Excellent writing can be found everywhere, from big-budget Nike commercials and eye-catching billboards to everyday emails, social media posts, and even the charming sandwich boards lining city streets.

Source Words wield significant power for businesses. They have the ability to build brand awareness, attract website visitors, generate leads, and ultimately drive sales. This holds true for both modest sidewalk signs and multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. So, what’s the secret to crafting compelling copy that delivers results? Drawing on a decade of experience as a professional writer, I’ve identified several fundamental copywriting skills that are essential for crafting persuasive content that motivates action. These skills are valuable whether you’re a seasoned copywriter or just starting out. In this article, I’ll share these skills, ranked in order of importance. By mastering these skills, you’ll be well on your way to writing copy that makes a real impact for your business. And, like me, you might even find yourself thoroughly enjoying the process.

1. Curiosity: The Engine of Compelling Copy

The most talented copywriters I’ve encountered aren’t necessarily the most gifted wordsmiths. Instead, they possess an unquenchable thirst for understanding how things work and an infectious enthusiasm for sharing that knowledge with others. Take the legendary adman David Ogilvy, for example. He was the embodiment of curiosity, immersing himself in every detail of the products he marketed and the consumers he sought to reach.

Curiosity is the driving force that fuels all other skills on this list. When you’re genuinely curious, empathy comes naturally, you’re eager to delve into marketing strategies, and you become an exceptional interviewer. You can even tap into your audience’s innate curiosity to boost awareness. That’s precisely why I regard curiosity as the most indispensable copywriting skill.

2. Empathy: Connecting with Your Audience

Empathy is paramount in copywriting because it allows us to step into our customers’ shoes, understand their pain points, and present our solutions in a way that resonates deeply. By employing empathy, you can move beyond simply stating that a family SUV has a cutting-edge entertainment system. Instead, you’ll highlight how it provides “enough entertainment to prevent the dreaded ‘are we there yet?’” Molly Maids clearly grasps this concept. They strategically use powerful words like “chaos” and “stress” to empathize with busy parents grappling to maintain order during school breaks.

Empathy is a neurological response, which means most of us possess it inherently. However, it’s a quality that can be sharpen the skill through practice.

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3. Goal Setting: Steering Your Writing in the Right Direction

It’s easy to get caught up in crafting witty phrases and overusing literary devices when writing. However, it’s crucial to remember that copywriting inherently requires a clear objective. Your goal may be to raise brand awareness or encourage users to click a call-to-action button in an ad.

Regardless of the specific aim, your goal is your destination, and copywriting serves as your roadmap to get there. Goal setting is an indispensable copywriting skill because, without it, your writing is unlikely to align with your organization’s overall marketing objectives. You might end up targeting the wrong customer demographic or focusing on generating clicks when the true need is new leads. Given that the goal shapes your research and writing approach, goal setting holds a prominent position on this list.

4. Understanding Marketing: Writing Copy That Complements Strategy

In my experience, everything I’ve ever written has been part of a broader marketing strategy. The more I learn about other marketing disciplines like PPC and social media marketing, the more effectively I can write copy that contributes to the success of those initiatives. That’s why understanding marketing secures the fourth spot on our list of essential copywriting skills. Let’s illustrate this with an example: sales funnels are a fundamental concept in marketing.

Once I grasped how customers navigate through a sales funnel, I became better equipped to craft copy that facilitated a seamless transition between each stage. This understanding proved particularly valuable when I ventured into email marketing copy. I shifted away from trying to convert every single reader and instead focused on educating and engaging those who weren’t yet ready to make a purchase. This strategic shift resulted in improved open rates and reduced subscriber churn.

5. Applying the Four Cs of Copywriting: A Recipe for Effective Communication

The four Cs that define exceptional copywriting are clarity, credibility, conciseness, and compellingness. By applying these principles to your writing, you’ll naturally elevate its quality. The true skill lies in understanding the order in which to apply these four Cs. Here’s how I approach it: Clarity Should Always Be Paramount. First and foremost, your message must be easily understood by the reader. Regardless of the other elements you incorporate, clarity should never be compromised. Credibility Should Follow Clarity. Copywriting needs to establish trust. Incorporate customer testimonials, mention awards, and highlight your expertise to demonstrate your competence.

However, ensure that these additions don’t obscure the clarity of your message. Conciseness Comes Next, Maintaining Clarity and Credibility. Time is of the essence when conveying your message. Therefore, eliminate any words or phrases that don’t directly serve that purpose. However, avoid excessive trimming that might render your copy unclear. Compellingness Rounds Out the Four Cs, Preserving Clarity, Credibility, and Conciseness. Effective copy motivates readers to take action or change their thinking. Employ power words, instill a sense of urgency, or incorporate analogies to drive your point home. However, there’s a fine line between compelling and pushy. If you find that adding more compelling elements compromises credibility or makes the copy too lengthy, prioritize the other three Cs.

6. Explaining the Complex Simply: Making the Intricate Accessible

In the realms of education and marketing, there’s a popular saying: “Explain it like I’m five” (ELI5). This principle encourages breaking down complex topics into simple terms that even a five-year-old can grasp. This is an invaluable skill for copywriters, as you often bridge the gap between the technical minds behind a product and the everyday consumers who use it. There are various ways to implement ELI5. You can adopt a conversational tone, utilize copywriting formulas, or incorporate bridge phrases to maintain reader engagement.

7. Interviewing Like a Detective: Uncovering Hidden Gems

Remember the classic detective TV show Columbo? The titular character, with his unassuming demeanor, would persistently ask suspects “just one more question” until he pieced together the events of the crime.

While interviews aren’t interrogations, approaching interviews with a customer or subject matter expert with a Columbo-esque determination to uncover the complete picture will lead you to ask that one crucial question that reveals a captivating story.

8. Applying Psychology: Understanding How Readers Tick

One of my biggest regrets is not pursuing a minor in psychology. It’s not about manipulating people’s minds to drive sales but rather gaining a deeper understanding of how people process information to craft more impactful and emotionally resonant ad copy. This skill would benefit any copywriter. While formal psychology classes are valuable, copywriters can still explore specific psychological principles independently and experiment with incorporating them into their writing. There’s also a wealth of existing emotional copy examples to study and learn from.

9. Prioritizing Like a Journalist: Getting to the Point

Are you familiar with the inverted pyramid? It was one of the first principles I learned in my Journalism 101 class. It emphasizes placing the most critical information at the forefront and then delving into supporting details.

In other communication disciplines, this concept is referred to as BLUF (bottom line up front). Regardless of what you call it, it’s a highly valuable skill for writing Google Ads copy and any content optimized for smaller screens where most of your message sits below the fold.

10. Checking Your Ego at the Door: Embracing Collaboration and Iteration

Early in my career, I learned that ego can be detrimental to great copy for several reasons. Firstly, copywriting is a collaborative effort. The best work emerges when individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences come together. This necessitates being receptive to ideas from those who may not have a formal writing background. Secondly, there will be times when you need to sacrifice even your most cherished pieces of writing. This is often referred to as “killing your darlings” and involves removing well-crafted copy simply because it doesn’t align with the overall tone or target audience of the piece. Lastly, the path to exceptional writing often involves producing subpar work first. When I first started, I’d furiously type, aggressively hit backspace, and then repeat the cycle while trying different approaches. Eventually, I learned to embrace the process of letting a less-than-perfect first draft flow, even if it bruised my ego. There are always rounds of edits to transform it into something remarkable.

11. Understanding SEO Basics: Writing for Search Engines and Humans

As we approach the end of our list, it’s important to emphasize that SEO remains crucial. Even in the age of zero-click searches and AI-powered everything, search engine results pages still drive substantial traffic. And often, this traffic comes from people actively searching for products or services like yours. Copywriting for SEO is a skill in itself. It involves knowing how to research relevant keywords and seamlessly integrate them into your copy without sounding forced. You also need to understand elements like page structure and alt tags. While mastering SEO copywriting takes time, it’s a valuable tool for any marketer. If you’re new to SEO, these 9 SEO copywriting tips will guide you in optimizing your pages to rank higher on Google and Bing.

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12. Focusing on Value: Highlighting the Benefits

Years before I ventured into writing, I encountered the FAB (feature, advantage, benefit) framework in a sales training. The key takeaway was understanding the distinction between a product’s characteristic (feature), how it helps (advantage), and why it ultimately improves the customer’s life (benefit). The lesson emphasized that highlighting the benefit is key to making a product more relatable and desirable.

For instance, a new mop’s spring-loaded wringer is a feature. The advantage is that it requires less effort to squeeze out dirty water. However, the benefit, “less effort, faster cleaning,” is what truly resonates with customers.

13. Keeping Your Attention on Detail…: Sweating the Small Stuff

In my first professional role as a sales manager for a major retail chain, our mantra for setting up displays and stocking shelves was “retail is detail.” While the rhyme might be a bit corny, being detail-oriented is just as crucial in copywriting. There’s a financial incentive behind paying meticulous attention to detail. Studies have shown that companies with frequent grammatical errors and misspellings on their websites lose double the amount of customers compared to those without such errors. Similarly, Google Ads containing typos receive fewer clicks and cost more per click than their error-free counterparts.

14. …While Being Comfortable Enough to Break Grammar Rules: Knowing When to Bend the Rules

Tools like Grammarly and even ChatGPT have made achieving grammatical accuracy incredibly easy. The real challenge lies in knowing when to deviate from those rules to enhance your copy. As renowned author Ann Handley aptly puts it in her book Everybody Writes, “I encourage you to safely and fearlessly break those rules and to make those mistakes in writing—but only when doing so lends greater clarity and readability.” So, while grammar and spell checkers are valuable tools, it’s essential to understand the reasoning behind their corrections. Armed with this knowledge, you can confidently bend grammatical rules when the situation calls for it to create more impactful copy.

Honing Your Copywriting Skills: Learning from the Best

Copywriting isn’t exclusive to full-time marketing professionals. Anyone who writes emails, presentations, or marketing materials as part of their job can benefit from sharpening their copywriting skills. Here’s a quick recap of the top copywriting skills marketers need to cultivate:

1. Curiosity
2. Empathy
3. Goal setting
4. Marketing knowledge
5. The four Cs of copywriting
6. Explaining the complex simply
7. Interviewing
8. Applying psychology
9. Prioritizing information
10. Checking your ego
11. Understanding SEO
12. Focusing on value
13. Keeping attention to detail
14. Breaking grammar rules Fortunately, there are numerous resources available to aid in your copywriting journey. These 10 free copywriting resources offer an excellent starting point, covering formulas, emotional copywriting techniques, power words, and much more.