How to Become a Better Copywriter: One Ridiculously Simple, and Incredibly Valuable, Piece of Advice

If you can write copy, you can make money.

That might sound like an overstatement, but the art of copywriting has been around since the dawn of modern advertising. Since the days of Edward Bernays, people have used the power of the written word to sell.

Copywriting is a profitable skill to cultivate.

While it does help a lot if you're already a good writer, copywriting is unique from other kinds of textual content. If you're new to it, it can seem like something that's incredibly difficult to master.

You sometimes hear about sales letters that bring in thousands for the copywriters that created them, and even more for the companies that commissioned them. You hear about email sequences that bring in tons of money for affiliate marketers.

You might think, “Gosh, I could never do that,” but if you can write decently, you can. You don't have to be Ogilvy himself to write this stuff, but you do need one crucial thing: the ability to listen.

A lot of people want to make copywriting out to be this insanely difficult thing to do.

Now, I'm not saying it's EASY.

But it doesn't have to be that complicated.

So first…

Shut up and listen.

Listen to the creator of the product you’re selling. Let her talk (for hours if necessary) about what makes it work, why she built it, what she hopes it will do for her customers. This practice alone can give you the bulk of your copy.

Listen to your audience. What are they telling you — directly or indirectly — about what they really want and need? If social media has given us anything, it’s an unprecedented ability to hear the demands and desires of real people, in real time.

Listen to your competitors. It’s wise to have a view of the entire field. What’s working in your market? What’s not working? What can you learn from others’ success and failure (and from the language that got them there)?

You can read more about enhancing your own copywriting skills over at Copyblogger.