How To Become A Copywriter With NO Experience

How To Become A Copywriter With NO Experience

Ah, yes. Probably the biggest freelancing catch-22 of them all. How do you build a portfolio if you don’t have clients...

And how do you get clients if you don’t have a portfolio? Trust me, there is a way. 5 in fact! So keep watching to learn my 5 tips for building a portfolio with ZERO experience. Hey guys, what’s up!

It’s Alex. And this week, I’m addressing one of the most frequently asked questions I get. Alex, how do I build my copywriting portfolio if I don’t have any experience? Well, I’m here to assure you there is a way, you are NOT stuck, and I have real life stories to prove it! And if you want more strategies and starter kits from the world of copywriting and marketing, you know what to do — hit that subscribe button below to join the copy posse here on YouTube!

Every single week I share a new copywriting or marketing tutorial based on my own 8+ year journey of diving into this lucrative, creative, and innovative industry... And building a successful copywriting business of my own.

So let’s get into this week’s how-to — here are my five tips for building a copywriting portfolio even if you’ve never been paid to do any copywriting!

Tip #1.

Do An Experience & Skills Round-Up A lot of the time, people tend to underestimate the experience they already have in the books, and don’t realize that copywriting is not just writing! In fact, I would say that 50% of the actual work happens BEFORE copy ever gets written. It’s the researching, the ideating, the conceptualizing, and the strategizing that happens long before you put a pen to paper, or fingers to keys. And even if you’re young and have little job experience, you weren’t born yesterday!

I mean if you were, you’d basically be like a baby genius cuz you’d be watching this and understanding what I’m saying….

Anyway, so if you’ve ever written a report or contributed to an online newspaper or publication. Or, if you used to write memos or briefs or presentation decks in your previous job. Or, if you used to work in a related role such as a social media or project management where writing was required. These are all related skills that you can add to your portfolio!

In fact, I recently hired someone to join my copy posse team whose background was in research. She had zero copywriting experience but she had a passion to learn and her previous work showcased her ability to research, framework ideas and effectively communicate, which became one of the main reasons I said yes and hired her! So yes, carry as much forward from your previous work experience or education as you can. Even if they’re not specifically related to copywriting! Okay

Tip #2.

Join A Practical Copywriting Program Great copywriting courses don’t just teach you the right techniques and show you the best templates — they actually help you WRITE copy so that you can walk away with key assets and samples that you can then add to your portfolio… Even if it’s not something you were paid to do.

Of course, you’ll want to always be clear in your portfolio that those writing assets were from a program (and not from a paid client) but trust me… The main thing your potential clients care about is your ability to hook, connect, engage, and compel them with your copy. At the end of the day, they need you to be the voice and the messenger for their brand. So if you come forward with an amazing portfolio full of copywriting pieces that showcase your ability, it really doesn’t matter where they come from. You’re in like sin.

And, if you’re ready to commit to igniting your copywriting business this year and get some serious practical training under your belt so you can confidently put yourself out there… I’m here to help. My Copy Posse Launch Pad program is designed to give you all the high-converting copywriting skills you need to scale your business and build your portfolio from scratch! So you can click the link in the description to learn more about that.

Alright moving right along to.

tip #3.

Rewrite or Critique Existing Copy Guys there is absolutely no harm in reaching out to companies that are hiring (or are potentially hiring) to offer some free copy editing or critiquing as a way to get their attention and lead with value.

 

In my recent webinar with copywriter Zach Browman, he too advised that new copywriters send quick reviews to potential clients so that they can get a preview of your work and expertise. It can just be a quick email with say 3 tips on how they can improve their homepage copy, and then of course offer to help them re-write it! The worse they could say is no thanks. But, if they accept your offer and decide to hire you, then that’s great — that’s experience you can add to your portfolio! Many companies looking to hire copywriters will ask you to complete copywriting tests or samples as part of the recruitment process anyway.

So why not beat them to it and get it done in advance? One of the copywriters on my team now got hired by one of the top personal growth companies in the world by sending her version of one of their best performing sales pages, without being asked. It was a daring initiative on her part because she was new to copywriting and it did take some time, but the point is… She got their attention, and they hired her on the spot! The rule of thumb here guys though is to remain honest about your work.

If you’re adding in a copy piece to your portfolio that you decided to rewrite, do NOT take full credit.

Be clear that it was for a “rewrite” of an existing piece. Alright onto,

tip #4.

Start A Blog Even if you’re not looking to be a content writer, a public blog is a great way to showcase your writing abilities. Blog writing, no matter the format, the style or the topic you want to write about, still showcases an understanding of some of the key fundamentals of copywriting such as hooks and headlines. So it can still be used as a reliable writing reference!

In fact, when hiring a social media manager a few weeks ago, I interviewed a few different applicants, some with social media experience and some without. The girl I ended up hiring actually had ZERO social media experience, but she caught my attention because she included a link to her personal blog in her application. Although the blog content had nothing to do with the role she applied for, I was able to gauge her writing style, her tone, and her delivery, which was a huge plus because writing social media captions and supporting the content team would be a huge part of her role.

I knew her flair for words and her passion for writing was far more important than having a specific experience that I could easily train for. Okay lastly,

tip #5...

Customize Your Portfolio Once you have your writing materials all packaged up and ready to send out to the world — here’s a very important tip that I give even to the most experienced copywriters: personalize your portfolio to the client you’re sending it to. Don’t just blanket blast it out to everyone. Getting clients is NOT a one-size-fits-all approach.

You must curate the content so that it’s relevant to the industry and the company you’re hoping to get in the door with. So include a personal note and a cover letter that shares why you’re excited about their brand and what’s unique about you and what you offer. Share why you chose the pieces that you featured in your portfolio, and include some highlights or lessons that you learned from the experience. And last but not least guys, keep it clean and simple.

Send your portfolio in a format that’s easy for them to access, open and download.

And whatever you do do not send an email with a tonne of attachments. I usually use Dropbox or Google Drive to share my portfolio, and always make sure you give access first so they don’t have to request it! And, no matter what as I said before, BE HONEST ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE AT. Don’t embellish your ability or your experience. A lot of clients are looking for green writers.

Because fresh writers have the potential to grow with the company and shape their writing to fit the brand voice. So just keep it real homies. I hope this video gave you some assurance that you have and can provide value even if you don’t have official copywriting experience just yet. If you want to find out more about the 101s of copywriting — check out my video on How To Become A Freelance Copywriter & Get Your First Client. You can watch that right here.

And as always guys, thank you so much for watching and subscribing.

I will see you in my next video. 

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What is Copywriting? The ABCs of Copywriting for Beginners

What is Copywriting? The ABCs of Copywriting for Beginners

So you wanna know about this crazy little thing called copywriting? Cool. Keep watching to learn why it’s the single most important part of any business… And no, it has nothing to do with this *© Hey guys! Alex here. If you’ve been with me for awhile, then you know that every single week I release a new tutorial where I share the trends, the techniques and the templates you need to grow your copywriting biz.

And if you’re new here, heeeeey! Go ahead and hit the subscribe button below so you don’t miss any more videos from me! This week, I’m taking it back to our wordsmithing roots to lay out the essentials of copywriting.

Now, If you’re already a copywriter, chances are you’ve been asked over and over again to explain what it is you do. Trust me, ten years in, and I still have to do it.

Copywriting is different from copyrighting, dad! No, we don’t deal with copyright law, we are, in fact, writers!! Were you confused by the difference too? If you were it’s cool, you are not alone.

Comment below and let me know! Now, what makes copywriting different from any other form of writing? Well, in a nutshell, copywriting is the art of crafting words for the sole purpose of conversion… Good copy convinces people to take action. So, anytime you want to compel a prospective customer to click a link, or call a number, or signup with an email address or yes, BUY something, it relies on copy… Basically, it’s the messaging that fuels your entire business.

It’s the foundation of your brand and the secret sauce to your sales.

As I like to say, the right phrase pays! Copywriting is used in various marketing materials — like sales pages, websites, emails, promotional videos, direct mail flyers, catalogs and advertising campaigns. But think less Mad Men, and more SJP in Sex and The City. The goal for copywriting may be to increase conversion rates… But the best kind of copy out there uses storytelling, creates emotional resonance, and builds brand value, while guiding the prospect through a valuable buying experience. Oh — and this is particularly important, guys.

Copywriting is very different than content writing.

Content writing is indeed important in business, but it focuses more on engagement and brand awareness through content mediums such as blog posts, YouTube videos like this, social media and about pages. Copywriting is one-directional and is written strategically for a singular call to action, whereas content is more organic and educational. So, in this video, I’m sharing the A-B-Cs of copywriting to help you understand the key elements that make up the structure of any good copy... Okay, so let’s start with the letter A. Read all about it! If there’s one thing copywriting needs to do, it’s to grab attention. Good copy should hook the reader’s interest and establish a connection long enough to guide them through to the next step of the buying experience.

This is usually established with a strong, compelling headline, subject line, or opening line... Depending on the medium, whether it be a sales page, email, ad, or video script. You can do this through opening a loop that makes a prospect want to find out more, adding scarcity to create a sense of urgency, or provoking an emotion that builds up the desire for a particular benefit you offer... And if you don’t get their attention quickly, your prospect is gone. If you want to learn my secrets on how to write HOT Headlines you can watch that video next! I’ll be sure to link to it at the end of this video.

Ok, so once you’ve hooked them in, you can move on to the letter B. Here’s the thing — the number one question on your reader’s mind will always be —“What is in it for me?” The truth about good copywriting (and really selling in general) is that most of the time… And listen very carefully….

Your product. Doesn’t.

Matter. What? Yup, I said it. And here’s what I mean by that. People don’t buy the WHAT.

 

.. They buy the WHY. They’re way more interested in the value and the outcome of your solution, rather than the specific product. And with audiences getting more savvy and the market more saturated, now more than ever you need to make sure you’re focusing on the BIG PROMISE you offer upfront.

Prospects need to be convinced not just of your product, but also of YOU and your unique selling proposition. So to do this, you need to get crystal clear on what you do better than anybody else. This is where communicating your singular benefit (and that’s a second B by the way!) comes in. Many companies make the mistake of simply describing the product they offer... And not the results that one can receive when using it. There’s a big difference between your product features and benefits. A feature is something that your product has or is.

It’s planned, built, and executed in order to directly solve a problem.

In copywriting, features are factual statements about your product or service. But NOT what entice customers to actually buy. Benefits, on the other hand, are WHY someone is purchasing your product.They describe the outcome that the user will (hopefully) experience by using your product or service.

Or in other words, the BIG Promise. So for example — if you’re writing for a workout app that gives people access to various studios around the world, a feature would be “Get access to over 100 studios”. But your benefit could be “Don’t commit to just one gym. Get a variety of workouts in every single week, anywhere, anytime!” See the difference?

Give me a thumbs up below if you do! And if you want to go through my Feature to Benefit Converter and other killer copywriting exercises, you can watch that video next. Again, I’ll be sure to link to that at the end of this video. Alright now that brings us to the letter C.

No matter how persuasive you are with your copywriting, none of it matters unless you have a strong call to action.

And the rule of thumb is this— You should only be asking your prospect to do one thing. You should have one clear and concise call to action and it mustn't leave any room for confusion on what to do next - and that’s usually to either visit, call, click, signup or buy. And don’t be afraid to be redundant or repetitive. Studies have shown that people forget information at an alarming speed unless there is repetition. So if you’re working with a longer sales page, email, script, or ad… be sure to repeat your call to action at least once or twice!

Think of it this way… If you’re asking for something that might cost a person their attention, time or money, Do not make them struggle to understand what to do next, or what to expect.

Confusion is the BIGGEST conversion killer and not having a clear and concise call to action is one of the biggest mistakes a copywriter can make. If you want to learn the other 5 deadly mistakes commonly made by even the most experienced copywriters, be sure to check out that video next. And yes, I will link to it in just a hot second. Alright posse, there you have it — the ABCs to copywriting!

Attention, Big Promise, and Call To Action. Please give me a thumbs up below if you found this video helpful! And copywriters, feel free to share this video with anyone who has no freaking idea what you do! And make sure to tell me about it in the comments below. Ok, and now that you know what copywriting is, it’s time to go a little bit deeper.

Next up, be sure to catch my videos on How To Write Hot Headlines, 5 Exercises To Write Better Sales Copy and the 5 Biggest Copywriting Mistakes that can kill your conversions. You can watch those here, here and here! And don’t forget to subscribe and check back every single week for more copywriting and marketing wisdom for writing messages that make an impact.

Thanks for watching guys, 

Ciao for now!.

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Complete Copywriting Tutorial - Examples, Tips and Formulas

Complete Copywriting Tutorial - Examples, Tips and Formulas

- In this video, I'm gonna show you my complete copywriting tutorial. In fact, I've used the tips from this video to create blog posts that have been shared thousands of time. I've also written several high converting, seven-figure sales letters. I'm Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko. So if you want more traffic, leads, sales, and social shares, you'll love the actionable strategies in this video.

Let's get started. Here's the truth about copywriting. Despite what you might have heard, you don't need years of experience or training to learn copywriting. In fact, before I launched Backlinko, I used to be a freelance writer. Then one day, out of the blue, one of my clients asked me, "Do you, by any chance write sales letters?

" Now, at this point, I'd never written a sales letter in my life. But I wanted to give it a try, so I told him, "Sales letters? "Heck, yeah, I write sales letters." And now that I was hired, I had to write a sales letter fast.

In fact I had about a week to write this sales letter from scratch.

So I researched as much as I could about copywriting. And because I was in a rush, I ignored the minutiae and focused on the key principles that I saw again and again. And it worked. My client told me that my sales letter outperformed their current one by a 2:1 margin. Since that day, I've written dozens of sales letters, newsletters and articles.

And over that time, I discovered what most copywriters don't want you to know. Copywriting is really easy. That is when you know what to do and how to do it. And that's exactly what I'm gonna show you in this tutorial. So, without further ado, let's dive into copywriting tip number one, use Reddit threads.

Reddit is a copywriting gold mine. To use it, head over to a subreddit, where your customer hangs out. Then, take at look at threads that have lots of comments. For example, let's say that you just launched a new keto diet bar. Well, you'd head over to keto and paleo subreddits and search for bars.

Then, pay attention to the exact words and phrases that people use to describe what they like and don't like about the bars they've tried so far. For example, I found tons of awesome copy in this one thread, copy that would work great for a landing page or Facebook ad. Moving right along to our second copywriting tip, use short sentences. Here's a good rule of thumb that applies to pretty much everything that you write. Short sentences equals better copy.

And there's data to back this up. A study conducted by the American Press Institute found that short sentences were 711% easier to read and understand, which is why always atomize sentences to be as short as possible.

Bottom line, use short sentences. They're easier to read and understand. Which leads us to technique number three, the slippery slide.

Here's the deal. You can have the best copy in the world, but if people stop reading the page after the first sentence your copy didn't work. That's why one of the main goals of your copy is to keep people reading. Or as copywriting legend Joe Sugarman puts it, the sole purpose of the first sentence is to get you to read the second sentence. The question is, how do you get someone to keep reading your blog post, email or sales letter?

The slippery slide. A slippery slide is where you add something to your page that's specifically designed to keep people reading.

For example, you can tell a little story in the beginning of your sales letter, but leave the ending for the end. Or you can refer to something that's coming up later in your blog post. You can even just say things like here's the deal and the question is, to push people to keep reading.

And now it's time for copywriting tip number four, super-specific headlines. You've probably already seen this old statistic before, 80% of people read the headline and only 20% read the copy. Is that statistic accurate? I have no idea. But I do know that your headline is super important.

And one of the best ways to make your headlines more effective use super-specific headlines. Super-specific headlines are exactly like they sound. They are headlines that tell your reader exactly what they're gonna get. For example, check out this blog post headline. Not bad, but not that specific.

Now check out this super-specific headline. It's much more compelling, right? In fact, this works so well that I tend to use super-specific headlines on every blog post, landing page or sales letter that I write. And now it's time for technique number five, use FOMO. FOMO can make your copy 10 times more effective.

That said, FOMO also known as fear of missing out, doesn't work for every situation. But if you can use FOMO, you should use FOMO. That's because FOMO triggers a strong reaction with your prospects, and emotion that makes them wanna listen closely to what you have to say.

For example, we've recently launched a product that closed on a certain day in time. So, we emphasize that on our sales page.

Which brings us to copywriting tip six, write strong leads. Everyone and their mom knows the headlines are important, but no one talks about something that in my experience, is just as important if not more than a headline. Your lead. Your lead is the section of your page that comes right after your headline, and at least in my experience if you lose people here, you've lost them for good. With that, here are three strategies that you can use to write awesome leads.

First, use a hook in your first or second sentence. The first sentence of your lead is huge. So make sure that first line really grabs your reader's attention. For example, this landing page from Marie Forleo has a killer first line. Next, you wanna make your lead about six to eight sentences max.

Whether you're writing a blog post, video script, sales page or email newsletter, you want your lead to be super short. Remember, the goal of your lead is just to grab your reader's attention. And once you've done that, you wanna transition into the main section of your content. For example, I keep my blog post introductions to around six lines. Finally, use mini-stories in your leads.

Stories are a great way to hook your readers right off the bat. But like I just mentioned, the problem with that is that your lead needs to be short and sweet. So, you don't have a lot of room to tell an epic story.

Enter mini-stories. Mini-stories condense a story into 45 lines.

For example, here's mini-story that I used in one of my most successful sales letters. And, now it's time for me to tell you about copywriting technique number seven, don't use big words. Let's face it, big words don't impress anybody. Um, yes, in this video I plan on demonstrating the effectiveness of online vocabulary and augmenting online transactions. In fact, they make your content harder to read.

So instead of big fancy words like these, use words that are easy to read and understand. And now it's time for our eighth technique, the A-I-D-A formula. AIDA is a classic copywriting formula that can help boost conversions on sales pages, landing pages, articles, newsletters, video scripts and more. Here's what this formula looks like. As you can see, A-I-D-A stand for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.

Let's take a look at a real-life example of this formula in action. I actually used the AIDA formula on this guide from my blog. First I grab people's attention with the first line, then I create an interest with a bold promise, and I fold it up buy tapping into a desire that anyone reading this page wants.

Higher Google rankings, and finally I cap things off with a called action to keep reading. Moving right along to technique number nine, benefits over features.

There's no doubt about it. When it comes to copy, benefits crush features. In other words, features are nice, but benefits sell. For example, let's say that you run a SAS company that sells productivity software. Here's how you can turn boring features into powerful benefits.

Coschedule.com does a great job of highlighting benefits over features. Yeah, like any software product, they outline key features. But unlike most SAS companies, the vast majority of their copy is benefit-driven. Nice.

 

Moving right along to technique number 10, get out of the friend zone. We've all been in the friend zone before. Or at least I have. The friend zone is when you like someone and they like you back, as a friend. Well, as it turns out, the same thing happens with potential customers and clients.

They like what you're selling, but not enough to buy. What's the solution? Address their objections. I'm talking about objections like, "It's just too expensive." "It's not a good time for me." "Yeah it sounds good, but will this work for me?" or "I'm not ready to switch from another product.". Most people pretend that these objections don't exist. Instead, you wanna bring up these objections and squash every one of them.

For example, here's an objection that we raise and squash on a product FAQ page. Let's get right into tip number 11, talk to customers. Remember earlier when I talked about using Reddit for customer research? Well, if you want to take this sort of thing to the next level, I recommend actually talking to your customers. For example, I've recently hopped on Skype with three people that graduated from one of my programs.

Fun fact, I was visiting my family in Rhode Island when I did this interview, that's why you can see my mom's amazing flower curtains in the background.

And because we were chatting on Skype, I could dig deep with follow-up questions. Next up, we have urgency and scarcity. Have you ever had someone tell you that they're interested in what you're selling, they just need some time to think it over? In my experience, 99% of the time that person doesn't end up buying.

Maybe they got busy and forgot, maybe they found another product. The exact reason doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you do something to get that person to convert right away. The question is, how do you do it? Add these words and phrases to your copy.

Needless to say, these statements should be backed up with real limitations, otherwise you're gonna loose people's trust. But if you can use them, you should use them. For example, this email from one of our recent product launches uses a clear to-the-minute deadline, that creates a super high sense of urgency. And now, it's time for our last copywriting tip, solve the social proof paradox.

You need social proof to sell, but you need sales to get social proof.

I call this the social proof paradox. And it's a real problem for lots of business owners. Fortunately, I found a simple way to get around this problem. Feature your strongest form of social proof. It doesn't have to be sales.

For example, let's say that you just launched a new nutrition coaching program. And to get leads, you offer people a free seven-day meal plan.

And if they wanna upgrade to a paid coaching plan, they get a full 90-day meal plan and personalized support from you. But so far, only a few people have upgraded to your paid plan. Well, in that case you can showcase how many people signed up for your free meal plan, or maybe only have 20 total customers.

But three of those customers got amazing results. Well, you can feature those three amazing results on your homepage. For example, when I launched my YouTube SEO course, at that point we only had about 10 total beta users. 10 people isn't a lot of social proof. But four of those 10 people got great results.

So we decided to feature those four people on the sales page, and it worked. And now it's time for a quick bonus tip, use this proven, three-step testimonial formula. It's no secret that testimonials can skyrocket sales. In fact, BigCommerce reports that testimonials, can increase sales by up to 62%. That's the good news.

The bad news is that most people use testimonials that simply don't work. I'm talking about testimonials like this. Now, to be fair, there's nothing wrong with that testimonial.

But it's not gonna get anyone to whip out their credit card and buy what you sell. Instead, I recommend using this proven formula.

As you can see, this formula is broken down into three main parts. The three parts build on one another to create one super-powerful testimonial. First up, you have the before. Here's where your customer talks about where they were before they used your product or service. That way, people can relate to the person in your testimonial.

Here's an example. Next, it's time for the after. The after highlights specific results that your customer got from your product. Finally, it's time for the "what they'd tell someone" section. As the name suggests, here's what your customer would tell someone that's on the fence.

And because this recommendation comes directly from someone that used your product, it's very believable. Let's close out this video with one more bonus strategy, use crooked numbers.

Crooked numbers are numbers that haven't been rounded. Here are some examples. According to research, crooked numbers are more believable than round numbers, which means, whenever you can, you wanna use them instead of round numbers.

For example, check out this intro from one of my blog posts. I could have made this a nice round number like over 200.000, but I went with the exact crooked number instead. So, that's it from my copywriting tutorial. If you like this video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel right now.

Just click in the Subscribe button below this video. And if you want exclusive SEO techniques that I only share with subscribers, head over to backlinko.com and hop on the newsletter. It's free. Now I wanna turn it over to you.

Which technique from today's video are you gonna try first? Are you gonna use crooked numbers or try using more benefits instead of features? Let me know, by leaving a comment below right now. Oh man. With that, here's... You good? Aren't rounded, aren't rounded...

You wanna do lunch? How the hell am I gonna say that? But no one's... Okay, that wasn't bad..

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