC ads. AWAI will show you how you’re getting paid well for it.
You’ll meet hundreds or even thousands of copywriters who are living the writer’s life.
Click here to discover the New Gold Standard in Copywriting Training.
Note: This is an affiliate link. It helps writers like me to continue writing informative blogs without any additional cost to you.