How to practice copywriting skills in digital marketing

Digital copywriting is, arguably, the most important skill in your marketing toolkit. Whether you’re writing for B2B or B2C, it is highly likely that your leads, conversions and sales will depend on how convincing your copywriting truly is. Whatever its goal or purpose, quality copywriting should hook a reader in and keep them informed AND entertained enough to carry out their customer journey. Before we provide you with some tips to improve your copywriting confidence, let’s ask ourselves: what is digital copywriting?

What is digital copywriting?

Digital copywriting is when you are writing copy exclusively for an audience that is online. Whilst the same technique is needed for traditional pen-to-paper writing, digital copywriters stick to writing online content such as web copy; social media captions; blog posts and anything else found on the internet. A digital copywriter will aim to create compelling and creative content across different marketing platforms, in order to educate, entertain and empower a brand’s customer.

What is marketing copywriting and is it any different to digital copywriting?

What is marketing copywriting then? Both terms (digital copywriting and marketing copywriting) can be used interchangeably. However, there is one notable difference between the two. Digital copywriting refers to anything purposefully written for online consumption; whereas marketing copy can also be copy written for leaflets, billboards and other traditional marketing methods that don’t involve digital.

Ultimately, you should always ensure all your copywriting is well-researched, informative and easy-to-read, no matter the destination of the content.

How to practice copywriting skills

Some people believe that writing is a talent you’re born with, or not born with. The reality is, it’s a craft just like anything else. The more you work on your writing skills, they are bound to naturally improve over time. If you want to learn how to practice copywriting skills, just keep ready. We have a few sneaky tricks to hand…

Read, read, read

The hard-hitting truth is… you can’t be a writer without reading first. You will immediately see the biggest improvements in your writing when you begin soaking up plenty of other people’s writing. If you’re not a fan of 400-page novels, don’t panic! You don’t have to be a total bookworm to be a good copywriter. However, you should start improving your copywriting skills by reading more blogs, articles and dissecting web page copy from a marketing perspective. After all, the more you read, the more you know!

Make use of online resources

There are plenty of online resources available to help you enhance your copywriting skills. In fact, our very own Girls in Marketing Memberships has tons of materials to help you level up your copywriting confidence. From workshops with industry experts to a whole course dedicated to copywriting, we’re determined to make you a copywriting superstar. Become a member and dive into lots of great copywriting content.

Rewrite a real advert or campaign

Have you ever come across a marketing campaign and thought to yourself something that could be different? Take advantage of being inspired by other marketers and rewrite a real advertisement or campaign. You can find lots of examples on The Drum to choose from. Whether it’s a TV script, a certain blog and a full cross-channel campaign, give it a go! It’s amazing what you can produce with the right brief and your wild imagination.

Write with your audience in mind first

As marketers, it can be really easy to get bogged down with all the things you need to include in your copy. Keywords, internal links, external links, subheadings. The list is endless! Try writing with your audience in mind first and add all the marketing stuff later. Your actual copy will be much more creative and free-flowing if you’re able to solely focus on connecting with your reader first and foremost.

Edit… then edit again

If you’re looking to find out how to practice copywriting skills, remember it comes hand-in-hand with practicing editing skills too. Great copywriters are able to make continuous edits to their work to improve clarity, creativity and readability. Editing over and over again is one of the best ways to enhance your actual writing skills!

Now that we’ve cleared up what digital copywriting is, why it’s important and how to enhance your skills,  you can begin putting everything into practice! Don’t be too hard on yourself if your copy isn’t quite up to scratch yet. Remember, it’s a skill that needs to be polished and refined over time. You will get there!

If you need a little extra help – or want to read more resources about copywriting – join our Girls in Marketing Membership.