When you walk into the job of your dreams, the role you’ve been working hard to land, you might think you have all the skills needed, but the truth is that this is only the creation of your ever-growing skills, or so I have learnt since becoming a Junior Copywriter at Conscious.
You can walk into a business and think you know it all, but they’ll be quick to knock you off your feet. The copywriting world is constantly changing to fit in with new trends and the rapid development of the internet and social media. You always hear people say, “you’ll learn something new every day”, and they’re not mistaken. There are endless ways to further your knowledge. None of us are born all-knowing, and we won’t die all-knowing either, but we do have the ability to develop our skills in between.
So, let’s take a little look at the skills you can learn being a Junior Copywriter.
Having An Eye for Detail
Copywriting isn’t just about putting pen to paper (or fingers to a keyboard); it’s so much more. We’re talking about thinking of the bigger picture, how you can make your words go further for your reader. Your words are there to promote, whether it might be a service, a product, or even a call to action. That initial hold you have over them is vital. If it doesn’t captivate them immediately, you’ve probably blown it.
Strong Research Skills For Law Firm Copywriting
Some topics that you’re faced with as a Junior Copywriter, you might sit there and think, what on earth does any of this mean. Topics like these can be quite alien to the mind and require extensive research.
As a Junior Copywriter, you need to dig deep to find the content and facts you need. You can’t settle for the first piece of content you find. The internet holds plenty of inaccurate information and many fabricated stories; I’d like to say much to my surprise, but it really isn’t.
Taking Feedback Onboard
You might be thinking, feedback? How is that a skill? Well, the term ‘feedback’ isn’t necessarily an essential skill for a Junior Copywriter on its own but having the ability to take feedback onboard and use it to improve your work can certainly be considered as a talent.
Often people are so set in their ways that feedback is something usually ignored and pushed to the side because they don’t like to be told what they need to do differently. Taking feedback onboard only helps you to advance; it doesn’t mean that you aren’t a great writer. You could be an award-winning writer but still receive feedback on how you can improve your work even more.
For a Junior Copywriter, listening, understanding, and implementing feedback will ripen your career and aid you to adjust your work to better suit clients and not applying feedback will only hold you back as a writer.
Working Under Pressure
As a Junior Copywriter, there is an element of pressure. You are expected to quickly produce work to hit deadlines, but the fast pace is part of the role, and the more time you spend doing the job, the easier it becomes as you gradually will get quicker at writing and the amount of content you can produce.
A tip for those already in the role or looking to become a Junior Copywriter, when you are assigned a piece of work, don’t put it to the side and let it be forgotten. Try to complete it ASAP. It will make your work routine more structured and won’t allow you or your team to become unorganised or inundated with work.
Law Firm SEO Basics
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a significant part of copywriting for law firms. Without it, you can’t expect your writing to have any sort of value i.e if no one can find it or read it. Thus, SEO can ultimately determine the success of written content.
A junior copywriting role can teach you so much about SEO. Recently in my own role, I learnt how to use a tool called Ahrefs to find keywords that please Google; I discovered the desired word count for blog posts, learnt the number of lines to write per paragraph, and that numbers under ten should be spelt rather than typing the physical number. This is only a small amount of SEO basics that I now know. These are all things the team at Conscious Solutions support law firms with.
Communication Skills
Being able to listen to what is required of you is a significant part of a junior copywriting role. Each piece of required writing will have a brief that needs to be closely followed to fit the client’s expectations and to consistently produce the same quality of work across their sites.
Learning Practical Skills on The Job Are Important for Development
Education only prepares you so far for the real world, but there eventually comes the point where you need practical experience in an established environment that knows what they’re doing. This is why I am so grateful to be under the direction of an experienced copy team including Ed Prior with whom I’m looking forward to continuing my learning journey.
If you feel your firm could benefit from well-constructed legal copywriting, get in touch to set up a conversation and learn why Conscious continues to play such an important role in the success of law firms across the UK.