Why Copywriting Matters: Some Encouragement for the Exhausted Freelancer

Writing is an equally rewarding and isolating freelance profession. It’s so easy to get stuck in mindsets like imposter syndrome when we work alone. I’ve even found that honing my skills over nearly a decade in digital marketing made my mindset worse at times. Sometimes, I struggle to remember why copywriting matters when it feels so easy.

Facing these moments with honesty is the first step in defeating professional exhaustion and discouragement. I go back to a few key points when I need to refocus on what made me passionate about things like organic traffic and keywords in the first place. They always leave me with renewed motivation to continue helping business owners.

Is Copywriting Worth It?

Let’s start with what sometimes zaps my energy the most. Is copywriting worth it in an age of digital discouragement? Is it still a career people should pursue?

News about AI replacing copywriters is always on one news feed of mine or another. Only about 3.8% of businesses used AI in 2023, but even that small percentage is big enough to make writers nervous.

People also write articles questioning if SEO is beneficial to businesses in major publications, which may convince some people to turn away from copywriting professionals. These types of click-generating articles depress even the best copywriters, but they aren’t necessarily true.

Copywriting is worth it in today’s changing world for numerous reasons. Don’t let scary headlines extinguish your passion for researching, writing and strategizing content. Our skills are still valuable for reasons AI and clickbait can’t defeat.

Why Copywriting Matters to Businesses

Let’s start with some benefits even the best writers sometimes forget about our profession. Our hard work ethic and experience make these things possible for business owners who have other talents. When you’re wondering why copywriting matters anymore, remember it produces these valued results.

SEO Content Generates Leads

We know our optimized content results in more leads, but remember why that’s so valuable for business owners. 60% of entrepreneurs feel burnt out compared to traditional employees. They’re spending their energy on services, product creation, ad campaigns and networking events. They don’t have the time or patience to write content and hope it somehow reaches people on search engines.

Offering direct results with proven SEO copywriting strategies is a huge relief to business owners. When we point out that content marketing is successful for 74% of business owners who invest in it, all they hear is a great opportunity. While we write their blog posts, they get more free time and extra business. It’s revolutionary, even if writing copy feels like a regular day to us sometimes.

Optimized Posts Improve a Brand’s Google Ranking

The elusive first page of Google’s search results feels out of reach for so many business owners. They might think they have to pay costly ad fees to rank higher or run a successful business for many years before Google notices them.

The strategies we use every day to optimize content can seem like the answers to an entrepreneur’s greatest mystery — what can they do to show up on Google?

I recently experienced this reminder while talking with a potential client. She wanted to appear in search results specifically for people who lived nearby. I explained the importance of local SEO keywords, which she’d never heard about. We planned content using keywords that mentioned Raleigh, North Carolina, which would make her more competitive where we both live and work.

Knowing small details like how 93% of people found a local business in 2020 through a local SEO keyword search is transformative for business owners. Our copywriting skills matter because without us, no one could translate that data to brand owners hoping to grow their digital presence.

Professional Blog Posts Double as Extra Content

If you’re a freelance copywriter like me, you likely advertise your availability on social media. It takes so much time to fill our monthly content calendars! Potential copywriting clients feel the same way, but they don’t often realize how professional blog posts double as social media content.

If someone asks why copywriting matters, sometimes all they need to hear is how it saves them time. Everyone wants more time in their day. Remind them how their blog posts are reusable links for their social media platforms and you’ll watch their eyes light up with excitement.

Copywriting Skills You Bring to the Table

We know why copywriting is crucial to businesses, but what about your skills? Is copywriting a good use of your professional time?

The most important thing I tell other copywriters is this: the skills that feel effortless to you often feel impossible to other people. You’re invaluable because you bring these skills to any team, even if you just started copywriting a few days ago.

An Understanding of Google’s Algorithm

All copywriting skills start with a basic understanding of Google’s algorithm. While you know how something as simple as header formatting is, someone who’s not a writer won’t know how to do that. The things you do with your copy to increase a client’s organic growth dazzle business owners. Your writing is powerful — even down to your smallest content decisions.

I’ll never forget advising one of my first clients. He mentioned how the stress of writing long posts was wearing him thin. When I told him Google doesn’t necessarily consider word counts when ranking content, his jaw dropped. It’s something I learned on my first day as a copywriter, but he said hearing that felt like he was learning from someone who wrote the algorithm herself.

Take pride in your SEO knowledge. It’s not something everyone develops just because they started a blog.

The Ability to Understand and Condense Information

Writing is a form of communication. When you’re a copywriter, you’re usually condensing information so an industry expert can effectively inform their audience about something. What we might consider a simple skill is something many people struggle to ever do successfully.

Imagine asking anyone else to interpret and repack information into a readable, scannable blog post. Your doctor is brilliant at improving your health, but they likely wouldn’t know how to even break a topic into an outline that ranks on Google.

Everyone has knowledge that’s useful in different ways. Ours just happens to be the kind of wordsmithing that makes Google so useful.

Digital Research Skills

Finding a useful link for an SEO blog post might not seem like a big deal. Anyone can type a question into Google and find a URL. It might feel like that sometimes, but what we do is much different.

Finding primary resources for SEO links uses the four parts of digital research: literacy, digital competency, digital thinking and digital skills. You’re gauging whether a source is trustworthy and authoritative while reviewing its content for relevancy to your topic. Many people find it hard to understand any text, let alone juggle all of that while writing about something you might not specialize in.

Helping brands achieve organic growth requires our level of talent all day, every day. The next time you’re sifting through search results during a project, remember that you’re flexing the copywriting skills that ultimately make your content invaluable to businesses.

Effective SEO Strategies

Google’s algorithm is always changing. Business owners don’t have the time to keep up with it and may not have the energy to learn about it. You already do, which means you’re their virtual guide.

Suggesting or pitching content strategies may seem straightforward, but it’s one of the copywriting skills many business owners wouldn’t know how to benefit from without you. As long as search engines use algorithms, people will need expert copywriters to help them publish blog posts that rise through the ranks.

Go Use Your Copywriting Skills to Help People

Freelancing sometimes makes us all feel exhausted and frustrated. If imposter syndrome ever makes you wonder why copywriting matters, I hope you remember that your skills are essential in today’s digital world. Your hard work is always worthwhile, even if some clickbait topics say otherwise.

About the Author

Emily Theune is a senior freelance copywriter and founder of Em Dash Press. After almost a decade in the digital marketing world, she now works one-on-one with business owners who want more leads from their blogs. When she clocks out for the day, you can find Emily attending local festivals with her husband, walking her dogs or crocheting. You can follow her on LinkedIn or Facebook for copywriting tips, updates about her services and sales on her DIY blog post packages.