What Is Copywriting?
I have decided to write a post on copywriting due to the many questions I have received regarding copywriters. Apparently, many writers including seasoned writers in other writing disciplines do not quite understand what copywriting is all about.
Well, to put it in the simplest way possible, copywriting is writing to promote. That’s it! Copywriting is simply a piece of writing that is meant to promote something. It could promote a service, product, idea, principle and so forth. Copywriters try to get the audience to take some sort of action.
The origin of copywriting can be traced back to the early days of the advertising industry, namely early newsprint publishers. With the invention of the printing press, advertising grew as newspapers sought to make money from this income stream. The demand for people who could write compelling advertisements grew. Today, copywriting is no longer confined to the advertising industry. Anyone who wants to sell or promote can write copy.
On the Internet, skilled copywriters are highly sought after. Such individuals are highly skilled in evoking emotions using the written word and propel an audience to take action. Copywriting moves the majority of digital products on the Internet. By digital products I am referring to software, eBooks, games, reports, videos and generally anything that does not require to be shipped. Even with tangible goods that need to be shipped, copywriting plays the major role.
How Much Do Copywriter’s Earn?
The earnings of a copywriter vary depending on experience. Highly skilled copywriters with many years of experience typically earn an income ranging from $200 to $500 an hour. However, getting there requires lots of experience and impeccable references. A more realistic earning expectation for a first-rate copywriter with a couple of good references is $60 to $100 an hour.
How Do You Become A Copywriter?
To become an established copywriter and rake in the huge earnings described above, you need to take on some low paying jobs first and then work your way up. Start small and be patient. Make sure every job you take is a slam dunk. Your clients should be extremely pleased with the results; they will be your most important sales people in future.
To become a successful at copywriting, you must take the following steps:
· You need to learn how to write compelling copy – You can do so by doing your own research and finding out what works. However, the shorter route to glory is to enroll in a copywriting course or program that has been proven to work. This way you get it “straight from the horse’s mouth”; from the leading copywriters in the industry. One such course is AWAI (American Writers and Artists Inc). AWAI is a great bargain and comes with excellent tools including advice on copywriting markets.
· Register at a freelance site such as Elance. or oDesk - The demand for Internet copywriting is at an all time high. Most buyers of sales page copy post jobs at these freelance websites. You may not make much at first but you will gain invaluable experience.
· Stay informed – Read widely and stay informed on the latest in the copywriting industry. There is always fresh demand for copywriting from hitherto unknown markets.
How to Make Money Writing with HubPages
Did you know that thousands of freelance writers are making money writing with HubPages? Yes, it is extremely easy to make money writing with HubPages. This article takes you through the basics of setting up a HubPages account and also provides advice on a few rules to follow and what to expect.
Who is HubPages?
For those of you who do not know, HubPages is an online venue where you can share your expertise and passion with rest of the world. In doing so, you get to make money writing. Every article you write and publish on HubPages is known as a Hub. On the HubPages community, an author is referred to as a Hubber.
How Do You Make Money Writing?
Well, it’s really simple. When you open a HubPages account, you link your Google Adsense account with your HubPages account. You actually need to provide HubPages with access to your Google access account. All you need to do is open an account at HubPages and follow their simple instructions to set up an Adsense account or link to your existing Adsense. Once you have done that, HubPages places Google Ads on your articles and Google pays you a percentage of the revenue share at the end of the month. HubPages is currently sharing revenue on a 60:40 basis. You get 60% and HubPages keeps 40%! What better way can you possibly think of to make money writing. You can read more about the HubPages revenue sharing model at the Google Adsense API case study page.
How Much Money Can You Make Writing with HubPages
Well, it all depends on you. The more quality hubs you write, the more you make money writing. Some of the top Hubbers on HubPages earn in five $ digits. There are Hubbers with over 5,000 high quality hubs and you could join this elite league with a bit of discipline. A few rules to follow when writing your articles include:
· Look for topics that do not have too much competition
· Write high quality content that readers will want to read. Don’t write garbage that nobody will want to read. Focus on writing informative and useful content.
· Make sure your content is written with the main keywords for that category in mind
· Write at least four high quality hubs daily
Getting Started
To get started making money writing with HubPages,
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Visit HubPages and open a free account.
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Set up an Adsense account or link your existing account from your settings page.
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Begin writing high quality Hubs
That’s how to make money writing with HubPages. Feel free to ask me any question should you get stuck.
Five Tips for Aspiring Writers
Are you an aspiring writer? Do you aspire to one day see your name in print? Do you desire to become the next J K Rowling? Well, if you dream to become a writing sensation someday, then, the following tips should prove useful and hasten your journey to stardom.
1. Aspiring writers should never stop writing whether they are published or not. The fact that you are yet to be get a publishing offer does not mean that you should sit back after you have submitted a book or article proposal. Your writing needs to stay sharp and the only way to this, is to keep writing even if just for fun.
2. Aspiring writers should look for courses and programs to improve the quality of their work. It doesn't matter if you have a PHD in English literature, you must continually engage in continuous development. Look for short courses that teach creative writing, fiction writing, writing for the Internet and so forth.
3. Aspiring writers should enter as a many writing contests as possible. You will be surprised but most new published writers over the last few decades where discovered after entering a piece of writing in a writing contest. Send as many entries as you can to writing contests and, never give up
4. Aspiring writers should seek to have their work criticized as much as possible. You must actively seek out criticism and take it positively. One of the ways of doing this is offering writing services at online freelance market places such as Elance, Odesk and Freelancer. Write for clients at these freelance sites and see how clients critique your work.
5. Aspiring writers should make use of self publishing services. Many new writers have been discovered after self publishing their books. Gone are the days when self publishing was too expensive and out of reach for most people. These days, all you need to do is to write a book and then open a free account at Amazon’s Createspace or, Lulu. Upload your book, design a cover page, get a free ISBN and you are good to go! Your book immediately becomes available on Amazon or Lulu and is printed and shipped on demand, thus, you need not incur inventory or storage costs. Amazon pays you a royalty on your book sales which is much higher than traditional publishers. If your book does well on Amazon, you are likely to get a publishing offer from a publisher and, the offer would most likely be packaged with an advance royalty payment.
These few tips are not exhaustive but are the minimum that aspiring writers must implement in order to have any chance of success in a highly competitive environment.
How to Become a Freelance Writer
Do you have a natural flair putting words on paper? Do you enjoy writing? If your answer to any of these questions is in the affirmative, then you should seriously consider a career as a freelance writer. As a freelance writer, you can earn a decent income right from the comfort of your home - without even having to takeoff your pajamas.
Most people gifted with writing talent fail to exploit it because they have been led to believe that to become a successful freelance writer, you must have attained a literary degree or similar qualification. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most freelance writers do not hold literature or English major degrees. Good writers are born, not made. Thus, if you have received unsolicited compliments regarding your writing from your teacher's in school or various other people, chances are you have natural born writing flair. All you need to do is to develop this talent and in a few short months you could be banking enviable freelance writing fees.
The best way to hone your writing skills is to enroll in a writing course such as AWAI (American Writers and Artists Inc). This way you get to understand what kind of writing editors and potential buyers are interested in. You also learn to avoid the mistakes made by freelance writing novices.
There are a number of potential sources of income for a freelance writer. These include:
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Writing for women’s and men’s magazines
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Writing general interest articles
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Travel writing
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Writing for trade publications’
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Writing for children and the teenage publications
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Writing humor
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Writing for religious and inspirational publications
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Writing reviews
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Writing news reports/journalistic writing
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Writing non fiction books
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Writing fiction
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Writing scripts for TV, radio, movie and stage plays
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Writing web content and other online writing
This list is not exhaustive but is a fairly good general guide for any budding freelance writer. Each of these niches can potentially earn you a good living. This list of writing markets that have the potential to pay up to 20 cents a word should set you off to a good start as a freelance writer.