How To Become A Website Copywriter

While it may seem like a bad time to launch a career in copywriting with the rise of AI tools, there’s still plenty of money to be made in website copywriting. 

Whether you’re about to take the leap and start freelancing or looking for information to help you get started as a copywriter, this blog covers everything you need to know.

Get Qualified Or Experienced In Website Copywriting

In the website copywriting world, qualification is not a requirement; however, having a degree or diploma in writing, communications, journalism or marketing is favoured and will help you land your first gig.

It’s still possible to make a long career in copywriting without any qualifications; I’ve worked with super talented writers who climbed the ranks by sinking their teeth into projects.

Either way, the more experience you can bring to the table and the better your portfolio, the more likely you will secure work.

In the early stages of becoming a website copywriter, take on any projects you can, and try to build that portfolio and gain experience - it’s also a great way to network and start to build industry connections.

The Study Route To Becoming A Website Copywriter

There’s several courses or degrees you can take to eventually end up in website copywriting. I started out in journalism, moved into marketing and copywriting and eventually into website copywriting.

Any area of writing - whether that’s creative, news or email marketing - will help hone your skills to become an overall better writer.

A few options to become qualified as a copywriter include:

• Journalism
• Marketing
• Communications
• HR
• Creative Writing
• SEO 
  
  

Getting A Job As A Website Copywriter

Landing your first job is always challenging, regardless of the industry. While I hate recommending working for free, it can be a good way to get your foot in the door and build a portfolio before going for your first job. Look for internships or project work you can take on for businesses that will help you get content published. If everything goes well, ensure you ask for a recommendation or a letter of support, as this can help with your job applications.

When you secure an interview, tailor your portfolio of work to suit the business/job you will be doing and show your best examples of work relevant to the position you are applying for.

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get hired after your first few interviews - it takes time and you build experience as you attend more and more interviews. 

The Freelancing Route To Website Copywriting

Freelance website copywriting can be a highly rewarding experience and a great opportunity to take on work from a wide range of niches. However, it throws up its fair share of challenges.

Moving from a job into freelancing can be a great path to follow as you will already have an established portfolio and know a bit about how the industry works. You will have to work hard to find clients and negotiating pricing takes a bit of time to get good at.

It’s important when you’re starting out in the freelancing world to try and package up your services, lock in pricing for the various services you offer and avoid customising quotes for every new project.

Find a niche you like writing about and only go after those clients. For me, it’s trade businesses, as I have extensive experience writing website copy for almost any type of trade.

This means when I am on the phone during sales calls, I speak their language and know exactly what they need - which also means I can tailor a package for their requirements I can use time and time again.

How To Get Website Copywriting Clients

When it comes to finding your first clients, there are a few options:

Instagram DMs

Message businesses on Instagram you think you can help or would like to work with.

Email outreach

Send emails to businesses in your niche and include examples of your work.

Cold calling

Pick up the phone and ring businesses in your area to see if they need any assistance with copywriting, email marketing, social media captions etc.

Family & friends 

A great place to start is with your family and friends. Reach out and see if anyone knows anyone that needs help.

Facebook groups

Keep an eye on community groups as businesses often reach out asking for help.

Use AI In Website Copywriting

If you don’t use AI in your workflows, you’ll get left in the dust. Work out how to leverage various tools to speed up your processes and scale your operation. It’s crucial to fact-check and edit everything AI produces, ensuring anything you put out is the same quality as something you would write. At the end of the day, it’s still going to have your name on it.

Be honest with clients about the use of AI if required. I recently had a sales call with a client who needed website content and he asked if I use ChatGPT. I said yes I lean on ChatGPT to help speed things up but everything is edited by me to ensure it’s still of the highest standards. The client was fine with this and we made a deal and ended up working together.

Practice Your Website Copywriting Skills

Nothing beats practice. The more time you spend writing website content, the better you’ll get and the quicker you become. While freelancing is the goal for a lot of website copywriters, getting a job can be a great place to start because the company will have plenty of work across a range of industries. 

They also provide training and generally have a team of experts you can lean on for advice. When all you have to focus on is the writing, you will hone your skills quicker then when you’re chasing invoices, handling clients and managing the day-to-day of a freelancing business. 

Develop Website Copywriting Frameworks

Try and develop repeatable frameworks you can use on majority of the websites you are writing content for. Create a structure that presents the information in the most efficient way possible that you can repeat across different niches. 

Learn SEO best practices and mix those into your content to help with search performance. Having a repeatable process for producing website copy will help you scale your business without the quality of your work dropping. 

Improve Your Website Copywriting Efficiency 

Whether you’re working at your first job or are a seasoned freelancer, you should continually look for ways to produce your work quicker. Try to identify areas of your writing that may be lagging or you always struggle with and then focus on improving those. 

From implementing AI to creating repeatable processes, never stop honing your craft. 

Different Types of Website Content

As a website copywriter you may be required to produce various forms of content and having the skills to do so will help you in the long run. These include:

Emails

Email marketing campaigns to help boost sales and get new clients.

Website Copy

Content for websites. This could be a home page, about page, service pages etc.

Blog Articles

Blog articles are a great way to reach new audiences and help strengthen the website's authority.

Google Business Profiles

You may write business descriptions for Google Business Profiles, as well as What’s New posts.

Reviewing Content 

You may also be required to proofread other people's work or review a client's website copy they wrote themselves. 

Conclusion 

If you’re looking to move into the world of website copywriting, the information in this blog post will help you get there. 

From landing your first job to making it as a freelancer, website copywriting is a great way to create an income that gives you the freedom to work from anywhere. 

If you need help with anything related to website copywriting, get in touch with On The Move Marketing.