Home Kitchen Cooks and Stay at Home Moms know how to read and write. That's why copywriting is so attractive to those who want to stuff more dollars and cents into the family cookie jar. Here are a few writing tips good to know.Print media forms the foundation for marketing communications in the business world. It's sales and marketing from advertising and direct mail to public relations.
As a professional copywriter, you can make a decent living whether you work for an inhouse firm, an advertising agency or freelance from the second bedroom of your home.
The purpose of the words you write is make a favorable impression and motivate a response.
The copy for print media informs and persuades. Words build reputation and recall for a business. The prize isn't always a purchase, but "buy-in." Agreement. Response. Action.
Printed brochures, flyers and post cards can be delivered in person or en mass. There are several sales tactics that can be used by a sales person to "walk" the prospect through brochure pages.
In the end, there is no way of predicting exactly what the prospect will do once the sales person leaves the meeting. So there's a raft of business follow-up devices from sales calls to telemarketing scripts to mailers. There are sweepstakes offers and direct mail from catalogs to personalized sales letters.
The direct marketing industry is mammoth, and it relies heavily on the copywriter. It's growing. Founded in 1953, Publishers Clearing House (PCH) replaced door-to-door magazine subscriptions from one vendor with offers from many vendors by mail. Today, PCH markets merchandise and magazine subscriptions with sweepstakes.
In other words, the writer's job is secure and in demand. Newspaper and magazine ads, TV commercials and Internet advertising all rely on the professional copywriter.
The number one rule is to know your target market. Picture the someone who has a high potential to respond. A writer must know this person intimately. Be family with his or her habits, work ethic, home life, income, lifestyle, preferences.
The copywriter is similar to an art director. The completed copy generally includes a written statement describing the concept, as well as, suggestions for the graphic designer. This helps the designer know what images to create.
It's the experienced copywriter who gathers client input and preferences, required images to be included such as corporate logo, executive photos, headquarter buildings, product pics. It's the copywriter who conducts the research and creates the theme.
It's an exciting field. It's measurable. It's satisfying. It's profitable and rewarding. You can be the next notable copywriter who stands with greats such as William Bernback, David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett.
You don't want to miss the tremendous opportunity to be part of this fast-paced, creative field.