Being a successful copywriter requires a specific set of skills. Understanding those copywriting skills is important when you’re a business trying to hire a writer. Your goal should be finding a copywriter that can go beyond the basics of strong writing, creativity, and excellent English language skills.
The Express Writers team knows what it takes to be a successful copywriter because we work with them every day. That’s why we’re sharing 12 crucial copywriting skills you should look for when hiring your next copywriter.
With these 12 abilities, a copywriter can deliver creative, high-performing writing that can improve your conversion rates and keep your customers coming back for more.
12 Copywriting Skills Businesses Need When Hiring Writers
The best copywriters work hard to turn their raw talent into incredible writing, earning money for every word they produce. A copywriter with these 12 skills will deliver the superior writing that your business needs.
1. Stellar Research Skills
Most copywriters are writing experts first and may have one or two other areas of expertise. However, with stellar research skills, a copywriter can quickly learn the information they need to knowledgeably write about a variety of subjects as they navigate between clients and industries.
To establish your business as an expert in your industry, you need a writer that knows how to find credible, reliable resources. Good copywriters can tell the difference between a high-quality, authoritative resource and an unreliable one. Plus, they know how to cite trustworthy studies and statistics to back up their claims.
So look for copywriters that know where they need to look to find the right information, whether online resources or somewhere else. If you regularly interview subject matter experts, you’ll also want dedicated copywriters willing to interview them to improve their content.
2. A Good Understanding of the Target Audience
Knowing the intended audience for a piece of writing can have a major impact on how it is written. For example, an article written for experts in your field will look very different than one written for beginners.
When choosing your copywriter, make sure they know who your intended audience is. A good copywriter should have no problems adjusting the tone and language of their writing to fit your industry and audience.
Consider the words of renowned copywriter David Ogilvy: “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.”
3. Adaptable Writing Skills
Frequently, a copywriter has clients from multiple industries with vastly different content requirements. Being able to quickly adapt their writing style and voice for different clients and audiences is a crucial skill for any successful copywriter.
Writers who lack this skill will find themselves frustrated with continually changing demands and strategies. The best writers can quickly pivot to new requests without breaking a sweat.
4. Knows When to Stop
When a copywriter is unfamiliar with a topic, they can use their expert research skills to learn more. However, some writers may inadvertently research too much. They get caught up in learning every detail instead of focusing on what they need to know now.
The best copywriters understand their limits and know when they have gleaned enough information to effectively write about your products for your audience. If you have tight turnaround times for your copy, you need a writer who knows when they’ve done enough.
Knowing when to stop also applies to perfectionists. If a copywriter is solely focused on creating perfectly finished copy before submitting it to a client, they risk missing deadlines and losing a lot of sleep. You want a writer who takes pride in their work but doesn’t get lost in the minutia of creating industry-focused content.
While most professional copywriters seek to create a career-defining, perfect piece, the best copywriters understand that the pursuit of perfection is fruitless.
5. Knowledge of Modern Marketing Principles
Copywriting, unlike creative writing, is solely meant for selling or promoting something else. Some copywriters, especially when they are first starting out, may make the mistake of trying to add their own personality and unique style to their copywriting. They may try to add extravagant language or unnecessary creativity to their copy to make it seem more literary. This kind of writing distracts from the purpose of copywriting.
On the other hand, copywriters have a firm grasp of modern content marketing best practices. They understand the short attention spans of readers, have a handle on SEO concepts, and realize their writing targets specific audiences who need a product. This allows them to save their creative efforts for projects outside of work.
6. Can Take Criticism Well
To write is to create. When the times come to edit your creation, many writers struggle with the idea of “killing your darlings.” Doing this eliminates potentially self-serving language with the goal of improving the overall message.
In the copywriting field, copywriters need thick skin to accept feedback from editors and clients. If a writer continually rejects criticism, their productivity will likely suffer and they won’t get repeat clients.
The best copywriters understand that everyone thinks about ideas differently and know it’s important to work with your client to create a piece that matches their vision. Plus, keeping an open mind means leaving space to improve your own writing. Sometimes critiques can sting, but it’s part of being a successful team player and brand copywriter.
Express Writers, for example, believes that feedback from our clients is the only way to improve and align writing style and brand vision. We don’t think it’s a negative and train our writers to be open when someone else has a different idea.
7. Is Confident but Not Driven by Ego
While copywriters should be open to accepting criticism, you want them to know when their ideas are worth sticking up for. There are times when your writer will have a different way of thinking than you do, and it might end up better for your marketing content.
Of course, you want them to take their time and have the ability to clearly and calmly explain why a specific word choice or change in direction or tone is important. But if you do that, you could find yourself agreeing with their direction.
If you hire a knowledgeable copywriter, be sure you take the time to listen to their ideas as they may have some inspiration that will change your vision but help your content be even stronger.
8. Find Ways to Improve
Copywriting can be a lonely profession. While you can collaborate on ideas and work with others to edit and improve the copy, the actual writing can only be done by one person. This can cause some copywriters to become stagnant.
Instead, excellent copywriters are always on the lookout for ways to improve their writing skills. They may seek mentors, editors, former professors, or colleagues to help guide them throughout their careers.
Copywriters can also look for classes, workshops, and seminars that offer more hands-on skill-building.
Another educational option is reading. While reading anything can help someone maintain or improve their mastery of the English language, the best copywriters want to stay on top of any industry changes.
They may enjoy reading popular marketing blogs to catch up on the latest marketing trends. There are also numerous highly-rated books written by writing and marketing experts that include some time-tested strategies.
If you are interested in hiring a copywriter, you can ask them how they improve their skills and stay on top of the latest marketing best practices.
9. Self-Motivated
Many copywriters are freelancers or work remotely through agencies. With this mostly solitary work environment, copywriters should be self-motivated to succeed. They likely don’t have a supervisor or other coworkers encouraging them to keep working.
Good copywriters have the willpower to keep writing even when distractions pop up. The best copywriters have likely also figured out what they need to keep themselves motivated and on-task.
Without this self-sustaining motivation, a copywriter may find themselves falling behind, missing deadlines, and feeling overwhelmed.
When interviewing potential copywriters, ask them what they do to keep themselves motivated.
10. The Ability to Create Something New
While the rules of content marketing change regularly, one thing that will never change is needing your copywriter to create new content.
One of the biggest challenges writers have today is coming up with these new ideas. Take almost any idea, and it has most likely been done and rehashed 500 times already. Trying to break out and do something unexpected can create serious writer’s block.
However, successful copywriters understand conquering unfamiliar topics and know how to create something unique from pre-existing ideas. They can take your requests, add a big dose of research, and create something fresh and exciting.
If they do get stuck, they know what to do to get unstuck, like interviewing a subject matter expert in your industry or exploring trending topics that pair well with your chosen topic.
11. Puts the Needs of the Reader First
When a copywriter writes a piece, they shouldn’t be writing it to make themselves, or even you, happy. The end goal of any copywriting should be to please your target audience and meet their needs.
You will likely find some copywriters so thoroughly entrenched in the SEO principles they first learned that they practically forget that a person exists on the other end of the internet. When this happens, the writing comes out optimized for a search engine instead of a real person.
The most effective copywriters are up to date on the continual evolution of SEO, which means prioritizing the needs and intent of your readers and customers. These copywriters know how to naturally use keywords while delivering a user-friendly piece of copy that is exactly what your customers need to answer their questions.
12. Writes with Empathy
To write something that sells, you need to touch a reader on an emotional level. You explore their feelings of happiness, sadness, and failure. Sometimes, you’re even touching on their beliefs.
Excellent copywriters use the power of empathy to prime the reader for the sales pitch without being pushy. This increases the likelihood that they will follow through with the call to action at the end.
According to Peter Noel Murry, Ph.D. at Psychology Today, empathy can enhance the effectiveness of copy threefold.
To add empathy to their writing, copywriters must view their writing from the reader’s perspective. They could consider:
Any objections the reader might raise
An important motivation for the reader
The benefits a product has for the reader
How the competition has lost the trust of their customers
Explore new approaches to the content (storytelling vs. salesy language)
When looking for a copywriter for your business, you can ask them how they would write about a topic they don’t necessarily agree with.
Being able to predict how readers will respond to the copy is a crucial skill for any copywriter to have. It requires them to separate themselves from their own thoughts, desires, and preconceptions and focus solely on the needs of the reader, even if they don’t agree with them.
Centering your readers and customers this way prioritizes their needs over simply making a sale. By humanizing your content this way, a trained copywriter establishes you as a solution to a pain point, not just a product you sell.
Choose the Expertise of Express Writers for your Copywriting Needs
At Express Writers, we fully vet our writers before hiring them, so you don’t have to. We ensure they have these crucial skills to give our clients the best possible content.
By choosing Express Writers, you don’t have to worry about the quality of writing you’ll get because we manage it internally. We constantly motivate our writers to be their best with ongoing skill-building training and resources.
Our copywriters have the essential skills and personal talents to create the high-performing content you need. We work hard to match each client’s content needs with the skills and expertise of our writers.
Ready to see your results firsthand? Explore our Content Shop to get started.
“Why do I need a writer for MY industry of expertise?”
These are great questions we get all the time.
And to answer them best, we’ve structured our team with over 90 writers and four core levels (general, expert, specialty, and authority).
We’ve studied Google’s guidelines, and we don’t believe just any writer can write for every industry. ✋
In fact, Google has very specific guidelines around how they measure expertise, authoritativeness, and trust for all industries. Especially when it comes to finance, law, and health, the guidelines Google uses to rate and review content get even stricter. (I wrote about Google’s rating guidelines here on the Write Blog.)
Here’s our belief: Writers do have specialties, and industry expertise — and that absolutely should be matched up to a client and their industry/expertise.
Or, to put it simply, you need a writer who knows your industry like you do to write your content.
There are plenty of reasons why. Let’s go deeper into the top 3 to illustrate why this is so important – for your content, your brand, and your content marketing success. Here’s why you should hire an expert copywriter.
[bctt tweet=”Why hire an expert copywriter? It’s simple: It saves time ⏲, money ?, and headaches ?♀️. More on why you need an industry expert writing your content on the @ExpWriters Write Blog:” username=””]
3 Good Reasons to Hire an Expert Copywriter Who Knows Your Industry
1. You Need the Right E-A-T to Stay on Google’s Good Side
For many industries like healthcare, finance, and law, sharing your expertise online with content is tricky – especially if you’re not writing the content yourself.
The reason? These industries and many others provide high-stakes information to consumers. Giving wrong or erroneous advice could result in major life problems for the people on the receiving end.
Now, your expertise isn’t in question, here. If you already outsource, it’s your content writer you should be worried about.
Even if you give your writer plenty of direction, mistakes happen. And, if they’re not an expert in your industry, those errors are a lot more likely to plague your content.
Unfortunately, Google de-ranking your content and pushing it down to page 10 is the least of the consequences. You’ll also dramatically break your readers’ trust if you give them bad advice or information.
That equates to fleeing leads and potential customers who disappear.
The problem isn’t just rampant in high-stakes industries, either. An inexperienced writer who doesn’t know your industry or your product/service in, say, beauty or pet care or natural living can do just as much damage to your brand reputation.
How?
When your content isn’t written from a place of knowledge and authority, it shows. It will be inaccurate, lacking in substance, forgettable – or all three.
Where does that leave you? With content that constantly needs major edits, rewrites, tweaks, and revisions. It will never be “right” from the get-go, which is a total waste of your time and money.
Your content reflects your brand. Full stop. If your readers notice a disconnect, they’ll stop caring and fall out of your marketing loop. ❌
[bctt tweet=”When your content isn’t written from a place of knowledge and authority, it shows. It will be inaccurate, lacking in substance, forgettable – or all three. It will never be “right” from the get-go. ?” username=”ExpWriters”]
2. You Don’t Have the Skills Necessary to Write Winning Content
Copywriting with finesse and intrigue isn’t a skill you can learn overnight.
If you want to hook readers, hold their attention, and incite action from them (subscribing to your email list and making purchases are two biggies), you have to use copywriting techniques.
The thing is, they take years to hone.
Specific skills, including marketing knowledge and storytelling, give copywriters the ability to appeal to particular target groups, hold their attention, qualify your product or service, and convert readers into buyers.
Formatting is just as important as language, so professional copywriters are well-versed in writing within certain marketing formats and publishing standards.
All this, while simultaneously coming across as professional, intelligent, and convincing, using your brand voice and point of view.
??
Considering every single industry needs digital marketing to stay relevant today, it’s sad that copywriters aren’t more respected. Their skills are VITAL.
But not everyone has them. And not just anyone knows how to write content that succeeds, builds a brand, and creates ROI.
Expert copywriters do — and that’s why you should hire them.
Need I say more?
Interested in learning those copywriting skills yourself? Check out Unlearn Essay Writing, the ultimate course to learn how to write for online audiences.
3. Your Content Needs to Build Trust, Not Break It
The trust you build with customers is ever-changing. Each time they interact with your brand and read your content represents chances to increase that trust quotient.
And more people than ever before are reading content online. In 2020, search traffic nearly doubled from 3.5 billion/day to over 6 billion/day.
80% of people reported consuming content from a brand over the last year – whether they read, watched, or listened.
More people reading content = more chances to attract your target audience.
Once you attract them, it’s key to build trust – not break it.
And trust-building needs two factors to work:
Time – Relationships with customers built on trust take time to grow. Trust isn’t built with one piece of content. It takes many, many pieces of great content (and other good interactions) to solidify trust.
Consistency – Maintaining a consistent presence over time means you show up, again and again and again, with great information. Your content solves problems, entertains, informs, or all three, every single time you publish.
Throw in a few jarring pieces of content – whether they’re poorly-written, full of bad information, or just plain unhelpful or boring – and you’ll throw a huge wrench into your trust-building endeavor.
Here’s another well-known fact. Very few business owners have the time or desire to write, and the finished result usually reflects that fact.
Why waste time doing something you don’t want to do and you know won’t be the high-quality content you need to continue to grow your business?
It’s pretty simple. If you don’t have the time to produce consistent content that meets high standards, you’ll be breaking trust with customers rather than building it. You’d be better off NOT creating content at all.
Enter the expert copywriter.
We have the time and skills you lack to get it done right. A good copywriter can help you drive sales, pull in new traffic, build loyalty, entertain the masses and reflect your professionalism.
We can help drive your success and are integral to help increase your bottom line.
Hire Expert Copywriters. Grow Your Business.
Knowing what you know, which will you choose: the ad-hoc, doing-it-to-save-a-few-bucks non-writer moonlighting as a writer (which, let’s face it, might be you)?…
Or an expert copywriter, who makes their living writing great copy and content?
…We both know the second option is the smart option.
Expert copywriters are passionate about their jobs and love what they do.
They are specialists in their field and have chosen their career because it’s what they want to do.
They understand how to write for online audiences AND Google.
Finally, if you match up with a writer from your industry, you’ll get a pro who will help build trust between you and your audience.
It’s natural that even the best copywriters make mistakes.
What you should know, though, is that some mistakes are more dangerous than others.
If you’re a professional copywriter, avoiding the ten deadly mistakes that most copywriters make can benefit your career and help you earn clients.
Copywriters Beware: The 10 Worst Mistakes of Online Copywriting
Read on to learn more.
1. Plagiarism
Believe it or not, plagiarism can happen… even if you don’t mean for it to.
According to Google, plagiarism is simply, “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.”
While most copywriters believe that plagiarism only happens when you copy, word-for-word, an entire article from someone else’s page, it can be much more insidious than that.
In many cases, plagiarism can happen when copywriters are tired, busy, or stressed, and as a result, aren’t paying enough attention to properly citing their sources or re-phrasing ideas they’ve gleaned from other online content.
Unfortunately, plagiarism is deadly no matter how it happens. Google isn’t particularly concerned about why you plagiarized a piece, and they’re happy to de-rank yours or your client’s content if they stumble upon copied text.
Because of this, it’s essential to keep a close eye out for plagiarism.
One of the best ways to do this is to use an online plagiarism checker, like Grammarly or Copyscape. While it may seem like one more step in your copywriting pursuits, it’s a valuable one that can protect you from serious trouble down the line.
We’re currently building the world’s MOST POWERFUL online duplicate content checker (plagiarism finder)! Check it out and sign up to test it at beta.Copyfind.com!
2. Taking pictures directly from the search results
Including a colored visual in a piece of content increases a person’s willingness to read it by a whopping 80%, so it’s understandable that you want to include images and videos in your content.
Be careful how you do it, though, since simply pulling visuals directly from the search engine results page could easily wind up in a lawsuit.
Online content is protected by copyright laws, and violating these laws by using someone else’s work without their express permission can result in a significant problem.
Because of this, it’s critical to be careful about the visuals you use.
To be on the safe side, pull visuals from high-quality stock image sites like Pexels or take your own screenshots or pictures.
Whatever you do, be sure that the images you include are clear, quality, and relevant to your text. This keeps them interesting rather than confusing.
No matter how precise you are, typos are inevitable, and failing to read through your content before you publish it results in mediocre results that damage your personal brand.
While most copywriters believe that a simple once-over with the Microsoft Word spelling & grammar checker is sufficient, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
While this software will help you catch misspelled words, it won’t often catch misused words (“there” instead of “their,” for example) or chunky, confusing writing.
Because of this, it’s critical to read back through everything yourself. Proofreading is a skill that’s essential to the success of copywriters everywhere, and it can indeed spell the difference between quality content and a disappointing turnout.
For added confidence, you may even want to run your content through a grammar-checking software like Grammarly, which will pick up on things like passive voice and misused commas. While this is a simple tip, it can help your content stand out from all the rest.
4. Getting the voice wrong
In many ways, copywriters are masters of transformation.
In addition to being able to write well and produce content quickly, they must also be able to transform their voice to cater to a client’s specifications: formal one day, conversational the next.
Unfortunately, many copywriters miss the mark on this.
Developing a myriad of voices is a little bit like bodybuilding – it requires time, effort, and some degree of skill.
If you haven’t taken the time to develop your various voices and tones, you’re going to lose clients to the copywriters who have.
Because of this, it’s essential to master a variety of voices and to ensure that the one you’re currently writing in is indeed the one that your client wants.
5. Being too wordy
Modern copywriters know that less is more, and it shows in their online content.
Today, brands want simple, succinct content that helps them convey a brand message and connect with their consumers.
They’re less interested than ever in verbose, drawn-out content that loses the marketing message and makes it difficult for readers to discern meaning.
Because of this, today’s copywriters need to focus on keeping it short and to-the-point.
Content that is too wordy makes it difficult for the reader to focus and, over time, can result in decreased conversions and leads for the client.
Because of this, simplicity is key and the copywriters who know how to cut the fat are the ones who will ultimately succeed in the world of online content creation.
6. Forgetting the CTA
Aside from the headline and opening sentence, a call-to-action is one of the most important lines in a piece of content.
When copywriters forget to include it, then, the entire piece of content loses its authoritativeness and fails to adhere to the goals of the sales funnel.
Meant to drive users to action, a call-to-action is a simple line that essentially tells viewers what to do next – be it click, download, share, or buy.
Without it, readers are less likely to take a given action and the success of the content declines rapidly.
In light of this, copywriters must know how to craft compelling, clickable CTAs that drive readers to want to act. This improves the efficiency of the content and helps to ensure that it performs the way a client wants it to.
7. Writing so-so headlines
So-so headlines do nothing to pull the audience in, and they can easily result in the content being completely overlooked by a significant portion of readers. The horror!
Because of this, modern copywriters must strive for compelling, attention-grabbing headlines that draw people in and inspire interest.
Here are some of the traits that make up an award-winning headline:
It’s informative and concise
It contains power words that evoke emotion in the reader
It is optimized for keywords and current meta content standards
It showcases the brand voice and helps readers connect with the company
When copywriters take the time to foster these skills, they’re better able to serve their clients and ensure that the content they’re populating the web with is worth its weight in gold.
8. Ugly, poorly-formatted content
For copywriters, it’s all about brains and good looks.
In addition to being relevant, informative, and valuable, good online copy also needs to be laid out in a way that invites readers in rather than sending them running for the hills.
This means utilizing H1, H2, and H3 headers, breaking long blocks of text up into shorter pieces and using bulleted or numbered lists to showcase important points.
When copywriters understand how readers make their way through content, these things fall into place much easier and the online copy performs better and meets user needs more efficiently.
9. Rushing
Rushing can kill the best content, from the best copywriters.
When you rush, you’re more likely to make mistakes that impact the relevance and authority of your content.
This, in turn, decreases the trust readers will have in you and makes it more difficult for people to connect with your material.
Because of this, it’s essential to take your time and understand that deliberate content is good content. All good copywriters know that.
10. Not optimizing for SEO
Long-tail keywords and good meta content can make a huge difference in the way a blog post performs in Google’s SERPs, and it’s wise for copywriters to understand this.
By optimizing online copy for SEO, copywriters can help their content earn the attention it deserves.
This helps produce leads and secure a good spot in Google’s ranking mechanism.
Contact us for the Best Copywriters with the Best Skills
Finding skilled copywriters can be tough, and it’s all too common for copywriters to make these ten deadly mistakes.
Luckily, Express Writers is here to help. If you’re looking for expert copywriters for all of your online content needs, give us a shout today. Our skilled team is happy to help!
Copywriters working in this day and age are luckier than virtually any group before them.
In addition to the fact that copywriters are practically essential for every online company, modern copywriters have access to hundreds of copywriting tools that can improve and enhance their writing at every turn.
From grammar checkers that catch plagiarism and comma splices to stock photo companies that specialize in the beautiful rather than the wacky and useless, now is a great time to be an online copywriter.
The savvy professionals who use the copywriting tools at their disposal are likely to enjoy more streamlined work and better outcomes than their tool-less counterparts.
If you’re wondering what type of copywriting tools are out there to overhaul your writing, read on!
The Evolution of the Modern Copywriter
While it’s true that few copywriters working today use a pen and paper to craft their content, the profession hasn’t changed as much in recent years as many people believe.
You see, copywriters have always been storytellers, and the fact that the medium with which we do it has changed is only a technicality.
Today, as ever, the best copywriters make use of numerous sources of inspiration, from industry leaders and influencers to television commercials and street side conversations. The key to standing out is finding a way to access a familiar topic in an unfamiliar way, and copywriters around the globe draw on their creativity and perspective to help them do this.
Today, though, copywriters around the world can also draw on a virtual treasure trove of online copywriting tools designed to enhance creativity, decrease mistakes, smooth writing, and provide a platform for advancement and creativity.
While storytelling has always been critical for good copywriting, so, too, has accuracy, and today’s best copywriting tools are designed to help ensure that, while also ensuring creativity.
6 Smart Copywriting Tools That Copywriters Should Use On a Daily Basis
If the technology is there, why not take advantage of it?
Today, the following six tools are helping copywriters around the globe craft better content, and they’re worth making daily use of.
1. Copyscape
Duplicated and plagiarized content can wreak havoc on your online reputation and career. In addition to putting yourself at risk for Google penalties, any plagiarized content in your online copywriting can also cause you to lose clients. Luckily, there’s an easy way to check for duplicated content in your material: Copyscape.
Copyscape is an oldie but a goodie. Launched back in 2004, Copyscape is a simple yet effective plagiarism checker that compares the content you input to millions of pages across the web.
To suit all audiences and users, Copyscape offers both a free and a paid version, although this is one copywriting tool that won’t break the bank. A credit for a premium Copyscape check costs only $0.05, and you can buy thousands at a time. Credits are good for 12 months from the purchase date.
While it is hands down one of the simplest tools on the web, Copyscape also remains one of the most efficient, and it’s utterly reckless at this point for any professional copywriter anywhere to publish content without first running it through Copyscape.
(Get ready: we’re building a tool that’s 25-50% deeper than Copyscape, built with a powerful searching algorithm! Sign up to get notified of Copyfind’s beta launch here.)
While that may seem more than sufficient, we all need some extra help every now and again.
When the time comes where you can’t stomach the thought of using “excellent” even one more time, turn to some of the best online helpers out there: Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com.
Straightforward and streamlined, these two sites can be a lifesaver when your online copy needs some sprucing up. If you’d prefer not to visit the actual site, use the dictionary or thesaurus feature in your word processor for an on-the-go fix that achieves the same purpose.
It’s a supreme service if we do say so ourselves!
3. Shutterstock (& other stock photo sites)
Adding visuals to your content is one of the best ways to increase views and understanding.
According to HubSpot, adding images to a piece of content can enhance its views by as much as 94%. This is a massive number, and it’s clear that visuals must become an essential part of any good content strategy.
Unfortunately, great visuals can be difficult to find.
Luckily, though, there are a few places you can turn to find beautiful stock images.
And while Shutterstock is a paid service, the others are free, and users can choose from millions of stock photos to spice up their content and ensure it’s offering as much value as possible to readers. Check out our full list of free stock photo sites here!
To make sure that your images are adding to rather than detracting from your content, follow these two tips:
Keep everything relevant.If you’re writing a post about social media marketing, you don’t want to dress it up with an image of a woman wearing pasta on her head (or do you?) By keeping your stock photos relevant, you ensure they enhance your content and add to its meaning, rather than muddying the waters and making it confusing.
Opt for high-quality imagery only. High-quality stock photos are the only way to go. Low-quality visuals look cheap and can damage the authority of your content. With that in mind, ensure the visuals you add to your content aren’t pixelated and are of sufficient resolution to blow up to your desired size.
4. KWFinder
Keyword research should be a critical component of any good online copywriting strategy. Unfortunately, finding a great keyword research tool can be difficult, and many copywriters aren’t sure where to start.
A free (or paid) service that allows you to research keywords according to SEO competition, PPC, difficulty, and monthly search volume, KWFinder is a great copywriting tool for anyone who wants to create relevant, SEO-rich keyword-focused content that ranks well in Google.
To use the app, just plug in your keyword of choice, hit search, and check out the results to locate the most promising keyword in the batch:
5. Grammarly
While you can catch many of your errors through careful proofreading and editing, things like swapped words, incorrect spacing, and comma mistakes can be difficult to detect, which is exactly why you might need some help. Fortunately, there’s a tool out there that can do just that.
Grammarly is a one-stop-shop for the online copywriter of today.
Meant to pick up spelling and grammar errors, as well as duplicate content, Grammarly plugs into your browser and checks things like your emails, social content, and comments.
It also offers a desktop app that can help you check your content offline.
Simple, easy-to-use, and ideal for anyone who wants a grammar checker that works a little harder than good, old-fashioned Microsoft Word, Grammarly is a critical copywriting tool for anyone who publishes content professionally and wants to be sure it’s free of errors.
6. BuzzSumo
Ever wish there was a tool that could help you come up with a topic when you’re just stuck and struggling for an interesting concept?
BuzzSumo is a content analysis tool that allows users to input content based on topic, keyword or domain to search for trending material or analyze what content is performing best in a given industry.
Ideal for figuring out how to approach an idea, or researching competitors, BuzzSumo is an online copywriting tool with dozens of unique applications.
The Case for Modern Copywriting Tools
While we still love the pen and paper (and, indeed, these are still useful tools for many copywriters), there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to online copywriting tools.
Between powerful grammar checkers and beautiful stock photo sites, modern copywriters have access to dozens of things that can enhance and improve online content from the ground up. While some copywriters believe it’s sacrilege to use tools to improve the craft, it’s clear that these tools are smart, and that they’ve been designed by copywriters for copywriters, in many cases.
While copywriters love what they do, the fact of the matter is that online copywriting is hard, and these copywriting tools can soften the edges just a bit. So whether you want to improve your grammar or research your competition, reaching for one of these six online copywriting tools is the perfect way to beef up your content both now and in the future.
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You’ve probably seen them in action a million times, in real life or in different movies: copywriters sitting at their desks, biting off the end of their pens and waiting for divine inspiration to kick in. Unfortunately, this approach is highly counterproductive and has very little to do with successful copywriting. So what should a copywriter do in order to put some of the best ideas on paper in a timely manner? Read on to discover 3 of the most important things that should become top priorities for any content creator trying to come up with truly original, relevant, catchy, memorable copy.
