What Does A Copywriter Do?

I’m so happy to see you here because over a decade ago I had typed “What does a copywriter do?” on Google followed by “World’s highest paying writing jobs?”. That’s why I’ll keep things simple and get straight to it.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what a copywriter does and more so in India where people often assume a copywriter is someone who helps you copyright things. Hilarious? Yes. is it truly what people think? Also yes.(Which I think makes it kind of sad but, let’s move on because you’ll probably skip this intro anyway!)

So, What Does A Copywriter Do?

A copywriter in simple terms is a person responsible for choosing the right words to communicate a thought, usually with the intention of impacting the reader’s decision making regarding a product or service.

It isn’t all that simple though, a copywriter generally  thinks of an idea and then types down different samples of content called “copy” that can be used to explain/sell the idea. The size of the copy, the format etc all depends on the goal, the product/service being sold, the channel being used (outdoor, TV, social media) and a host of other factors.

Today copywriters wear many hats and work beyond just advertising agencies - thought they continue to be the natural habitat for most copywriters. Brands today often hire copywriters and entire creative teams internally because this gives them a team that has a deep understanding of the product. That said, a copywriter does a host of things today that perhaps were not part of their scope of work a few decades ago. In the next section we’ll talk a little about the roles, duties & responsibilities of a copywriter.

Duties & Responsibilities Of A Copywriter

A copywriter’s duty is to help evoke the right emotion and drive people towards a specific result. To do this one must take on many roles but the most common duties and responsibilities of a copywriter are listed below:

Research: This is where it all starts. A new client means a new product or service and that means a new set of competitors to consider and beat. The more research a copywriter does the better positioned they are to solve the problem at hand. Data and facts are their friends here. You ideally want to find information that cannot be refuted or dismissed and then build your ideas on top of that.

Creative Thinking: People often have no clue how they can stand out from the competition. This is where a copywriter comes in and helps find creative solutions to the problem. Whether it's creating a can shaped flyer for a popular beverage or a jingle that will get stuck in people’s mind - a copywriter thinks of ideas that will work - sometimes quirky and outside the box - most times inside the box but just brave enough to get the idea approved.

Pitching Ideas: Coming up with the idea is usually the easy part (copywriters fart ideas all day long). The next step can often be the biggest roadblock - getting someone in a position of power to execute the idea to buy into it. This is why copywriters must master the art of pitching or find a partner who can do this for them. The reason terrible ads, emails, push notifications etc make their way to you is because somewhere a copywriter failed to pitch a good idea or had to compromise and water down the original idea to get things approved.

Crafting Content: Understandable the most obvious part of a copywriter’s job is to write content. Good copy is completing copy, great copy is copy that gets leads and amazing copy is what brings conversions - one could argue this but, in my experience, at the end of the day this is what it all boils down to. Write, edit, proofread and repeat.

Collaborating: A big part of a copywriter’s job is to collaborate with designers, video editors, social media managers, marketing heads, creative heads and more. The end goal is to take the concept from start to finish with the least amount of change - it is therefore imperative that a copywriter knows how to make others involved in the project get behind their ideas.

 

Manage Multiple Projects: Chances are that a copywriter will have to work parallely on more than one project even if they are from the same brand. This means they have to be good at multitasking and managing multiple teams, deadlines and brands.

Measure Impact: This may be one of the most underrated parts of a copywriters job but, measuring the impact of your work and being able to prove that your words directly contributed to  Rs. X worth of value for the organisation is crucial. An average copywriter who can measure results will do better than a great copywriter who cannot measure impact.

What Is The Average Salary Of A Copywriter In India?

In my personal experience a copywriter can earn anywhere between ₹8,00,000 - ₹12,00,000/year in India however not all copywriters earn this much. Also a thing to note is that most copywriters move up the ranks within an agency or organisation while their primary responsibilities remain similar - so there is ample scope for growth if you’re willing to do more than just write copy.

That said, according to salary measurement websites the average salary for a copywriter in India is around just ₹4,00,000/ year. However, when you take into account bonuses, benefits, profit sharing etc this average can easily go up to ₹ 8,00,000 / year. Top copywriters earn as much as ₹ 20,00,000/year.

What Skills & Education Is Needed To Be A Copywriter?

Depending on the industry you’re in, anything from understanding cars to interest in sports can be a factor that helps a copywriter perform their job better; however, broadly speaking there are a few key skills that help one become a copywriter.

Creativity

Good Grammar

Conceptualising

Understanding Of Data & TG

In terms of education, there are no hard and fast rules, anyone can become a copywriter if ther can prove their mettle - this is why a lot of newbies enter the world of copywriting at low salaries and that also impacts the average income of copywriters mentioned above. Usually education backgrounds of copywriters in India include:

Journalism

Mass Communication

English Major

Political Science

Psychology

Philosophy

Engineering (because these guys are everywhere)

What Are The Different Types Of Copywriter?

Most copywriters eventually develop skills across these categories but here are the broad “types” of copywriters: 

Advertising Copywriter

SEO Copywriter

Brand Copywriter

Marketing Copywriter

Social Media Copywriter

Technical Copywriter

Thought Leadership Copywriter

Email Copywriter

How Does One Become A Copywriter?

I will do a detailed blog on this later but for now, I think the basic journey is to be a well read person who can write well. Then you enter at the bottom as a junior copywriter in an industry that you already understand or have a keen interest in (or join an agency). I suggest starting with a small brand or start up because it will give you a lot of hands-on experience that will prepare you for a more structured agency life.