Last updated on February 19th, 2025 at 12:59 am
Learning how to write copy is one of the most profitable things you may ever do in business.
Being able to capture the attention of a cold audience, get them engaged with your message, and convert that attention into new subscribers and customers is a superpower.
And whether you’re a founder of a small business looking to start writing your own copy or you’re someone who’s interested in starting a copywriting business, this guide is for you.
In it, we’re going to dive deep into 7 steps you can take right now to start copywriting for yourself or your clients.
Get Our Top Copywriting Secrets Here!
What is Copywriting? Who is a Copywriter?
Copywriting is writing in a persuasive tone for marketing campaigns that help promote a brand, business, or offer.
The goal of writing copy is to get someone to take an action, such as clicking on a link, donating to your cause, booking a call, subscribing to a newsletter, or purchasing a product.
There are quite a few different types of copywriters, too:
- Brand Copywriters
- UX Copywriter
- Direct Response Copywriters
- Email Copywriters
- Social Media Copywriters
- Website Copywriters
- Video Script Copywriters
And so many more.
If you’re writing in a way that’s designed to get someone to take an action or buy into a new idea, you are a copywriter.
To get started learning how to write copy, here are 7 steps you can take right now.
Step #1: Learn the Basics From Books & Courses
One of the easiest ways to start honing your copywriting skills is to pick up proven copywriting courses and books.
When you do a search on Google for “the best copywriting books”, you’re going to get a healthy list of recommendations, which can make choosing the right one hard to do.
Our advice, though, is to pick 2-3 to get started and go through each of them a few times over the next couple of months.
To help you save time, here are a few of our favorites:
Influence by Robert Cialdini
One of the best books ever written on the science of persuasion and psychology is “Influence” by Robert Cialdini. In the book, he breaks down what makes people say yes and how to ethically apply these principles to your marketing and business.
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook
Joe Sugarman is a legendary copywriter who breaks down some of the most effective guidelines and frameworks he’s used to help motivate customers to make a purchase. This is a book that should be on your desk at all times.
The Ultimate Sales Letter
Dan Kennedy is one of the most successful, highly-paid copywriters in the country and, in this book, he breaks down a step-by-step framework you can use for increasing your sales. He explains why some sales letters go straight to the waste bin while others generate millions of dollars.
Copywriting Secrets
Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards is one of the best desk guides you can get for learning how to write effective copy as quickly as possible. It includes frameworks you can use to plug in what you know about your audience & offer to lift conversion rates across the board.
When it comes to choosing the right copywriting books and courses for you, there are a few things you’re going to want to check & questions you want to ask yourself before you buy them:
- Is the course creator or author credible?
- Can you find student testimonials and reviews?
- Does it teach you frameworks?
- Does it teach you the science behind good copy?
- Does it include practice assignments and exercises?
- Does it make feedback available?
- Does it focus on different types of copywriting?
- Does it provide real-world case studies and examples?
- Does it give you access to additional resources?
- Does it give you opportunities to network?
Some extra benefits you may want to look for are things like interviews with industry experts and guest lectures, opportunities for hands-on projects, and compatibility with your schedule.
With that in mind, here are some of the best copywriting courses we’ve found:
- 10X Freelancers by Copyhackers
- Copy Cure by Marie Forleo
- Copywriting Course by Neville Medhora
- Copy Quickstart Secrets by Russell Brunson & Jim Edwards
Step #2: Learn About Psychological Triggers
In the second part of the book “The Adweek Copywriting Handbook” by Joe Sugarman, Joe talks about 24 different psychological triggers that can convince people to buy.
These triggers are:
- Value & Proof Of Value
- Justify The Purchase
- Greed
- Established Authority
- Satisfaction Conviction
- Nature Of Product
- Current Fads
- Timing
- Desire To Belong
- Desire To Collect
- Curiosity
- Sense Of Urgency
- Instant Gratification
- Exclusivity, Rarity, Or Uniqueness
- Simplicity
- Human Relationships
- Guilt
- Specificity
- Familiarity
- Hope
- Feeling Of Involvement Or Ownership
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Credibility
We won’t go into each and every one of them but we will break down 4 of them to help you see why they matter and how they can be used to make your copy more effective:
Exclusivity, Rarity or Uniqueness
If an offer is exclusive to only a certain group of people, has a limited quantity available, or is incredibly unique, audiences are more likely to be emotionally drawn to it.
The scarcity involved immediately raises the value of whatever it is being sold.
This only works when the offer is truly exclusive, scarce, or unique, though. Used in the wrong way, this psychological trigger can have the opposite effect — hurting your credibility and repelling customers that may have wanted to purchase.
Specificity
Specificity is a great trigger because it tells people exactly what benefits they’re going to receive when they make a purchase.
Since most sales are driven by emotional triggers and then backed by logical arguments, specificity helps introduce the logical reasoning behind why someone wants to move forward.
In other words, it helps tie the emotional response back to a logical reason so it’s easier to convince people the purchase they’re making is the right decision, using both facts and emotion.
Curiosity
Have you ever heard the saying, “curiosity killed the cat”…?
Curiosity is an incredibly powerful emotion when used in the right way — it’s sometimes almost impossible to ignore, which is what got the cat into the trouble it got into.
Take this landing page, as an example.
People aren’t really sure what they’re going to get when they make a purchase but that’s the exciting part — what’s going to show up when the first surprise bag or mystery box arrives?
Urgency
Using urgency and telling people why they should be taking action right now instead of waiting is another great way to get them off the fence and move them to make a purchase.
Countdown timers, like the one on this landing page, help invoke that sense of urgency so people feel like they’re going to be losing out on something if they don’t take action right then.
But, like scarcity and exclusivity, this can backfire if it’s considered to be “fake” scarcity and the timer resets every time the person refreshes the page.
Because of that, only use scarcity and urgency when they’re real and they’ll be some of the most effective elements you can use to help persuade people to take action.
Step #3: Study the Psychology Of Persuasion
Robert Cialdini spent his entire life understanding the psychology of persuasion and what it takes to get people to move from commonly held beliefs into a new frame of mind or perspective.
During his studies, he found that there are 6 scientific principles of persuasion that can be used to make compelling arguments and get people to take action.
Those principles are:
- Reciprocity
- Scarcity
- Authority
- Consistency
- Liking
- Social Proof
We’ll break each of these down and give you an example.
Principle #1: Reciprocity
Human nature makes people feel obligated to give back to someone who has already given something to them. It’s a natural exchange of value that helps keep society going.
But, you want whatever you give to them to be something of value — something that truly benefits them and moves them closer to solving whatever problems they’re looking to solve at the moment.
To use this in your marketing, you can teach your prospects something useful, give away free things (like lead magnets), and add value to their lives long before you actually start to sell them anything.
By delivering value before you ask for the sale, you’re helping them learn that they can trust you to keep their best interests at heart.
Then, in return, they want to give back to you by supporting your business — especially when what you’re selling them helps them solve even more problems or get more value in their lives.
Principle #2: Scarcity
Whenever an opportunity is only available on a limited basis, that opportunity appears far more valuable to your audience.
To get an idea of scarcity in motion, look at famous paintings by artists like Picasso and Monet.
These paintings are extremely rare and can never be produced again — making them incredibly valuable to people who collect fine art.
To use this in your marketing, make sure people understand that the offer you’re making them is only available for a limited time or in limited quantities. But make sure the scarcity you use is legitimate!
If you can promote exclusivity and how the offer is only available to a specific set of your audience, your audience will respond by wanting to be a part of that exclusive group.
Principle #3: Authority
When you’re able to display superior knowledge and expertise about the subject you’re trying to help your audience with, they’ll naturally resonate with you and trust that you understand that subject better than they do.
Then, they’ll rely on you for guidance and help to work through that subject and make decisions on how to move forward.
To use this in your marketing, take every opportunity you can to share your expertise and help your audience understand the subject at a deeper level.
Show off the results you’ve gotten and, if possible, tap into niche celebrity endorsements and testimonials to help elevate how your audience views you and your business.
Principle #4: Consistency
When someone has made up their mind that they believe in a certain thing or want to act in a certain way, they will encounter significant interpersonal and personal pressure to behave in a way that is consistent with that decision.
In terms of business and marketing, that means you want to help them become a customer and, once that decision has been made, they will be more likely to stay a customer in the future.
To use this in your marketing, focus on making that first sale — even if you don’t turn a profit on it.
This is the “tripwire” and self-liquidating offer strategy that Russell teaches. It’s perfect for helping your audience become customers so they’re more likely to return as customers, purchasing the larger offers you have available — which you generate higher profit margins on.
Principle #5: Liking
When you like someone or something, it’s far easier to say “yes” to them than it is if you have an adversarial relationship with them.
In marketing, especially with the style of marketing that Russell teaches, becoming the “attractive character” is one of the best ways to establish that relationship with your audience.
Just by being likable and relatable, your copy will be far more effective.
To use this in your marketing, remember that you’re a human who wants to connect with other humans who also want to connect with you. Be more personable and share more details about yourself. Then, be friendly, cool, and approachable, and your audience will respond positively to your messaging.
Principle #6: Social Proof
As humans, we inherently trust what other people say, especially when those are large groups of other people saying the same things — or saying something that we want to believe in, too.
People will examine situations and then follow the lead of what other people are doing in that situation.
In your marketing, you can use this to your advantage by showing your audience how other people like them have benefitted from your offer.
Customer testimonials are a great way to show off your social proof, as well as testimonials from niche celebrities and other authority figures who have used and benefited from your offer.
Get Our Top Copywriting Secrets Here!
Step #4: Do Copywork to Learn From the Masters
Doing “copywork” is one of the most effective ways to hone your copywriting skills.
It revolves around you taking proven ads and sales letters and then writing them by hand, analyzing each word and sentence as you work your way through the piece.
But, in order for it to be effective, you need to copy each piece by hand — there’s a difference between copying by hand and typing them out.
When you handcopy proven marketing messages, you’re developing new connections in your brain that help you analyze the messages on a deeper level and then retain the information.
While you’re going through the exercises, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself to make sure you’re retaining the RIGHT information:
- What is the hook? What is it that grabs people’s attention?
- What is the solution being promised? Why does that promise matter?
- What are the features? What are the benefits of those features?
- What level of customer awareness is being targeted by the ad?
- What is the call to action?
- Is there any guarantee, scarcity, or urgency being used?
Being able to answer those questions while you’re working through the message will help ensure you know why the message is as effective as it is.
The next step is finding marketing messages that you can start to copy by hand.
To do that, you can check the Facebook Ads Library.
As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to focus on ads that have been running for long periods of time.
This typically means that they’re profitable which tells you that they’re converting since people won’t keep running campaigns that are losing money.
You can also check out Reddit. Specifically, the subreddit r/Vintage Ads.
Swiped.co is another amazing resource that contains a huge vault of swipe-worthy copywriting and marketing messages.
Something to keep in mind as you’re doing copywork, though, is that you’ll want to build your own “swipe file” — or vault of messaging you can refer back to later on.
Next time you see copy on a billboard, or in an email, on an app, or in an ad, take a picture or screenshot of it and store it in your vault.
Then, you can refer back to the vault when you’re looking for ideas or want to do more copywork to help sharpen your skills.
Here’s an example of some copywork using an ad for the Ford Capri you see above:
Step #5: Practice, Practice, Practice
At the end of the day, the only way to get good at copywriting (especially if you want to get really, really good) is to practice writing copy on a daily basis.
Whether that’s writing for your own offers, picking up clients and writing for their offers, or practicing doing copywork on offers, ads, and sales letters that have run in the past, there’s no replacement for just putting in the hours and practicing what you’re trying to get good at.
And when it comes to practicing, there are a few different things you can be doing.
Improve Magazine Headlines
You know all those times you’re just standing in line at the checkout, waiting for the cashier to ring you up so you can be on your way?
Take that time to look around at the magazines that are in the aisle.
Then think to yourself: “If I were writing a headline for this magazine, what would it say? What would I change about the headlines they’re using? How could I improve the cover of this magazine?”
This is especially true for magazine covers that don’t necessarily grab your attention.
Since they’re designed to get you to look at them, the ones that don’t already get you to do that are probably the ones that you’re either not in the market for or the ones that could be improved the most.
But you can take advantage of this “downtime” by practicing copywriting on the go.
Look at the Ads Around You
You can also take a look at the ads around you.
Whether they’re on the radio, on YouTube, Facebook, on billboards, or in your mail, it doesn’t matter where you see them, ads are literally everywhere.
When you encounter them, ask yourself who they’re trying to target and what benefits they’re using to effectively target those people.
Then, ask yourself what you think could be done to improve them so they get more attention and, ultimately, more conversions.
Subscribe to More Newsletters
You can create a “burner” email that you use to subscribe to newsletters — both in the niche you want to work in and outside of the niche.
This will give you a steady stream of email copy you can use to study.
Look at everything from the subject line to the call to action, the body copy, hooks, features, benefits, bullet points, and everything else the marketer uses to get, keep, and convert attention.
Then, rewrite those emails (by hand) in your own style.
You can sort each newsletter with their own label to help keep things organized:
Write for Different Audiences
When you’re practicing, you want to make sure that your focus isn’t too narrow.
That means you’ll want to write for various different audiences so you can truly understand the emotional triggers.
To give you an example, let’s assume you’re writing copy for laptops.
You can write one set of copy that’s focused entirely on students and their needs. Then you can write a second set of copy that’s focused on working professionals. And a third set that focuses on gamers.
This will help you tailor your language and tone to different audiences.
Create a Fictional Brand
Finally, if you want to crawl before you walk (and put your copy out in front of the world), create a fictional brand for a product or service that interests you.
Write various types of copy for this brand, including website copy, product descriptions, social media posts, email newsletters, social media ads, you name it!
This not only helps you practice writing in different formats but it will also help you learn how to write in a consistent brand voice.
Step #6: Pick Your Niche
Now, when you’re ready to finally start putting your work out into the world and testing to see whether or not it will convert, you’ll want to dial into a niche.
If you’re an aspiring copywriter, this is going to help you build expertise, effectively target the type of client you want to work with and help you stand out from the competition.
To help you understand why, here’s a chart that breaks down specialists vs. generalist copywriters.
Specialists vs Generalists
To help you understand why, here’s a chart that breaks down specialists vs. generalist copywriters.
| Factors | Specialist Copywriter | Generalist Copywriter |
|---|---|---|
| Expertise | Deep knowledge in a specific niche or industry | Broad knowledge across a wide range of industries |
| Market Positioning | Recognized as an expert in a specific field | Known for versatility and adaptability |
| Client Type | Usually businesses in a specific industry | Any type of business across various industries |
| Rates | Typically higher due to specialized knowledge | Typically lower due to broader, less-specific skill |
| Learning & Development | Focused on trends and knowledge in a specific industry | Must stay updated on a wide range of topics |
| Portfolio | Concentrated on a particular industry | Diverse, covering various industries and topics |
| Marketing Strategy | Targeted to specific clients in the niche | Broad marketing to attract clients from various industries |
| Job Opportunities | May be fewer but more specialized opportunities | More varied job opportunities due to diverse skill set |
| Flexibility | Less flexible in terms of industry | More flexible as they can write for multiple industries |
When it comes to picking a niche, you want to tap into what you already know.
There are primarily 4 main markets with a ton of niches inside of each one.
Those 4 main markets are:
- Money
- Relationships
- Hobbies
- Health
The one you choose ultimately depends on what you’re most passionate about and where you want to spend the most time working.
The key, though, is to pick one and focus your energy on learning it inside and out so you can be recognized as a professional copywriter who truly understands what drives the customers within that specific market.
From there, you can dial down into niches inside each of those markets.
To help you figure out which niche to pursue, use a simple framework. Take the market that you want to work in, then pick one specific problem that you want to solve within that market. Then pick one type of person you can solve that problem for. That, then, becomes the niche you’ll target.
To give you an example, let’s look at the health space.
Niches inside of it could be:
- Bodybuilding for skinny guys
- Weight loss for brides-to-be
- Mental health for busy professionals
Spend some time writing down different niches inside of the market you want to work. Then focus on learning what drives audiences in that niche to become customers.
Step #7: Build Your Copywriting Portfolio
When you’re ready to start getting clients, you’re going to want to be able to display a list of the work you’ve completed and accomplishments you’ve achieved.
This is what’s referred to as a “portfolio”.
To start building your portfolio, you’ll want to collect any work you’ve already completed, especially if that work was paid for by clients. If you haven’t already obtained clients yet, though, use work that you’ve rewritten into your own words from the practice exercises we mentioned earlier in this guide.
Then, organize your samples based on the industry they pertain to.
Here’s an example from someone who’s performed a lot of work:
Then, you’ll want to start gathering data you can use as case studies.
For your case studies, highlight the problem you were hired to solve and the approach that you took to solve the problem. Then, lay out the results you’ve achieved by solving it.
Here’s a great example from Annie Maguire who uses case studies to draw in SaaS clients:
It continues on.
But you can see how to put together the problem you were solving, how you went about solving it, and the results you obtained after putting your work to the test.
This is a great way to get the attention of other, similar clients and how you start snowballing your copywriting business — by turning 1 win into a 2nd win.
Then, as you start signing clients and getting results, you’re also going to want to make sure you’re reaching out to each of them to ask for testimonials.
These will be MASSIVE for helping you show other potential clients that you’re not only able to help them get results but that people like them have sung your praises about the results you’ve gotten them.
Because all of this plays together to help you keep growing your copywriting business.
Once you’ve gathered everything from samples of your past work to testimonials you’ve received, you want to plug them into your portfolio and then start working on making sure it looks good.
To do this, choose a format that works best for you, whether that’s a full website, a notion page, or even just a plain old Google Doc.
Here’s an example of a Google Doc portfolio from Neville Medhora:
You can see it’s nothing overly fancy but it gets the job done.
It displays what he’s done, who he works with, the results he’s gotten, and most importantly, how to get in touch with him if they’re interested in working together.
Make sure that potential clients understand how to get in touch with you.
Then, to take your portfolio one step further, consider moving your pieces of work around based on what you think is most relevant to the client that you’re talking to at any given time.
And, remember, your portfolio is a living, breathing piece of work — so it should be updated as you get better and better at writing copy and getting conversions.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to write highly-effective copy doesn’t have to feel like you’re learning a second language.
With the right approach and enough practice, you can create marketing campaigns, ads, and sales messages that get conversions.
Follow the steps laid out in this guide and don’t forget the most important step of all: practice!