Being a creative copywriter in Perth feels like the Chandler Bing or Barney Stinson of jobs. Not everyone knows or understands what the job of a copywriter involves.
When people ask what I do, I almost see their thought bubble; Google Docs on-screen and frantically punching the keyboard, lurking in shadows of computers and books. Well, there’s an element of truth there.
Then they’ll ask “what does a copywriter do?”
The short answer?
That person who writes everything:
- SEO copywriting
- Web copy
- Regular blog content
- Enticing headlines
- Product/service descriptions
- Ad copy
- Case studies
- Client and customer stories
- Newsletters
- White papers
- Brochures
- Award submissions
- Press releases
- Bios
- Social media posts
But the job of a creative content writer in Perth is much more than crafting clever sentences for digital or print mediums.
Skip ahead to the contents below or keep reading for some background on why I’m qualified to answer your question.
Article Contents
As I write this, I’m in my tenth year as a professional copywriter in Perth. Add 17 years of music journalism to the mix, putting pen to paper has been engraved in my soul for a long time. View my portfolio.
After I resigned from my office job as the Senior Content Writer for a digital marketing agency, that dreaded 4:00 am alarm no longer exists. Creativity, for me, strikes later. I’m mostly a night owl. And one of the best parts about starting the little typewriter is dictating flexible hours to suit what works.
Although many will disagree (productivity tends to be a ‘morning thing’), I prefer to start my day later as this is where I achieve more for my clients. 9-5, or my old 5:00 am – 2:30 pm, isn’t a schedule that’s sustainable long-term for many creative minds.
Now, my day starts with a bearable wake-up alarm, a smoothie or caffeine fix and whatever is on the menu for breakfast before I drop my husband to work.
What Does a Copywriter in Perth Do?
Contrary to what people often assume copywriters don’t write physical content all day.
In short, skilled copywriters are creatives who motivate readers to take action by writing copy and content for audience (customer) engagement. The Internet is heavily content-based. Copywriters are the superheroes who keep the net’s engine running.
While content writing days are always varied, here’s a snapshot of the tasks I perform on a regular basis as a creative copywriter in Perth.
1. To-Do Lists
Most copywriters start the day with general admin tasks. Content plans, proposals, calculating quotes, scheduling social media posts, recording expenses etc.
If I haven’t done so the night before, I write my to-do lists I’ll check content schedules for upcoming deadlines to ensure client projects are on track. Mentally, I’m preparing for my day.
Copywriting involves juggling many tasks, managing time efficiently and meeting deadlines. Without to-do lists and content schedules, it’s impossible to prioritise and stay afloat.
I like to start the day with quick, easier tasks and work my way up to more pressing jobs. The writing part of the job may not start until after 12:00 pm and when I’m in the flow, emails or messages are on hold until the next “break”.
2. Client Communication
Responding to emails can take up a huge chunk of the day. Email etiquette and timely responses are important, so I dedicate time to this first.
I keep my clients up-to-date with their content projects as good communication is key to all relationships. For any regular blogs I’m managing, I’ll use this time to check Google Analytics for top-performing content and the backend of the CMS (Content Management Systems) and notify you of any immediate changes that need attention.
Part of this step includes responding to messages or job opportunities on professional platforms such as LinkedIn and drawing up proposals.
3. Edit and Finish Content Jobs
Where possible, I prefer to leave copy editing until the next day. Although I’ll always edit after I finish the piece, final edits and completing jobs are best left for after time to disconnect. I check grammatical errors, writing flow and tone of voice to ensure it’s on-brand.
Web copy must be written for humans and optimised for Google. I’ll tick off all the essentials before a second editor reads them over ready to send to the client.
4. Plan and Strategise
Before I start the next content project, I plan, strategise and outline. The client creative brief is essential here. It helps me unearth hidden gems in your brand and digs deeper into your project and content goals, target audience and the nitty-gritty of who you are and what you do.
You should never write a piece of content without keyword research and a strategy in place.
A big part of being an SEO copywriter involves understanding how people search online, what keyword phrases they’re using and whether certain topics are trending up or down. There are multiple tools to find data needed to create the right blog articles for your audience, but it requires the expertise of an SEO copywriter or specialist to find and map the right ones for you.
- Keyword Planner (free)
- Keywords Everywhere (free plugin)
- Moz Keyword Explorer (registration needed)
- SEMRush Keyword Magic Tool (registration needed)
- Ubersuggest by Neil Patel (free)
- Google Trends (free)
- Google Analytics (free)
Brainstorming new blog topics for either a client’s website or my own is one of my favourite tasks because of the creativity involved. But copywriters are full-brained individuals – we also use the analytical side of our brains to execute content deliverables.
5. Research, Research, Research
This brings us to research. A lot of research.
Strategic, data-driven research is the blueprint for successful content. I allocate an hour or two for research. Technical topics may need more.
No matter the type of content, research is priority. Some clients will provide a lot of information as a starting point but independent research is still essential to understand subject material, client and their industry, products/services.
Part of the research stages includes headlines. Writing multiple iterations of the same headline is important for creative processes and to grab the reader’s attention. I then run it through CoSchedule to review its emotional impact, power and overall score.
6. Content Creation
The part where I crack my knuckles, fuel up and dive into what I do best – writing.
The average blog post takes 3 hours and 57 minutes to write, up a whopping 65% since 2014. For an onsite article I’ll allow 5 hours; 1 hour of research, 3 – 3.5 hours of writing and 30 minutes to an hour of editing. An offsite (outreach) article needs more. See point 7.
Quality content, onsite and offsite, are crucial parts of a good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategy. The process involves more than writing an article or web page. Metadata needs to be written (the snippet of text that appears in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), images optimised with alt tags and content plans developed.
Content plans are locked in on a 3, 6 or 12-month basis. All content is optimised for readers first, Google second and is either placed onsite or outreached to an external online publication.
7. Outreach and Link Building
Web copywriting is only part of the content marketing puzzle. Placing content and building relationships with relevant local publishers is key to building a healthy backlink profile.
Content outreach is time-consuming but necessary. It’s about building real relationships with real people. Copywriters use a pyramid of skills to gain exposure for each piece of content. Think of it as online Public Relations.
7 hours are reserved to write and place outreach (offsite) articles. However, there are no guarantees for how long the process can take or when your article goes live. It can be a round-the-clock job and there’s a specific art to reaching out to the right platforms.
8. Onsite Optimisation
Once an article or web page is live the work doesn’t stop there.
Onsite optimisation is a constant work in progress to tweak, test and implement. It’s a job that evolves as your website grows. Small changes can create a big impact on rankings. It may be something as simple as updating metadata, URL and images, or optimising and updating existing copy to make it more relevant for your audience.
I don’t provide technical SEO as an individual service. But because content and SEO go hand-in-hand, all web copy needs to be crawled, indexed and understood by Google for it to perform. I make sure to tick those boxes and readers can use and find the content they’re looking for. View my copywriting services.
9. Tracking and Reporting
There’s a minefield of data to interpret to understand how a website and its content are performing. I use a mix of free and paid tools to track traffic and conversion rates.
To make the right content decisions for my client’s website, this data needs to be read and analysed. For some clients, they’ll track the content I write for them themselves. However, regular blog management is tracked and reported month-by-month.
10. Google and Copywriting Updates
To stay up-to-date with copywriting and Google’s SEO best practices, you can’t afford to miss a beat. The search algorithms are constantly changing and I keep my finger on the pulse with all of them to serve up content that satisfies and solves your audience’s needs.
Ready to Hire a Copywriter in Perth?
Web copy is the bones of a good website. But it’s a different ball game writing for web. Great writers aren’t necessarily great SEO copywriters. Thankfully I’ve written for both digital and print mediums over the years.
My core industry is digital (despite starting off in music journalism), although I’ll always have a soft spot for print media. Read my article on why print still matters and how business owners can benefit from both platforms.
Web copywriting helps you to target your customers and solve their specific problems with well-crafted content. Need a creative content writer in Perth to scribe the right message for your brand? Let’s talk.
