Copywriting increased my confidence, sales and income (and it can do the same for you, too)
Copywriting isn't just a craft – it’s a formidable force, not only for seasoned copywriters but also for business owners seeking to power up their brand. In this journey, I share how copywriting became a pivotal game-changer in my life, unraveling the profound impact it can have on confidence, sales, and income.
In 2016, newly split from my now ex-husband, I had two little girls under the age of three. I was still breastfeeding FFS. I was freelancing but there was no way I could support myself. I was totally on my own, 24/7 in a new village in Surrey, away from all my friends who I’d left behind in London. It was terrifying.
At the same time, I was lonely. I felt unseen in my day-to-day life. Who even was I anymore?
I moved back home to Devon, near my parents so I could have a social life.
Work became a lifeline.
At nap times and at night, after I put my daughters to bed, I worked on my freelance bits and bobs. I collected a few bylines, but felt at the mercy of the corporations I was working for. Poorly-funded magazines were slimming down, and the pay was rubbish. Any copy editing shifts were a no-go as I was too far away in Devon.
I even became editor of our local village magazine! It was a retiree’s role but because I had editorial experience – namely 12 years’ working on magazines and being vastly overqualified – I got the job. Although this was great for integrating myself into the local community, it didn’t equate to a proper income.
So, I decided to change tactics and invest in myself
I spent some of my savings in a social media marketing course. I posted on Instagram. I spent some more savings on a careers coach.
Suddenly I had friends on IG! And a whole new community!
In those early days, my careers coach, the women from my social media marketing course and my new IG pals were my champions. They taught me how to get more followers and build my community: essentially, writing to sell myself online.
Although I was already a decent writer and copy editor, familiar with writing news stories and features and crafting pithy headlines and designing pages to tight deadlines, this was a new form of writing for business for me.
I learned how to write sales copy
Copywriting is a form of marketing that spurs people to take action – whether it’s to make a purchase, get in touch with someone, book an appointment or download something.
I realised I could take the journo skills I had honed over the years and apply them to writing sales copy. There was a much wider pool of potential clients who had more generous budgets than the magazine world, and a lot of really bad sales copy out there that I knew I could improve on.
I got some freelance work at a local digital marketing agency. There were particular copywriting tactics I learned, from call to actions to web page structure and formatting. Like magazines and papers, design is key: much of the time copywriting is about how it looks on the page, how it’s styled and where the white space is between your words.
I used empathy (my superpower!) to make connections
I’d always known how to tell a story for a particular readership and how to give the facts – you never forget the old journo foundations of who, what, when, why and how and I still adhere to this in my writing today – but I learned how to layer storytelling for business on to my online writing to build the know, like, trust factor and connect to audiences on an emotional level.
I realised that emotions played a huge role in selling to people. Being a sensitive soul (which I’d always thought was a negative aspect of my personality), I discovered I could empathise with a lot of my clients, particularly female founders who were getting started in their businesses. I’d been in their shoes – I know how hard and scary it can be to start out on your own.
Once I had a grasp on how to copywrite, I started saving every sales email and sales page that came my way. I’d deconstruct them to see what the writers were doing to keep me reading.
I started using my new copywriting skills to re-do my own website pages, and started writing sales pages, emails, social media posts and content like blogs for other people.
Copywriting started making me money
This was massive for me. Anyone who has faced systemic barriers to their flourishing, such as caring responsibilities that have forced them out of the workforce because of unfair redundancies or rigid 9-5 working hours, will understand this.
Copywriting means I’m able to not only write sales pages, emails and blogs that sell other people’s businesses and help them make more money, but it means I can also write the right words that will help me sell myself.
It means I have a business that gives me the flexibility to look after my children, to go for a dip in the sea or surf or meet a friend during the day rather than shoehorning my entire life into a few hours after 5pm.
For me, learning the skill of copywriting was POWER.
Yes, it made me money, which was one of the ways I grew in power.
But it’s so much more than that.
My daughters have witnessed me growing in confidence and capacity. Yes, they were tiny at the time, but they saw me free myself from a terrible situation and create a brilliant new one. They saw me start a business. They saw me make things happen and change our circumstances. And now they know that they can do it, too.
Writing copy will make money for your business, too.
Writing decent sales copy can give your business power.
I know I have a headstart as I’ve been writing professionally for more than 20 years, but I had no experience in marketing or sales. I've had to invest in coaching for this and learn as I go. But this means that you can do it too.
Writing is a form of power. It gives us the ability to share ideas, create new norms, and create new realities for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our businesses.
And copywriting, in particular, can help you change the trajectory of your business.
It can help you get visible.
It can help you expand your audience.
It can help you make SALES.
It can help you secure yourself a thriving livelihood.
In my story, this didn’t happen overnight. Instead there was a process of skill-building, practicing, iterating, taking risks to be visible, and a community of people supporting me. And I’m still working on it! My web copy needs major updating because my business keeps evolving and I don’t always make the time to work on it because I’m always working on other people’s (sound familiar?!).
Copywriting was one of the essential skills that I developed and practiced. It’s not a magical, innate talent; it’s a skill you learn and build out, tactic by tactic. Your business deserves the power of copywriting. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, the journey of mastering this skill is a pathway to more power, more sales and more money in your business.
How do you feel about your web copy? Does it power you up or power you down? Let me know in the comments.