5 Myths about Copywriting You Believe

Someone, somewhere, once said something that was untrue. Maybe the person said it in jest, or maybe the person said it out of his or her ignorance, but the person said it.

Someone else heard what that person said and then repeated it to others. And then those guys repeated it to even more people – and then the chain continued eternally.

The result of that ever-continuing chain? A widespread myth that doesn’t have even an ounce of truth in it – just like all the copywriting myths I’m going to be dispel today.

In this post, I’d like to point out to you 5 myths about copywriting that you, as a new copywriter, probably believe. Banish them from your mind.

Myth 1: Copywriters Must be Inherently Talented

Nope.

Copywriting, like pretty much everything else in the world is a skill that you can develop. At the beginning of your copywriting endeavors, you might not be able to put a persuasive sentence together. What you need to do is just keep working and working at it until you’re able to convince and persuade people to buy a product.

Sure, it’s gonna take time. Sure, it’s gonna be a lot of hard work. But you will be able to do itl.

Myth 2: Copywriting Work is Hard to Find

The person who started this myth clearly had never been a freelancer. Copywriting work, ladies and gentlemen, is not hard to find IF you’re a talented copywriter.

Think about it. Literally hundreds of new products launch online every single day. All of them need copy, and we freelance copywriters are the ones who supply it most of it.

If you haven’t yet got your first client, don’t sweat it. The first client is always the hardest. Once you’ve got a decent amount of feedback and excellent samples for client prospects to review, new customers will be steadily streaming into your freelance business.

Myth 3: Copywriting is Easy for the Talented

Ernest Hemingway might not have been a copywriter, but I think we’re all agreed that he was an incredible wordsmith (and would have probably made a fine copywriter had he tried his hand at it). Once, he said the following:

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

Folks, copywriting is not easy, even for the inherently talented. It might be simple and, at times, formulaic, but simple ≠ easy.

Sometimes, the words just get stuck in our heads and refuse to flow out onto the paper. Sometimes, we pull our hair out in frustration because we can’t remember that perfect adjective that’s on the tip of our tongue. Sometimes, we give up.

Copywriting. Is. Hard.

Myth 4: SEO is the Most Important Aspect of Copywriting

I’ve been hearing this term a lot lately: SEO copywriting. Tell me you’ve been hearing it too.

Well, what exactly is it?

The last time I checked, when you write copy, you’re writing for people to convince them to purchase a product, not for search engines. Google isn’t the one who’s gonna be sending money to your bank account in exchange for a product. People are.

So that’s who you write for. Not some nit-picky search engine spider who likes bolded, frequent keywords and robotic, unemotional writing.

Myth 5: People Care About What Happens to Your Business

Newsflash: nobody cares about you or your business.

I don’t mean to sound rude, but it’s the truth. Nobody actually cares about what happens to your business. The only thing people care about is how your business benefits them.

I mean, c’mon. We’ve got enough to worry about already with student loans, mortgages, and that destructive p90x weight loss training. Your business’s internal affairs is not highly ranked on our list of priorities.

So when you write copy, don’t talk about your business. Don’t talk about its merits, its awesomeness, or about how some guy won Employee of the Month.

Talk about how your business benefits its customers and what your readers get out of the product.

The next time you see one of these myths proclaimed on a blog, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

I’m curious – what other myths have you experienced copywriters seen on other blogs? How did you react to them? Share with us in the comments below!