Hello everyone, my name is Andrew! I want to tell you about how to work as a copywriter and what it takes. In order to understand what a job as a copywriter is, you will need to study a lot, and I cannot tell you everything in this article alone. Therefore, I will divide my copywriting training into several articles and give them to you in the form of lessons. At the end of reading all my lessons, you will learn what copywriting is, what rewriting is, where copywriters work and earn, and much more that is connected with the world of a copywriter. I do not promise you that you will know everything, but most importantly, you will definitely know and understand the essence of the work of a copywriter.

What I would like to note. You must understand that being a copywriter is a remote job that pays money. You will not need to leave your home, go somewhere to the other end of the city, for a copywriter to work, you need a PC or laptop and the Internet. But, it is worth considering that the work of a copywriter is a job that pays money and needs to be done. Here, as in any other job, you need to work and the more you work, the more you will earn. I do not promise you millions, but for many, several thousand rubles, several tens of thousands of rubles, this is not only a good part-time job, but also the main income.

My first monthly income from copywriting was 14,600 rubles. To be honest, in my first month as a copywriter, I devoted a lot of time to this type of income. I managed to find a permanent customer, even two.

Having a regular customer is very important for a copywriter, a regular customer is a stable income, plus familiar topics and clear tasks. The copywriter knows exactly what the customer needs, and the customer knows what the copywriter is capable of. It turns out cooperation, beneficial for both parties.

Finding a permanent customer is not difficult, but at the same time you need to try. You need to do your job with high quality, and there will definitely be customers, both temporary and permanent.

At the beginning of your journey as a copywriter, you must have patience and not be lazy to work regularly. At the very beginning it will be difficult, but over time it will even be interesting. Initial earnings will be small, but in the future it will grow. It all depends on you, how easily and quickly you will be able to master the work of a copywriter.

On the Internet you can find a lot of information about how to make money on copywriting or how to learn the work of a copywriter. Many offer tutorials, copywriting training videos, copywriting training books, audios, and other copywriting tutorials. Some offer to buy useful materials from them for money, this is their right. If I have spent my time, effort and created a training video course, then it is my right to sell it.

My version of copywriting training may be inferior to some manuals or video trainings that are sold for money, but the essence is the same everywhere, and I will try to explain it to you through my articles on copywriting. Moreover, they are based on personal experience, since I still make money on copywriting to this day. I also share information that I have learned from other training courses and successfully apply in my work.

Let's get down to business, what is What is the job of a copywriter?

Copywriters daily write and edit articles on various topics, they are looking for new customers and orders. Copywriters work on copywriting exchanges, where they also look for their new customers and fulfill orders. Articles can be:

• write to order;
• sell finished articles.

All this is more convenient to do on special content exchanges, such as Etxt And Advego. You can search for customers on freelance exchanges, for example Work-zila.

Working directly with the customer is much more practical than waiting for someone to buy your article. But if a copywriter has enough articles for sale, they will sell regularly. You can start writing articles and put them up for sale right away, without even finishing this lesson, it will not be difficult for anyone to register on the exchange and upload a couple of articles there. It seems that it is more difficult to find a customer and fulfill an order for him. But this is only at first glance more difficult. There are always hundreds or even thousands of customers on the exchange who are looking for copywriters and it doesn’t matter at all whether you have experience or not. The most important thing is the ability to write competently and interestingly on a particular topic. But it's not so difficult.

It is not difficult to find your first customer, the point here is that while you have no experience, you should not overcharge for your services, do not be afraid of orders for a small fee. Experienced copywriters with a high rating will not take a cheap order, because they are created just for beginners.

Choose for yourself a few inexpensive orders on a theme that suits you. Yes, you may be refused, but do not despair, apply until someone accepts. After that, calm your fears and proceed to the first order. During work, pay attention to the fulfillment of all the conditions indicated in the order. Do not be afraid to ask questions to customers - those who work with beginners will always answer questions - they are also interested in a good result.

With each completed order, your rating will increase, you will be able to apply for more expensive orders. Many beginners at the beginning of their journey as a copywriter work literally for pennies until they gain experience. In the future, you will increase the cost of your services and, accordingly, increase your income.

Very often the question is asked why these copywriters are needed and for whom do they write articles?

There are a lot of sites on the Internet that require daily updates, there are so many sites that site owners themselves do not have time to fill their resources with content, and most often they do not do this. Therefore, they turn to copywriters for services. Even paying good money to copywriters for their services, webmasters (website owners, etc.) do not lose money. Website owners do their job, and copywriters do theirs. For a purchased article, the customer pays about 1000 rubles, and receives several times more by posting it on the site, which contributes to an increase in the weight of the site. How the sites work, I will not tell now. There are other options for customers who simply sell articles, but this is a separate conversation.

There is a very simple scheme where a copywriter (that's you) writes, edits and sells articles, and the customer buys these articles.

1. copywriter - writes
2. Customer - pays

All calculations take place on the copywriting exchange, but there are other options, I will definitely tell you about all this. This concludes the first lesson on the work of a copywriter, do not miss the second lesson, in which I will talk about the terms in the work of copywriters.

Today, making money writing articles is one of the most common and affordable areas of freelancing, a good option for both main income and part-time work, in fact -.

The main quality required to work as a copywriter is good, preferably impeccable literacy. Everything else can be developed if desired. So, how to become a copywriter.

Step 1 . Make up your mind. First of all, as in any business, you need to make a decision: decide that you really want to become a copywriter and make money writing articles one of your sources of income - main or additional. If you set yourself up somehow like “I’ll try, and then how it goes,” then you most likely will not succeed. Because at the first stages you will not have big earnings (as, indeed, in any other business, in any work). You have to say to yourself: “yes, I will become a copywriter and I will earn good money from it!” and strive for it. Then you will be able to achieve your goal.

Step 2. Collect initial copywriting information. Read various Internet resources (for example, a site), blogs of copywriters, forums where copywriters communicate, study the general principles of their earnings, understand how they work.

Step 3 Get copywriting training. I will say right away that you can skip this step: you can learn already in the process of working as a copywriter. And be sure to learn over time to do your job perfectly. However, of course, a copywriter with a certain basic knowledge will have advantages over other beginners who do not yet have such knowledge, but not over professionals with experience. Therefore, whether you need training - decide for yourself.

Copywriting training can be obtained both for a fee, by enrolling in full-time or distance copywriting courses, by attending trainings and seminars that teach this profession, or for free, by independently studying copywriting books and Internet sites that publish information on this topic. The choice, again, is yours.

Step 4 Register on the copywriting exchange and complete a series of simple orders. Many, thinking about how to become a copywriter from scratch, are faced with a choice: start looking for customers on their own or work through. In my opinion, the choice is obvious: it will be quite difficult to find a job as a copywriter without experience on your own, and with the help of the exchange you can start fulfilling simple orders, if only for the sake of training and getting up to speed. In addition, on the exchange you will be able to study the needs of customers, the experience of other copywriters, the exchange will also act as a guarantee that customers will not deceive you (just as you will not deceive customers).

Do not immediately take too expensive orders - practice on simple and cheap ones. You can even start by writing comments, reviews, rewriting, just to understand the essence of the work of a copywriter, the principle of the exchange, the basics of relationships with customers.

Step 5 Build up a reputation. In copywriting, as in any business, you first need to earn a reputation for yourself, which will then begin to work for you. Therefore, if you are thinking about how to become a copywriter from scratch, you must understand that without a reputation you are nobody, even if you really write super articles.

Each copywriting exchange has a rating indicator (reputation, efficiency, etc., it can be called differently). You need to increase it to a certain level by completing at least 50-100 jobs and not receiving payment refusals for them. That is, to develop a reputation, you should take those orders in the quality of which you will be absolutely sure, for example, the most understandable subject for you. Over time, expand the list of topics with which you will work.

Step 6 Create a portfolio. Already at the previous stage, you can gradually select your best works that you can use as a portfolio (copywriting etiquette requires obtaining permission from the client). A portfolio is best composed of texts of different types and different topics (unless, of course, you are a universal copywriter). Remember that you should include the really best articles in your portfolio, because your potential customers will evaluate you on them.

Step 7. Increase the cost of your services and look for more expensive customers. When you already have a certain reputation and portfolio (only in this case!), you will be able to move from the work at the lowest prices that you have done so far to higher-paying orders.

Step 8 Write ready-made articles for sale. Find copywriting exchanges that have article stores where you can put up ready-made texts for sale. Firstly, you will be able to write articles for sale always, even when you have no orders, and secondly, you will be able to sell them for more, at the price that suits you. Start selling through stores with articles on the topic that you are best oriented in, when posting an article for sale, link to your portfolio.

Step 9 Start an independent search for customers outside the exchange. Offer your services on thematic forums, contact directly the owners of sites of the subject you need, referring to your reputation on the stock exchange and portfolio. You can create your own blog about copywriting, fill it with thematic articles optimized for the keywords you need (by this time, I hope you will learn how to do this correctly), and customers will come to you who will look for a copywriter through search engines.

Step 10 Choose among all orders the most expensive thereby constantly increasing the cost of their services. It is best to develop a small circle of constant expensive customers who will always provide you with work. If there are no orders for some period, write articles for sale through exchanges. When a new customer enters your circle, set a slightly higher price for it than the existing ones pay you. If he agrees, replace him with the cheapest available customer. So the cost of your services, and hence your income, will constantly grow.

I roughly described how to become a copywriter from scratch. Of course, this is just my approximate vision based on my own experience. At one time, I also intensively wrote articles for sale, now I don’t do it so often, I write more for my site. This path may be different for you, the main thing is that it suits you and leads to the intended goal, which, as I believe, is the planned level of income.

In the following publications, I will continue the topic of copywriting. Stay with us, master promising areas of earning and investing, improve your financial literacy and put your personal finances in order. See you soon!

If earlier you could just read a couple of articles about what copywriting is, remember your school skills in the Russian language and write articles, today everything has changed dramatically. It will be difficult for a beginner to join the cohort of many thousands of authors. A novice copywriter needs to know a step-by-step plan of action to make himself known.

What stops novice copywriters?

The current economic situation does not allow you to immediately "leave" in copywriting. Many are afraid of the unknown: will I succeed, will I find clients, how to communicate correctly and what prices can I set for articles? More questions and few answers. Therefore, copywriting, like any other type of freelancing, at first scares off the unknown.

You won’t be able to immediately quit your old job and start selling articles providing for yourself and your family. Even if you have a diploma in philology, and you can write crystal-clear texts in terms of spelling and punctuation.

Frightens the uncertainty with the search for orders. Beginners, having started their first steps and mastering copywriting, rush from one exchange to another, grabbing everything in a row, trying to immediately earn more money. As a result, time is lost, and the means do not justify the work.

Well, the main phobia is reviews on various forums. Not understanding where to start mastering copywriting, beginners first read posts about the profession on the Internet. And most often there are more negative facts written by a would-be author who failed to start earning money by writing articles.

Those who chose copywriting to make money after reading “horror stories” about how you need to work for a penny 12 hours a day are more likely to give it up and stay working in the same place or look for another Internet profession. Or maybe at this time, the network is losing a good author in your face?

Copywriting - where to start?

To start making money writing articles, you first need to understand that you really need it. People are considering making money on the Internet more often for reasons of financial dissatisfaction, and a radical change of scenery is already in the background.

In most cases, copywriting is seen as a part-time job. For example, after working a day in a store, a person comes home, has dinner, rests and writes several articles for sale.

Many work daily. This is more beneficial in terms of the fact that copywriting can become your second profession. You just need to start mastering the profession correctly, and then I will tell you how to do it right and where to start.

Step one - learning the basics

Even if you studied at school for one five and know how to correctly express your thoughts, you need to know the rules for writing texts. You can start writing articles right away, but you won’t immediately understand how to do it right.

Being a professional in car repair and knowing all the intricacies of this profession, you will not be able to correctly present the text so that the buyer, and later the reader, will like it. In this regard, I propose to start mastering the profession with free courses.

Do not be afraid that you will be offered something for money. The author of these courses gives the first lessons free of charge. Will they be enough to get to the heart of the matter and understand how you can make a successful start by choosing copywriting? And then the choice is yours. If you want a quick "start" buy paid courses. There is a determination to achieve everything on your own - please.

Copywriting is not a profession that requires complex website layout skills and knowledge of programming languages. It will be easier for a beginner to master this particular direction by studying at least free courses from well-known copywriters.

Step two - trial lessons

After studying the concepts and rules for writing texts, take any text from the Internet, read it and rewrite it in your own words. Check the spelling and give your creation to friends and relatives to read.

For those who work in a certain area, you can write a text about your profession. Tell about the intricacies of doing business in sales of equipment, or about repairing a generator on cars. Write about anything, the main thing is to start and understand the essence of the matter.

If your work was approved by relatives, you need to check the text for uniqueness and save it on a computer for further sale or as an example of a portfolio in your profile on one of the copywriting exchanges. Then the most interesting begins.

Step three - choosing a copywriting exchange

No matter how many people say that sites that provide authors with the opportunity to find customers and vice versa take percentages for completing assignments and work for them is unprofitable, you will have to go through such sites. All copywriters work for them, and you are no exception.

At this stage, not understanding how to build relationships with clients, newcomers register on several sites, thinking that they will earn more this way. In fact, it is a road to nowhere. If you are a beginner and consider copywriting as a part-time job, one exchange is enough. Having delved into the work, it will be possible to find clients in other ways.

For beginners, the Etxt copywriting exchange is more profitable. You can also consider Texstsale, but this site is “dead” today. Its sales have dropped drastically. As an option, Advego is a good choice, but for those who have problems with punctuation, you will have to work hard to get the text accepted for sale.

I will explain the difference to beginners. On Etxt, when an article is put up for sale, it undergoes moderation on three points:

1. Spelling;
2. Punctuation;
3. Speech.

That is, you can write the text without errors, but skip a couple of commas and the article will still be allowed to be sold. Just in the profile there will be ticks opposite the qualification. Clients look more at the fact that spelling rules are followed. Commas will be easy to put down.

On Advego, a more rigorous check. A novice copywriter will not be able to put the work in the store until he edits the text to “crystal clarity”. Unless he studied to be a philologist, or from school a person is characterized by a competent spelling.

These are the two best exchanges. Novice copywriters need to consider them at first. Even "Advego", with a strict check. If you have difficulty placing commas, there are specialized services that allow you to refine articles before selling. At first, you can't do without them.

Step four - finding clients

You have completed introductory courses, you understand what the structure of an article is and how to put up texts for sale correctly, but you don’t know where to start looking for clients. In fact, there is nothing difficult. You have already taken the first steps.

Before looking for orders, fill out a profile on the exchange. On Etxt you can immediately write information about yourself. At Advego, the portfolio is filled out only after completing 10 or 20 tasks.

Do not rush to immediately apply for the execution of orders. With an empty portfolio, you will be less likely to be approved as a performer. Prepare several articles so that a potential client understands your writing technique, and only then start searching for customers.

How to make money on copywriting as a beginner?

These are the main four steps that you need to go through. Someone will say that for a long time and do not dare to start. In fact, if you are “friends” with Russian or with another language that you speak, it will take you a maximum of two weeks to figure out where to start making money on copywriting.

Just think - to become a car mechanic or a medical worker, you also need to undergo training and not two weeks. You will master copywriting in a couple of weeks, in a month you will feel confident on the stock exchange and communicate with clients. In a year or even less, you will be a good author, able to earn from the comfort of your home.

How long does it take to learn how to be a car mechanic? If in a vocational school, then 3 years, there are self-taught people who spend their whole lives with technology and delve into it. You can't argue here. But there are also copywriters who start earning from the first days.

All professions are important. Everyone remembers the continuation of the saying. It is impossible to make a special bias on the fact that copywriting is the best profession, because everyone has their own opinion, but if you choose authorship, you will not lose. You just need to overcome the fear and start the first steps in development.

What is the best way to get started?

Almost everyone who has chosen copywriting to make money first starts writing articles for sale. On the one hand, this is correct. The authors can be understood - they are afraid to take orders. But on the other hand, if today I started my path in authorship, I would first start with light orders.

Write an article. Put up for sale. The client will buy it. If something is wrong, then he has the right to give you a negative review, which many do. Although you might think - the author is a beginner, why ruin his profile with a negative review?

It is better to take simple orders in the beginning. You can ask the customer before execution if something is not clear. In most cases, clients go forward and explain to copywriters what and how to do.

Thus, you will get the job done and receive free consultations, allowing you to quickly master copywriting and start full-fledged work. Do not be afraid of customers - they do not bite. Take a job and improve your skills.

Assistant copywriter

And finally, for those who do not know where to start and how to become a copywriter, I will also tell the auxiliary "employees" of the author. There are hints in every profession: a car mechanic asks a more experienced craftsman how to connect the wires correctly, a sales assistant also cannot know all the parameters of the equipment and often peeps at the price tag on which the equipment configuration is written.

There are such "friends" and the copywriter. There are thousands of spelling and uniqueness checking services on the network. The Advego and Etxt copywriting exchanges have their own programs. Someone uses third-party resources.

And if the uniqueness is usually checked by customers or the analysis is carried out automatically if you put an article up for sale, then with a spell check, there is complete freedom of action. Alternatively, you can use the Orfogrammka.ru service for a copywriter. This site allows you to identify and correct errors and comma placement.

There is also a synonymizer on this site, which is just a godsend for a novice copywriter. You do not need to download several programs to your computer and make a bunch of bookmarks to edit the text. Everything can be done in one program. The service has become paid, but there is also a free way of analysis, which will be quite enough to start working as a copywriter.

Having passed the “thorny” path from a beginner to a cool author, you will already be able to give advice on where to start work. If possible, you will decide for yourself whether to work only on the Internet or also combine your main profession with a part-time job. Some people may not like this option.

In any case, you will gain good experience, and if you like copywriting, you can make good money writing and selling texts, even in your free time. Isn't this a good help for the budget in difficult economic times?

A kind of "divorce" or a penny extra income, which is enough, perhaps, to pay for communication services. Others sit quietly at home and earn money not only for the maintenance of their families and children, but also for expensive entertainment. It all depends on the attitude and degree of professionalism, because a bad car mechanic is also unlikely to boast a high salary, right? And a copywriter of an average hand (not a top one, mind you) can receive 30-40 thousand rubles a month, without really straining. But you need to come to this, so today we will talk about how to become a copywriter from scratch, avoid the most common mistakes and reach more or less solid profits as quickly as possible.

Job Description of a Copywriter

Initially, back in the pre-network era, a copywriter was a person who deals exclusively with advertising texts. Now, with the dense entry of the Internet into our lives, people who are in charge of text content have become so called. The main task of a copywriter (in professional slang - copy, writer) is to write the text in accordance with the terms of reference. It can be an advertising (selling) text, informational article, analytical material, and so on. It would be more correct to call this activity web writing, but that's how it got accustomed.

It would seem that what is easier - take and copy the texts already available on the Internet - there are a lot of them. But the main requirement for text content is uniqueness - such an article should not be on any site. Search engines mercilessly ban resources where stolen materials are posted, but the main task of a team of specialists is precisely the promotion of web resources.

Promotion is the rise of the site as high as possible in the top of the search results for a specific request in a specific region. A simple example: you want to buy a TV without leaving your home. There is nothing easier: type in the search box "buy a TV in Moscow" (this is for example) and see the options. You carefully look through the first article, the second, the third, maybe the fourth and fifth. Further in the search climb only inveterate perfectionists and people who have an unlimited reserve of time.

The task of the team is to promote the site as high as possible in the search, preferably to the top, on the first page. The number of views of the resource depends on this, and the magical transformation of visitors into buyers (in professional slang - conversion). The more times a resource is viewed, the more money it brings to the owner in one way or another.

As mentioned above, a copywriter works in a team. Ideally, it should include at least two more promotion specialists: an SEO analyst (colloquially, a SEO specialist) and. The first is responsible for SEO analysis, listing and technical specifications. The second, interacting directly with the copywriter, gives him a technical task, checks the result and uploads the content to the site. In practice, you often have to interact only with an SEO specialist (this is at best) or the owner of the resource.

So, we figured out the essence of the activity, now let's try to get started. First steps in copywriting look like this:

• We master the basics of professional terminology.
• We register on any of the content exchanges.
• We pass tests (this is not necessary for open exchanges, but it increases the chances of getting a profitable order).
• We choose an order in accordance with our own abilities and preferences.
• We write the text and, after it is accepted by the customer, we receive money.

Basics of professional terminology

In order to become a copywriter, you need to master at least basic professional terminology:

Not to be confused with copyright, which is, in fact, only a confirmation of authorship! Copywriting is both the process of writing unique text content, and this content itself. The article is written based on several sources (more often from the Internet, much less often from print media). Task: to choose the most informative and reliable sources, which do not always occupy top positions. Copywriting is most similar to a school essay on a literary work, written with an eye to critical materials.

Author's text. A "purebred" author's text, if we continue the analogy with the school curriculum, is an essay on a free topic, written "from the head." Examples: storytelling (composing fictional stories), blog articles based on your own experience, poetry, short stories, and so on. This is a very rich field for an advanced mine, and a beginner who is thoroughly versed in some narrow topic can make good money in this direction. The main thing here is to find an understanding customer who is interested in the content of the highest standard and who agrees to pay well for it.

Remember, I already talked about website promotion? So, SEO copywriting is writing a text that is completely focused on the promotion of a resource. Its main visual feature is the presence of so-called keywords and phrases, selected in accordance with the search query. The selection of these very words is the task of an SEO specialist, which has nothing to do with the direct duties of a copywriter. The terms of reference indicate the number of occurrences of keywords and recommendations for their modification (use in other forms, dilution with other words or punctuation marks). The task of the copy is to “screw in” these same phrases in the right quantity and forms, so that they look natural, and the information content of the text is not affected.

Text rewriting is a retelling in your own words of an article from one or more resources. That is, this is a presentation that retains the meaning and structure of the original, but at the same time, it is unique. Do not confuse rewriting with banal uniqueization, achieved mainly by technical means (for term papers and theses, for example). Beginners who are just becoming copywriters often ask how they confuse seasoned mines. Good deep rewriting is actually already copywriting, the line is so thin that it actually doesn’t exist. The only difference is in the wording and the resulting remuneration: rewriting is usually priced cheaper.

Not "corrupt", as some customers deign to express themselves, but the one who sells! That is, it is a text that is directly aimed at the sale of a specific service or product. Writing working selling texts in modern conditions is a very difficult job. The phrase “buy from us because we are the best” inserted at the end of the article is not enough for it to be considered a selling one. It is necessary to make the visitor's hand reach for the coveted "buy" button, even if he did not think about it a couple of minutes ago. This is the highest professional skill, which requires not only experience, but also talent.

TK. An abbreviation that stands for "technical assignment", which has been repeatedly mentioned above. It is there that it is indicated what the article should turn out to be: volume, number of keywords, other SEO parameters, style, recommended services for checks. Tip for beginners: always read the TOR carefully and to the last word, because at first glance an attractive order can easily turn into an absolutely indigestible one. And don't be afraid of large TK: they usually specify the requirements as much as possible, which is tedious to read, but it allows you to avoid wasting time on numerous improvements.

Formatting. As a rule, customers require to submit work in MS Word, so if you decide to become a copywriter, take the trouble to download this program or learn how to use the online version. At the same time, the text must be presented in a “marketable” form so that it can be read and perceived without problems. Of course, there are perfectionists who find fault with the size and type of font, but usually the requirements are elementary: following the rules for setting spaces, dividing text into paragraphs and semantic parts, using lists, highlighting headings and subheadings using the same MS Word.

Uniqueness. Uniqueness is, so to speak, the originality of the text, expressed as a percentage. Some customers have enough uniqueness of 85-90% (this is quite enough for indexing), but some insist on a pure “hundredth”, just to be sure. Serious content exchanges (Etxt, Text.ru, Advego) have their own uniqueness check services that differ in algorithms. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be clarified with the customer is not only the required percentage of uniqueness, but also the resource by which the verification will be carried out.

Nausea. Nausea is the degree of saturation of the text with some words, not always key ones. There are academic and classical nausea, and these concepts were introduced by specialists from the Advego exchange and are not used anywhere else. On Text.ru there is a close concept called "spam", "spam". Adjusting these indicators to the requirements of the customer sometimes takes more time than actually writing the text, so it’s not worth taking tasks with clearly defined requirements for nausea (spaminess) right from the start.

Water. This is an indicator of the correspondence of the text to the topic, as well as its saturation with meaningless words and expressions that reduce its information content. For example, the phrase "in the general opinion, based on the latest data, it can be stated that ..." consists entirely of water that does not carry any information. This is frank verbal rubbish, from which the texts need to be cleaned by all means. Not enough volume to the specified in the TOR? Find an interesting fact on the topic and describe it or joke appropriately if the style of the text allows it - there are a lot of options.

anchor. Anchor is not a key phrase, as beginners think, but a word or group of words inserted specifically to introduce a link. Have you seen phrases highlighted in blue in web texts? They are clickable: a mouse click - and you are already on a different page, or even a completely different resource. Usually the anchors are thematic, but you may be asked to insert the phrase “buy wholesale cotton robes” into the text about Japanese poetry, so don’t be surprised, this is not a mistake, but an anchor.

Semantic core. Let's delve a little into the wilds of harsh SEO. A modern site capable of effective promotion is created for a reason: many specialists work, hundreds of parameters are calculated. The semantic core is a set of all key phrases for a particular site, which are subsequently distributed among the landing pages and form the basis of the terms of reference.

Meta tags. Tags are special markers in the text that promote the page. We will not go into the subtleties of the Html code - this is a separate topic. In order to become a copywriter, it is enough to know the basic meta tags: these are the aforementioned keywords (keywords), Title, Description and title (H). These words, terrible at first glance, can even come across to you in the first technical task in your life, so let's talk about each of them.

Description. A description is a brief description of the content of the text that is displayed on the search engine page. Some SEOs consider the use of "desks" yesterday, others stand up for their high efficiency. A copywriter should be interested in something else - how exactly to write this very description. General recommendations: a couple of sentences that maximize the meaning of the article, 130-160 printed characters with spaces. Just do not need introductions like "this article will tell you how ..."

Title. The most significant meta tag, the page name, is reflected in the top line and in the search engine results. It should be as specific, concise and informative as possible, without literary excesses, for example: "Purchasing a tractor in installments." Fortunately, titles are usually prescribed by SEOs themselves or content managers, but sometimes they delegate this honorable mission to a copywriter.

header. If the aforementioned title is dry and informative, then the title is an exact hit on the reader, which should evoke a response from him. This means that the title can be creative, for example: "The iron horse can come to your fields today." Do you feel the difference with the title "Purchase of a tractor in installments"? The heading (H1) is the name of your article, which may also contain subheadings of different levels (H2, H3, and so on), dividing the text into semantic parts. So, H1 is the title of the text, and Title is the name of the entire page as a whole, displayed in the search results.

Announcement. The announcement is a kind of prelude to the text, an invitation to read the material in full. Unlike the description, it is not a meta tag, therefore it is not subject to strict regulation. Therefore, the number of characters can vary in accordance with the will of the customer, and the form should be close to the selling one - you are, as it were, selling the desire to read the entire text in its entirety.

The first thing a beginner should do after starting work is filling out a portfolio. Ready-made works of the author are placed there either in the form of text or in the form of links to already posted articles. Each exchange provides the opportunity to create a portfolio, but the condition is usually the consent of the customer with the placement of the text there. Venerable copies store finished work in Google Docs or on Yandex disk, and many create their own business card sites and place the best publications there in the form of screenshots or other means that prevent copying and indexing.

Here are just the basic professional vocabulary you need to become a copywriter from scratch. The rest you will master as needed. There is plenty of information on the Internet, just formulate the request correctly. You should be able to do this, because this is the basis of the professional skills of a copywriter.

Requirements for a future copywriter

In order to, from material values, you only need a computer with unlimited Internet access. Limiting traffic significantly reduces the ability of a writer, because sometimes you need to watch a video to complete an order, and surfing the net can take hours. Some beginners try to work from tablets and smartphones, but this is at least inconvenient. If there are no other options, splurge on a full keyboard and pair it with your gadget.

Another point that often leads to missed deadlines and downgrading is the instability of the Internet and the urgent need to leave home for a while. In this case, it is better to have a 3G modem in your arsenal (colloquially, trijik), which allows you not to depend on some external circumstances.

Now let's talk about the qualities that a copywriter should have:

• Ability to correctly formulate requests. This is the first point to which attention should be paid. To start digging up information, you first need to find it. Life hack for beginners: the main keyword will become the optimal search query, and in its absence, the topic of the future article.
• Ability to work with large volumes of information and the ability to prioritize. To write a full-fledged article, you need to shovel through a lot of sources and choose a couple, in your opinion, the best ones. The use of a dozen or more sources, which some mines are proud of, only testifies to the inability to highlight the main thing and significantly reduces the speed of work and, as a result, earnings. It is very useful for systematization to make plans for articles in the form of subheadings, then the text will turn out to be consistent and logical, initially correctly structured.
• Speech. The writer must be able to consistently and clearly express his thoughts. If you managed to do this at school, you wrote essays on your own and the process of verbal balancing act gave you more pleasure than irritation, then you have chosen the right direction of activity. If not, but you really want to become a copywriter, try to read more, and not articles on the Internet, but ordinary fiction. Any, even fantasy, even detectives - this enriches the vocabulary and teaches how to build phrases correctly.
• Literacy. Literacy for work in the field of copywriting is required to a much lesser extent than fluency in speech. Of course, if a person makes three mistakes in the word "milk", it is worth starting with studying Rosenthal's textbook. The rest is being corrected: the Word will emphasize gross errors, there is the Spelling Service and the wonderful professional resource Gramota.ru. Where any difficult cases of writing are sorted out. Upon reaching a certain level, you can completely put yourself in the hands of a professional proofreader: it’s easier to pay him than to spend precious highly paid time on proofreading.
• Responsibility. Copywriting is not a hobby, but a job that needs to be approached as responsibly as possible, without making allowances for other circumstances. If you have taken an order, please do it in the best possible way. I do not like? And it was necessary to carefully read the TK.
• Ability to organize the work process. The worst scourge is the inability to organize the labor process rationally. Many are accustomed to work under compulsion: from call to call. Or rather, go to work. No one forces you here, and it doesn’t stand over your soul, what you catch is what you eat. Therefore, it is highly recommended to make a work plan for the next couple of days and stick to it, no matter what.
• Striving for excellence. You can and should study always and everywhere: fees depend on the level of professional skills. It is best to read professional literature and comprehend what you read in practice. You can, of course, take some copywriting courses, which are now conducted by everyone who is not too lazy, but it is difficult to choose a really worthwhile program without experience. As a last resort, watch free videos from professional mines - there will definitely be no harm from this, and there will be no costs.

I would like to talk about creative thinking and the inspiration that goes with it. Do not confuse literary activity with copywriting: for all the external similarity, these are fundamentally different types of activity. If you decide to become a copywriter, forget about waiting for inspiration and the right mood. Reiter is a hard worker who must do the job, regardless of his own laziness, external circumstances and other factors. When regular customers appear, you can afford some whims, and at first the client’s desire is the law, and deadlines are above all.

Description of the most popular content exchanges

At the moment, it is most convenient to start a professional activity by registering on any of the. There are many reasons for this, the main one being fraud protection. The system guarantees the purity of transactions: after the order is received, the money is blocked on the customer’s account, after the delivery and acceptance of the order, it is credited to the contractor’s account. Disputable cases are sorted out by Arbitration (the name may be different), and it is far from always on the side of the customer.

On exchanges, you can either take orders and write texts on a specific TK by the deadline, or sell finished articles. The first option is preferable for good earnings, but the second allows the contractor to work calmly in his schedule, without regard to deadlines.

Rates copywriting for beginners starts at about 25 r per thousand characters without spaces, for rewriting - from 20, but you can meet orders for 10 r per thousand. The bulk of customers in the lower price category are the so-called "buyers", who resell articles or take orders at a high price, and then distribute them to newcomers for a penny. Nobody should worry about this: this is a necessary stage in the growth of skill. It happens that these same outbids act as great teachers for novice copywriters, helping them to comprehend the secrets of mastery in practice. True, there are real penny kings who are ready to remove a copywriter from work for a couple of mistakes in a cheap text. Well, a negative experience is also an experience, it’s difficult to become a good copywriter without stuffed cones.

If you don’t want to write for a penny, try to pass the test and get access to more expensive and pleasant orders in all respects, which are placed by reputable web studios or directly by resource owners. Be attentive to your own rating: it is earned with blood, sweat and sleepless nights, and flies away in an instant, for delays and withdrawals from orders.

The most deserved and largest content exchange, a pioneer in this field. It has very good services, however, the check for uniqueness on Advego is the toughest.

The main competitor of the aforementioned Advego. There are always a lot of orders, but the prices are not the most impressive, especially for beginners. Very fair Arbitration. Often taking the side of the performer.

A very good exchange, however, recently it has been gradually losing ground to the first two. There are orders, but there are fewer of them than on the flagship exchanges. But the uniqueness check on Text.ru is the most popular.

Copylancer. Quite a good exchange for the average. There are good starting prices, but there are not too many orders. There are practically no expensive ones, more than 150 rubles for a thousand signs.

How wages are paid

On content exchanges accepted payment for the volume of text, that is, for one thousand characters or symbols without spaces(as the writers say, “per kilosign” or “kilogram”). The character counter in MS Word is located in the lower left corner. Click on the "Number of words" tab - and the character counter opens, you do not need to manually perform mathematical operations! Copywriters on free bread themselves agree with the customer on the form of payment and methods of transferring funds. Often, especially in the case of selling texts, payment is made for an article, regardless of its volume. And the pay is sometimes very solid!

After the order is received for work or the article is purchased, the corresponding amount is blocked on the customer's account. The copywriter writes the text and submits it in the appropriate form, but in no case in personal correspondence. The customer reads the text, accepts it or sends it for revision. After accepting the order, after some time, the money is credited to the account of the contractor, and from there you can already withdraw it.

Reputable content exchanges carry out withdrawals through several electronic systems to choose from. It can be, sometimes practiced and the transfer of funds to the card. So you will need to study the information about the methods of withdrawing funds and choose the most convenient and profitable for yourself, with a minimum commission.

Legislative basis of activity

Any activity that generates income is taxed, and this, if you decide to become a professional copywriter, must be firmly grasped. What you pay to exchanges is not a tax, but a commission. According to the law, in order to engage in this type of activity, you need to register an individual entrepreneur and pay taxes to the state. This is theoretical, but in practice the situation is somewhat different.

No one registers an IP from the start, and the legality of transactions is guaranteed by an offer agreement available on each exchange. The penny earnings of newcomers are of little interest to the state, but just in case, you should not talk too much about your own earnings, especially in social networks. That's when you come out for serious money, you will have to think about legalization, because there are always plenty of "well-wishers" who are haunted by other people's earnings.

The taxes levied on individual entrepreneurs in accordance with this type of activity are not so high, so with good profits it is quite possible to give a fraction of a small state, at least in order to sleep peacefully. But you can easily advertise your services anywhere, and this is a different level of customer search. In addition, you will be able to conclude agreements with legal entities and require them to fulfill their obligations not in good conscience, but legally. It is easier for an organization to pay a copywriter for a job than to go through a lawsuit.

Independent search for clients

Copywriters who have outgrown the level of exchanges usually go free swimming and look for customers on their own, online or in real life. Even while working on the exchange, you will be contacted by customers who want to work directly. There are certain risks here, and this must be taken into account. Firstly, the transfer of contacts is prohibited by the rules of all exchanges, and both parties are entitled to a ban for this. True, experienced customers and writers have learned how to painlessly circumvent prohibitions, but at first you definitely don’t need it.

The main danger that awaits freelancers in free swimming is non-payment for work by the customer. This risk can be minimized by requiring customers to pay at least half in advance. If the customer does not agree to these conditions, but offers a tempting price, you can take a chance, but remember that you may be doing a free job. If you are not sure about the client, demand a transfer of funds for each text. Another little trick: you can send work in the form of screenshots, and in text format - only after payment. In which case, an unpaid, but retained uniqueness article can be sold.

If you decide to become a freelance copywriter, try advertising on . The analysis of text content on websites also works well: you go to the resource, you see that the texts are frankly weak, analyze them and send them back. A smart owner of the resource, interested in its promotion, will definitely respond to your request.

Communication in social networks can also become productive, especially in thematic groups and on forums where people gather who are somehow connected with website promotion. You can post your own ad with a link to your portfolio, or you can simply respond to customer requests.

And finally, as a final gift, I would like to give some practical advice to novice copywriters:

Conscientiously carry out even penny orders. It doesn’t matter how much the work costs: if you took it on, it means that the price suits you. Even if while working on an inexpensive order, a better offer was received, bring the matter to the end, and with full gear. Reputation is more valuable than money!

Give preference to publications from professional and highly specialized resources. It's about sourcing. The fact is that professional resources (for doctors, accountants, lawyers) rarely get into the top, but the information on them is always more reliable. Focusing on them, you will definitely be sure that you have not written nonsense.

Don't take on specific topics which you obviously don't understand. There are topics that are easy to understand in a short time. But there are also highly specialized areas that require thorough knowledge in the relevant field. If you do not understand 1-C accounting from the word “completely”, it is better to find an order on a topic that is closer to you in spirit, even if at a lower price.

Find your niche and professional features. Each of us has received some kind of education, and understands something better than the average Internet user. Carefully monitor the feed and third-party resources in search of your topics: if you get a good customer and show yourself on the good side, long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation is guaranteed.

Adhere to the business style during the initial communication with the customer. By default, at first, the customer is an absolutely stranger to you, with whom you have exclusively business relations. Try to maintain some distance in communication, without slipping into familiarity. In the future, this distance, perhaps, will gradually decrease: many customers and copywriters have been cooperating for years, turning into real friends.

Constantly improve your profession. If you want to become a sought-after copywriter, do not stand still, even if you are provided with orders. There is no limit to professional excellence, nor is there a limit to pay. A good selling text can cost $50, $100, or even more.

Make at least the simplest brief. The terms of reference are wonderful, but not always all the "Wishlist" of the customer is reflected in it. Make a so-called "brief", that is, a list of questions that the customer must answer if he wants to get a good text with a minimum of modifications. You don’t need to invent anything: there are samples of briefs for text content on the Internet. If the customer categorically refuses to fill out the brief, ask him to at least show you an article on his topic that meets his requirements in terms of content and style. This sample will become your guide when writing your own article.

Don't be afraid to ask. It is better to ask ten times than to do meaningless work that will have to be redone. The customer is just as interested in the quality of the article as you are, so feel free to ask questions. This is not a sign of unprofessionalism and not obsession, but a normal desire to do the job in the best possible way.

Treat revisions as normal work moments. Beginners are often frustrated when texts are returned to them for revision. Do not be sad: these are normal working moments that even top copywriters have. Just treat the revision responsibly and try to satisfy the customer's complaints the first time. If the text comes for revision for the second time, you should already think about it - they can remove it from the order, and time and nerve cells will be wasted. But there is one point: if the new requirements of the customer contradict the original TOR, you can apply to arbitration. Surely the moderators will take your side, and the customer will be forced to accept the text with full payment for the work.

Don't write free test papers. Such requests will come all the time: write a text, and there we will see if you are suitable for us. Such customers should be immediately sent to the portfolio - let them evaluate your professional suitability. If you do not have articles on the topic you need in your portfolio, write a small pilot, no more than a thousand characters. This is enough to evaluate the skill.

Remember the simple rule: one customer left, two others will come. Typically, customer exits are associated either with the completion of the project, or with the termination of its financing. But sometimes they leave the "insolent" writer, who decided to ask for an increase in wages. Do not be discouraged, a holy place is never empty, new customers will come with good money. This rule really works great, but subject to high professionalism and a spotless reputation. Word of mouth on the Internet works at 100%, and a good copywriter comes to the recommendation, and he decides with whom to cooperate and in what order to fulfill orders.

Do not overload yourself with information from the start. Remember the saying about how someone cannot see the forest because of the trees? Do not try to embrace the immensity from the start, focus on the main thing, and the rest will come with time. Otherwise, you will get confused, lose heart and decide that you cannot become a copywriter in principle. The information in this article is more than enough to get you started in copywriting, so don't overwork yourself.

I hope that this article will be useful not only for beginner copywriters, but also for those who have already tried their hand at writing content, but have not yet gained their own experience. The publication is written on the basis of personal practical experience of leading copywriters, so you can trust it unconditionally. Look ahead with optimism, do not be lazy, keep your commitments, and regular customers with good pay will not keep you waiting!

How to become a good copywriter? Many Internet users are thinking about this today. A goal-oriented person who devotes 2-3 hours a day to studying this craft is capable of becoming a successful author of articles.

What services do copywriters provide?

copywriter (English copywriter from copy - text; writer - author) is a specialist who knows how to create competent texts to solve various problems.

The main goal of copywriting is to encourage the reader to take action. In addition to writing sales and informational articles, copywriters perform the following types of work:

• copywriting, rewriting;
• editing and proofreading;
• creation of SEO-optimized texts;
• naming - preparation of headlines and slogans;
• publication of articles on the site, design, selection of images.

Simple rewriting is a presentation of the text with the preservation of meaning based on the finished source material. Deep rewriting involves serious work with the text. Rawriter studies several information sources, writes a better article than on competitor sites.

Copywriting is the creation of author's content without elements of rewriting, for example, articles in highly specialized areas. SEO copywriting involves optimizing texts for key user requests. Thanks to the “keywords”, the article can get to the first positions of the search engines.

Selling articles are tools for promoting goods and services. They require special knowledge in the field of creating such texts. A copywriter, using knowledge of psychology, marketing, etc., encourages the reader to make a deal or offers a solution to a problem.

What are the requirements for articles

Demanded copywriters write competent, interesting, understandable articles that are read to the end. Texts reflect the specifics of remote sales of a particular company, bring thousands of buyers, cause a desire to purchase goods and benefit readers. Any text must meet several requirements.

There are other criteria as well. Customers specify specific requirements in the TOR (terms of reference) for the contractor.

How to become a copywriter from scratch? Step-by-step instruction

Experienced copywriters recommend that beginners start their career step by step according to an individual plan. There are no bosses in the field of freelancing, so you will have to independently motivate yourself to “pump” your skills, search for clients and manage them. Professional development takes years.

A beginner can use the following plan as a basis.

Acquaintance with the theoretical base

The following tips will help you take your first steps in the profession:

1. study of terminology, copywriting directions, types and examples of good articles;
2. increased print speed;
3. improving literacy, improving the style and culture of speech;
4. registration of subscriptions to blogs of experienced copywriters (Peter Panda, Dmitry Kot, Denis Shardakov and others);
5. training at trainings (Staff-online, 1PS, Yulia Volkodav, Netology);
6. reading useful literature on copywriting, marketing, psychology (there are dozens of free books on this topic on the Internet).

Getting practical skills

• maintaining your own blog, website, preparing articles for the sale of your goods and services;
• independent access to customers through forums, projects, specialized sites;
• employment in a copywriting agency;
• registration on freelance and copywriting exchanges, for example, Etxt, Advego, Text, Freelance, Kwork.

It's easy for beginners to get started with copywriting exchanges, but the downside of resources is dumping. Payment for services is low, it is necessary to gradually raise the price bar.

Portfolio creation

Portfolio is used to demonstrate the best work and their professional capabilities to customers. It demonstrates the level of literacy, understanding of the topic, the author's style, the ability to work with technical specifications.

Articles can be submitted on a blog, website, personal exchange page, cloud, etc. The contractor chooses for the portfolio the form of a text document, presentation, e-book, screenshot. In the process of negotiations with customers and when submitting applications, it is necessary to replenish, demonstrate a portfolio, give a link to it.

Direct access to customers

Many writers linger on the exchanges and work for years for low pay. If a beginner plans to increase his income, then he will have to constantly improve his professionalism and independently look for expensive customers. To expand the client base, active and passive methods are used:

• direct offers to webmasters, copywriting studios, SEO specialists (this will allow you to work at prices up to 150 rubles per 1000 characters, contacts should be sought on specialized forums);
• mailing "cold" commercial offers (the least effective way);
• appeal to businessmen and specialists in the field of information business (there are contacts on forums, social networks), to work at this level, you will have to create your own website, register an individual entrepreneur, while labor rates will rise 10 times;
• preparation of "warm" commercial offers (sending letters to project managers to obtain contact details of site owners, calls to found contacts);
• the use of "selling criticism", for example, the expression of an expert opinion on the texts in the sections for criticism on the forums. A copywriter can find low-quality texts, then call customers, suggest fixing errors, increasing conversions.

Meetings of businessmen, trainings, seminars are a great way to find customers. This will require flyers, business cards, portfolio. The second option is to search for sites with incompetent texts from shops, organizations and businessmen of your city, organizing personal meetings with company leaders.

prospects

If a copywriter does not know where to start or does not plan to continue working on content exchanges, then he can find himself in related professions:

1. copywriting in the advertising field (setting up advertising campaigns, creating slogans, promoting goods and services);
2. Internet marketing, selection of high-quality content, marketing in social networks;
3. working with texts, preparing newsletters, articles for blogs, creating texts for social networks;
4. editorial work (drawing up technical specifications for copywriters and organizing other specialists working on sites);
5. opening your own studio, infobusiness, training, promoting your own books and courses, conducting trainings.

Novice specialists get jobs in online magazines, copywriting agencies, training centers, news portals, author's blogs, communities in social networks.