In the past couple of months I’ve been obsessed with the idea of building an online business and one of the things that keeps coming up is the idea of writing.
I used to think that design and web development was the most important thing but that’s only part of the process.
I’ve come to the realization that writing plays a more important role than I thought.
Let me ask you a question.
Do you want to create something amazing one day and sell it to the world?
Do you want to share a story that actually captivates your readers attention and makes them remember you.
Do you want to create videos to start a YouTube channel around things you like to do.
Make a movie, write a book, grow on social media?
Well what I’ve learned recently is that writing is the entry way to all these fields.
No matter what we do: text, write down an idea, tell a story, the movies we watch it all originates first with writing.
To me writing is a way to share your ideas in a cool way to get peoples attention.
Going back to my original goal, building a business, it’s a skill I thought I should learn.
But this isn’t your writing that you learned in school, but what is called copywriting.
According to a quick searches definition copywriting is:
“the process of writing content to persuade people to take action”
But I like how this guy put it that I found on instagram:
“its crafting compelling narratives that sell”
in other words its using great storytelling to sell
Now let’s dive into some reasons why we should consider learning to write
So what’s the point of this skill we all (at least I did) hated when we were in school.
A skill no one thinks about that can literally influence millions.
Did you know the average writer makes $76,000/yr
Thats not to mention online creators who have made online businesses just by writing online and selling their own products:
To a name a few there are Dan Koe, Dickie Bush, and Nicolas Cole.
Well, you’re probably asking yourself
“What does this have to do with me?”
or as Arnold used to ask Gerald in hey Arnold
“What’s your point?”
Well I believe learning a few copywriting skills helps with communication.
It helps to explain how you can help someone get the results they are looking for and reach their goals without the fluff.
So why is copywriting important?
It helps you to be a better communicator.
When we were in school we were told never to cheat or copy our classmates.
Did you know during the renaissance period when an apprentice wanted to learn from their masters they would copy their work.
They would copy so much until they could do it themselves.
After they’ve studied, learned, and mastered the original master’s work that is when they would branch out to create their own.
Why is it now that we look down on the idea of copying to learn, when I think that is the best way to learn.
When you do it with an intention of knowing why it works and learn the fundamentals, it is key to any success.
So how do you do that with copywriting?
The idea of rewriting ads is about learning how to improve ads that you come across in your daily life.
Its about training your brain.
Think and ask yourself how would I make this ad better, what can I add or subtract to make it better?
A swipe file is a folder or document that you keep on your computer or phone where you can save clips, writings, ads or anything that catches your attention.
Its your personal reference file when your stuck and need some inspiration on what to write, create or build for your next project
I personally keep a collection on my google drive so I can access it any where and I have saved screenshots of landing page designs, animation clips, headlines and hooks that have caught my attention that I think I can use later on
Benefits are what a product can do for you so if you can’t explain how something will help someone solve a problem rethink how you could explain that
For example learning copywriting skills can help you convert visitors to customers on a landing page
The point of copywriting is not to show how smart you are but to get an idea from one brain to another
One exercise would be to find a long piece of copy (an ad) and see how you can simplify it into a tweet
Find your favorite writer and physically copy them word for word. Doing this you will begin to pick up their patterns and the more you do it you will be able to use it in your own without even thinking.
Don’t play it safe but talk how you would talk to someone and make it interesting
Read your writing out loud and see if it translates to speaking
It helps to focus when you write so that means finding a quiet environment and eliminate and distracting sounds around you.
For me I got some noise cancelling headphones and play some easy going music where Im not focused on the music. Maybe you ca try some ear plugs but I’m not sure how that really works
copywriting is a great skill but can you combine with other skills that you have developed over the years.
If not continue learning and developing yourself to be a library of skills that you can use at anytime and stand out overtime.
Well there you have it.
9 exercise that you can use to practice to develop your writing skills. You don’t have to master copywriting but I think a good understanding of the basics can help you in many ways no matter what you do.
Thats it for this week
till next week
-Courey
