Content Writing vs Copywriting. Yes, They’re Interchangeable.

There’s no shortage of videos and blog posts talking about content writing vs copywriting. And most will tell you the two are different. In fact, I’ve seen 2000-word blog posts diving deep into all the (so-called) differences.

But here’s the reality: You can absolutely use the words content writing and copywriting interchangeably. And I will explain exactly why—and show you evidence to support my claim.

Now, if you’re a purist, you might not LIKE the fact these words are interchangeable. But that doesn’t change reality. Businesses use the words interchangeably. Marketers use the words interchangeably. Writers use the words interchangeably.

I honestly think all these blog posts about differences exist because aspiring freelancers are searching on “content writing vs. copywriting,” which gooses the search volume in SEO research tools, like Semrush. (Currently, people search on “content writing vs copywriting” 390 times per month.) And savvy, seasoned writers itching to get traffic to their blogs think, “Oh! There’s a great topic.” And the problem is with the “vs” since that suggests the searcher is expecting the two phrases to be different. So the savvy, seasoned writer wants to give the searcher their money’s worth and delivers an article that talks about the differences.

But the lines between content writing and copywriting have blurred to the point that any differences—if they ever truly existed in the first place—don’t exist anymore.

Don’t believe me? Buckle up, and I’ll show you . . .

Content writing vs. Copywriting: Why Is This Even a Thing?

Forty years ago, in 1983, copywriters existed. But content writers didn’t (at least not how we think of them today). Copywriters wrote things like sales letters and ad copy (think print ads and billboards). Picture Peggy on Mad Men.

But “content writers” didn’t exist because the Internet, as we know it, hadn’t gone mainstream. (January 1, 1983, is considered the birthdate of the Internet.)

Back in 1983, most people didn’t have email. Businesses didn’t have websites. Google didn’t exist. Amazon didn’t exist. Social media didn’t exist. We regular folks (I was 10 in 1983) had no idea what was to come. The Digital Marketing Era was still about 20 years out.

But then came the Internet. And Google. And AOL. And the concept of inbound marketing, which is all about attracting people to your website who are already conducting online searches for the things your business is selling. The goal is to draw those people into your site through optimization and keep them there thanks to engaging copy. Or content.

Wait, which is it?

If you search on “define: content” in Google, you have to scroll to the last definition on Dictionary.com to get to the one we’re talking about: “information made available by a website or other electronic medium. ‘online content providers.'”

The “other electronic medium” is what hangs up people, I think. Because content can be more than words, right? Visuals and videos are also considered online content.

But we’re specifically talking about content writing vs. copywriting.

Right?

As in words.

And both content and copy involve words.

Language evolves. And that’s OK.

Purists will tell you that “content writing” is about “engagement.” You’re engaging the readers, not necessarily getting them to “buy now.” Think longer-form content, like blog posts and white papers.

These same purists will tell you that copywriting is all about getting the sale. It involves persuasion. The goal of the copy is to get people to buy, buy, buy—and the copy is usually shorter and more focused. Think things like landing pages, sales emails, and digital ads. This is a carryover from the old copywriting days. It’s outdated, IMO.

(BTW, the “purists” tend to be other writers or marketers. Businesses—as in, your employer or client—aren’t debating whether these phrases are different.)

I say that you need engagement and persuasion in long-form content, like blog posts, and short-form “sales” content like emails. If I’m writing a blog post, my goal is to keep people engaged. But my job is also to get people to do something at the end of the article, most often reading another article related to the topic. Or maybe the blog promotes a piece of gated content, like a downloadable guide. Or it gets people to sign up for a webinar or another free, valuable offer. The conversion point isn’t a direct sale—but it could very well be the first step to a sale somewhere down the line.

On the flip side, in my harder-hitting sales “copy” (like an email), I absolutely MUST engage the person. If I don’t engage them, starting with capturing their attention with a solid subject line (in the email example), what’s the point? No amount of persuasion or other sales techniques will make a difference if I don’t engage them first.

Let’s discuss my journey as a freelance copywriter, content writer, content marketer, SEO copywriter, SEO content writer, case study writer, etcetera, etcetera, and so forth. You get the idea.

I started freelancing in 2002, on the cusp of the Digital Marketing era. I called myself a copywriter then. And I primarily refer to myself as a copywriter today. Or a copy bitch, as you all know. 🙂 However, I’ve also referred to myself as a content marketer, content writer, or freelance writer.

And the main reason why is precisely because the lines have blurred and most people—including clients . . . especially clients—don’t differentiate between copywriter, content writer, and content marketer.

They’re thinking, “We need someone to help with our website. We need someone to write blogs. We need a case study. Or a newsletter. We need a writer for our email workflows for the middle of the funnel. And bottom of the funnel.”

They’re NOT thinking about what “type” of writer they need.

Head over to LinkedIn, and you’ll see jobs for content writers and copywriters. The listings often outline the same tasks. In my video below, fast forward to 5:55 to see a screen share of LinkedIn where I review a couple of job listings, one for a copywriter and the other for a content writer.

We talk in synonyms. It’s natural.

If a client reaches out to me and says they’re looking for a copywriter to help them write blog content, I don’t correct them and say, “Well, what you really mean is a content writer. A copywriter focuses more on sales emails, digital ads, and other sales-y copy.”

Why on earth would I do that?

I know what they want.

And my approach for writing a blog post vs. a sales email isn’t all that different.

I’m a human writing to a fellow human.

In both cases, I want to engage them and capture their attention.

Sure, the content’s goals will likely be different. The sales email might be asking directly for the sale. And the blog post might be trying to get people to stay on the site longer by reading another article.

Persuasion, in various levels, is used in both cases, right?

Whenever I sit down to write something, anything, I’m thinking about who I’m writing for, why I’m writing it, what their questions would be, and what would help them.

I’m not going to sound “salesy” in a blog post because someone reading a blog tends to be at the top of the sales funnel, poking around, researching, and educating themselves.

It’s just writerly common sense.

Bottom line: Content writing vs copywriting. Don’t overthink it.

Guys, listen. We have enough jargon in marketing land (MOFU, anyone?) to worry about keeping one more set of definitions straight. So, breathe easy. Because you can use the words content writing and copywriting interchangeably. Clients do. Writers do. Purists don’t, but that’s OK. You’re not working for them. 🙂

And if by some chance you’re in school and your professor insists that content writing and copywriting are different, fine. Just remember that (they think) content writing is all about engagement and longer-form content, like blog posts, case studies, white papers, guides, and ebooks. And that copywriting is all about marketing and persuasion. Give your teacher what they want, pass the test, and then use the terms interchangeably henceforth as most people do. 🙂

The line is blurry, and good writers will know when to ramp up the engagement factor (like in an ebook) and when to ramp up the sales factor (like in an email series). But many of the principles overlap.

And good writing is good writing.

If you’re an aspiring freelancer, and you’re trying to figure out how to self-identify on your website, I recommend using the terms interchangeably because that will help you in Google search results and when prospective clients are looking at your site. You could even have service pages about long-form content (blogs, white papers, etc.) and services about advertising copywriting, email copywriting, etc. Let keyword search tools be your guide and use the phrases naturally and INTERCHANGEABLY without making a big deal about them.

And if applying to gigs, use the terminology from the job listing. If someone says they need a content writer and you typically call yourself a copywriter, but every task they’re listing is in your wheelhouse, then call yourself a content writer when responding.

Again, don’t overthink it!

Got a question for the Copy Bitch?

Get in touch or visit my YouTube channel and leave a question in the comments on one of my videos.

Best Gifts for Writers: The 2023 Holiday Edition

Whether you’re holiday shopping or celebrating another occasion, you likely landed here because you’re searching for the best gifts for writers. Hi! I’m Robyn, aka the Copy Bitch. I‘ve been a freelance copywriter since 2002, and I moonlight as a fiction writer.

Below, I’m sharing some of the best gifts for writers based on real items that people have given me or that I’ve bought for myself.

** Disclaimer: I use Amazon affiliate links for all product links below. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. **

Prefer watching a video? Here it is . . .

Best gifts for writers: You can never go wrong with books.

Writers read, full stop. The best writers read widely and deeply, and they tend to love books ABOUT writing. Here are my go-to suggestions whenever someone asks about what books they should give to writers.

Note: I’m willing to bet most copywriters are aspiring fiction writers. (Maybe not ALL, but most.) So the first two books below will help scratch that itch (but the wisdom in both can absolutely be applied to what we copywriters do, too). The third book is one ALL writers can benefit from reading.

Picture of three books: Bird by Bird; Eats, Shoots and Leaves; and On Writing

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott 

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3SWTU5z

I received Bird by Bird back in 1994 from my then-boyfriend. The relationship didn’t survive, but the book sure did. Anne Lamott is one of my favorite nonfiction writers. I appreciate her wit, hippie vibe, and advice about the writing life.

Note: This book doesn’t teach you how to write. Plenty of other books exist about that. This book is a good companion to how-to books because it talks about very real things plaguing writers like embracing the “shitty” first draft. The book is geared toward creative writers, but many of the principles she discusses apply to other writing, including copywriting.

The book’s title refers to a moment from Lamott’s childhood when her brother waited until the last minute to write a report about birds. The little brother was crying and wondering how he would finish it because he had so many birds to write about. And Lamott’s father, also a writer, told the boy to take it one bird at a time. In other words, bird by bird. This is great advice for writers of all stripes facing a mountain of deadlines and other responsibilities. Tackle the list bird by bird.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/46qpgod

If you don’t like King, that’s OK, but don’t dismiss this book outright. Even if you’re not a Stephen King fan, we can still agree that he’s a successful writer (one of the most successful of all time) and obviously knows a thing or two about what goes into writing novels and making a living doing it.

This book has more writing instruction than Lamott’s, but this book is still more memoir than a “how-to book.”

Still, it’s a great one to gift writers. There’s so much wisdom and practical advice within.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynn Truss

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/47qAGd5

Nothing makes a professional writer look like an amateur faster than sloppy grammar and punctuation. Yes, typos happen, but there’s no excuse for making the same mistakes repeatedly. So, here’s a fun book to read that will help you improve your punctuation skills.

What Happened in Granite Creek by Robyn Bradley (that’s me!)

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/40QVVlV

OK, shameless self-promotion. But if the writer on your list likes psychological suspense (think Gone Girl), consider giving them a copy of my novel.

Best gifts for writers: Word games are always fun.

Picture of three games: Bib Boggle, Trivial Pursuit Mini Packs, and Wordle Party Game

Big Boggle

I used to love playing this game as a kid. Mister Word Nerd’s mom found this game in her attic and gave it to us. We played it many times on our deck this past summer and had a ball. Here’s the Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/49Qilrk

Trivial Pursuit Mini Packs

Our pack covers the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010. We played during meal prep and dinner on the deck. Super fun! Here’s the Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3uBWGTA

Wordle

If the writer in your life is obsessed with Wordle, this game is for them! Here’s the Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3sQB9Gl

Best gifts for writers: A writer can never have too many mugs.

Most writers are either coffee fiends or tea aficionados (or both). Even if they’re not into tea or java, they should be drinking something, like water. Gotta stay hydrated for long stretches at the desk. So mugs are always welcome—and even more so when they’re witty and related to writing.

Here are a few of my faves. I own all three (see the pic below). The ones I’m linking to on Amazon aren’t exactly like mine, but they’re close.

Picture of three coffee mugs

Mug #1: Pay no attention to my browsing history. I’m a writer, not a serial killer.

Mug #2: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Mug #3: A giant cup of shut the f*** up

You can make a mug a complete gift by filling it with chocolate, tea, or coffee.

I love the following . . .

Picture of box of Yogi Bedtime Tea and package of Starbucks Sumatra Coffee

Yogi Bedtime Tea (which I drink whenever).

Starbucks Sumatra ground coffee.

Best gifts for writers: This & that

My best friend’s dad (hi, Mr. C!) was one of my advisors during grad school. He gifted me the shirt below after I finished writing my first novel. Here’s the Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/49NVj4p

Picture of a gray tshirt that says "Careful, or you'll end up in my novel."

Mister Word Nerd made a custom sign for my home office with my name (in the same font and colors as my website logo) and “Est. 2002” to commemorate when I started my biz. This was the perfect gift since we’d just bought a house together. I don’t know where he got mine done, but I searched on Amazon, and you have options! Here’s an Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3uthdd3

Picture of a sign on a door that says "Robyn Bradley. E.T. Robbins Productions. Est. 2002."

Happy shopping! 🙂

Digital Content Development: What It Is, Why It Matters & How to Do It Right

Today’s topic is a fun one: digital content development.

Below, I’ll discuss the following:

  • What is content?
  • What is digital content?
  • What are examples of digital content?
  • When did things shift to this digital marketing mindset?
  • Why is it essential for businesses to produce quality digital content?
  • Why do you need a digital content STRATEGY before you develop digital content?
  • What’s the copywriter’s role in the digital content development process?
  • What are some tips for creating strong digital content?
  • What’s AI’s role in the content development process?

Do you learn better by watching a video?

Here’s my video on the topic of digital content development. Or scroll past it and read away!

What is content? What is digital content?

Content is the words and images we read and watch every day: TV shows. Articles in newspapers. Billboards on the commute to work. Podcasts, YouTube videos, our latest Netflix binge. Textbooks in school are full of content. So are the magazines in doctors’ offices.

The examples above include print items (like newspapers) and digital items we access online (like YouTube videos and podcasts).

Content is content. But the delivery mode can be different: print vs. digital.

For this post, we’re talking about digital content, specifically the kind businesses and brands use to promote their services, products, or causes. (That’s the simplest definition of copywriting: any writing that sells a product, service, or cause.)

What are examples of digital content that businesses use to market their services?

I mentioned some examples above.

Here’s an incomplete list of digital content that businesses use to engage with prospects and customers:

  • Blog posts
  • Case studies
  • Checklists
  • Digital ads
  • Ebooks
  • Emails
  • Graphics
  • Infographics
  • Landing pages
  • Podcasts
  • Social media posts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Websites
  • White papers
  • User-generated content (like Yelp reviews and memes)

As a freelance copywriter, I draft tons of blog posts, emails, entire websites, landing pages, ebooks, digital ads, and video scripts. I still write some print materials. But it’s most definitely a digital marketing world.

When did digital marketing take off?

It didn’t happen overnight or all at once.

I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter since 2002. When I started, digital marketing was still in its infancy. Yes, many people were charmed by the World Wide Web, but not everyone was online.

Some fun facts about the landscape in 2002:

When I started freelancing in 2002, I had an AOL address. I had a very basic website. I also had a physical portfolio—an actual binder—with clips and examples of my work that I’d haul to meetings with prospective clients.

I still wrote many print materials in those early days: trifold brochures, sales letters, and direct mailers (postcards). I was writing some website copy, too. But it was still very much a mix of print and digital.

I do have a distinct memory of a turning point—a seminal moment—in my journey.

It was late 2008 or early 2009. I was working with a marketing colleague. She co-managed a marketing firm I did a lot of copywriting work for. We were working on a client’s website in her office in the basement of her home in central Massachusetts. We were frustrated because we couldn’t easily make the changes we wanted to the client’s website. We’d have to involve the client’s web person, which was a pain.

One of us mentioned we’d recently heard about a Boston-based company called HubSpot and its streamlined content management system (CMS). What’s funny: The other person (I can’t remember if it was her or me) had recently heard about HubSpot, too.

Together, we turned to her computer, visited the HubSpot website, and began poking around. We both knew that HubSpot was different—that it was special. Before long, we booked a demo and never looked back. (We moved the client’s site to HubSpot.)

THAT was a turning point in my career, and things moved quickly from there.

HubSpot is all about inbound marketing.

In a nutshell, inbound marketing focuses on attracting people who are already on the hunt for your products or services. You attract them via optimized search, lead them to your primary digital asset (your website), and delight them with helpful, engaging content—and you continue to deliver this engaging, helpful content at every stage of their buying journey.

On the other hand, outbound marketing blasts marketing messages to everyone—even though most people probably aren’t on the market for that particular product or service. Think about the billboard on the highway. Not everyone driving by needs that product or service. But those who go onto Google and search for a solution to a problem—or a type of product or service—are the folks inbound marketers want to capture.

At the core of inbound marketing is high-quality digital content: websites, blogs, emails, and social media posts.

Bottom line: Digital content makes the online world go round, which is why it’s vital to businesses and brands.

So you might be wondering: OK, great! How do I create quality digital content? This must be where the digital content development part comes into play, right?

Before you can produce quality digital content, you must have a robust digital content strategy.

Producing digital content just for the sake of putting digital content out there won’t get you far.

Instead, you must have a robust digital content strategy to guide your digital content development.

A strong digital content strategy involves the following:

  • Knowing your target audience. What problems do they have? What content do they want? For example, if you focus on older Gen Z (people between 20 and 26), giving them 2000-word blog posts won’t cut it. This is the TikTok generation. They want videos.
  • Agreeing on the goals of each digital content asset. Be specific and align goals with different content. For example, the content you develop for social media will have different goals than the landing page you’re developing for a pay-per-click campaign. With social media, you might measure success based on engagement. For the PPC campaign, you’d measure success based on conversions.
  • Collaboration. Digital content development involves collaboration between the marketing team, writers, and designers (and, ideally, the sales team).
  • You’ll want to research keywords and what competitors are doing. You’ll want to create different and better content than what’s currently out there—more on this below.
  • Planning. Whether you use a Google spreadsheet or more robust project management software like Monday or Basecamp, you need an online calendar that everyone can access. People must know their responsibilities, due dates, and other relevant details.
  • Execution (aka, the actual content development). Writers and designers get to work creating the various content assets.
  • Promotion and repurposing. Just as you need a strategy for developing the content, you need one for promoting the content—not just once, but over the long haul. You also need a plan for repurposing the content. You can (usually) repurpose one piece of content into multiple formats and share it across different channels.
  • Ongoing analysis. You must constantly measure performance. If your digital content isn’t achieving your goals, how can you improve it? Metrics you’ll measure include organic traffic, page views, bounce rates, time spent on a page, engagement (social media), click-through rates, conversion rates, and retention rates. (That’s an incomplete list.)

I don’t recommend going longer than a quarter at a time when planning.

Strategizing beyond a quarter can be challenging. Sure, you can have broad strokes. For example, if you host a virtual conference every fall, you can have it on your radar. But as you’re planning Q1, you won’t be coming up with all the details for the October virtual conference.

What’s the copywriter’s role in the content development process?

To be honest, copywriters aren’t usually as involved as they should be, especially when we’re talking about larger brands and businesses. This is especially true if you’re a freelancer, but I see it happening to full-time copywriters working for brands and agencies.

Too often, the marketing folks devise a plan based on what they’re seeing. They might go so far as to map it out. Then, they bring in the writers. Skilled marketing writers will often spot gaps in the plan’s logic and spend more time trying to understand the goals and revise the plan accordingly, all of which takes more time than if the writer had been involved from the beginning.

IMO, copywriters should be involved (and, in many cases, leading) the content development strategy—they shouldn’t be coming in mid-stream.

But that’s a perfect-world scenario, and we all know we’re not living in one of those.

The good news is if you’re working with small businesses, you can often train them to include you earlier in the process—or if you’re working with solopreneurs, you can lead the charge in the digital content strategy.

And the strategy layout doesn’t need to be complicated. You can create a simple plan if you’ve considered the objectives, researched, and discussed what worked in the past.

It might be something as simple as the following:

  • Let’s produce an optimized blog post a week for one quarter.
  • We’ll pull content nuggets from the blog post and create social media posts.
  • At the end of the quarter, we’ll create two white papers or guides based on the content from the blog posts.
  • We’ll gate the white papers and create robust landing pages.
  • We’ll run some paid ads to drive people to the white papers
  • We’ll review the results: Have we increased organic traffic to the site? Have we seen increased engagement on social media? How many downloads of the white paper have we gotten, and can we attribute any business to these activities?

Keep in mind that each piece of digital content you create will involve its own steps and workflows.

For example, think about everything that goes into developing an optimized blog post:

  • Discussion with the client re: the topics they want to cover
  • Keyword research to figure out the best keyword phrase for each blog post
  • General research – see what content exists online for the keyword phrase and devise a plan to make more substantial  (aka, better) content. For example, if the top content for a keyword phrase is 1500 words, you’ll want to create something that’s longer—say 2000 words. If the top piece of content lists “top 10 ways to do X,” you’ll want to create a blog post focusing on 15 ways.
  • Interviewing subject matter experts
  • Writing the first draft
  • Getting client feedback
  • Revising
  • Layout/images
  • Publishing/promotion
  • Repurposing, as appropriate (for example, if you wrote a blog post on the “15 ways to do X,” you might create 15 separate social media posts, each one devoted to a different way).

What are some tips for creating strong digital content?

If you want to create quality digital content assets that get results, then  . . .

You must create content that’s different from the existing content about the topic.

Again, producing content just to produce content won’t get you far. And keep in mind your competitors will be writing about the same topics. You must find a different spin and angle on the same old content everyone else is putting out there.

Sometimes, that might mean going longer. Going back to our blog post example . . . if the existing blog posts that rank on the first page of Google weigh in around 1500 words, try writing content that goes deeper into various points so that you can hit 2000 or 2500 words.

If the top blog post lists “top 10 benefits you get from installing solar panels on your home,” you’ll want to create a blog post focusing on 12 or 15 benefits.

You’ll want to make sure the digital content you create is optimized for search—for web pages and blog posts, that means having only one H1, keyword-rich H2s, appropriate H3s, bulleted lists, no errors, etc. For videos, that’s making sure you have keyword-rich titles and thorough descriptions.

Again, each piece of digital content will have its own workflows and best practices.

You must create content that’s developed specifically for the target audience you’re trying to reach.

For example, if your target audience is older Gen Z (maybe between 21 and 26), writing 2000-word blog posts isn’t the way to engage with this audience, which is all about TikTok.

And remember that your audience will have different content needs depending on where they are in their journey. People at the top of the sales funnel searching for a solution to a problem and becoming aware of your client’s business are in a critical educational stage. They respond well to blog posts and helpful FAQs. People at the bottom of the sales funnel might be looking to book a demo.

The content must be created (or heavily revised) by a human.

Large-language models, like ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, Writer AI, etc.—are fantastic tools. But they’re just that: tools. AI is not ready to replace human copywriters yet—or any time soon.

I know I might be wrong about this, and that’s OK. Things are moving fast. But right now, AI can’t produce the critical nuances needed for compelling digital copy—and trust me, I’ve been trying to get the various AI tools to do that.

I’ve been using all four of the ones I mentioned above—and I’m on the PAID version of ChatGPT and a paid version of Writer (through a client). I’ve been using these products regularly. They are excellent tools because they are lightning-fast. They can come up with copy points you might not have considered. They can review work and provide instant and helpful feedback. They can create decent outlines.

But they have yet to adequately capture a brand’s voice—and I’ve been trying to train it. And they can’t develop a digital content strategy. AI tools like ChatGPT don’t have awareness. It only knows what it’s been trained on. It’s a reactive tool, not a proactive tool.

And creating a digital content strategy requires a thoughtful, proactive approach.

Again, AI is a great tool. I begin much of my content creation using ChatGPT, Bard, or Bing. However, I’m using these tools for brainstorming or outlining in the early stages of digital content development. I must revise (usually heavily) any content it produces and find accurate sources to cite.

Also, currently, AI can’t produce quality long-form content. Not in my experience, anyway. Nothing beyond 700 words. It loses the thread. “Ask Writer” and ChatGPT can’t deliver more than 600 or so words at once (again, I’m using the paid versions for both). I’ll ask it to deliver longer copy in 600-word chunks, which it can do. But even then, both will often have difficulty reaching word counts beyond 900 or 1000 without sounding incredibly repetitive.

This will likely improve over time. But as of right now, I’d never hand off AI-produced copy to a client PRECISELY because it sounds like everything else that’s out there. And that violates one of the rules governing effective digital content—you must develop content unlike anything else out there.

Quality digital content WON’T sound like anything else already out there. To accomplish this, you need a human writer. We can imbue a brand’s voice and personality into the copy. We can identify how to elevate a piece of copy so it sounds different from everything else. We can spot gaps within the content—and address those gaps.

AI, in its current incarnation, as I write this post in 2023, can’t do those things.

Also, you can’t trust ANY stats it provides, even if it includes attribution and URLs. Both Bard and Bing will cite sources and provide URLs. I’ve found that even if the URLs are accessible and “on topic,” they seldom reflect the exact stat the AI tool tries to convey. I’ll question the AI tool, and it stutters and apologizes. I suspect this will also improve over time, but you can’t trust any stats or sources it shares. The spirit of what the AI tool is getting at with the stat is usually correct, which is helpful. But the copywriter still must go out and find a reputable source with a similar stat.

Bottom line: Anything a large-language model writes in 2023 is “OK,” but rarely (if ever) on brand or different enough from all the other content out there.

The “on brand” thing can be subtle—you know it when you hear the difference. And that’s the thing . . . someone who isn’t a skilled copywriter might not be able to pick up where things falter. They just know something doesn’t sound quite “right,” even if the content itself is otherwise acceptable.

This is where skilled writers excel. We can spot those “off” issues quickly and rectify them. We write for subtext. We write with nuance in mind. We know how to vary sentences. We’re not afraid of contractions. We know how to conduct solid research and get reliable stats and sources. We know how (and when) to push the envelope and how to sound on brand.

Digital content development: Think strategy first.

Digital content is an essential ingredient in an effective digital marketing strategy for businesses large and small. Copywriters create the content for various digital assets, like blog posts, social media posts, paid ads, web pages, etc.

Ideally, copywriters would be part of the digital content strategy from the get-go. But at the very least, writers can focus on creating quality digital content by making sure it’s different from all the other content out there, that it’s appropriate for the various audiences the client is trying to reach, and that it’s written and revised by a human, not AI.

Got a question for the Copy Bitch?

Get in touch or visit my YouTube channel and leave a question in the comments on one of my videos.

Wondering How to Become a Freelance Copywriter? Hint: Maybe You Shouldn’t

I spend a lot of time on my blog and YouTube channel talking about how to become a freelance copywriter and how to start a copywriting business. But here’s the thing: maybe freelancing isn’t the way for you to achieve your copywriting dream. Perhaps getting a salaried position as an employed copywriter might be more your thing.

Confused? Hear me out by reading the blog post below. Or you can watch this video I did on the topic.

Reminder: I’m based in the U.S. (just outside of Boston). English is my first and only language. So the perspective I’m sharing is from this specific and somewhat narrow lens. If you’re in another country and/or English isn’t you’re primary language, I recommend finding marketers and copywriters in your area who write in your language since they’ll be better equipped to provide you with valuable insights on how to get started in copywriting (either as a freelancer or an employee). 

First of all, what is a freelance copywriter?

Let’s break it down. A copywriter writes the words that sell a product, service, or cause. That’s a super simple definition, but it works. Think about the stuff you encounter daily, like the junk mail you get in your mailbox promoting services, emails from the brands you follow, or the commercials you hear and see on the radio and TV. Someone needs to write those words, and that person is usually a professional copywriter.

Other names for copywriters include marketing writer, content marketer, and advertising copywriter—it runs the gamut.

When you add the word “freelance” in front of the word “copywriter,” that simply means the copywriter is self-employed. They’re not beholden to any one company, brand, or cause. They write for numerous brands, companies, and causes.

Sounds cool, right? If you love writing, and the idea of writing every day in your jammies sounds great, why wouldn’t you want to become a freelance copywriter? Who wants to work for The Man anyway?

Not so fast.

Like everything in life, there are pros and cons to being a freelance copywriter and pros and cons to being an employed copywriter.

Let’s discuss why becoming a FREELANCE copywriter might not be your best path.

Reason #1: If you simply want someone to give you assignments so you can do the work and get paid, then being a freelance copywriter might not be your jam.

As a freelancer, you often hustle to get work, especially in the beginning. Even if you do it for a long time—I’ve been at this for 20+ years—you still need to network, remind people you’re around, and sometimes knock on doors. That’s not for everyone.

Reason #2: If you’re not good at budgeting money and dealing with expenses, being a freelance copywriter might not be your thing.

As a freelancer, you don’t simply do the work, get paid, and call it a day. Guess what? You’re responsible for all the taxes. Yes, you pay taxes when employed, but someone else takes them out of your paycheck.

When you freelance, you must put money aside for taxes and remember to pay quarterly estimates. You need to keep your books super tidy and together. You need to manage invoicing, too. Clients won’t pay you if you don’t send them an invoice. It’s YOUR job to get the money from them, not theirs.

Reason #3: If having to manage paying for things like health insurance makes you twitchy, you might be better off working as an employed copywriter rather than a freelancer.

Being self-employed also means covering expenses like health insurance, disability insurance, and retirement contributions. These are responsibilities that employed copywriters might not have to worry about. Health insurance alone can be a significant monthly expense—I pay close to $700 per month, and that’s just for the price of admission (i.e., the insurance card). That price doesn’t include the cost of office visits, co-pays, etc.

Reason #4: You need structure in your day-to-day life.

If you’re someone who needs a ton of structure in your day—and you prefer to have that structure mandated with something like “We expect you to be in the office at nine, with a one-hour lunch, and clock out at five,”—then freelancing might be challenging. Sure, you might eventually be able to figure out a structure that works, but it will take time—and a lot of experimenting. (Check out my post on “A Day in the Life of a Freelance Copywriter.”)

This doesn’t mean you can’t figure out a structure for your day, but that’s just it. You’ll be the one figuring it out.

Reason #5: You prefer being part of a team.

Perhaps you thrive in a team environment, enjoy going to an office, and value collaborating with colleagues. This camaraderie is more likely in an employment setting. As a freelance copywriter, you’ll primarily be working independently.

Reason #6: You like working for a business/brand with a single focus.

As a freelance copywriter, I’m a generalist. I cover various topics, from beauty education to background checks. Being an employed copywriter might be a better fit if you prefer diving deep into one subject or brand. Freelancers can focus on a niche, of course. But when you’re starting, it’s common to generalize since you’re likely casting a wide net for new clients.

Keep in mind there’s no shame in being an employed copywriter.

Luckily, many full-time gigs are remote or hybrid, so you could have the best of both worlds if working from home is attractive.

As for the better way to break into copywriting if you have zero experience, I’m not sure there’s a definitive answer. You might have better luck landing an entry-level marketing job and building your writing skillset while earning a paycheck. But some people with solid writing chops (even if they don’t have “direct” copywriting experience) successfully build freelance businesses.

If you have experience as a copywriter but prefer working for a company, plenty of copywriting gigs exist in the U.S. (I just searched LinkedIn on “copywriter” jobs in the U.S., and there are over 2000 listings.) Yes, they are competitive, and you’ll need a strong resume and great clips, which you’d need for freelancing, too. Networking can help in this endeavor by seeing who you know on LI who’s connected to the company or brand you’re applying to so you can get a leg up, like a direct introduction. But landing a paid position can be a great way to build confidence, clips, and a great career.

Speaking of money . . . let’s look at some realities. Copywriting jobs can range from the mid-40s to over six figures in the U.S. If you’re entry-level, you’ll be on the lower side. If you’re a senior-level copywriter, you might command 90K to over six figures. According to Salary.com, the average copywriter salary in the U.S. is $57,000 (as I write this in 2023), but many things can affect this, from where you’re located to your experience.

Freelancing numbers are all over the place, and it’s easy to fall in love with the idea of six figures. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely out of the gate? Honestly? Probably not. There are always exceptions, but you must be realistic. I share my revenue numbers over the last 20 years in this blog post for a reality check. I haven’t cracked six figures, but I’m perfectly content and make a decent living for my needs. Again, I’m in the U.S.

By the way, I know some full-time content marketers who freelance on the side. That can be a great way to have the best of both worlds while preparing for the unexpected, like a layoff.

So again, before you trot too far down the road of “how to become a freelance copywriter,” ask yourself if you SHOULD become one.

How do you determine which path is right for you? It boils down to your individual preferences, work style, and career goals.

If you’re drawn to independence, enjoy a diverse range of projects, and are ready to tackle the responsibilities of running a business, freelance copywriting could be your calling.

On the other hand, if you thrive in a team setting, value stability, and prefer a more structured workday, then seeking employment as a copywriter might be the better choice.

Remember, this isn’t a one-way street. Many professionals transition from freelance to employed positions or vice versa, finding the hybrid approach that suits them best.

Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.

A Day in the Life of a Freelance Copywriter

I started my freelance copywriting business in August 2002, which means I’ve officially entered my 22nd year.

How the heck did that happen?

At the time I embarked on this journey, I was approaching 30—and “pivoting” before “pivoting” was such a common thing. I’d been working in Radio Land since 1994. And even though it was a fun gig, the itch to write never went away.

For me, writing meant writing FICTION. But I quickly learned that I needed something to pay the bills. And so I started looking into this copywriting thing.

Man, I was GREEN.

I made mistakes. ALL THE MISTAKES.

But s l o w l y, I began to figure things out.

It took several years (six to be exact) to build a sustainable copywriting business, one that paid the rent and kept me in wine and Doritos.

Recently, someone asked me about a day in the life of a copywriter. What’s a typical workday like for me? What time do I get up? How many hours do I devote to work-work? What other stuff do I work on? When do I take breaks? Etc.

While this has changed dramatically over the years—and is likely different for every copywriter—I thought it would be fun to record one of my days.

So here it is: A Day in the Life of a Freelance Copywriter (along with her sidekick, a plush sloth named Stewie).

Got a question for the Copy Bitch?

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. No doubt, you’ll have other questions. Hit me up in the comments section on my YouTube channel, or email me.

 

How to Start Copywriting: What Beginners Should Do

How to start copywriting is one of the most common questions I get as The Copy Bitch. 

Watch my video on this topic. Or scroll past it for my written take.

How to start copywriting: What beginners should do

Before you start copywriting, make sure you have solid writing “chops,” as I like to say. 

Make sure you understand the fundamentals of good writing  (punctuation, grammar, paragraph construction, etc.). You can start by testing your assumptions: Take a free assessment test like this one. This online resource offers free business writing tests as well as online courses.

Make sure you have a reliable computer, Internet access, and software to write the copy.

Google Docs is fine (and free), or Microsoft Office 365 is another good option. (I use both.)

Be a sponge. Soak up everything you can about copywriting. 

Here’s the good news: Plenty of online options exist, including free ones. HubSpot Academy is free. I recommend starting with the Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing certifications. You could bang them out in a weekend.

Practice what you learn. 

Subscribe to a bunch of emails from businesses. (Set up a separate Gmail account strictly for this purpose.) Analyze subject lines. What works? What doesn’t? Challenge yourself to rewrite the subject lines. Ask ChatGPT to rewrite the subject lines and see what you think of what it comes up with—and you could do the reverse. Share your list of subject lines with ChatGPT (after explaining what the business is, etc.) and ask it to provide feedback. (This is a great way to use ChatGPT.)

Do the same with direct mailers, billboards, radio spots, print ads, and business websites. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Learn, learn, learn. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Also, check out other copywriting exercises for beginners here.

Network online and in person. 

Follow other copywriters. They can be a huge source of inspiration. Follow them on LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and their blogs. Attend networking functions (for writers, marketers, or small businesses, like your local Chamber). Another option that helped me early in my career was Business Networking International.

Be creative in landing your first clients. 

Getting your first copywriting client can feel daunting, but every copywriter once had to land their first paying client. Here’s my video on landing clients

Create a simple online presence for your copywriting business to show who you are and samples of your work.

When clients are looking for writers, they want to see examples of good writing. So I highly recommend having a website portfolio, even if you fill it with “fake” copywriting samples (like some of your practice assignments) until you have real client work to showcase. (Because, again, everyone has to start somewhere.)

Consider working with a writing coach.

I follow copywriter Colleen Welsch on social media, and I’ve been impressed with her content. She coaches new copywriters, so she might be someone to chat with.

Got other questions about how to start copywriting? Ask the Copy Bitch!

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. No doubt, you’ll have other questions. Hit me up in the comments section on my YouTube channel, or email me.

How Much Do Freelance Copywriters Make: Here Are My Numbers

OK, time to get vulnerable. I recorded the video (below) a couple of weeks ago about how much do freelance copywriters make, but I decided to sleep on it. For two weeks. Is it “safe” to publish money numbers? Will it come across as boastful? Or the opposite—unimpressive—given I’ve been doing this since 2002?

Watch the video. Or scroll past it for the text.

What’s my motivation for sharing how much I make as a freelance copywriter?

Recently, I’ve seen some copywriters be very transparent about their numbers, doing in-depth blog posts.

Overall, I think it’s good to share this info, as long as it doesn’t send people spiraling into the comparison game. Talking openly, kindly, honestly, and calmly about historically “inappropriate” subjects like money isn’t inappropriate at all, IMO. If anything, it can be helpful, enlightening, and reassuring. So maybe this is my attempt to help normalize it a bit, including for myself.

And here’s the thing: People have questions about how much money freelance copywriters make. How do I know? Well, with tools like Semrush, I can see the search volume on keyword phrases people plug into Google. MSV stands for monthly search volume.

  • How much can you make copywriting (50 MSV)
  • How much can copywriters earn (40 MSV)
  • How much can a freelance copywriter make (30 MSV)
  • How much do freelance copywriters make (90 MSV)

These are not huge numbers by any stretch. But the numbers suggest sustained curiosity.

When you search for these phrases, sites like Salary.com and AWAI appear. Both have excellent info, but the info is based on approximates and averages, along with a healthy dose of “your mileage will vary” caveats. (According to Salary.com, “The average Freelance Copywriter salary in the United States is $55,689 as of June 26, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $50,305 and $62,691.”)

Below, I’m sharing a look at my revenue numbers over the years.

How much do freelance copywriters make? My numbers.

First, some context . . .

Reminder, I’m in the U.S., just outside of Boston.

I started my copywriting business in August of 2002. Until May of that year, I’d been working in radio full-time. I started in radio in the summer of 1994, heading into my senior year of college. I worked full-time until February 2001. I left radio to write fiction. But I returned to radio in November or so of 2001. Then, I left full-time for good in May of 2002. But I stayed part-time on the weekends and holidays for the next five years. This is all relevant.

In August of 2002, in addition to starting my copywriting business and working weekends on the radio, I also worked as a part-time activities assistant in a nursing home for about nine months. Yes, before I was the Copy Bitch, I was the Bingo Bitch. In 2003, I started doing some teaching as well (as an adjunct).

Again, this is all relevant.

I don’t have 2002 numbers for some reason, maybe due to a different computer or misplaced folders. Who knows. I didn’t make much from copywriting during those five months.

So I’m starting with 2003, my first full year as a freelance copywriter. I’ll show you 2003, 2004, and 2005. I’ll jump to 2008, which is when I made my living from freelance copywriting only. And I’ll show you the three most recent years (2020, 2021, 2022).

For 2003, 2004, and 2005, you’ll see listings for copywriting (revenue only) and my various side hustles (radio, teaching, bingo bitch). The numbers for the latter (radio, teaching, bingo bitch) show income (in other words, with taxes taken out). But the copywriting numbers I’m sharing are revenue numbers only (so no deductions for taxes and business expenses).

2003:

  • Copywriting: $5,555
  • Radio: $7,543
  • Bingo bitch: $4,605
  • Teaching: $1,500

TOTAL: $19,203

2004:

  • Copywriting: $14,906
  • Radio: $7,000
  • Teaching: $6,250

TOTAL: $28,156

2005:

  • Copywriting: $13,420
  • Radio: $7000
  • Teaching: $9000

TOTAL: $29,420

2008 – the first year I made my living entirely from copywriting.

  • Copywriting: $55,537

And now, let’s jump to the last three years.

  • 2020: $85,740
  • 2021: $86,151
  • 2022: $82,750

I was incredibly fortunate during the pandemic. I didn’t lose any work (in fact, I picked up two new clients—I’m still working with one of them). And my numbers are consistent.

Again, the 2020, 2021, and 2022 numbers are only REVENUE numbers. These numbers don’t account for taxes and business expenses.

My numbers will be surprising and not-at-all impressive for some people reading this. That’s all? You’ve been doing this for 20+ years! What about the six-figure incomes touted by copywriters on YouTube? Are they for real?

I suspect they are for real. It’s definitely possible to make six figures. For *most* people, it’s unlikely to happen right away. The people who crack that nut in their first year are the outliers. Again, remember the Salary.com numbers I mentioned earlier about the average income for freelance copywriters being $55,689. With taxes and expenses, I’m just north of that figure currently. So, a little above average.

Currently, my revenue numbers aren’t far off from six figures. Again, that’s revenue, not income. I could see my revenue cracking six figures someday and possibly soon. However, I’m unsure if my income will crack six figures from copywriting alone.

I’m OK with this.

I live comfortably.

I don’t have any debt except for a reasonable mortgage.

I also don’t have kids, which I ABSOLUTELY understand is a big difference.

I have a partner (Mr. Word Nerd), and we own our home—but this is a recent development (since Halloween of last year). I was a renter up until then. And I pay less now than I did when I rented. Even though Mr. Word Nerd and I split expenses . . . the full amount of our monthly mortgage payment is only a little more than what I was paying by myself in rent for a studio apartment. Wild, right?

I also have plenty of time to devote to my passion projects—like fiction writing, humor writing, and drawing. The time I put into those things could be used to woo and work with other clients. This has always been the case. Over the years, I’ve turned away work whenever I felt the “day job” was interfering with my passions. I haven’t always gotten it right—I’ve gone for stretches where I was juggling too much. I’ve also gone for stretches where I’ve been a little more nervous.

And now, of course, there’s so much hype around ChatGPT and how it will affect copywriters (and writers in general). I have no idea what the future holds.

Anyhow, if you’ve gotten this far, I hope the numbers and this article helped you somehow.

And if you’re a new(er) copywriter, I wish you much success in your journey.

Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.

Advice for Freelancers: Learnings from My “31 Posts in 31 Days” Challenge

I started my YouTube channel, Ask the Copy Bitch, in late 2021. I often get questions from new writers and have mentored some over the years. Why not turn everything into videos and go wider?

For stretches, I’d get into it. But I also went long stretches ignoring it.

That’s not a winning strategy.

Fast forward to mid-April 2023. I wanted to “get serious” about my channel and make a go of it.

By “go of it,” I mean “make money.” 🙂

Just keeping it real, folks.

I’m happy to share free advice. But if I can monetize my channel in the process and make a few extra bucks, why not?

I think it’s smart of to have multiple revenue streams, especially those that make money in your sleep.

Do I have the right persona for YouTube? 

I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter for over 20 years. I make decent scratch. I pay the bills. I’m not one of those copywriting gurus who can teach you how to make six figures in six months. But I have my own point of view, my own stories, my own victories, and my own ongoing challenges. I’m approachable. (I think?) And I have a soft touch.

Plus, I have a plush sloth named Stewie.

There he is, working hard!

plush sloth sitting in front of a computer

I mean, how come I’m not already making bank from my YT channel, right?

Anyway, back to my mindset in April about “getting serious.”

My fiction persona has always benefited from discipline. For years, I’d write 1000 words a day. All to build muscle.

I had to take the same approach with this channel.

And so, I declared May to be “One a Day May.”

I’d publish one video and one corresponding blog post a day for the entire month.

In case you struggle with maths like I do, that’s 31 videos and 31 blogs.

Easy-peasy, right? Surely if I did this, the subscribers would flock, the watch hours would shoot up, and I could quit my day job and just make videos sharing my wisdom-pearls with the masses.

I’m not sure if this is true of all writers, but this writer can sometimes have delusions of grandeur. It’s the fiction writer in me. Yeah. We’ll go with that.

I’m happy to say I did it: I posted 31 videos and 31 blog posts in May.

But the results weren’t exactly what I had expected.

This is my post-mortem blog post on what I learned and how I can parlay these learnings into advice for freelancers—and not just copywriters. What I’m about to share below pretty much applies to any freelancer hanging out a virtual shingle.

What I Learned. And What You Can Learn from What I Learned (aka Advice for Freelancers)

I treated myself like a client.

Something I’m good at: carving out time for my own passion projects. And I’d call this a passion project for now, even though I also consider it a part of my business because of the subject. But I knew I’d have to devote many hours to this work. Hours that I wouldn’t see any immediate “returns” on. Not until the 31 days were up and the subscribers had flocked.

  • Advice for freelancers: You need to treat your copywriting business as if it’s a client. Your business is Client Zero, the Original Coke of clients. You need to devote time to marketing, blogging, writing—all the things you do for your paying clients. And it’s SO EASY to let this one fall by the wayside, especially when things get busy with paying clients or with life or both. I can’t stress this enough: FIGURE IT OUT NOW.

I wanted to quit. Several times. I didn’t.

I do think this is a normal emotion for many people. No, not everyone. And if you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t experience the overwhelming desire to yell SCREW IT ALL in the middle of your backyard, more power to you.

But I wanted to quit.

Starting on May 1.

As in the first day of my grand “One a Day May” plan.

May 1 was a Monday.

A rainy Monday after a rainy weekend.

I’d already scheduled a few blogs and videos, so I was on schedule, but in order to stay on schedule, I had a very demanding daily schedule of recording videos and writing blog posts, and that Monday turned into a shit show with unexpected client work. Nothing horrible, but I had little wiggle room.

Luckily, this wasn’t my first rodeo. Whenever I start something like this—writing a novel, going back to school, working with a new client—I get an overwhelming desire to quit before I even start. Part of it is fear of failure. Part of it is fear of success. Part of it is just plain laziness since I know how much work I need to do.

I was able to talk myself off that cliff pretty quickly since I had anticipated it.

  • Advice for freelancers: At times, you will want to quit. Don’t. Push through. I know this is easier said than done. But seriously, don’t quit.

Perfection is the enemy of the good.

Who said that? Voltaire? Whoever it was, they were right. I’ve long since abandoned perfection so this wasn’t a huge issue for me this time around, but I know perfection can be an issue for creative types, especially those just starting out.

  • Advice for freelancers: If you spend all your time trying to get something perfect (a blog post, a video, a business plan), you’ll never get anything done.

Nothing good comes from comparing yourself to others. But your doubt monkeys will love smoking that crack.

Oh, man. I purposely avoided looking at the competition on YouTube, even though that’s usually considered a best practice when developing video content: Look at what the competitors in your niche are doing and either do it better or find the topics they haven’t covered that still receive searches.

I was SO naïve when I started my copywriting channel, figuring I was the first brilliant copywriter to even THINK of doing such a thing.

LOL, nope.

There are SO many copywriters on YouTube who are crushing it that I’ve often wondered if there’s a place for me considering it really is a niche topic.

Honestly, the jury is still out, and I’m still figuring out what the best content is for me to focus on.

I suspect it’s going to be honest, vulnerable, messy posts like this. Because if someone needs a tutorial on “how to write a headline,” for example, there are better places to get that info.

That said, toward the end of the month, I did start looking at my competitors more and not just on YT but also on LinkedIn. Again, there are people CRUSHING it.

We all know comparing ourselves to others—especially the “others” we encounter online—isn’t healthy. But my doubt monkeys love smoking that crack. My doubt monkeys also get really nasty when they’re high on that shit. I have to limit my exposure, walk away, remind myself I am worthy, blah, blah, blah. It’s hard. Sometimes I allow myself to wallow, too. The key is getting out of the funk. That’s not always easy.

  • Advice for freelancers: I know you’re going to do it. I know you’re going to look. Because comparing ourselves to others is another wholly human flaw. My advice: limit your exposure. Wallow if you must, but only to a point. Get your ass off social media and do something to distract yourself.

Checking stats repeatedly isn’t healthy. (I’ve been down this road before.)

I self-published a couple of novels over a decade ago, and I became obsessed with checking sales and reviews. FOR YEARS.

My YouTube channel and Google Ads Sense account replaced this obsession.

I’m now limiting how often I check.

Checking too often is a waste of time. Maybe someday my channel will be at a point where checking it three times an hour makes sense due to all the activity, but I’m SO not there yet.

Also, it’s not healthy for my psyche.

  • Advice for freelancers: Freakin’ results. I know you want to see them, too. More clients. More sales. More revenue. Yes, you need to be aware of your numbers. But that little tart named Awareness likes to flirt with that cad called Obsession. Be careful if they hook up.

Cliché time! It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Can I come up with something better?

  • It’s risotto, not instant rice.
  • It’s a novel, not flash fiction.
  • It’s waiting in line at the DMV, not breezing through the self-checkout.

I’ll stop now.

You likely get my point.

Inherently, most of us know when we’re building something—a business, a YouTube channel, a house—it doesn’t happen overnight.

EVEN THOUGH GODDAMMIT WE WANT IT TO.

I was hoping 31 days wouldn’t be the same as “overnight” in the universe’s eyes. I mean, c’mon. Waiting a whole month for glory feels fair, right?

  • Advice for freelancers: If you’re a new freelance copywriter, don’t expect overnight success, despite what some of the online copywriting gurus tell you. I’m not saying they’re lying. (They’re not.) But not everyone is going to follow that trajectory. I reckon there a more people like me out there than not. Slow and steady can win the race, too. Eventually.

I hit a wall. But not when I expected.

I worked two weekends during May full time on this crazy little venture. I’m talking 8-hour days on Saturday and Sunday. See “treating yourself like a client” above.

I was determined not to work Memorial Day weekend. And I didn’t. I had everything recorded, written, produced, polished, and scheduled by the end of the day on Friday, May 26. Stewie and I could take the weekend off from video-making. I was caught up on work, too. So it would be a work-free weekend.

I expected to be exhausted over the weekend. But I was still wired. I did fun stuff over the weekend, but I also did some work—I did my editorial calendar for June and July and settled on a Wednesday and Friday publishing cadence. I worked on my humor writing. I did some bookkeeping. Etc.

Not because I had to, but because I had some pockets of time here and there and was still buzzing on adrenaline.

But I hit a wall on Tuesday, May 30. As in when everyone went back to work, including me. It was also a bit of a depressing whiny wall. Why did I bother with any of this, what a waste of time, there are so many other channels and copywriters who are doing it better, when can I retire, I just want to draw and watch birds.

I said it was whiny, right?

Again, not my first rodeo. Been there, done that many times over the years in relation to my copywriting business but also my fiction writing endeavors.

What do I do when I’m like this?

I’m gentle with myself.

I allow myself to lean into the feelings—to a point.

I warn people, like Mr. Word Nerd, that I’m feeling this way so that if I’m grumpy or snappy around him, he knows it’s not him.

I sat in the sun on my porch in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.

I drew a picture of George Clooney.

I watched birds.

I allowed myself to think that I’d take a break from the blog and videos, even though I’d planned on putting this blog post out on Friday, June 2. In addition to a corresponding video.

And doing all of the above was enough to get my butt back in my chair and writing this here blog post.

  • Advice for freelancers: You’ll hit walls, too. Often when you least expect it. My best advice is to think about it now—what’s worked in the past to help you get back up and dust yourself off? What do you think might help that you haven’t tried before? Fill your back pocket with these nuggets and pull ’em out when you hit the wall. AND THROW THOSE NUGGETS AT THE WALL INTO YOU MAKE A HOLE THAT YOU CAN CRAWL THROUGH. As that annoying saying goes—annoying because it’s true—this too shall pass.

I made new goals.

It’s funny. I’m not usually a goal person in the traditional sense. I might have a hazy goal in my head for fiction writing (like 1000 words a day). But I rarely set goals on January 1, for example.

I don’t know if it has something to do with turning 50 or what, but I’ve been extremely goal-oriented this year, with both my copywriting business and my creative writing endeavors.

You already know about my “One a Day May” goal.

But I also had some personal goals during this time, including doing a daily morning yoga session in May, which I also achieved. I’m a very basic yoga bitch. I do the same 25-minute morning session every day, which is full of stretches and gentle ab exercises. I also got back into my walking game. I have a route around my new house that works for me. It’s about 30 minutes. Normally, I’d focus on doing at least 45 minutes, but I was OK with hitting 30 + yoga.

At the beginning of the year, I decided to take a break from long-form fiction. My goal was to submit a short story (or some piece of creative writing) monthly.

I’ve exceeded this goal because I reconnected with my love of humor writing. And I’ve had success! Allow me to indulge by sharing links to the pieces that got published in the last few months.

As for my new goals . . .

  • I’m continuing with yoga and walking.
  • I’m still submitting pieces monthly, at least. (Landing something in McSweeney’s is my ultimate goal.)
  • My big hairy scary goal for the YT channel is 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours by the end of the year. Honestly, this feels like a tall order right now, given where I’m at. But I also know growth can happen exponentially ON yt. One good video that somehow takes off can boost watch hours quickly.

My short-term goal is to simply get to 100 subscribers, lol.

Oh, in terms of videos . . . the goal is to stick with a twice-a-week cadence and to have 100 videos total by December 31. Totally doable if I mostly stick to the schedule.

  • Advice for freelancers: I think it’s good to have a mix of short-term achievable goals so that you don’t always feel like throwing yourself off a cliff when your big, hairy, scary goals (which I think you should also have) don’t always work out exactly how you imagined.

Nothing ever goes exactly how I imagined. (And it probably won’t for you, either.)

Actually, probably not totally fair. I sometimes stop and consider my surroundings—like the house Mr. Word Nerd and I bought together last Halloween—and I can recognize that it very much aligns with the picture I had in mind for years.

So there might be some truth to the law of attraction etc.

But in the immediate moments, like coming off my “One a Day May”—no. This doesn’t look like what I had hoped or imagined. Things rarely do, for me. But maybe a year from now, things will be closer?

  • Advice for freelancers: Things probably aren’t going to go exactly how you plan things, either. Life happens. Clients throw curveballs. You might throw yourself a curveball. Sometimes you have to, dog help me, PIVOT. It’s OK. It happens.

Beyond that, all I can say is keep trying, keep doing.

Of course, I did a video on my video project. 

I share a few nuggets in the video that I don’t share here.

Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?

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What Does a Website Copywriter Do?

I recently discussed what a copywriter does, but now let’s drill down into some categories: What does a website copywriter do?

If you’d prefer watching a video, here you go. Otherwise, scroll past it for All. The. Words.

First, what is website copywriting?

Website copywriting is exactly as it sounds: You’re writing the words that appear on websites. In this case, we’re talking about company websites. Go to any business website and look at all the pages. Someone had to write those words, right? And that someone is often a professional copywriter.

I say “often” because not every business website under the sun was written by a pro. The business owner might have penned their own site. This is especially true for small businesses that are a party of one. But when a company gets big enough, they’ll often outsource the copywriting to a writer or to a web design firm or marketing firm (and those firms will either have writers on staff, or they’ll outsource to someone like me).

Do all copywriters do website copywriting?

It’s hard to be a successful copywriter today if you don’t have any website copywriting skills. Just about all businesses have an online presence. The company website typically serves as the main hub.

That said, I’m sure there are copywriters out there who only do, say, email marketing or long-form direct response copywriting for printed sales letters. But I suspect those folks are exceptions and not the rule.

Isn’t website copywriting just . . . copywriting?

Not when you add the words “search engine optimization” or SEO to the mix. I’d argue that all website copywriting is (or should be) called SEO copywriting. Because you want to optimize a company’s website for search. You want to attract people who are already searching on phrases related to your client’s products or services.

Of course, as I write this blog post in May 2023, we’re possibly in the midst of a seismic shift in how search is going to work moving forward. Yes, I’m talking about ChatGPT, Bard, and Google unveiling Search Generative Experience (SGE).

So moving forward, good website copywriters will likely be thinking about SEO and SGE . . . and whatever else we have to think about to keep up with how people search . . . and how search engines deliver results to search queries.

OK, so let’s get back to the question: What does a website copywriter do?

A good website copywriter will write compelling, optimized copy that draws in targeted traffic and helps you turn that traffic into leads and eventually customers.

Website copywriters will draft optimized copy for things like . . .

  • Home pages
  • Landing pages
  • Calls-to-action (CTAs)
  • Robust “About Us” sections
  • Product/Service pages

You get the idea.

But before they get to the writing, a good website copywriter will . . .

  • Have an in-depth discovery call with the client
  • Study the client’s target personas
  • Review competitors’ sites
  • Review and analyze the current website (if there is one) and all related marketing materials
  • Collaborate with the designer, marketing manager, and other key decision-makers
  • Do keyword research/analysis

That’s not an exhaustive list, either.

A good website copywriter will also keep up with SEO trends and SGE (see above).

So there you have it. Hopefully, this gives you a good sense of what a website copywriter does.

Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.

How to Brainstorm Content Ideas without Hurting Your Noggin

One of my specialties is coming up with ideas. I’m never at a loss, whether in my copywriting life or fiction-writing life. The problem is never a lack of ideas. It’s a lack of time to do something with all the ideas. (And, of course, not all ideas are good ideas. But that’s a subject for another time.) Not everyone is like me, though, and that’s OK. Some truly gifted writers struggle to come up with ideas, which is precisely why I’m writing this blog post on how to brainstorm content ideas without hurting your noggin.

Below, I provide ways to get those creative juices flowing so that you’ll be pumping out ideas in no time.

If you learn better by watching a video, here you go. Otherwise, keep scrolling.

1. How to brainstorm content ideas: Turn to Google.

Yes, I’m starting with the obvious. If you have a topic, go to Google, plug in a question about the topic, and see what comes up in the various hot spots, as I call ’em. (Or if you want to get all formal about it, the featured snippets.)

If you’ve ever plugged a question into Google, you no doubt encountered the “people also ask” box. That’s a rich source of content ideas (and keyword-rich ones, too, which are great for blog posts).

2. Use your keyword research tool.

Plugging in a main keyword phrase (what’s known as a seed keyword) will bring up plenty of other keyword phrases. And depending on the tool, you can continue drilling down from there. One of the things I love about Semrush, which is the keyword tool I use, is that it generates keyword-rich “optimization” ideas for me. It even regularly sends me emails with new ideas.

3. Visit Quora or Reddit

Both Quora and Reddit are underused by copywriters, and yet both have a treasure trove of info. Type in a topic, and bam! I guarantee you’ll find threads on the topic and a bunch of angles you never considered.

4. Get a little help from your friend ChatGPT or Bard.

AI is GREAT at brainstorming. I told ChatGPT that I was working on this blog post. Check out my prompt and ChatGPT’s response. (I did this AFTER I’d come up with my ideas for this blog post already. Interestingly enough, we didn’t overlap much beyond the tip about engaging with your audience.)

screenshot of prompt to ChatGPT asking it to come up with 5 strategies for copywriters to brainstorm content ideas. It provides an outline.

5. Pick your client’s brain.

Seriously, they are the keepers of great content ideas. They just don’t always realize it because they’re too close to what they do. Always remind them that if they hear the same questions from prospects and customers, the questions would make a great springboard for a piece of content. This is especially important if your client has a sales team. Make sure you have access to the head salesperson so you can pick their brain, too.

6. Survey your client’s audience.

You want to write content that resonates with your client’s specific audience. So why not ask the audience what content they need? OK, so you might not be THAT direct. It’s not like you’re going to run a survey asking what four blog posts they want to read next. But conducting occasional surveys to see what’s on customers’ minds can be a treasure trove for content ideas (among other things).

7. Read reviews. (And not just for your client.)

Reading reviews will reveal what’s on people’s minds, why they chose to buy from your client, what the experience was like, what they love about the product or service . . . or not. This is great intel for the entire marketing team, but you’re likely to find content gems buried in the good, the bad, and the ugly. And ditto on competitors’ reviews.

8. Check out social media.

For platforms driven by hashtags, do searches on relevant hashtags and see what people are talking about, posting, and sharing. For example, let’s say I was writing a blog post about Women’s Health Month, which is May. I might do a search on that topic and relevant hashtags. From there, I could create a quick curated blog post on “Our Six Favorite TikToks Celebrating Women’s Health Month.” That could be a fun blog post for the urology practice I blog for.

9. How to brainstorm content ideas: Develop content around holidays and monthly designations.

That brings up another idea I use. Holidays and monthly designations. Going back to my urology client, we do lots of themed content, like Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and the other March Madness . . . no I don’t mean basketball. I mean vasectomy season. (If you know, you know.)

Got a Question for the Copy Bitch?

That’s me! I’m the Copy Bitch. Contact me or visit my YouTube channel and leave a comment on one of my videos. I might make a blog post or video with the answer.