How Long Does It Take To Build A Professional Copywriter’s Skill Set?
Yesterday, I talked about what it takes to be a professional copywriter. Many a person wants to be a professional copywriter, yet they don’t know when they’ll be good enough to call themselves a professional copywriter. That’s what yesterday’s article answered – the “professional copywriting standard” question.
Today I’ll talk about how long it’ll take you to get to the standard of a professional copywriter. I won’t repeat myself, so read yesterday’s topic.
Let’s start with a basic assumption. How long does it take you to get to a professional copywriter standard?
The Dreaded Two Words
Sadly, there’s no full-proof system – no one answer – to how long it’ll take you to become a professional copywriter.
Instead, I have to use the dreaded two words:
“It depends.”
Copywriting isn’t made up of mystical mumbo-jumbo; it’s a set of skills and mental assumptions that turn written words into stacks of beautiful money.
You, however, are a complicated and mystical beast indeed.
- Do you know what copywriting is?
- Do you have any experience with copywriting – or writing of any sort?
- Have you ever sold anything to anyone or otherwise fiendishly parted them and their money?
- Are you willing to learn and practice copywriting?
- Are you able to spend time on the above?
The list of reasons why it will take you a long time or a short time to get to a professional copywriter standard are endless.
If you’re astute, charismatic and gifted with verbal and written communication skills, then you’re off to a good start.
If, on the other hand, you’re not so great at writing, you’ve no idea how people’s brains work and you find the idea of selling icky and immoral, then you’re going to have to take the longer road towards being a professional copywriter.
That’s not to say it’s impossible… just that these things make a difference. (A five-foot tall guy can get a basketball in the hoop, but he’ll have a harder time than a seven-foot tall guy.)
With that said, let’s break being a professional copywriter down into some learnable skills.
Copywriting Skills Themselves
Copywriting as a whole is quite-straightforward. It doesn’t require the brainpower of physics and there aren’t any physical requirements like being in the army. The information out there is logical and precise as well; being a professional copywriter isn’t like being a professional astronomer (or astrologer) where success lies in having to predict and make judgements based on ever-changing and incredibly complex and chaotic systems.
A professional copywriter just has to understand some pretty permanent aspects of human psychology and marry them with some pretty logical rules about selling through words.
Stuff to learn in this section:
- Consumer Psychology
- Structuring a Sales Page (And Any Other Sales Material)
- Writing Skills – Conveying Differing Subjects
Of course, the above will give you a good understanding of copywriting – but to be a professional copywriter, you’ll have to do other stuff too.
Other Writing Skills
I’ve written about other skills you’ll need as a copywriter before.
These include general writing skills and general ”life skills.” In this section, I’ll talk a little about two of the major things you’ll want to master.
Research and General Knowledge
When you work with copywriting clients, you’ll often have to do a lot of research into the subjects you’re writing about. You can’t assume that your client is going to be helpful.
That’s not to say that clients don’t want to be helpful. In most cases, they absolutely do. After all, they want your work to be great because it’s their business and market you’re writing about. That said, it’s a mistake to assume that your customer knows what they want. It’s your job to know what to give them.
And then there are the clients who are just plain unhelpful and unload everything off to you at the first opportunity. Needless to say, for both types of customer, you’ll need to have a great system for researching new subjects.
Luckily I’ve written an article or two to help you get started:
Subject-Specific Copywriting For an Amateur
How to Get A Free University-Level Education In Any Subject
Writing – Grammar, Vocabulary and Whatnot
Copywriting is the art of writing words that sell.
Unfortunately, it’s near impossible to sell people with words if you don’t have basic writing skills. That means a reasonable grasp of grammar, a decent vocabulary and all the other boring things you didn’t pay attention to in English classes.
You don’t have to write like an academic, in fact, don’t write like an academic. That said, you need to be able to write clear prose that gets the point across. This is non-negotiable. There are no excuses and your prospective clients aren’t going to take excuses anyway, so sort your language skills out.
“So If I Can Get Those… I Can Be A Professional Copywriter, Right?”
You might think that with the above bases covered… you can be a professional copywriter.
I mean, if you’ve got a great brain filled with loads of general knowledge, fantastic research skills and a way to communicate through the written word, then you’ve got it all, right?
Still… there’re those two dreaded words.
“It depends.”
Having been a freelancer, business owner and having worked with other freelancers… it’s almost never the skill that’s the problem. (Set an aside for the non-native third-world writers who literally can’t read and write English… I’ve no hate towards them, but they really shouldn’t be trying to be professional copywriters in the English language. It’s not going to happen.)
Instead, it’s the fact that many freelancers aren’t even remotely professional. They act like a deadline is optional, they don’t bother replying to emails promptly… and hundreds of other tiny things that add up to an unsuccessful business.
I’ve written about this subject before, so I’m not going to rant like a grumpy old man. Check out these articles:
- Treat Freelancing Like A Business
- Other Skills You Need To Become A Copywriter
Final Thoughts
I know I’m repeating myself here, but if you can provide a high-quality service with good customer support, then you can be a professional copywriter. If you do this on time, without complaining or making excuses, and then add in little extras without being told to or charging for them, then you will do a better job than 99% of everyone who tries to write professional.
The low barrier to entry for writers is a myth. Most people can’t or won’t do the following things:
- Study and learn the mechanics and philosophies of copywriting
- Build the underlying writing skills needed to be a professional copywriter
- Act in a professional manner and treat their copywriting service like a business
If you can do these things, then you’ll get there.