Top 11 Skills You’ve Gotta Have as a Copywriter in 2023
What does it take to be a copywriter in 2022 and 2023? As a retailer/part-time marketer turned full-time copywriter, I have compiled all the skills I believe are the most important to be successful right now. This is a list of traits or skills that I believe you need right now in order to snag your first copywriting job or to be at the top of your game in the coming months as layoffs and uncertainty loom over the workplace.
The goal with this list is to give you ideas of what it takes to be a resourceful, to-go type of person. The kind of person bosses love and team members rely on. The more expert and confident you are in your abilities, the better your prospects are. Even when things don’t work out quite as you planned, you’ll always have a crowd of peers and supervisors ready to endorse your LinkedIn skills.
In this article, we’ll break down these 11 copywriting skills:
Interpreting a content brief
Understanding content types
Pacing and meeting deadlines
Flexibility
Efficiency
Researching
SEO basics
Editing
Always learning
Keep Receipts
Adopt a systems
1.IInterpreting a content brief
Copywriters need to be able to deliver compelling copy even if the assignment details are vague. That isn’t to say that you should be going in blind–definitely reach out for clarification if you need it. After all, everyone is happier when there are fewer revisions.
Sometimes writing assignments are accompanied by a detailed content brief, branding packet, and other materials. That’s a dream scenario, but it is the exception rather than the rule.
There are frighteningly regular occurrences of assignment descriptions just being a title on an Asana task… no context, word count, or direction. It’s the equivalent of a home cook’s recipe card saying “make a choux pastry” without any instructions.
So what does it mean to be able to ‘interpret a content brief’ like a professional copywriter? Well, when crafting messaging, there are a few parameters you need to know. Here are a few things to consider before you open Google Docs:
Target audience persona: (industry, demographics, place in the buyer’s journey, etc.)
What is the content type
What is the distribution channel
This message’s context in relation to the full campaign (what comes before this and what comes after this)
Word Count
Voice and Tone, what’s the personality
Goal, push to, or Call to Action
Step 1
Reach out for clarification - what are the missing pieces of information you absolutely need to know before you can start?
Step 2
Give them a deadline: you need xyz information by this date or the project might be delayed. Make sure you are giving yourself enough time to complete the project.
Step 3
Draft, proof, and edit your work.
Step 4
Submit the project for feedback. If you’re freelancing make sure you’ve already established how many revisions they will get. Every freelancer is different, but I’ve seen ranges from 1 to 5 revisions… just choose something that will not overwhelm the rest of your life.
Step 5
Complete revisions and submit final deliverable.
2. Understanding content types
Blog posts serve a different purpose than editorials. Push notifications are different than in-app messages. You can’t write effective content unless you can visualize where it’s going to “live” online and you understand at least the basics of how users consume that content.
You wouldn’t spend 1000 words on an in-app message, for example. They should be around 200 or less. That understanding guides how detailed or concise you need to be when crafting the messages. It also means fewer revisions and happier team members and clients.
3. Pacing and meeting deadlines
No matter if you’re a freelance writer or an in-house or agency writer, you’ll have to juggle multiple projects at a time. Feeling productive while not burning out hinges on how well you manage your time and expectations with clients or team members.
The old addage applies here: Underpromise. Overdeliver.
I love to go over all projects at the beginning of the week, see if they depend on anyone or anything else, send out reminders (Slack or email), and plan the rest of my time. I like to do this before any Monday meetings that way if I’m asked about any particular project, I can ask right then and there for those dependent deliverables or give any updates necessary.
4. Flexibility
Unexpected hiccups, surprise priority shuffles, rush requests, and last-minute updates… These can all impact your workflow throughout your day. The worst is already having tight timelines and then having a wrench thrown in the works.
Flexibility is a soft skill everyone, including copywriters, should have. But being flexible doesn’t mean you have to let your projects suffer.
For example, if a supervisor wants to add things to your already-full plate, you can say, “I’m happy to help with that. Can you look at my assignments and help me deprioritize something so I can take this on?” Once they take a look at your to-dos, they might agree that you’re fully tasked and ask someone else.
5. Efficiency
Efficiency is the new buzzword for business right now. Investors and boards are pressuring company leadership to work leaner and return bigger ROIs. In 2022, that has to lead to massive layoffs across brands both large and small.
In the midst of huge layoffs across tech and other companies, you need to be able to attach real-world value to what you do. Essentially, you have to prove your job is mission-critical to the business. For creatives, this can be a challenge. When you’re job isn’t tied directly to sales or other essential metrics, how do you justify your job?
This is where an open conversation with a mentor or supervisor is helpful. Ask what are the metrics of success of your particular role and then start tracking those numbers. You can ensure you’re demonstrating your continued value by submitting a regular report (monthly or quarterly) with your key projects and what numbers they impacted.
BONUS POINTS: Compiling a report helps you in building a robust and impressive portfolio. It also goes a long way for your own professional development as you see your wins and opportunities regularly.
6. Researching
Researching topics, content types, audiences, and best practices are all fair game. Even professional writers aren’t experts in all types of writing. While agencies would probably love you to think their whole marketing team are experts in literally all things marketing, that’s not the case. We Google a lot. Even those who are actual, certified experts have to keep up to date with the latest best practices and trends.
But avoid falling down a research rabbit hole by asking yourself what you really need to know in order to complete the project. Write those things down, Google them, and then stop researching.
The other side of researching is to ensure the content you’re writing is fact-based and accurate. It’s important to get information from trusted, reputable, and reliable sources. Sometimes I create a list on the bottom of the Google Doc of all the articles and publications I’ve used. Because I write in the beauty sector mostly, I don’t need to use perfect AP Style and cite my sources like in professional or scholastic work. But I keep that list on the doc for my own reference… just in case.
Want to be a full-time copywriter but don’t have an irresistible portfolio yet? No worries! Download this free guide that gives you everything you need to create a professional portfolio from scratch for free.
What’s inside:
Ten-step roadmap to creating a professional copywriter’s portfolio
The Portfolio Checklist (everything you need to have for an irresistible portfolio)
Sample Client Writing Assignments, 4 prompts
Portfolio tool kit and portfolio style guide
Instructions and best practices for creating value-adding slides, writing samples, and gathering endorsements
How to host and share your portfolio for free via Canva and Google Drive
Bonus Tips
7. SEO basics
Everyone wants to rank on the first page of Google. There are several content types that are designed to trip the Google wires (like Blogs and webpages). Those are crawled by Google and Headers, meta descriptions, and content should have keywords naturally woven in the language. When you’re using a WordPress or similar web builder, the platform literally guides you to perfect your SEO. There isn’t much guesswork there. You’re just making additions and tweaking until you get a green dot.
Having said that, it is still helpful to understand how SEO works. Any platform that you are writing content for has different algorithms for ranking, indexing, and serving up content to their users. Etsy has its own SEO. YouTube has a unique set of requirements for ranking. TikTok has another totally separate checklist. Get to know your platforms’ requirements as quickly as possible so your content performs well.
8. An Editorial Eye
One of the questions I got during a few recent interviews was about my editing skills. Thankfully, I had some experience in editing as the content director at a marketing firm. A big portion of my role was reviewing and editing the projects that came across my task list.
So that worked out in my favor. But this skill surprisingly came up in multiple interviews. I think I’m detecting an emerging trend for copywriters in the job market…
Even though “editor” and “writer” are two completely different roles, tighter budgets could mean a workplace doesn’t have the budget to support two salaries… And that means employers might be looking for new hires to “make up” for it in being broadly skilled. In my case, not only did they want to know I was a good writer, but they also wanted to know I could refine the work.
Now, you don’t need to be in charge of a team to practice this skill. With the content you are already consuming, instead of just reading it, use a critical eye. Assess the power of the hook. Ask yourself how concise or grabbing the copy is? How is the pacing? Does it keep you engaged or does your mind wander off mid-sentence?
9. Always be Learning
Marketing and platforms are constantly changing, which means the way you write needs to keep up. Trade community groups, continued learning, certifications or in-platform education are all great resources to keep yourself current with your role.
Not only does it help you know, but it can also help you secure your future. I like to keep an eye on emerging trends in marketing, technology, and the economy to shape what topics or certifications I devote my learning time to.
I love the Marketing Brew and The Morning Brew for bite-sized news.
10. Keep Receipts
Keep receipts. Of what people ask you to do on Slack. Of requested deadlines. Of expectations and conversations. Of everything.
You’re going to be doing your best to manage your calendar and balance projects and chip away at a never-ending to-do list. The last thing you want is some kind of misunderstanding that looks like your fault. Saving conversations, screenshots, or taking meeting notes can save a lot of headaches and keep you out of hot water.
11. Adopt systems
You don’t have to have a veteran copywriter before you start adopting systems. Systems are a set of rules and procedures that improve your efficiency and deliverables.
As soon as you do a job once you can start to determine what worked and what didn’t. That is the foundation for your system. The more you use the system, the more you can refine and improve it.
Once you have systems, do your best to keep them. They help you with work/life balance and sanity.