10 Proven Copywriting Practice Exercises

10 More Proven Copywriting Practice Exercises

In the world of copywriting, there’s really no such thing as too much practice.

It’s not like you can get worse by practicing. In fact, you can only get better and as cliché as it may sound – practice really does make perfect.

I could go on and on about the importance of copywriting practice for hours on end because I’m passionate about always growing and improving.

But to spare you, I’ll just get right to the point and give you 10 more proven copywriting exercises that will help you become the very best copywriter you can possibly be.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #1: Learn to Write Anywhere

Practice writing in different environments to see how it affects your focus. Challenge yourself to write outside of your quiet home office. Listen to different types of music while you write to see how it affects your mood and your flow. Take your laptop outside and learn to write with background noise – children playing, birds chirping, dogs barking. Go to the beach and listen to the sound of the ocean waves crashing or visit a local coffee shop and learn to write among the hustle and bustle. If you can learn to tune out noise and practice copywriting in different environments, you can literally write anywhere.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #2: Expand Your Horizons

Be limitless in your copywriting and expand your horizons. Don’t just stick to one thing. Practice writing different pieces like blogs, social media posts, ad copy, web content and sales letters. The more well-rounded you become, the more copywriting projects you can take on. Eventually, you will find your niche, but you never know when that niche may fizzle out so knowing how to write a little bit about many things will help you become a better copywriter.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #3: Study the Competition

Staying ahead of the competition is key. Not only in terms of what other copywriters are writing, but also what other industries are doing. If you have a client in let’s, say the financial industry, then it’s imperative to know what is working for the competition. Find out what they are doing and discover ways to do it better. It doesn’t even have to be the same industry. If you see a great ad for a company like Nike or Apple, then store that information and use it as a guide to copywrite for your clients later. Inspiration is everywhere so always keep your eyes and copywriter brain open.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #4: Make Something Normal Sound Outrageous

A good copywriter can write about anything. So, practice taking a normal, inanimate object and use words to turn it into something grand, magical and yes even outrageous. Take a bottle of water and turn it into a love potion, a truth serum or a cure for old age. The more ridiculous the better because the freer you feel with your words, the better at copywriting you will become.

 

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #5: Explore Tone and Writing to Different Audiences

Writing the same thing and in the same way is boring. Practice writing in different tones and go from serious to hilarious and everything in between. Make your copy sexy or make it realistic. The point is to vary your tone to appeal to various audiences because every audience is different. Expand your copywriting practice to appeal to different demographics. An older demographic will respond differently than a younger audience so practice writing to all different ages and all walks of life.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #6: Use Less Words to Say the Same Thing

Everyone is busy and attention spans are short. If you’re too wordy and take forever to get to the point, you will lose your audience. Sometimes it takes longer to cut then to actually write. So, data dump first and just unload everything. Write down every single word that you want to say. Then, work on trimming the fat and cutting the words to convey the same point in less time. Sometimes in copywriting less is truly more. The faster you can get to the point the quicker you will win over your audience.

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Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #7: Brush Up on Research Skills

Practice, fine-tune and enhance your research skills. As I continually say, a great copywriter can write about anything. Even a topic you know nothing about. Practice by taking an unfamiliar topic, say cable provider options, and scour the Internet for details, selling points, benefits, and competitive information. Then, write a blog, a direct mail piece, radio copy or web content. Polishing your research skills will allow you to become better at writing about anything.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #8: Get Into the Mind of the Customer

If you don’t know what motivates the buyer, then your copywriting words are wasted. What are customers looking for? What appeals to them? How can you convince them to make a purchase? Copywriting to a consumer is part psychology, part science and is truly an art form. Understanding the user experience will bring you closer to your reader and enable your words to connect with the buyer personally.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #9: Remember the Basics

There is no grade in copywriting which is fabulous. While it’s not like a college paper, you should still have basic knowledge of grammar rules. If you don’t know the difference between their, there and they’re, then a quick refresher is important. Silly grammar mistakes are a sure-fire way to turn prospects away and convince clients there are better copywriters out there.

Copywriting Practice Exercises Tip #10: Grab Attention

You only have about 8 seconds or approximately 40 words to grab someone’s attention. You may be a great copywriter, but if you can’t grab someone’s attention at the very beginning then you’re done. That’s why it’s important to practice your headlines, openings and hooks to make them the very best they can be. Commit to writing 3 new headlines a day whether it be from scratch or a re-do of an existing headline from the competition.

The ending or closing is just as important. Remember attention spans are short so while you may have grabbed them at the beginning make sure you remind them at the end too. Your copywriting practice should always include working on good openings and winning closes. A good hook and close can be modified to work with anything you write and for any client.

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Copywriting Practice Exercises Bonus Tip: Always be in Learning and Practice Mode

You can’t get better unless you practice and commit to continual learning. There is a wealth of information out there. Dedicate time to learning more about copywriting and find more ways to practice copywriting. From reading classic copywriting books to taking online writing courses or surfing the Internet, there are countless resources available.

Always remember, the most important copywriting exercise is to keep exercising. Always stay active and exercise your copywriter brain every day. To find even more copywriting practice exercises, join the Copywriter Brain community and check out these other helpful resources to start practicing today.

Here is another article with more exercises you can work on to better your copywriting.