What’s Your Copywriting Superpower?

Have you seen the latest Marketing Profs 2018 Marketing Salary Guide?

The 2018 salaries for brand and agency content positions blew me away!

The forecasted salary range for a content strategist is $60,000 – $115,000.

A web copywriter? $47,000 – $104,000.

In fact, there was nothing under $40K a year.

Nice, eh?

This is great news for content writers like us. (Congratulations if you make this — or even more than this — now!)

But, what if you’re not making that kind of money?

It’s easy to look at salary surveys like this and think, “Everyone else is making way more money than I am. What’s wrong with me?”

I assure you that is NOT what’s going on.

In fact, after I wrote about this in my newsletter, I heard from many writers — both freelance and in-house — who ARE afraid of algorithms taking their jobs.

They’re floundering around, taking low-paying gigs, and suffering with slow-paying clients.

Maybe you feel the same way.

For instance…

A friend of mind was stressing out because she had a “feast or famine” business. When she was busy, she was too busy to think — but when things were quiet, she’d wake up at 3 a.m. and worry about money.

What’s funny is this woman is brilliant at product launches. She can write the emails. She can set up the back end. She can project manage the process. It’s a huge skill set.

The challenge is, she didn’t think of her skill set as a superpower. She didn’t realize she was charging way too little for the knowledge that was in her head.

Because that’s why clients pay you, you know. It’s because of your superpowers.

One SEO Copywriting Buzz reader summed this up beautifully when she responded to my “will machines take our writing jobs” email. Her note?

My copywriting superpower is being a CPA steeped in direct response. I don’t see my big clients looking to AI to write for them. They’re willing to pay me for what’s in my brain.

YES, YES, YES!

So, what’s your content writing superpower?

What do you do every day that seems easy to you — but, blows your clients’ or boss’ minds?

Do your blog posts get more likes than cute cat videos?

Do you have influencers at your fingertips, ready to help get the word out?

Can you write highly-technical content that only an engineer could understand?

Your superpower skill set is what propels you from, “I’m worried about money and clients don’t pay me enough,” to “I’m on vacation and I’m not taking on new clients right now.”

Knowing the value you bring to the table gives you the confidence to negotiate a much higher writing salary (plus, it allows you to work on the stuff you really find fun.)

It’s all about what’s in your brain. The information in your head is worth more than you know.

What do YOU think of the salary survey?

Is it inspirational? Depressing? Do you know your writing superpower, or are you still discovering your hidden talents? Leave a comment and let me know.

Did you enjoy this blog post? You’ll love my weekly newsletter — it’s chock-full of actionable SEO writing tips. Here’s how to sign up!

 

5 replies
  1. Joanne says:

    So…. we are NOT being replaced by AI? Who wouldn’t find that inspirational? It’s awesome. I have not discovered my super power yet. I’m just really hoping I have one!

    Reply
    • Heather Lloyd-Martin says:

      Joanne-

      Of COURSE you have a superpower! Sometimes, it takes awhile to find it — but once you do, you’ll be unstoppable. :)

      Thanks for your comment!
      :)

      Reply
  2. Dan Angell says:

    I make $50,000 a year, but it’s only because I’ve found enough work from content mills to survive. I don’t have any idea what my “superpower” is.

    Reply
    • Heather Lloyd-Martin says:

      Hey, Dan!

      Well, one of your superpowers must be writing fast — making 50K via content mills would be hard work!

      It’s easy to take our superpowers for granted and not even notice them — until someone points them out for us! What kind of feedback do you get from your clients? What kind of comments/praise keep popping up?

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. What’s Your Copywriting Superpower? – SuccessWorks – Blue Feather Quill says:

    […] Source: What’s Your Copywriting Superpower? – SuccessWorks […]

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.