Copywriting Exercises for Beginners
Regardless of your niche, there is one skill that ALL online entrepreneurs must have - copywriting. Writing good copy is how you connect with your target audience and convince them to choose your brand over your competitors. So, learning how to write good copy is necessary for the success of your business.
Yes, it’s true that copywriting is a skill that requires practice and study. You have to keep up with trends, best practices, and the psychological aspect, and you have to actually put all that studying into practice! But it’s also true that your content won’t reach the right audience UNLESS your copy is targeted, clear, and persuasive.
This is something we learned very early with our business. You can have a really great offer, but if the message doesn’t hit all the right points, then you won’t be able to connect with your audience. So we put A LOT of effort into polishing up our copywriting skills, understanding the psychology, and looking at our data to see what works.
How to get started copywriting:
If you’re ready to grow your online business but copywriting is holding you back, then our best advice is to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Anytime you feel compelled to write about something, do it! Even if it’s not your best… just write it down. Eventually, this will train your brain to approach writing with a new, more confident perspective.
To help you get started, these are some of our favorite exercises we use to practice copywriting. We use these almost daily to get the creative juices flowing and write effective copy.
The USP Exercise
A unique selling proposition is a simple statement that tells your audience why to choose you. Using this exercise helps you get really clear about the unique benefits your clients get from working with you. It also helps you show your audience what makes your offer stand out. Try using this formula to write your USP.
[Offer] helps my clients [solve a problem] so they can [unique benefit].
Fill in the blanks and write your USP several times. Eventually you’ll have 2-3 simple yet impactful statements that you can use to promote your offers and guide your more in-depth copywriting.
The ACCA Exercise
The ACCA formula - Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, and Action - is a spin-off of the very popular AIDA model. It’s a go-to for online entrepreneurs because it focuses on clarity and understanding. Using an ACCA exercise helps you narrow in on the pain points that cause problems for your clients.
We created a multi-step exercise to understand the barriers that prevent our audience from reaching their goals. It’s very simple and you can use it to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Just go through each step and think about it from your audiences’ perspective.
1. Awareness - Identify the pain points that prevent your clients from achieving their goals. Create an ‘if’ statement that connects the pain point directly to your audience.
Example: If you're struggling with…
Example: If ____ is holding you back…
2. Comprehension - Show your audience how the pain points are causing problems that are holding them back. Be very specific.
Example: and it’s stopping you from…
Example: and you can’t seem to…
3. Conviction - Tell your audience why it’s important to work through the pain point and how they can benefit from working with you.
Example: then we can work together to…
Example: then I can help you…
4. Call To Action - Create a direct call to action that tells your audience exactly what to do next!
Now, string it all together and you’ll have compelling copy that shows your audience that you understand what’s holding them back. Then encourage them to take action!
The Rewrite Game
Rewriting is a very popular (and very fun!) exercise. It’s super simple and you can do it pretty much anywhere… driving down the highway, scrolling through your newsfeed, or shopping for your groceries. Anytime you see a headline, just try to rewrite it and make it better!
Once you start this it’s kind of hard to stop, but it is really good practice and can be very entertaining. Use your next trip to the supermarket as a challenge to create a captivating billboard, rewrite a silly commercial jingle, or rebrand your favorite cereal.
Practice is key!
These exercises are simple yet effective practice for copywriting. They give you a starting point when you’re just staring at a blank screen waiting for inspiration. They also prove that practicing your copywriting skills can be fun and it doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time!
Just remember that copywriting is a skill and you have to put in the work to master it!
More Resources!
There are a lot of great resources to help you sharpen your copywriting skills. We highly recommend the following copywriting books for beginners.
Mastering the Craft of Writing: How to Write with Clarity, Emphasis, and Style - Wilbers
Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank - Eisenberg and Davis
There’s also a lot of great resources and tutorials on YouTube and other platforms where professional copywriters will walk you through how to become a better copywriter. And of course, we will continue sharing what we learn through our entrepreneurial journey to help you avoid the pitfalls and grow your business with confidence!
