Writer and copywriter, two booming professions

Working from home is something many aspire to. And it is logical: practically nobody likes the alarm clock, and it can take a lot to get used to doing exactly the same thing every day. To all this we must add time: time that you do not spend with family, with friends,… We are not immortal. Working in something that allows us to obtain income in exchange for spending a few hours a day in front of the computer, without being cold or hot, and without schedules, well, hey… is a very attractive idea.

Therefore, more and more people decide to become a writer and / or copywriter. If you are one of them, or you think you will be, then we are going to talk at length about both professions, which perhaps have more in common than you might think at first.

What does "copywriter" mean and what does "copywriter" mean?

Let's start with the basics, so later it will be much easier to understand the rest. Nowadays, both terms are confused, or one is used when in reality the other was wanted to be used, or ... well. Let's go to trouble: according to the Royal Spanish Academy, copywriter means "who is part of a newsroom or office where it is written", while copywriter is defined as "copywriter". Said like this, we could say that a copywriter is a copywriter specialized in advertising. But a writer after all.

Copywriter Characteristics - What exactly does he do?

The writer or editor is the person who writes texts and something else. It is not just writing and that's it, but there is a research work behind it that the reader does not see and that many times he does not even know that there has been. But it is that to write something you have to read before. If you've ever read or heard that you can't write a book if you don't read many others before, this work is exactly the same.

Once the information you are looking for is obtained, now it is time to sort it. They make a kind of list or summary with the most important and what they think may be of interest, either on paper or on the same computer. In this way, writing the article turns out to be easier, and also faster.

Then, the draft is created. This is the funniest part, or the one that should be. Write the text with clear objectives:

• Inform, or what amounts to the same thing: transmit what has been learned to others
• Get visits
• Entertain (it depends on what theme it is, sometimes this is not the most important thing)

Finally, he gives it one or more revisions, correcting spelling, grammar, style and / or comprehension mistakes, and publishes it. If that copywriter works for a client, he or she will simply send it to them.

PREMIUM QUALITY

There are several types of copywriters:

• Copywriter: is the one who writes the texts of the advertisements or a website in order to sell something. Today it is known as a copywriter.
• Ghostwriter: is one whose work is published under the name of another person or company.
• Specialized Team: be it in animals, in gardening, in meteorology, etc. He knows about the subject and shares that knowledge with others through a blog.
• Viral content expert: he is a writer who stays informed of current trends and uses them to share videos, create memes, ...

What studies do you need to be a freelance writer?

If what you want is to write texts from home and you want to have a good training ... I am very sorry to tell you that at least in Spain there is no University that trains you to be an editor. What can be done is study journalism so that they teach you to edit, layout, design ... and write.

However what can not be missing is the taste for writing. If you like to type, if you like to write, believe me that is going to be reflected in your texts. There are online writing courses, which can be of great help to you to gain confidence and to make texts of increasingly higher quality for which you will pay more, although they are not essential if you consider yourself a self-taught person.

Related article:

Six tips for working as a freelance copywriter

What is a copywriter?

The copywriter is the person who write advertising texts, which implies working with clients yes or yes (it would not make sense to sell anything to yourself 😉). For that, what you do is have an interview with your contractor in order to find out what exactly you want (product sales pages, the texts of the entire web, landings ...), what is your objective or objectives, and can that also the most relevant data of your company.

From there, it will order the information obtained and create the texts. Then, it will do the same as the 'common' writer, that is, it will review and correct them. When you think they are ready, you will pass them on to your client.

PREMIUM QUALITY

Four are distinguished, depending on their specialization:

• Web copywriter: he is a copywriter who writes the advertising texts for a website, which makes him a very useful figure to help make the online marketing strategy of a business more effective.
• SEO copywriting: or SEO-oriented copywriting. It is one who writes advertising texts for a website but in such a way that they can be well positioned in search engines, such as Google.
• marketing copywriter: is one that is oriented towards marketing, whether digital or not. The objective is to attract customers by connecting with them through their needs and generating the desire to buy what he sells.
• Referential Copywriter: is dedicated to promoting the company's brand.

What studies are needed to work as copy?

If what you want is to work as a copywriter or copywriter, as it is said in the jargon of the sector, what you can do is specialize in Advertising and choose the subjects related to advertising texts. In this way, you will learn to write persuasive texts, which will be used to sell products or services.

Are online copywriting courses recommended?

In recent times we are experiencing what seems to be a "boom" of copywriting courses. Using their knowledge and experience, they write texts that gradually attract more and more people.. Many of these courses have an exorbitant price, in my opinion, but when you have a lot of interest in learning and working after being a copywriter, and when you have listened and read a lot of times that course is going to help you ... well there are many people who pay it without more.

I was a student of one. I found it expensive but not too expensive in its day. It lasted three months, and the truth is that in a way I can't say I didn't like it… because I did like it. The agenda was considered quite complete: We talked about how to 'hook' the potential buyer little by little, about the different formulas that there are to write an advertising text, about the heat maps of a website (that is, a tool that allows you to know what the user does while browsing, what catches their attention or how they move around the site), among others. In addition, we were working with a real client almost from the beginning, which undoubtedly helped us to quickly implement what we were learning.

But it didn't take me long to realize that all that information could have been obtained by other means, and paying much less money. So no, I don't recommend them.

Paying a thousand euros or more for something that you can get for, for example, 10 euros a month I think it is not worth it.

Can you live working as a copywriter and / or copywriter?

It can be done, but it is not easy nor is it a bed of roses. You have to be willing to sacrifice part of your time to what you want to do, to inform yourself, to continue acquiring knowledge of those topics that you are interested in writing about. What's more, if you have a stable job, or if you happen to leave it until you get a decent income. As much as you want to quit, don't do it until at least a year has passed since you've started earning a decent amount of money as a freelancer.

How much money are we talking about? Well, it depends on the expenses you have, but in these sectors a salary of 800-1000 euros is normal when you have already managed to reach the point where you can work on it exclusively.

Can anyone who wants to write and earn money with their texts?

As we have seen, the editor is a person who wants to get someone to read his texts, either to get visits to his website, to sell ... or for both purposes. Get this It requires that you have knowledge of spelling, grammar, style, ... in short, that you know how to write well. But other than that you must connect with your target audience (that is, with the people who might be more interested in what you write), and get them loyal.

For this reason, currently it is not usually enough to have a blog. You have to create a community around him, working on social networks, answering his questions, accepting and considering his suggestions, and so on.

If you decide to work for an agency, it will still demand that you be responsible and commit to doing a good job.. Beautiful texts will not be enough if these texts do not follow their editorial line or if they do not achieve that each time that blog has more followers. You may work from home, but you will have the same obligations as an office worker.

However, if you like to write and want to make a living from it, I encourage you to do it. As time goes by and you gain experience, you will be able to increase the price of your items, and therefore, the dream or illusion of working from home will get closer and closer.