Steve Kellas is the Content Director for Big Star Content
Over the years, I have had many types of students in my copywriting courses. Some were there because they wanted to be professional copywriters, and were looking to get the skills they needed help them begin their new careers.
But many many others were there to learn about the fundamentals of copywriting to help them in their current career. They come from diverse backgrounds, and roles, and all of them share a desire not to become copywriters themselves.
I have taught copywriting to:
- business owners
- executives
- designers
- brand managers
- PR and communications professionals
- journalists
- welders, mechanics and other skilled tradespeople
Why?
They realised that learning the fundamentals of copywriting gives them an advantage in business.
Learning copywriting gives you a better understanding of how to sell
When you learn a copywriting technique or a copy formula, you gain an insight into how you are sold to, and consequently how others are influenced to purchase. For example, when you learn about writing Features, Advantages and Benefits, you discover that you need to tell people what your product or service has (features) that they need or want. You also learn to communicate what the advantage of that feature is – what does the feature do for them (the reader).
By learning how your words can influence purchase decisions, you learn how people think and respond, and consequently you become better at selling your products and services to your customers, whether you’re selling a design, a coaching service or a car.
Understanding the copywriting process makes you a better manager
A lot of great students I’ve had over the years have come to my copywriting courses to learn about how the copywriting process unfolds for themselves so that they can better manage their own team of (or outsourced) writers and content creators.
Once they understood how their direct reports, outside content creators and even agency copywriters approached their discipline, the managers reported feeling more confident in their ability to brief writers, and to manage their own content processes. One of my students told me that she could now see how her own misunderstandings about selling were interfering with letting the copywriters create compelling copy that sold her services. A powerful lesson from a ‘simple’ writing class.
You develop skills to motivate rather than inform an audience
Some of my favourite students have been journalists. Why? Because they always ask me challenging questions (one of the benefits of a live course versus reading a book on a subject is that you get to ask questions). These questions come from their desire to understand the difference between their trade and that of a copywriters – they are motivated to learn.
When you learn to write copy for conversion, rather than articles to inform, you learn about how you as a person are influenced by advertising and copywriters. For those who already know how to write well, learning copywriting techniques gives your writing a powerful persuasive element that motivates readers into action.
Whatever the background, these students learned the ways in which words translate into sales, queries, contacts, and how simple writing fundamentals can ultimately make their business bottom line a whole lot better.
