If you want to know how to make easy money here’s an idea…
Learn to become a copywriter.
Why?
Because for most companies and businesses, writing copy is a headache.
And that gives us fertile ground to make money from them.
It’s not hard for you to learn copywriting, but you will need some training and practice.
In this post, I’m going to give you an opportunity to learn copywriting.
But what is copywriting?
Copywriting is selling stuff (products, ideas, services, etc.) with words.
But of course, that’s a simplified idea of what copywriting is. In the past, I’ve found that copywriting can take many forms:
- Writing articles
- Writing blog posts
- White papers
- Advertisements
- Brochure copy
- Program notes
- Speeches
- Web page content
- Landing page copy
- Interoffice memos
- Corporate newsletters
- Radio ads
- TV ads
- Sales letters
Just about any kind of message for businesses needs to be written professionally. And it needs to be done in a way which persuades the reader to take some kind of action. So there’s a lot of ways to learn copywriting, you’ll have to eventually figure out which niche you’ll want to operate in.
Every business online needs content to push and sell its services. They also need content on their site, which is a good thing for people who want to make easy money.
My Take on the Phrase “Make Easy Money”
Note: When I say, “make easy money” I may be looking at it through a different lens than you.
In my working life, I’ve been a soldier, janitor, garbageman, teacher, glazier, and a host of other titles. To me, writing for clients is relaxing; it’s not physical – it’s mental. In my world, it’s no big deal.
However, it takes time to learn and you have to be consistent. It’s a craft that you have to learn and practice. I studied and wrote while I was a full-time teacher. So, I won’t lie to you – it’s not that easy because if it were, everyone would be doing it.
The good part?
Anyone with a desire to learn and the will to put their back into it can learn how to do this.
A Free Lesson to See if You Want to Learn Copywriting
So to give you an idea of what’s involved, or to answer your question “what is copywriting?” I’m going to give you a quick lesson. We’re going to act as if you were already copywriting a little and take you through the steps.
And to make it more interesting, let’s pretend you’re stuck with writer’s block. This will give you a chance to feel what it can sometimes be like to write for a living.
So let’s say you’ve gathered information from your clients, researched the product or service, and have a collection of relevant swipe files, but you’re still stuck.
Even though you’ve done as much as you can to prepare for this assignment, you still find yourself groping for the right words. You’re looking for that initial spark to get started, but it’s just not happening.
Not only that, you’re running out of time without any significant results.
So the question of the day is: Is there a way I can overcome this mental barrier to copywriting?
My answer to you is: Yes, there is. And once you see how easy it is to get started writing, you’ll never have to worry about this mental barrier again.
All you need is a way to organize your research and information.
The Make Easy Money Copywriting Steps
Step 1: Rewrite the collected information in your own words.
As a teacher of almost 20 years, I can tell you that there is a benefit to writing out the information you’ve collected into your own words.
This makes you read the material, internalize it, and then spit it out in a different way. Once you have done this, you’ll have a much deeper understanding of your subject.
As a matter of fact, many teachers I’ve worked with now are equipped with reference software that can check to see if students are plagiarizing their work. This means that they can’t merely copy out the material, they must rewrite it.
So, learning to rewrite material you have already read is an important skill.
No matter what you’ve collected, rewrite the information out in your own words because it will give you more ideas and a deeper understanding of your subject.
Not only that, but you’ll find that your own ideas will surface as you write out the facts.
Step 2: Organize your rewritten material.
If you rewrite your collected resources into easy to read documents you won’t have to sift through a pile of resource material to find the exact information that you need.
This means that you’ll be able to save your most precious resource – time. (If you want to make easy money copywriting – this is a good way to do it.)
Another good idea is to print out the information making sure that all of the pertinent facts are on a few sheets of paper. You can then go through the material again, highlighting and underlining the most important parts.
Using an Outline Will Help You Learn Copywriting
Step 3: Draft the Outline
I use an outline some of the time; it’s all a matter of personal preference. If the sales letter or brochure copy is rather long, I’ll definitely write one up, but if it is something short, I don’t.
What I’ll do with short copy is digest the material as in Step 1 of this lesson, and then I’ll spit out as many ideas I can into a word processor. I can then rearrange my ideas in a way that helps me sell the product or service. If you want to make easy money, you’ll need a simple process like this one.
Another way you can write up your outline is to use the main parts of a sales letter as a template. Here’s an example of a simple template you can use:
Section 1:
- Pre-Head
- Headline Get their attention!
- Deck Copy
Section 2:
- Intro to body copy
- Problem Identify the problem and provide the solution
- Promise
Section 3:
- Validation Talk about your expertise and credentials
Section 4:
- Benefits Why the product or service will save them
Section 5:
- Give social proof Testimonials
Section 6:
- Make your offer An irresistible offer they can’t refuse – talk about scarcity
Section 7:
- Give a guarantee
Section 8:
- Call to action Tell them to do it now!
Section 9:
- Give a warning
- Close with a reminder You can reiterate with a P.S. why they need to take you up on this great deal
Here’s a handy infographic to help you learn copywriting:
Another good reason why you may want to make an outline or a template like this is so you’ll have something to show clients. If you show a template or outline of what you intend on writing to a client, and they approve it, you’ll avoid hassles with them later on.
You can use the template above to organize your outline or you can use my template sheet provided here: Free Sales Letter Template
Just Do It! (Write the Copy, That is!)
Basically, you can break this part down into three simple steps:
Step 1: Get your thoughts and ideas down on paper.
Once you’ve gone through all of the steps so far, the next thing you’ll want to do is…WRITE!
Spit it out. Take everything you’ve learned about your product or service and get it down on paper. You can start wherever you feel like it.
At this point it really doesn’t matter where you start, just get motivated and get as much written as you can. The real work occurs after you’ve written your first draft.
Personally, I like writing bullet statements first, writing about the benefits of the product, and then jumping to the headline or deck copy. But it is entirely up to you where you wish to begin to write your masterpiece.
Remember, the main reason for this lesson is to get started writing and get the work flowing. It doesn’t matter how bad you write it initially, because the real work starts after you’ve written it out the first time.
The real good copywriters like Bob Bly write up to as many as seven or eight drafts or as many as it takes to get it right. But don’t worry about the first one, just get it done!
What is Copywriting? It Can Also be Editing
Step 2: Start editing your writing.
You are going to do this a lot.
In this part of rewriting your material, you are going to scour as much crap out of your copy as you possibly can. The best way to do this is to read your phrases and paragraphs out loud so that you can physically hear what you’ve written.
You will then know what sounds natural and what does not.
Some copywriters like to use what they call “across the table writing”. This is writing that sounds just like you were talking to someone at a coffee shop. You want your material to reflect a natural sound to it, just like a conversation.
So, reading your material aloud to yourself, a family member, or a friend is very important to do. I usually read my copy to my wife who is very critical of everything I say or do. (Ha-ha! Don’t tell her I said that!)
Step 3: Clean it up.
In this phase you are going to go through your copy with a fine tooth comb, looking for any errors in grammar, spelling, and accuracy.
Tip: Use a Ruler
A good trick I like to use is to print up a copy of my writing. Then, using a ruler I’ll move it down the page line by line checking and correcting any errors that I find. That way, I know I’ve eliminated almost every error possible.
The Conclusion to Make Easy Money Copywriting
As you can see, if you use this method to get started writing, you’ll find that you can get started much quicker. Once again, the real work is rewriting your material until you feel that you get it right.
If you write every day and practice your craft, you will get better at it and you’ll eventually find that you are saving a lot of time getting your project completed.
Please feel free to agree or disagree with me in the comment section below. No reasonable comments will be rejected!