A 30-Day Lesson Plan to Improve Your Copywriting Skills
- Date: 2010-07-08 - Word Count: 757
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Let's consider how you can go from your current writing skills to a master copywriter in only 30 days.
Week #1: Focus on Basic Skills & Market Research
For at least the first three days of week 1, focus only on basic skills. Take the grammar and style tests, figure out where you have weaknesses, and work to eliminate those fundamental weaknesses.
After those three days are over, continue to work on your basic skills, but do so only for a portion of each day. Depending on how badly you need to improve your basic skills, this can vary, but I would suggest spending no more than 1/4 of your day on basic skills exercises after the first three days.
For the remaining four days, hone your market research skills. Spend time conducting surveys with your existing clientele. Try to tease information out of them and to learn more from them. Also, begin frequenting forums and taking notes.
Week #2: Complete Two Sales Letters
In week two, continue to work infrequently on basic skills. However, with the majority of your time, focus on cranking out two high-quality sales letters using the market research you conducted in the first week.
At least one of these sales letters should use the AIDA method. The other can use whichever method you feel will work best for your site and product.
When writing these sales letters, focus very narrowly on ensuring that everything is fundamentally sound. Use psychological triggers, develop headlines carefully and thoughtfully, use sub-headlines as a road map, and be careful with your choice of bolded, italicized, and underlined words.
Once you have completed the two sales letters, get other people to read and severely criticize them. At first, your stomach may churn at this idea, but after you think it over, you will realize that there is no other better option when it comes to ensuring that your sales letters are high-quality.
Before moving on to the next phase, it is probably a good idea to spend at least a few days getting and responding to criticism.
Week #3: Make Changes & Compile a Swipe File
Now that you have received serious criticism for each of the sales pages you created, it's time to begin revising them. Of course, you shouldn't simply take all criticism as truth, but you should avoid getting defensive and ignoring important deficits in your sales letter.
This week, you should devote the bulk of your time to making changes to your two sales letters according to the criticism that you received. However, in addition to this, you should also spend some time creating a swipe file, which will positively contribute to your copywriting efforts for the remainder of your career.
Finally, if you have any extra time, you should spend time practicing your headline writing. Use the formulas provided in the previous section to construct dozens of different ways in which you could re-arrange your existing headlines to get a better response.
Week #4: Polish Your Copy, Test, and Track
In your final week, you should put the finishing touches on the two sales letters you created. You should then begin using them on your site.
After working through others' criticism, you should have a polished product that is ready to generate a high conversion rate. However, if it doesn't perform well, it is important that you don't become discouraged.
Instead, what you should do is use the sets of strategies For instance, if you think your headline might be performing poorly, then switch it with a new one; and then track the results.
If you think your call to action is too weak, then re-work it and then track the results. And if you think sales letter fails to build interest or to encourage the reader to make a decision, then use the section on the AIDA method to re-work your sales letter.
Finally, remember to follow all of the steps I mentioned previously when testing and tracking. The more closely you follow them, the more accurate your results will be.
Week #5 and Beyond: Practice, Refine, Track, and Test
From week 5 onward, your goal should be to practice your skills, refine your existing sales letters, and then test and track your results.
As difficult as copywriting can be, it's entirely doable if you stick with the plan I've outlined above. The key is simply practicing the important components of copy; improving your existing sales letters; and then frequently checking your results to make sure that everything is happening as desired.
When you combine all of these elements with a strong desire to succeed, you are sure to become a master copywriter in no time.
Week #1: Focus on Basic Skills & Market Research
For at least the first three days of week 1, focus only on basic skills. Take the grammar and style tests, figure out where you have weaknesses, and work to eliminate those fundamental weaknesses.
After those three days are over, continue to work on your basic skills, but do so only for a portion of each day. Depending on how badly you need to improve your basic skills, this can vary, but I would suggest spending no more than 1/4 of your day on basic skills exercises after the first three days.
For the remaining four days, hone your market research skills. Spend time conducting surveys with your existing clientele. Try to tease information out of them and to learn more from them. Also, begin frequenting forums and taking notes.
Week #2: Complete Two Sales Letters
In week two, continue to work infrequently on basic skills. However, with the majority of your time, focus on cranking out two high-quality sales letters using the market research you conducted in the first week.
At least one of these sales letters should use the AIDA method. The other can use whichever method you feel will work best for your site and product.
When writing these sales letters, focus very narrowly on ensuring that everything is fundamentally sound. Use psychological triggers, develop headlines carefully and thoughtfully, use sub-headlines as a road map, and be careful with your choice of bolded, italicized, and underlined words.
Once you have completed the two sales letters, get other people to read and severely criticize them. At first, your stomach may churn at this idea, but after you think it over, you will realize that there is no other better option when it comes to ensuring that your sales letters are high-quality.
Before moving on to the next phase, it is probably a good idea to spend at least a few days getting and responding to criticism.
Week #3: Make Changes & Compile a Swipe File
Now that you have received serious criticism for each of the sales pages you created, it's time to begin revising them. Of course, you shouldn't simply take all criticism as truth, but you should avoid getting defensive and ignoring important deficits in your sales letter.
This week, you should devote the bulk of your time to making changes to your two sales letters according to the criticism that you received. However, in addition to this, you should also spend some time creating a swipe file, which will positively contribute to your copywriting efforts for the remainder of your career.
Finally, if you have any extra time, you should spend time practicing your headline writing. Use the formulas provided in the previous section to construct dozens of different ways in which you could re-arrange your existing headlines to get a better response.
Week #4: Polish Your Copy, Test, and Track
In your final week, you should put the finishing touches on the two sales letters you created. You should then begin using them on your site.
After working through others' criticism, you should have a polished product that is ready to generate a high conversion rate. However, if it doesn't perform well, it is important that you don't become discouraged.
Instead, what you should do is use the sets of strategies For instance, if you think your headline might be performing poorly, then switch it with a new one; and then track the results.
If you think your call to action is too weak, then re-work it and then track the results. And if you think sales letter fails to build interest or to encourage the reader to make a decision, then use the section on the AIDA method to re-work your sales letter.
Finally, remember to follow all of the steps I mentioned previously when testing and tracking. The more closely you follow them, the more accurate your results will be.
Week #5 and Beyond: Practice, Refine, Track, and Test
From week 5 onward, your goal should be to practice your skills, refine your existing sales letters, and then test and track your results.
As difficult as copywriting can be, it's entirely doable if you stick with the plan I've outlined above. The key is simply practicing the important components of copy; improving your existing sales letters; and then frequently checking your results to make sure that everything is happening as desired.
When you combine all of these elements with a strong desire to succeed, you are sure to become a master copywriter in no time.
Visit Brian's website, http://www.FastCashFreelance.com and learn about freelance writing and writing for money as a part-time or full-time homebased business.n
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