Copywriting Is: Salary, Work, Growth, and The Impact of AI
Do you sometimes dream of living the writer’s life as a copywriter?
Here’s a few facts you should know…
Know What Copywriting Is
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Copywriting is the art and practice of writing persuasive text to promote a product, service, idea, or an organization.
Copywriting is sometimes referred to as, “Salesmanship in Print”. Copywriters use the written word, in advertising mediums, rather than speaking face to face with a prospect to gain a sale the way a typical salesman would.
As a copywriter, you would be responsible for crafting compelling words and messages that connect with an audience, and motivates them to take action – whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or engaging more deeply with a brand.
Copywriters will typically spend a great deal of time doing research. The more he or she can learn, understand, get into the shoes and mindset of the prospect, the more likely his copywriting will be effective. “Know thy prospect well” is a maxim copywriters should live by. If you have a keen interest in why people do the things they do, in psychology, in human motivations, copywriting might be a good career choice for you.
The Copywriter’s Persuasion Toolkit is a great resource which gives deep insight into the psychological realm of the copywriting career.
Key Copywriter Responsibilities
- Writing content for advertisements, websites, blogs, social media, direct mail, brochures, and other marketing materials. This requires creativity, strong writing skills, and ability to adapt your writing style for different formats and audiences.
- Conducting research on the product or service you are writing about, understanding the target audience, and aligning your messaging to their interests, needs, and motivations.
- Working closely with designers, marketers, and clients to ensure the copy works seamlessly with the overall creative concept and branding.
- Crafting headlines, taglines and calls-to-action that capture attention and drive response.
- Optimizing copy for search engines by using relevant keywords and optimization best practices.
- Testing and iterating on copy to improve results and performance over time.
Copywriter Work Environment
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Copywriters often work in marketing or advertising agencies where they collaborate closely with other team members like designers and strategists. However, remote work is also quite common, especially for freelancers or in-house writers at companies with distributed teams. Hybrid arrangements are popular too.
Copywriting Average Salary and Career Advancement
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Entry-level copywriting salaries typically range from $40,000-$55,000. With 5 years experience you could expect to earn $60,000-$85,000. Senior copywriters can make $90,000-$110,000 or more. Salaries vary based on location, industry, agency vs in-house role, and capabilities.
Copywriters who prove they can reliably get results, can often negotiate profit sharing deals in addition to their base salaries. This can significantly boost their income beyond 6 figures.
With experience, copywriters may advance to senior writer, copy chief, creative director or take on management roles. Some copywriters transition into content marketing, SEO writing, or copywriting specialties like UX writing.
Freelancing, starting a copywriting business, or using your skills to market your own or another’s products and services are also options which are available. In this situation, the sky’s the limit for your income. There is always a place for the copywriter who can sell.
Not quite ready for full-time work as a copywriter?
You can always get your feet wet doing side-gigs. The Copywriter’s Persuasion Toolkit, besides having great information on how to craft compelling copy, also has actionable steps you can take today to start making money with your very own profitable side-gigs.
Copywriter Job Growth Outlook Beyond 2023
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Employment of copywriters and content writers is projected to grow 8% from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). So steady, positive growth is expected.
What’s the Impact of AI on Copywriting Careers?
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AI writing tools have emerged that can generate passable content quickly. But AI lacks human creativity, strategy, and nuance. While words do matter, it has been widely documented and proven that people buy on emotion, then justify with facts. As of this time, there is no “feeling” AI. And it is the feelings, the emotions which copywriters must court in order to persuade the readers.
You can discovery the most powerful, emotional, persuasive human motivators in The Copywriter’s Persuasion Toolkit.
Human copywriters who master both writing craft and strategic messaging will continue to thrive. The smart ones, who leverage AI as just another writing tool while providing high-level human oversight and finesse, will be well-positioned for success.
Specialization and expertise in certain industries or formats (like UX writing, branding, etc) will also be valued. So while AI will impact the field, skilled copywriters can adapt by focusing on the most human aspects of persuasive writing.
The Future is Bright for Great Copywriters
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In summary – copywriting careers remain promising. Continued adaptation to technical tools, new mediums, and evolving strategies will be important to stay relevant. The future looks bright for copywriters who embrace the creative, strategic, and interpersonal aspects of the one role that AI cannot replicate. Think you can spark desire, deep feelings, and an emotional lust for the products you describe?
You’re in luck then!
Copywriting Jobs Now Available
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Curious about the availability of work for copywriters?
My friends at the American Writers and Artists Institute have a great reference page you can use in your job search. Here’s the link: https://www.awai.com/job-opportunities/
I hope you have enjoyed this brief overview of careers in copywriting. This potentially lucrative field combines writing, research, psychology and sales. With plenty of advertising mediums you can choose to specialize in.
A great future lies ahead for the one who’s ready to learn and earn from his well written words in the copywriting field.
Much luck!
– Robert Schwarztrauber
