What Qualifications Do I Need to Become a Copywriter?
Is copywriting a career that’s piqued your interest but you’re unsure where to start or are concerned if you’re even qualified?
Well, you’re in luck! Copywriting is a career that you can delve into without any official qualifications, just a base level of skill, passion, and willingness to learn.
However, just like with any professional career, acquiring a degree or qualification through online writing courses does have some major benefits.
Learn to be a copywriter from home in your own time
Copywriting with a University Degree
There’s no arguing that an English or marketing degree will set you onto the right path in the career of copywriting. The knowledge and experience gained through these can be crucial in helping you stand out from the crowd and can be a testament to your skills and abilities.
An English degree will grant you tons of experience in writing, language and how to appeal to different audiences. Being able to recognise different language styles, analyse texts and provide information in a coherent and readable way is valuable for any copywriter.
On the other hand, a marketing degree can also be greatly beneficial. Knowledge in marketing can help you better understand a particular audience and the best methods to effectively engage with them. Being highly competent in different advertising mediums will provide an edge when you start your copywriting career.
If you want to jump into copywriting and already have one of these degrees, then you are pretty much set! If not, there’s no need to worry. A university degree is not the be all and end all within this field.
Study at home how you like, when you like
I Don’t Have a Degree, So What Now?
A university degree is not the only pathway to becoming a successful copywriter. There are a variety of other methods to gain experience or knowledge that can benefit your career.
Within the world of technology, online writing courses have become a highly viable way of learning.
Online learning has rapidly become the primary source of learning in the past few years, and understandably so. Online writing courses offer a detailed education surrounding a range of writing-related topics, or on writing as a whole. For a copywriter, these courses are an invaluable source of information and education.
Jumping Into Online Learning
The world of online learning can seem rather intimidating; with so many choices it can be hard to figure out where to start. Luckily, there are several primary platforms and courses that are perfect for an aspiring copywriter.
The Comprehensive Copywriting Academy hosted by Nicki Krawcyzk is the ideal course for any future copywriter wanting to truly commit to the career and develop their understanding of writing, marketing, and how to make the perfect copy.
This course perfectly balances the information in a way that remains fully engaging from beginning to end, and provides plenty of opportunity to demonstrate your new skills, ask questions, make mistakes, and then learn from those mistakes.
If you’re looking for a course with more general writing knowledge, or one that explores a very specific writing area or style, then Fiverr Learn may be the platform for you.
Fiverr Learn offers a great variety of writing and marketing courses that cover an extensive range of knowledge from the physical writing aspects, marketing and even the business side of copywriting.
Study to your own schedule
Merging Online Learning with Existing Skills
With the extensive options of online learning, you may not know where to begin. Personally, I would recommend starting with what you know. I know that may seem slightly odd to some, as isn’t the purpose of education to learn something new? While this typically does reign true for many career paths, writing can differ from the norm in this sense.
Copywriting, content writing or any similar style of writing and marketing don’t require any formal qualification. You can progress through the career ladder using skill alone. However, if you truly want to dedicate yourself to the craft, then you will want to develop your existing skills.
If you find that you are already a competent writer, but in other styles of writing such as creative writing, then it will be much more attainable for you to begin a course about the specific style of copywriting.
It will be much easier to close the skill gap in this way. If you jump straight into a topic you know little about, then it will take you much longer to match the knowledge of others within the field. Perfecting an already amazing skill is a great method of ensuring you get a foot in the door.
How Do I Know If Online Learning Is Right for Me?
Transitioning to online learning can be quite scary for some, especially if your only educational experience is in-person learning, and there’s no shame in being apprehensive either. There are many great benefits to online learning.
The main benefit of online learning for most is the accessibility it provides. All you need is access to the internet, a little bit of time and a comfortable place to work. There’s no demand to get out and attend a classroom, no expensive travelling costs, or tiring journeys.
You can learn in the comfort of your own home at whatever time of the day you want. You can decide to crack out the notepad at 10am with a cup of tea and still in your pyjamas if that’s what you want!
Not only are you saving money on travel, but you’re also saving money on the course itself. Online writing courses are considerably more affordable than any traditional in-person writing course or university degree. For as little as £40, you can engage in a course that can provide you with all the knowledge you could ever need to become a successful writer.
