How do you assess whether you are improving?

[JimHalpert]

Just got into copywriting and am reading up on lots of books. Was wondering how you all assess whether your writing is improving. Coming from a mathematics background, it was easy to measure improvement in the form of taking tests. But with copywriting, I am not too sure how to make such an assessment.

Also, after reading several books I realize there are so many "rules" laid out by the various authors that I am confused as to how to proceed with writing. Do I try to find a writing style that adheres to the rules of all these authors? Or do I try to formulate my own framework based on their rules?

Thanks.

 

[super11]

To begin with, writing isn't a risky business. You can give it a shot while maintaining your 9-5 job. Phew, (9 to 11)...if your boss doesn't let you go home early.

To know how good you are, you will need some extra pair of eyes to screen your content. Let your friends, family members, or clients judge you. I know, this can be demotivating at times, if they all turn up with negative reports. But, here's the thing about writing: 'The more you write, the better you will get at it."

So, if you are really passionate about writing, it's too dangerous not to pursue it, irrespective of how you are judged by others in the beginning.

Also, you can use tools like Grammarly. It's not a perfect judge, but it spills out common errors right off the bat. Try to reduce errors with every piece of work.

Finally, let me tell you something that won't make sense at the moment. But the fact of the matter is that you are the best judge of your craft. As you gain experience in this field, you will look back at your old folders and see how much you have improved over the years.

P.S: From a fellow writer. Hope this helps.

 

[Word Wizard]

-Read the type of content you want to write. A lot of it.

-Write content that you would want to read.

-The only "rules" you should worry about are grammar rules.

-Practice.

You'll figure out the rest as you gain experience. Remember, you won't be a top author if you're just starting out, so don't feel like a failure if you don't compare to the guys writing those books. It probably took them a long time to get where they are. If you can write a full paragraph and keep it interesting without any obvious grammar mistakes you're already ahead of half the competition.

 

[JimHalpert]

To begin with, writing isn't a risky business. You can give it a shot while maintaining your 9-5 job. Phew, (9 to 11)...if your boss doesn't let you go home early.

To know how good you are, you will need some extra pair of eyes to screen your content. Let your friends, family members, or clients judge you. I know, this can be demotivating at times, if they all turn up with negative reports. But, here's the thing about writing: 'The more you write, the better you will get at it."

So, if you are really passionate about writing, it's too dangerous not to pursue it, irrespective of how you are judged by others in the beginning.

Also, you can use tools like Grammarly. It's not a perfect judge, but it spills out common errors right off the bat. Try to reduce errors with every piece of work.

Finally, let me tell you something that won't make sense at the moment. But the fact of the matter is that you are the best judge of your craft. As you gain experience in this field, you will look back at your old folders and see how much you have improved over the years.

P.S: From a fellow writer. Hope this helps.

Thank you super11, if you have insights to share into how you got started and the lessons learnt along the way I would love to hear it.

Also, how long did it take for you to get good at copywriting. Asking so that I can manage my own expectations. Coming from a maths background, we usually get good at it quickly just by practicing tonnes of questions. Pretty sure this isn't the case with copywriting though.

 

[JimHalpert]

-Read the type of content you want to write. A lot of it.

-Write content that you would want to read.

-The only "rules" you should worry about are grammar rules.

-Practice.

You'll figure out the rest as you gain experience. Remember, you won't be a top author if you're just starting out, so don't feel like a failure if you don't compare to the guys writing those books. It probably took them a long time to get where they are. If you can write a full paragraph and keep it interesting without any obvious grammar mistakes you're already ahead of half the competition.

Thank you SimpleSiteSolutions, is there a reason why you say the only rules to worry about are grammar? Cause from reading books, there appears to me many rules such as trimming excess words, avoiding adverbs and so on. Perhaps you came from a copywriting background so stuff like this is natural to you?

Also, how long did it take for you to get good at copywriting. Asking so that I can manage my own expectations. Coming from a maths background, we usually get good at it quickly just by practicing tonnes of questions. Pretty sure this isn't the case with copywriting though.

Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 657006]

testing from free giveaways fantastic way .

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it help thousands of authors daily .

 

[super11]

Thank you super11, if you have insights to share into how you got started and the lessons learnt along the way I would love to hear it.

Also, how long did it take for you to get good at copywriting. Asking so that I can manage my own expectations. Coming from a maths background, we usually get good at it quickly just by practicing tonnes of questions. Pretty sure this isn't the case with copywriting though.

More than a year. Of course, this differs from person to person.

 

[Pavelito]

What is the goal of your writing?
It is important to set a goal in order to access the change of how well you are able to reach it.
You might want to increase traffic, than you need to focus on content that people would like to share. Then you can measure the change in traffic.
In the case of a sale, you want to talk directly to the persons' feelings since that is where the decision making happens and there are stages to a good sale. Then you can measure the change in sales.
Just establish a specific measurable goal and write in order to achieve it. You can't really measure the overall quality of your writing, you can measure how well you write about something specific with a goal in mind.

 

[penblock]

iwriter and dotwriter are two great freelance platforms where you can get your work assessed... and also get paid while doing it! If your articles get accepted, you know you are improving. Buyers also leave reviews which is a great way to keep track.

 

[Saul Avina]

Start "Selling" to people around you

Meaning...

Use the knowledge you are starting to learn and try to be more persuasive with people ie: Features into Benefits, Headlines etc etc

Believe it or not these tactics that copywriters use WORK in real life because it is basic human nature they are poking at in their sales letter or Ads

Start to use these tips and tricks into your daily life and

See how good you are grasping the concepts you are taking in

I find that it also helps you with your sales sounding more conversational a BIG breakthrough

Also develop "Specs', Get a item you have in your house and... write an ad for it- Read it ask yourself honestly
Would I buy This? Give it to someone else let them readi it

Ask them if they would buy it, If its persuasive- Does it sound like a FRIEND is telling you about their favorite new product

Just A Few Tips I Came Up With

Let Me Know if It Helped even A Little!

Cheers

 

[alexloganlee]

What books are you guys reading to improve on writing?
I am writing blogs for my companies but sometimes I get caught up in what is the best way to structure my content. What should be in the beginner, the middle, and the end...

And of course finding it hard to fill up a good post long enough to fulfill 1,500 words.

 

[penblock]

What books are you guys reading to improve on writing?
I am writing blogs for my companies but sometimes I get caught up in what is the best way to structure my content. What should be in the beginner, the middle, and the end...

And of course finding it hard to fill up a good post long enough to fulfill 1,500 words.

If you struggle to write, i suggest you hire a copy writer. The competition is tough out there. It's no point writing poor content that nobody reads. As for reading to improve, i read blogs and good quality content by copywriters i aspire to be.

 

[Conor]

I'm no writer, not professionally at least. But I do know English. I also know a fair amount about working for yourself, having done it for a good few years now.

Personally, I'd suggest ditching your "implement ALL the advice" strategy. People tend to have their own opinions on the "correct" way of doing things, which often tend to contradict other people's opinions.

Make it simple for yourself, write content you're happy with, and get someone to proofread it for you, just in case.

 

[Deleted member 1198594]

You definitely want to have multiple eyes view your copy. Ask them for feedback and then go from there. You can also send traffic to your ads and look at certain metrics to see how well a copy performs and then split test several variables (language, offer, etc) in order to see what works best.

 

[winteriscoming06]

This might be out there but if you look online, Jordan Peterson has a good guide on writing that I think is useful at a high level.