I can tell you that copywriting is, by far, the best paying writing career. But, until you understand what it actually is, it sounds a whole lot like some kind of get-rich-quick scheme.
In fact, copywriting has existed in one form or another for thousands of years, and really took shape as an industry in the 19th century.
Copywriting is advertising and marketing writing.
It’s emails, websites, banner ads, billboards, magazine and newspaper ads, direct mail, product packaging, videos, back covers of books, landing pages, sales pages…
All of that is copy.
Copywriting is about making connections.
Fundamentally, copywriting is about making connections between people who have a want or a need and the best company or organization to meet that want or need.
And we make those connections by using words (copy) that resonate with the people (audience) reading them.
Companies need what we do.
There’s a similarity among all of those things copywriters write I listed just above; did you catch it?
Copy affects organizations’ bottom lines. Great copy drives people to take action and, even sometimes, to think differently about things.
And because companies and non-profits can directly track some of their results back to their messaging, they are willing to pay skilled copywriters very well to craft that messaging.
Every organization needs effective messaging.
Think of it this way: A company can have the best product or service in the world, but if they can’t convey why it’s so great to the people they want to buy it…no one will.
That’s it, end of company.
At the same, time, great copy, in just black type on a white background can sell a product or service like crazy. (And, in fact, has many times!)
Copywriting conveys what is different and valuable about something.
Copywriters don’t have to be clever; they have to convey the most important messages that the target audience needs to hear.
At the same time, the words that you use and the messages that you convey have to be different. If the copy among competitors sounds the same, consumers will be confused and, most likely, won’t even bother to make a purchase.
So, while the messaging has to convey key differentiators, it also has to be written in a company’s unique brand voice. (One thing at which AI is exceptionally bad at, but more on that in a later post.)
I think of copywriting as being like a word puzzle:
You get to combine creativity and strategy to come to the best possible solution.
And you get to use words to do it.
Copywriting is NOT blog writing.
Copywriting is writing that’s designed to sell or to persuade, sometimes to change someone’s mind about something or create an impression in someone’s mind.
Content writing, on the other hand—projects like blog writing or article writing—are very different.
Content is designed to educated, entertain, or inspire.
And while content writing can support an organization’s goals, it’s not going to be a direct line to increased revenues, increased subscriber count, or any other of a company’s goals.
So, unfortunately, content writing isn’t paid nearly as well as content writing.
In fact, content has been a bit of a “churn and burn” industry: Very easy to get into, very low paying, and very easy to burn out on.
(5 cents per word is very difficult to make a living on.)
Copywriting requires learning and honing a different, specialized set of skills.
And while copywriters may sometimes write blog posts for their clients (if they want to!), they do so at their much higher copywriting rates.
The need for skilled copywriters is only growing.
Yes, even in spite of AI. (While some small businesses still fall for the “you can use AI to write your copy!” companies have tried it out, noted the crummy results, and doubled-down on their human writers.)
Every single business or organization needs effective messaging.
Now, will every single one be smart enough to hire a copywriter? Of course not. But you don’t need them to.
There are, literally, millions of businesses in operation in the US and hundreds of millions around the world.
On top of that, there are between 430,000 and 580,000 new businesses started every month in the US alone!
(And you can absolutely write copy in any country; we have students from all around the world. It’s just easiest to find US numbers.)
Copywriting is currently a $30B industry that’s expected to climb to $45B by 2031.
And there just aren’t enough skilled copywriters to fill the need.
So, if you’re someone who grew up thinking that “Writers don’t make any money,” I’m happy to report that some writers really, really do.
If you’d like to learn more about copywriting and what the career entails, check out the free video workshop I’ve put together right here.