Thinking of getting into freelance copywriting but have no experience? Wondering what is the difference between copywriter and content writer?
If you are wondering how to become a copywriter, you will love this guide explaining how to get started as a copywriter without experience.
To get started as a copywriter without experience, we suggest exploring the opportunities that exist in the job market for a copywriter with no experience on the job search platform Jooble. This will give you more information about what kind of specialists are in demand now and what skills you should develop.
Before we start, let’s take a look at what a copywriter is.
Then, we’ll discuss how to be a copywriter and answer questions like “how much does a copywriter make” and “what are the differences between a content writer and a copywriter”.
Let’s dive into copywriting!
The Job Description Of A Copywriter
Let’s start by answering the following question: what is copywriting?
Copywriting is basically writing the text for advertising/marketing purposes.
The goal is to increase brand awareness and persuade people to get the product/take action.
Copy is everywhere.
When you write a social media caption, you’re writing copy. When you write a blog post, you’re writing copy.
You got two options: writing good copy or writing boring copy. Good copy is persuasive. It’s going to urge you to do something – or at least, that’s what a great copywriter would do.
So, what is a copywriter?
A copywriter is a person who writes promotional content. It can be published on websites, emails, catalogs, ads, etc.
It’s basically selling with your words. And yes – these words make you money.
How To Become A Freelance Copywriter
To become a good copywriter, you first need to understand the essence of copywriting and why people hire copywriters. Being a good writer doesn’t mean you’ll be good at copywriting.
If you’re the kind of writer, who can’t keep things simple and short… you might want to look into content writing instead. (Sorry.)
Let’s see how to become a freelance copywriter.
If you already have marketing or writing skills, it gives you an advantage. Although, you’re going to have to practice and build your portfolio. To become a good copywriter, you’ll have to write… and write.
AND write more. If you’re lucky, you might magically get better.
Websites like Upwork and Fiverr are pretty popular in the freelancing world. It might not be the most well-paid opportunity, but it’s a great way to get more experience as a copywriter.
At first, you’re going to have to build a portfolio. So these websites are opportunities to build your portfolio quickly.
You can build your network using Facebook groups or Linkedin.
Real-Life Example: I personally landed many freelancing gigs via Facebook groups. I was pretty active in digital nomad groups as well as blogger groups.
Being active in these groups increases awareness, and you could land a gig by responding quickly.
You can then become an expert in your field. If members see my name very often, they might think of me next time they want to hire someone!
How To Become A Freelance Copywriter With No Experience?
There are different ways to learn a new skill. First, I’d suggest you get all the free information that is available out there. You can find free resources in different forms (blogs, videos, podcasts, magic potions…).
Once you’ve been through these free resources, then you can decide to invest money in a course or ebook depending on what are your favorite ways to learn.
I personally invested a large amount of money in learning copywriting. I invested in the Copy Cure – and it wasn’t cheap. Although, there are ways to learn about copywriting for free or at minimal costs.
Since I run several online businesses, it made sense to invest in my copywriting skills. After all, content writing can sell too.
Suppose you’re wondering how to learn copywriting to get experience before landing your first client.
In that case, I’d suggest trying exercises such as rewriting ads, rewriting websites (you can do so by using the Chrome extension “Edit Anything” or social media captions.
When you’re happy with your copy, you can use it to build your portfolio.
Learn To Be A Copywriter Using These Free Resources
- Copyblogger: Tips and pieces of advice are found in their blog section. You can also check this article about copywriting 101.
- Copyhackers: The blog also offers a lot of copywriting and marketing tips.
- KopywritingKourse: There is free training for copywriting – and this guy is hilarious!
- Talking Shrimp: Great blog posts, great emails, and freebies.
Invest Money In A Course
Deciding whether you should spend money on tools can be challenging. When I first started as a digital nomad, I actually had no intention of investing money trying to make money.
Although to start my blog, I had to buy a domain and a hosting plan. It was a bit of a risk. To be fair, this small investment helped me stay focused.
There was no way I would spend money on something without taking my project seriously.
Here are a few affordable online courses to learn to be a copywriter:
Here’s an example of what it actually looks like on Udemy.
As you can see, Copywriting secrets is popular on Udemy and it has great reviews.
Invest Money In A Book
Here are some excellent books to learn to be a copywriter. The following links will bring you to Amazon.
- The Freelance Content Marketing Writer by Jennifer Goforth Gregory
- Make it rain by Chris Orzechowski
- How to write seductive web copy by Henneke Duistermaat
What Is An SEO Copywriter?
Imagine a copywriter that is Search Engine Optimized. Hold on. That can’t be right.
SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. It’s basically inserting keywords so people can find your content on Google or other search engines.
That being said, SEO copywriting refers to optimized content that sells. When creating your content, you’re going to implement some SEO strategies.
Real-Life Example: It took me a while to understand what SEO was. It scared me. It was kind of too complicated for me to bother learning. In the end, I realized that traffic that comes from Google was more sustainable, and I decided to focus on SEO. In less than a year, my traffic had tripled. Don’t make the same mistake – start learning SEO now.
SEO FROM SCRATCH
- SEO from Scratch is divided into 8 modules, which you can do at your own pace
- 8 Modules, 3 worksheets, and 9 cheatsheets
- Support with Q&A Vault (email your questions)
How Much Does A Copywriter Make?
It really depends on the projects and your level of experience. The better you become, the higher your income. Of course, at the beginning of your copywriting journey, you won’t make as much as you will eventually.
What Are The Differences Between A Content Writer And A Copywriter?
The copywriter tries to influence you to take action and sell a product.
The content writer is basically creating content. It can be in a blog post form or a review form. It can be about anything, really. It doesn’t have to serve a selling/action purpose.
It can also be just very informative. If you love to write but you don’t have any marketing background, maybe content writing would be more appropriate for you.
Final Thoughts On Copywriting With No Experience
Do you think copywriting is for you? If the answer is yes, it’s time to get to work.
That said, copywriter won’t be for everyone, so here are a few online jobs you can do without experience:
