How to become a copywriter: the guide

Are you good at writing? A new digital profession, the content writer has made its mark on the marketing landscape with the advent of search engines. Salary, skills, career prospects, this fact sheet tells you all about a unique and demanding profession. 
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What is a copywriter? 

A copywriter's main task is to create content that convinces a company's audience, but his or her writing must also rank in search results.  

It therefore produces optimized content, in which each page is written to be understood both by the reader and by search engines.

Her writing skills are equally suited to content for advertising, blog posts and product sheets.

In fact, the name "copywriter" comes directly from the field of marketing. Why is that? Because the aim is often to convince a reader to take an action.

To be a copywriter, you need to be a professional web copywriter, familiar with SEO techniques and sales force rhetoric.

What qualifications does a copywriter need? 

A technical profession in terms of language mastery, web copywriters are often graduates, or have at least undergone training, particularly in SEO, sales and copywriting processes.

University courses are available:

  • Bac+3 BUT information communication,
  • Bac+3 Professional licenses,
  • Bac+5 Master communication.

However, when it comes to copywriting, you shouldn't limit yourself just because you don't have the necessary qualifications.

On the one hand, there are many training courses available, and on the other, writing can be learned, but style, rhetorical skills and balance are born of a feeling and the ability to transcribe it.

You can't learn this at school. What's more, their writing and ideas are often the product of their experience (profession, passions, etc.).

What skills does a copywriter have?

  • Content quality, 
  • Clarity of writing, 
  • Knowledge of SEO techniques,
  • Mastery of figures of speech,
  • Research skills,
  • Creativity,
  • Synthetic spirit.

The content writer is also an inventor of slogans and aphorisms. They must be able to summarize pages and pages of documents to get the gist.

His ideas on the subject must be clearly set out so that readers can quickly find the information they're looking for, or take the action they want.

How much does a copywriter earn?

Can you earn a living as a web copywriter? Yes, but two situations need to be distinguished, depending on the status you choose:

  • The employee,
  • The freelancer.

The employee earns between 18,000 and 55,000 euros a year, depending on the job advertisements published online.

This is often better than a freelancer who starts out earning 400 to 500 euros a month from copywriting. It's important to remember that freelancers are not paid by the number of texts they write, but by the number of lines or words. 

As he gains experience, he can achieve sales of up to 1,500 euros per month, from which the costs of advertising his services must be deducted.

To earn more money from their work, copywriters have two choices:

  • Write more texts,
  • Specialize.

For a web copywriter, specializing in technical subjects (Blockchain, Rental Investments, Taxation, Construction, etc.) means raising your prices, and therefore earning more, by working less.

In these fields, communications degrees won't make the difference to copywriters with technical expertise or field experience. Copywriters come from all walks of life, as long as they learn to write to Internet standards. 

What are the career prospects for a copywriter? 

There are several types of job open to content writers, depending on the experience they have gained with the companies or customers they write for. They may aspire to become : 

  • Content manager, 
  • Community manager, 
  • Blogger, 
  • Front-end programmer.

As a digital professional, a content writer can become a jack-of-all-trades, depending on the size of the company he or she works for. The smaller the company, the greater the number of tasks involved in writing and publishing an article on the Internet.

Written by our expert Cyril SCHWASTIAK
october 7, 2022

What does a copywriter do? 

Copywriters have many missions:

  • Writing high value-added articles

    1. Writing high value-added articles

    To make them striking and attractive.

  • Writing product sheets

    2. Writing product sheets

    Write the right product sheets to help you sell your products more effectively.

  • Slogan building

    3. Building slogans

    As a direct representation of your company, think up slogans and build them.

  • Writing SEO-oriented blog posts

    4. Writing SEO-oriented blog posts

    To attract more traffic and convert more customers.

  • Convincing an audience

    5. Convincing an audience

    Use simple, natural language and an active voice to convince your audience.

  • Drafting e-mail sequences

    6. Writing e-mail sequences

    E-mail sequences help you win new customers and stand out from the competition.

  • Writing product communication scripts

    7. Writing product communication scripts

    Write communication scripts about your product to better seduce and convince your audience.

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Frequently asked questions

How much can a copywriter earn? 
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Depending on experience, a salaried copywriter can expect to earn between 18,000 and 55,000 euros a year. Freelance copywriters, on the other hand, can aim for a monthly salary of 1,500 euros or more, provided they specialize and, through their clients, make a name for themselves in the profession. In many cases, the only way to make money is to write a large number of texts, each page of which must be of the highest quality. Otherwise, the customer leaves the job to another copywriter.
Training to become a copywriter 
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Copywriting doesn't require a specific degree, but a university education can be a plus. In this case, information communication degrees, Master's degrees in communication or professional licenses are a good starting point.