Copywriting exercises

Improve your copywriting skills

Jul 07, 2023

Want to improve your copywriting skills? This article lists 5 actionable 20 min exercises you can do every day. Choose one or two, (or why not all?) and do them consistently every day.

Consistency

There is a great power in being consistent. Small steps over long periods of time bring huge impact. If you improve 1 percent each day for a year, you will have become 37 times better than you were at the start. (1,01)^365 = 37,7 - The compound effect, Darren Hardy.

If you’re struggling to be consistent, consider changing the exercise. A little change can trigger your brain to find more joy in the exercise and thus make it easier to do.

Below I’ve listed 5 actionable 20 min exercises you can do on a daily basis. I suggest choosing one or two, do them for a week, then switch to another if it’s getting too monotonous for you.

Copywriting exercises

Read 20 mins every day

You don’t have to read about copywriting, read anything you like! Set a timer, 20 mins at least.

Why?

Because reading exposes you to different writing styles, different techniques that authors and writer use to get their message across. That will passively bake into your brand and help you improve your own writing.

More info here: Practical Copywriting Course for Beginners by Mike Nardi

Write 20 mins a day

Write anything, doesn’t have to be copywriting. Sit down, set a timer and just start writing. Do not stop until the timer goes off. Do not come prepared with an idea about what you want to write.

Why?

You need to learn to be able to sit down and just start writing. To be faced with a white page and not freeze. As a copywriter you’ll be getting lots of projects and need to be able to self motivate and start the process of writing, even when you’re not feeling super creative.

More info here: Practical Copywriting Course for Beginners by Mike Nardi

Write headlines, 5 a day.

Choose an article and rewrite 5 alternative headings.

Note: If you don’t know where to find examples to work with, sign up for a few newsletters like: The Hustle or Marketing Brew. Or find a couple websites with articles, like The Copy Chief , Very good copy or any news-site.

Why?

Readers won’t continue unless the headline catches their attention. It’s your only chance to get them interested to continue reading. You have to be good at writing headlines.

More info here:

Write calls to action, 5 a day.

Choose a sales email, tweet, facebook post or other and rewrite 5 alternative calls to action. The call to action (CTA) is a prompt that tells the user to take a specific action e.g. Sign up here. This is where you tell your readers what to do next, how to benefit from your offer and why they should act now.

Note: If you don’t know where to find examples to work with, you can look at ads in news media, as well as see all ads a company has posted to Facebook. To do that, find a company page, tap About, then tap See all next to Page Transparency. Scroll down to Ads from this page, tap Go to Ad Library.

Why?

A good call to action improves conversion. This ultimately leads to more sales, acquiring clients and similar results.

More info here: Call to Action Copywriting: The Ultimate Guide For Marketers

Add 1 piece to your swipe file, a day

Your swipe file is simply a folder/ notebook where you save great copy that you find.

Find a piece of great copy, study and note what makes it great and add it to your swipe file. Preferably choose copy directly related to your niche/dream customer so you can learn the preferred language.

Note: Feel free to use these sites to find great copy you can swipe: Swiped.co, SwipeFile, Great Landing Page Copy, Marketing Examples, Copywriting Examples

Why?

To write great copy, you must first read great copy. And by building yourself a swipe file you create a treasure chest you can use i.e. to skim through examples to inspire and give you ideas when working on projects.

More info here:

Now get cracking!

The Wordsmith

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