Copywriter Competencies

What does it take to be a copywriter?

What knowledge should a copywriter possess?

Which skills should a copywriter offer?

These questions have been bubbling away in our brains ever since we started work on a Copywriter Code.

In an early draft of the code we mention that copywriters require specific training in order to become competent copywriters.

A few people have rightly asked what, precisely, a competent copywriter is.

If you were going to train someone to be a copywriter, what would you teach them?

We got to work on a list of all the things a competent copywriter needs to know or be able to offer.

We started building a list, using a few sources for guidance:

Our professional experiences
Training course outlines
Job descriptions
Online conversations

And then we grouped the competencies into categories to make the list easier to judge, and easier to work with.

Here’s a rough outline of what we think copywriters need to know:

Marketing knowledge

Copywriters need a good foundational knowledge of marketing as a function.

Including:

What is marketing?
Product, price, promotion, people
Market research
Marketing strategies

Writing skills

Copywriters must be comfortable using language.

In some copywriting roles this means using language to convey ideas or to build a brand.

In many roles, copywriters are expected to have a high level of spelling and grammar proficiency.

Copywriting techniques

Copywriters should be aware of a wide range of tested copywriting techniques.

These are the tactics that differentiate copywriting from other writing professions.

Techniques like:

Addressing objections
Alliteration
Appealing to authority
Asking questions
Using ‘because’ as a persuasive tool
Benefits Vs features
FOMO
Social proof
Storytelling
Conversational copywriting
Front-loading
Framing
Serial position effect
Urgency
Selling the sizzle
Getting to ‘yes’

Project and client management

Copywriters need to know how to contribute effectively to projects.

Including:

Managing a copywriting project
Contributing to a project
Tracking and managing time
Communicating with clients and stakeholders
Managing expectations
Controlling (and responding to) feedback from stakeholders
Managing document versions and changes
Managing document flows and sign-off processes.

Soft skills

Including:

Curiosity about the world around them (about people, trends, culture etc)
Empathy to understand different audiences
Creative thinking and problem-solving skills to help tackle challenging marketing problems.

Specialist skills

A copywriting foundation can be built upon to specialise in specific domains, including:

advertising
PR
digital content
content strategy
content design
SEO
user experience.

What are we missing?

What’s missing from this list?

Have we missed a detail – or perhaps an entire category?

Let us know what you think a copywriter needs to know.

Or maybe tell us what too many copywriters don’t know.

Cover photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

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Copywriter Competencies – what does a copywriter need to know?

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