If you’re not ready to pay a copywriter, either because:

1. You don’t have the money

2. You’re not sold on the value a professional copywriter will bring you

3. Or, the copywriters that you’ve interacted with charge SO MUCH money and you’re really not ready to commit that amount

I totally understand. 

Finding a copywriter, to me, is almost like sifting through “We Promise You’ll Make 100 Million Dollars” promotions that you see advertised on FB and in your mail.

How to Write Copy Like a Copywriter

If you’re not ready to pay for a copywriter, you can try writing copy yourself. It’s going to take more of your time but you can greatly benefit from a few basic copywriting principles that you don’t have to be an expert copywriter to master.

Can Anyone Learn Copywriting? Even If They Aren’t a Good Writer?

Pump the breaks right there. I know you’re likely thinking “but I’m not a good writer” or I don’t have any writing experience – and the answer is: it doesn’t matter.

ANYONE can learn to write effective copywriting, because copywriting is like a science—it’s formulaic. Unlike novels or stories that require writing skills—or even writing gifts—copywriting just requires learning how to think like a copywriter, the fundamental copywriting methods and then lots of practice and trial and error.

Reading books about copywriting is a great place to start. Or, you can jump right in with copywriting formulas!

Once you start seeing what performs (e.g. gets you sales or subscribers or the desired action), you can replicate that.

These are two popular copywriting formulas that you can use to write your emails, your homepage or your sales letters!

Powerful but Simple Copywriting Formulas

Copywriting formulas are the tried and true techniques for writing powerful copy that converts. Sure, some execute the formula better than others, but they give you a framework when all you can think is “WHERE DO I START?!”

One of them is PAS: Problem, Agitation, Solution

PAS helps you get inside your reader’s head and makes them feel understood.

When you identify their problem, they think, “Wow, XYZ really gets it.” Then, when you agitate that problem using real-life examples your reader has experienced, it stirs up the feelings (likely negative) associated with the problem and increases their desire to solve it. Now, your reader is just dying to find a way out. You can swoop in a save the day with your solution to their problem. Let’s see an example for an imaginary electric razor company called Sharp Look:

Problem: When was the last time you had a really good shave? You know, one that didn’t take forever and leave you with nicks and bumps, or make you late for work?

Agitation: A bad shave can leave you feeling incompetent before you’re even out the door. It makes you feel like an amateur at work with little shaving cuts, or worse, you don’t shave at all and risk looking unprofessional.

Solution: If this happens to you regularly, you need to know about our new Sharp Look Electric Razor. In less than 2 minutes, it gives you a perfect shave with zero bumps or cuts. And the best part? You don’t need water or shaving cream.

Stop tolerating shaving. Start looking forward to it.

And the other is AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

AIDA moves customers from the very beginning “awareness stage” to taking action, or the “conversion stage”. You have to truly understand the buyer to make AIDA work. Basically, if you are successful in each stage of AIDA, the reader will keep reading until they get to the final stage, Action.

Attention: Expertly shave your entire face in 2 minutes.

Interest: The average man spends 45 days of his life shaving.

But not you. You don’t have time for shaving.

You need to go to work, chop wood, heck maybe even hunt for your next meal.

Desire: That’s why we’ve created the Sharp Look Electric Razor that gives the fastest, closest shave legally allowed. Scary? Yes. Scarily efficient.

The Sharp Look’s 9 stainless steel blades and 10rpm motor keep you looking devilishly handsome, without the typical hassle that comes with shaving.

Action: Get a shave that’s man enough for you. Get a Sharp Look Electric Razor.

If Nothing Else, Leave With This

The one key takeaway I can tell you if you don’t want to hire a copywriter and you just want to try copywriting yourself is: write like you speak.

A great place to start that is literally recording yourself.

Sit down, get out your phone, find your recorder app or whatever it is. Tap the record button, but before you tap it, ask yourself the question you’re about to write for. For example:

When I’m writing my homepage, I need to tell people what I do. So I literally ask myself:

“Tara, what does Swell Copy do? What is Swell Copy?”

And then I hit record and I start talking about it as if I am answering the question for a friend or colleague.

The whole goal of this is to write like you speak. So do that for yourself, then listen to that recording and write down word-for-word what you’re saying (of course you can polish it up later) and it will convey YOU throughout the message. People want to feel like they are talking to a person, like they are talking to you.

Welcome to the World of Copywriting!

If you have any questions, email me at tara@swellcopy.com.