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If you think copywriting conferences are only for grammar geeks waving red pens, it’s time to change the colour of your ink.

Here are ten reasons why attending CopyCon19 is a no-brainer if you’re a content creator.

As Australia’s only dedicated conference for copywriters and content creators, CopyCon is now in its third year.

In 2019, the event has moved to Melbourne and is being held at the wonderful Arts Centre from May 4–5.

Tickets are selling fast as the well-penned word travels quickly on what great value the weekend is for anyone who writes for a living.

The brainchild of Australia’s SEO expert and copywriter Kate Toon, CopyCon was established to give a dedicated online community the chance to meet in person and gain invaluable knowledge from expert speakers.

In doing so, it has become a conference for anyone looking to grow their copywriting business, learn about content creation, or connect with other creatives in a collaborative space.

If you’ve been wondering whether CopyCon19 is the conference for you, here are ten reasons why the date should already be in your calendar and the tickets in your inbox.

1. A conference that’s not just for copywriters

Okay, let’s get this out of the way first up.

Yes, it’s called CopyCon. And yes, it’s a conference for copywriters. But it’s not only for copywriters. CopyCon has been created for anyone who needs to write well in their business or work.

In an age where great content is vital yet so hard to find, you’ll learn the tips and tricks that will make your words heard among the noise.

If you’re a social media manager, marketing manager, inhouse or freelance content creative who needs to connect with an audience (and what business doesn’t?) then it’s time to become a part of a community that can take your engagement to the next level.

“It’s about finding your tribe. It’s about going with half an idea or no idea and coming out with a better idea.” — Steve May, Rockatansky

2. Speakers who deliver relevant information, not a sales pitch

There’s nothing worse than spending a day listening to speakers who are so disconnected from your reality you feel they must come from another dimension.

They’ve become so successful on the speaking circuit, they’ve forgotten the day-to-day struggles to fit everything in.

You don’t want to hustle, hustle, hustle, and you certainly need more than four hours’ sleep to function.

You want more than five minutes talking to the topic before an unsubtle segue has them recapping their well-told story or pitching their latest offer.

At CopyCon, each speaker is chosen because they bring honest value to the stage.

When you have a group such as The Clever Copywriting School, you can go directly to the members and ask them which guest speakers they want to hear, what topics they want to learn, and what help they need to grow their business.

As a conference participant, what you get in return is speakers who tailor their content to answer relevant questions.

This year’s line-up includes:

• Kate Toon: Suriving the client dating game
  Ryan Wallman: Making taglines work
• Rob Marsh: Writing the perfect sales page
• Bernadette Schwerdt: The 7 secrets to writing copy that gets results every time
• Suzanne Chadwick:Building an unbeatable brand for you and your clients
• Aaron Agius:The secrets to advanced content marketing and SEO

Here’s the full speaker line-up and schedule.

3. Practical advice and easy-to-implement actions

How many times have you attended a conference and left full of enthusiasm to make changes for personal or professional growth, only to be completely overwhelmed by everything you need to do when you sit down at your desk and don’t have the hype of the presenter in your head?

It happens. A lot.

When you leave CopyCon you’ll undoubtedly want to make changes to your business.

But unlike other conferences, there’s no smorgasbord of expensive options you need to commit to with discounts if you sign up in the next 27 minutes.

CopyCon gives you delicious bite-sized morsels of goodness you can act immediately. The take-aways are manageable, with enough leftovers for another day.

They’ll give you a return on your investment – whether that be your time or your money –but without that awful feeling of biting off more than you can chew.

“I walked away with half a dozen insights that I put into action in my business. Those actions helped me streamline my processes and feel more confident and in control as a small business owner.” Anna Rogan – Copywriter

4. Keep yourself accountable with video access

You’re listening intently, completely focussed on what everyone has to say.

You’re entirely present and not bothering to take notes.

Why? Because you know CopyCon has your back. You know the entire day – speakers and panel discussions – is being recorded.

You know you can go back and listen to the recordings, take note of the key points and upload them directly into Trello or Asana for quick action.

And it’s all included in the price of your ticket.

5. Connect with the best copywriters in Australia

When you attend Australia’s only dedicated conference for copywriters, you’ll find the best Australia has to offer.

Not only do you get to hear from them on stage, but you get to talk with them during the day, at lunch, and even in the coffee queue.

If you’re a web developer, graphic designer or marketing manager, this is your chance to be a kid in a candy store.

You get to meet the people you’ve been talking to in Facebook groups and forums.

You get to make real connection out of a virtual one.

You can ask the questions you’ve been afraid to ask but in a face-to-face conversation. And the good news? Copywriters by nature are people pleasers.

They’re only too happy to answer your questions and talk your ear off about the things they know and love — SEO, keywords, site audits, tone of voice, USPs and ideal target markets, just to name a few.

6. All right stop! Collaborate and listen.

So, there are more than 100 copywriters and content creators in the same room.

They’re all giving each other side eyes and clutching their notes close to their chests.

The breaks in the day are quiet affairs, with no-one really talking about what’s happening in their business.

It’s a room full of people competing for the same jobs, the same work. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, right?

WRONG.

CopyCon is a room of more than 100 copywriters and content creators encouraging each other to succeed.

They view each other not as competition, but as co-workers and colleagues.

They may not work in the same office, but they hang in the same space, and the online friendships transfer to the real world.

It’s where you get to take time out of your busy schedule to talk about future projects, sub-contracting opportunities, and joint venture partnerships.

It’s where a finance writer speaks with a beauty writer and sets up a referral network. It’s where collaboration is key, and magic happens.

7. Networking for people, not pitches

Conferences and networking. Two words that strike fear in the heart of any introverted writer.

It conjures up images of standing in a room full of strangers, desperately thinking of things to say to fill the deafening silence. Or trying to escape the seen-it-all, done-it-all, know-it-all who insists you must buy their latest e-book/course/webinar/product/service.

Not at CopyCon.

This is the conference where you have like-minded people coming together to meet, talk, chat and listen.

There are introverts and extroverts, omniverts and ambiverts. Everyone’s there to have a good time and get to know the person, not make a hard sell. Because we all know you have to know, like and trust someone before you sell to them, right? That’s just Networking 101.

Here’s what attendees from last year’s conference had to say:

“It’s a douchebag-free zone – no sales chats, no upselling, onselling, just clever creatives coming together to do clever creative things.”
Emma Gilmour – Emma Writes Copy

 

“The only conference you need to attend all year. Practical, generous advice without the fluff or hard sell.”
Beck Cofrancesco – Marketing Goodness

 

“Your brain will be buzzing with the new ideas and the audience is one of the friendliest bunches you’ll meet.” Rashida Tayabali – Copywriter

By the time the networking event rolls around on the Saturday evening, you’ll have made firm friends you’ll want to have a few bevvies and a bite to eat with.

8. Hear from business owners at different stages of their career

Let’s face it: we’re not unique snowflakes.

No matter where you are in your copywriting career, there’s always somebody ahead of you on the leaderboard, and somebody behind you learning the rules of engagement.

It’s great to look forward to what you can achieve while looking back at how far you’ve come.

One of the keys to CopyCon’s success is the presenters aren’t overnight successes who made their millions living the laptop lifestyle.

They’ve worked hard for their reputations – they’re leaders in their field who are known for their willingness to share their knowledge, their successes and the occasional failure.

The schedule also contains ten-minute slots that showcase copywriters at different stages of their business building, talking about the lessons they’ve learned so far. Some are starting out, and some are seasoned veterans with wise tales to tell.

Either way, the speakers give an honest insight into what it takes to run a copywriting business in 2019.

9. Family-friendly for new mums and dads

We all know that when you’re in business, personal and professional development is essential to your success.

You need to continue upskilling yourself and keep in the know with the latest the industry has to offer.

Having a small human who is dependent on you for their very survival shouldn’t stop you from gaining knowledge. After all, it’s 2019.

It’s also why CopyCon welcomes new parents with babes-in-arms.

You’ll be comfortable knowing your little offsider is a welcome member of the CopyCon team.

Facilities are provided for feeding and changing (no hiding in the bathroom), and there’s a good chance your little one will get a head start in their own personal branding.

10. And then there’s the icing on the CopyCon cookie

Yep, there are cookies. And there are massages. And delicious food.

There’s the community, comradery and possibly karaoke.

In a beautiful venue close to all Melbourne has to offer, it’s a weekend away to immerse yourself in words and wisdom.

CopyCon isn’t like other conferences. It’s been designed that way.

Until you’ve experienced it, you can’t really describe the feeling of welcoming and warmth it offers.

But once you’ve been, you’ll know you’ve attended something very special.

So, there you have it – ten reasons to attend CopyCon19

It probably sounds too good be true.

But believe me, it’s not.

If you’re still sitting on the fence, undecided about whether you should attend, you can always watch the video reviews from CopyCon18.

But don’t wait too long. Numbers are limited. Tickets are selling fast. And we don’t sell false scarcity.

It really is the conference for copywriters that delivers quality content.
Make sure you’re a part of it.

Did we nail it?

We’d love to hear your experience if you’ve attended CopyCon previously.

Thinking of attending, or know somebody who should? Feel free to share away.

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A speedy tutorial on Google Docs and how it can be used by Copywriters when sharing 00  with your clients.

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What Xero’s sponsorship means for the Copywriting Conference

Well slap my bottom and call me Susan, I’m SOOOO excited to announce that Xero have signed on the dotted line as the primary supporter of CopyCon.
(It’s Australia’s first and only copywriting conference don’t you know.)

As the conference founder, I can happily say that Xero on board means ramping up my mini mission of helping both beginner and experienced copywriters do amazing things.

When I started CopyCon last year, I wanted to give back to the copywriting community.

I know how lonely it can get working as a freelancer and how tough it is to work in agencies.

The conference gives copywriters of all shapes and sizes a chance to learn, connect and build a lovely, juicy support network.

Last year’s event was a huge success, and this year I wanted to build the momentum with fresh speakers and an amazing Mastermind event.

Hang on a minute, what is The Copywriting Conference?

The Copywriting Conference helps freelance and in-house copywriters build better businesses, learn new copywriting skills, and grow revenue with practical presentations, inspirational training and a peek at the latest copywriting trends.

Having Xero as a sponsor means we can afford to deliver an excellent conference experience while keeping costs down.

I know that freelance copywriters don’t have huge buckets of cash.

And I’m also chuffed because Xero is one of the few software programs I use that doesn’t disappoint. It’s a brand I personally like and admire, especially their support for small business. (They were on my dream sponsor list).

What does the sponsorship mean for CopyCon?

Sponsors like Xero make events like mine viable. It puts a stamp of approval on the conference and the freelance industry as a whole. It feels like we’re heading in the right direction.

Marina Holmes, Communications & Strategic Relations Director, Xero Australia, had this to say about her decision to get involved with CopyCon.

“It’s important to sponsor events like CopyCon. In this day in age, content cannot be underestimated as a means to connect.

And this event is a beautiful blend of supporting storytelling and the small businesses behind the words.  (KT – so true it is!)

There is nothing more courageous than a person willing to embrace entrepreneurship, go out on their own and create a business from the ground up.”

The feedback from 2017 CopyCon was exceptional and I felt there was something really special about the first year. It was amazing to meet a whole bunch of people for the first time in real life.

Yes, we all connect online via The Clever Copywriting School Community and other groups, but there’s something incredible about meeting in person.

CopyCon brought us all together.

And this year it will again.

There’s a tangible, fluffy kind of excitement that comes from people just wanting to learn and hear from speakers who are there to make a difference in their businesses. Plus we have really good muffins.

Meet Marina

The other good news is that Marina Holmes from Xero will be giving a presentation around Xero’s overall content strategy (more details coming soon).

“Leading a communications team for a company with more than 500,000 small businesses customers across Australia, I am lucky enough to see firsthand the lasting power of authentic storytelling.”

Content marketing and content strategy is both a personal passion and a core business focus for the future – and Xero will continue to invest in new ideas and smart minds to bring our diverse customer stories to life.”

So there you go people. That’s my exciting news.

By the way if you’re a sponsor reading this and interested in joining Xero in the cool sponsors club – just get in touch.

P.S. I can’t finish this blog without a big thank you to Amanda Vanelderen, my erstwhile Sponsorship Manager who worked her socks of to help me create attractive sponsorship packages and charm the pants off the right people.

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This post was written by TCCS member, Jonjo Maudsley

Here’s some copywriting advice from your art director.

Full disclosure: I’m not an art director, I’m a copywriter. But I did, once upon a time, study design and typography. And though I’m not advocating we all become experts in this field (I certainly didn’t), I am insisting we all at least learn the basics.

I’ll never get over the shock of arriving at my first agency to discover that no one – no one in the copy team understood formatting. I’ve always considered it essential, especially in a digital environment where clients and agencies increasingly look to their writers to manage CMSs, lay out webpages and collaborate with UX designers.

Yet, in retrospect, it’s understandable. Formatting skills are only taught to students of design and typography (sometimes journalism) at degree level.

But that doesn’t excuse you – yes you, the graduate of English/Marketing/Humanities, etc.

If you wouldn’t submit copy to a client without proofreading the words to perfection, why shouldn’t the same rules apply to formatting?

Here are what I consider the six worst formatting culprits. Copywriters, I implore you: add these factoids (and Alt codes) to your little book of copywriting tips, if you haven’t already.

More to the point: stop making your copy look bad.

1. The ellipsis

Let’s start with a game of spot the difference.

A: …

B: …

Can’t find any? I’ll give you a clue. One is an ellipsis, the other one is just three full-stops.

Can you tell now?

The ellipsis is A.

And an ellipsis is always the right answer where you need three full-stops. B, meanwhile, (the three full stops) is what I call the PPC copywriter’s worst nightmare.

The difference between these two pieces of punctuation is simple. A, the ellipsis, is one character. B, three full stops, is (if you haven’t guessed) three characters.

Why is this significant? Well, let’s say you have 35 characters on a PPC ad copy line, or 156 characters to write a meta description, or 140 characters for a tweet. You want to make the most of your limited allocation, of course. So if you need to add an ellipsis to this copy, and you were to inadvertently use three full stops instead of an ellipsis, you’d waste two of those precious characters.

Okay, that’s not the end of the world – but this might be: how jarring the sight of three full stops can be. In some typefaces, fair enough, the difference is barely noticeable. But in many others, full stops are not made to kern (more on this word later) with one other. Often they appear wonky, or take up lots of room horizontally.

An ellipsis, meanwhile, is consistent. If you are using two ellipses in a piece of copy, they’ll appear identical, with the same space between periods and before and after other letters. They’ll kern well every time, and look neatly compact.

At size 11 on a screen, you may not see much difference. But at size 10,000, on a billboard, you certainly will.

To write an ellipsis:

Windows: With Num Lock on, hold Alt and press 0133

Mac: Hold Option (⌥) and press semi colon (;)

2. The hyphen, the en-dash and the em-dash

Let’s play spot the difference again.

A: –

B: –

C: —

It’s easy enough to recognise these three dashes are different lengths. Short, medium and long, we might call them. But beyond a superficial level, what’s the difference?

Let’s break it down.

A is a hyphen. A hyphen is used to make a conjoined word, i.e. to join two or more words together. That’s all it does. You should never use a hyphen as an en-dash, and certainly not as an em-dash, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

There are three steps to using the hyphen:

One. If I wanted to create a double-barrelled word like, well, double-barrelled, I would use a hyphen. I could go on to connect three words (devil-may-care), four (state-of-the-art), and so on.

You can tell if a word should be conjoined by testing if it has a single, unambiguous meaning. For instance, if a carbonated drink has no sugar, you could call it sugar-free. But, if you want to give me sweets expecting nothing in return, that would be sugar free.

Two. You can use a hyphen to join prefixes and suffixes – but you should try not to. Sometimes, it’s essential, especially if you need to add emphasis to the prefix or suffix (for instance, I would recover from an illness, but I would re-cover my sofa). A good rule of thumb is to only use a hyphen where it makes sense to do so.

Three. Having said that, there are three prefixes that always need hyphens. They are ex (e.g. ex-girlfriend), all (e.g. all-encompassing) and self (e.g. self-confidence).

That’s the hyphen.

Next up is B – the en-dash (so named because the dash is the same length as a lower-case “n”).

An en-dash offsets parenthetic clauses. Easy enough to understand, right?

You only need to look back through this article to see what the en-dash looks like in action. Simply, the dash separates two related parts of a sentence – such as where one sentence qualifies information in the sentence before it – like this! Think of the en-dash as an alternative to the comma, brackets and semi-colon, all in one.

There is one other way you can use the en-dash, which is to show range between two numbers. So, if I wanted to write “nine to five” in numerals, I would do so with an en-dash: 9–5.

There’s an exception to this rule (isn’t there always?) which is if you use the words “from” or “between” before these numbers you should forego the en-dash and simply use a word like “to” or “and” instead (e.g. “from 9 to 5”, “between 6 and 7”).

To write an en-dash:

Windows: With Num Lock on, hold Alt and press 0150.

Mac: Hold Option (⌥) and press the hyphen (-) button.

Finally C, which is the em-dash (so named because – you guessed it – it’s the same length as a lower-case “m”).

This one is nice and easy. It only has two uses. Chances are you’ll probably only use the em-dash if you’re writing a novel, but it works just fine on other channels.

Its first use is to indicate a sentence has ended abruptly, unfinished. Allow me to give you an example by doing it in this—

The second use is to attribute a quote.

One example that clearly showcases both uses is from one of my favourite movies:

“I sense something, a presence I’ve not felt since—“

—Darth Vader, Star Wars Episode IV

To write an em-dash:

Windows: With Num Lock on, hold Alt and press 0151.

Mac: Hold Option (⌥) and shift, then press the hyphen (-) button.

I appreciate that’s a lot to digest. So let’s sum it up:

• Hyphens join words. That’s it.
• En-dashes separate sentences and show a range between numbers
• Em-dashes are for ending sentences early and attributing quotes

3. Widows, orphans and non-breaking spaces

Here’s a picture of some dummy text laid out on a page. It looks pretty nice, right?

Well, almost. There are actually two mistakes – can you point them out?

By way of a clue, here’s a classic mnemonic handed down through generations of typesetters: an orphan has no past, a widow has no future. Haunting though it may be, perhaps it gives you a clue as to what we’re looking for here.

Allow me to explain further. When setting type, your primary objective is to help the reader digest your information as quickly as possible, without interruption. Common errors – like typos and bad grammar, but also more technical things like widows and orphans – jut out and cause distractions.

Remove them and your copy flows easier, faster.

With that said, allow me to point out what you were looking for:

In the left hand column, we have an orphan. In the right, a widow.

Simply put, an orphan is a single word that hangs at the bottom of a paragraph. A widow is a short sentence that sits alone at the top of a column.

Go back to the first image – notice how out-of-place they seem, now you know what to look for. We must get rid of them – but how.

The easy way is to use non-breaking spaces. A non-breaking space is a signal to your computer that two words should never be separated. Adding a non-breaking space to the two words at the end of a paragraph ensures that there will always be at least two words on a hanging line. With correct use of non-breaking spaces, your paragraphs will never have to end with a sudden jerk.

Widows are harder to sort out. In most cases, the easiest – and in other cases, the only way to get rid of them is to adjust the height of columns.

Whatever solution you find, your ultimate objective is a layout like this:

Much better.

To insert a non-breaking space:

Windows: Highlight the space between two words. With Num Lock on, hold Alt and press 0160.

Mac: Highlight the space between two words. Hold Option (⌥) and shift, then press x.

4. Roman Hanging Punctuation

Despite its regal-sounding name, Roman Hanging Punctuation is a very simple concept.

Let me show you a quote:

Not bad. But, as you should expect by now, there’s something a little off about this paragraph.

I’ll give you a clue: it’s to do with the alignment on the left-hand side. Still lost? Let’s draw a line down that side.

Can you see it now?

That punctuation – the opening speech mark – is spoiling the alignment of our paragraph. This isn’t a huge thing, of course, but with one little difference – that is, by applying Roman Hanging Punctuation – your copy will look much, much better:

If you’re sending an ad off for print, always add a Roman Hanging Punctuation check when reviewing the finished product. It’s easy to apply Roman Hanging Punctuation with InDesign: highlight your text, open the Story box, then select “Optical Margin Alignment”.

Remember, you can apply Roman Hanging Punctuation to web copy too. A quick Google search will usually be enough to give you the code you need for your coding language or CMS.

5. Kerning and leading

Kerning is the space between characters. Leading is the space between lines.

This is well into the region of your art director’s responsibilities, but as a copywriter, it helps to know about them. Especially as the day may come when you submit some ground-breaking copy, only to have it sent back by your designer because it doesn’t kern or lead well.

Chances are you’ve come across some epic kerning disasters on the internet (Google “kerning gone wrong” right now if you haven’t). It goes to show not only the importance of letter spacing, but of the vigilance writers must have when pairing certain letters. Certain typefaces are notorious for danger pairs. I’m always on guard around:

• rn
• LI
• cl
• FI

To illustrate, consider reading these words at a quick glance, the letters perhaps a little closer together:

• burn
• FLICK
• click
• FINAL

Another thing to remember is that MOST TYPEFACES ARE NOT DESIGNED WITH ALL CAPS WRITING IN MIND, SO LETTERS PROBABLY WON’T KERN WELL. IF YOU FEEL YOU OUGHT TO BE WRITING IN ALL CAPS, SPEAK TO YOUR ART DIRECTOR FIRST TO MAKE SURE THE COPY YOU HAVE IN MIND IS KERNABLE. But, hopefully, you’ll never have to write in all caps anyway.

Kerning can be done on a letter-to-letter basis, but if you’re writing long copy, you probably won’t have the time or energy to fix every single gap. That’s why it’s important to know your typeface, how it automatically kerns, if there are any danger pairs – and if you need to fix it, how you’re going to do that – whether by using InDesign (put your cursor in the space between two letters, hold Alt and use the left and right keys), Microsoft Word (in the Font dialogue box, choose Letter Spacing) or online (usually using the format { letter-spacing: 2px; }).

As for leading, this is a bit easier. Don’t space your lines too close or too far apart – it’s as simple as that.

Your main hazards when working with leading are ascenders and descenders. These are the parts of characters that sit above or below the ordinary heights and depths – like the long body of a lower-case “d”, or the curly bit hanging beneath a lower-case “g”.

When an ascender sits directly below a descender, there’s a chance they might touch. If that happens, it will look awkward. Knowing, as you should, the typeface you’re working with, you might be able to mitigate this risk in the writing stage. Otherwise, you can tweak the line spacing.

If you do this, just make sure you do it consistently. Don’t have one line that sits way off on its own somewhere. It will look strange and disrupt the flow of your copy.

Leading is one of the default options in InDesign and Photoshop, and can be easily adjusted in Microsoft Office too (Open Paragraph, then use the Spacing option). It’s also easy to fix in CSS – just search for the code you need and you’ll quickly find it.

6. Numbers

Let’s count to 12 – ready?

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven – (still with me?)

Eight

Nine

10

11

12

Huh, what happened there?

The Associated Press style guide says that numbers 10 and over should be written as numerals. Below that, use words. Trouble is, only 1 in 5* copywriters agree (* that’s a made-up statistic, don’t go quoting it elsewhere).

What I mean is, it’s fine to break the rules – especially in headlines. Numbers create impact.

But think hard before you do break the rules. Remember, if you’re using one or two numbers in a long piece of copy – like I did just then – using words can help readers quickly skim. If, of course, I needed to call attention to a poignant statistic like that only 2% of people do something, it would of course be better to use the numerals (writing “two per cent” just isn’t as punchy).

As for very large numbers, are you more likely to understand 3,574,220 or three million, five hundred and seventy-four thousand, two-hundred and twenty? (Or, perhaps a neatly summarised combination: “more than 3.5 million”).

What I mean is, screw the rules. We’re copywriters after all, not journalists. Write numbers however you think they work best in the situation. Just, as always, be consistent.

And that’s it!

You’ve made it to the end of this very long and information-rich article – so what should you do next?

Know what I’m going to do? Share this article with my whole agency. Because it’s not just the Creative department that are responsible for our agency’s communications – it’s everyone from the CEO to the Junior Account Managers. And knowing how to make writing look good – with simple fixes like non-breaking spaces, proper dashes and neat kerning/leading – is everyone’s responsibility.

Over to you

How about you? If you liked this article, why not share it with your network or agency?

About Jonjo Maudsley

I’m Jonjo Maudsley. I live in Brighton (the English one) and write for iCrossing UK. If you’re a scout for a Premier League Football Club, sign me up on LinkedIn.

If you liked this article please share it with your copy chums.

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Or, the two essential skills every copywriter needs

What does it take to be an awesome copywriter?

• A firm grasp of grammar?
• A bookshelf full of copywriting books?
• Or, a lever arch file packed with course notes?

I’d argue it’s none of these. 

In this article I’m going to share, what I think, are most important skills a copywriter needs, not just to write well but to guarantee a fabulous income.

But first a little about me

Unlike many copywriters out there I am not classically trained. I’ve never done a copywriting workshop, an ecourse or a correspondence course.

Yes, I studied English at Uni, but it was more poetry and plays than paragraphs and proof reading.

I’m not much of a copywriting book reader either. While many others swear by Bob Bly and his ilk, the closest I’ve gotten to reading about the craft of copywriting is flicking through a dictionary.

So, you may ask, do I deserve to even call myself a copywriter?

Well yes, I learned at the copywriting coalface – when I switched from my production role into a full time copywriter role. It started at Ogilvy where I was lucky enough to work on some fairly major brands, and then I went on to write copy at several UK agencies, before eventually turning back to production.

I had several smashing creative partners, some amazing teams to work with and a few clever and insightful Creative Directors (it has to be said many creative directors can be a touch painful to work with – so I got lucky).

I learned to:

• Work under pressure.
• Integrate the client brief
• Ask the tough questions
• Pull creative concepts out of my butt crack

I also learned to edit, proof, perfect, define, expand, drill down, negotiate, take criticism, work with others, and brainstorm like a master.

So yes, I learned a heap of things in these roles but I still don’t think that any of these are essential to developing copywriting skills.

In fact I believe it was when I was a lowly receptionist, working for a pittance in some god-awful National Health Service office that I discover this one vital skill.

It was when I was typing up those endlessly dull memos (this was pre emails) and reports that I honed my copywriting craft.

You see I think the most important copywriting skill is this…

You need to type fast.

Yep, that’s it.

Disappointed?

Don’t be. Let me explain.

My typing speed currently stands at around 90 wpm.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a graphic to prove this.

This means that when I’m on the ball I can type up a 400-word page in around 6 minutes.

What’s your speed?

If you’re not sure what you’re typing speed is you can take the test below:

Psst: If the test isn’t showing up- just head here to complete it.

No, I don’t charge by the word, I charge a fixed price per page, per website or per job.

But let’s do the maths: If an average web page is 400 words, and you’re charging say $200ish per page – well that 90 wpm typing speed means you’re making around $2000 an hour.

Let me repeat. That’s $2000 an hour!

If I was good at sums I’d tell you based on that, what you could earn in a day, a week or a year. But I’m a words person, so you’ll have to work it out yourself.

Okay, okay. I know that’s ridiculous.

Those 6 minutes don’t take into account: briefing, reading, thinking, editing and proofing time.

They don’t factor in the admin, making cups of tea, walking the dog or putting a load of washing in.

But you see here’s the trick.

Along with typing fast the other skill I think a copywriter needs is the ability to cut the crap and get the hell on with it.

In my opinion too many writers spend too much time faffing about. They’re wasting time stressing about perfecting the perfect brand message, debate the quintessential tone of voice, researching a zillion competitor websites, and asking the client 9087 questions.

They fret that they’re not good enough, they whine about writers block, they struggle to find motivation and inspiration and determination. They fanny around on social media, they chat in forums and they clean the bathroom. They do anything to avoid actually writing.

You see after being able to type like a maniac the next skill a copywriter needs is to get stuck in.

It’s a principle a lot of good writers use.

(I know this ‘cos I was talking to Glenn Murray just the other day and he told me so.)

When I get a new project, of course I ask questions, of course I do a little research and of course I grab a giant coffee and have a wee before I start.

But then, then people I WRITE.

I take that blank page and I write all over it.

I write bullets, I write snippets, I write random verbs, quotes, thoughts, ideas, headlines, bullets and even the occasional full sentence.

I write whatever comes into my head and I write it FAST.

I don’t second-guess myself, I don’t edit, and heck I don’t even spell check. I just write. Whatever spews forth out of my cerebellum ends up on the page.

And that super fast typing speed means I can type as fast as I think – almost, I think my brain is more like 120 words per minute – or at least that’s what my husband says.

I get it down and I get it done.

I can polish off a first draft of a 10 page website in a couple of hours.

Yes it’s messy, even a bit crap. But crap and written down is better than perfect and still in your brain.

I have the raw material on the page and the whole white page horror is dissipated.

And now the much easier process of polishing and editing can begin.

So that’s it people.

• LEARN TO TYPE.
• GET STUCK IN.

Two skills every copywriter needs to have.

And yes, I know I know, it was a terribly click baity title. And I know that noone could really type so fast and write so well they’d earn $2000 an hour. But I hope you still learned a thing, or two.

Once you do know your rates why not create your own Copywriting Rate card?

Over to you

What do you think is the most important skill a copywriter needs? And what, come on tell me, is your typing speed!

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A few months ago, we launched an anonymous Freelance Copywriter Survey to gauge how rates, working hours and challenges varied around the world.

We’re now (finally) ready to publish the results.

We had 97 submissions from all over the world.

The majority of respondents were from Australia, but we also had submissions from Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, England, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland USA and the UK.

The majority of respondents (68%) were female.

Most respondents (77.3%) been a copywriter for less than 6 years.

The split between full time and part time was fairly even.

Most copywriters (70.1%) charged a mix of hourly and fixed-price rates.

Most copywriters (79.3%) charge between $40 and $120 per hour.

Over half of copywriters (57.8%) worked on average between 11 and 40 hours each week.

The majority of copywriters (67.7%) felt that only 31% to 70% of their time was billable.

38.1% of copywriters earned under $10k (after tax) in their first year.

International figures converted into AU dollars.

Only 7.5% of copywriters are earning over $150k a year (after tax) in their 5^th year.

International figures converted into AU dollars.

The majority of copywriters (62.9%) work mainly for small or medium-sized businesses.

Copywriters regularly work on jobs involving writing website copy (83.5%).

Copywriters mostly found clients via word of mouth from previous clients or friends (55.7%).

Over half of copywriters (57.7%) have no formal training.

Of those who had taken training, 38.1% chose ecourses and/or webinars.

37.1% of copywriters chose freelancing for the freedom it gave them.

Other answers here included:

• All of the above
• I wanted to leave IT
• I love writing
• I lost my job
• The job market sucks
• To have a career I enjoy
• To stop losing my personality in the corporate world
• Wife told me to
• To make money while building my online business
• Got preggers

“If I weren’t’ a copywriter I’d be  …”

• A Fiction writer
• A CEO
• A Chef
• A Beekeeper
• A Belly dancing astronaut
• A Broke travel writer
• A Designer
• An Artist
• A Horticulturist
• A Journalist
• A Lawyer
• A Musician
• A Painter
• A Drum kit master
• A Psychologist
• A Brand Manager
• A Sommelier
• A Surfboard shaper
• A Successful author
• A Zoo keeper
• The Australian Jackie Chan
• An ESL teacher
• An IT support engineer
• An Antiques dealer
• Broke
• A Barista
• Retired
• The Stage Manager at the Albert Hall
• A Web developer
• Working in sales
• A Comedian
• An Underwater photojournalist
• A Yoga teacher
• A Private investigator
• A Psychologist
• Very poor

FREELANCE COPYWRITER SURVEY 2015 (PDF 44 pages, 44KB).

Thanks to all those who took part in this year’s survey. We hope you found the results useful. I would love it if you would share this post.

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