Copywork: 8 Surprising Benefits for Bloggers

What do incredible writers Jack London, Benjamin Franklin, and Hunter S. Thompson have in common?  They performed copywork.

Every blogger, writer, and digital marketer should try a series of copywork at least once in their life.

What is Copywork?

Copywork is the active duplication of a written work, (story, blog post, book, quote, etc.) by handwriting OR typing, with the goal of reproducing the unique quality of the original.

Benefits of copywork include:

• Better handwriting
• Improved writing/typing dexterity
• Warming up before writing
• Increased fluidity and flow of ideas
• Reduction of writer’s block

Who Should Try Copywork?

Copywork can be an effective way for children to learn proper handwriting skills, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

However, copywork is also amazing for writers, bloggers, and digital marketers.

It allows working professionals to enhance their craft and find their writing style by emulating great authors.

Here are the 8 most surprising benefits that copywork brings to bloggers and digital marketers.

Related: Top 10 Productivity Killers For Digital Marketers

1. Identify Your Writing Voice

One of the best ways for you to find your writer’s voice is though the deliberate practice of copywork.

Consistent copywork punctuates your writing by allowing you to try out the styles of your favorite writers.

It also helps you to sort through the different types of great writing voices that have shaped literature (or in this case blogging).

Quality copywork provides you with the structure and framework that you need to express yourself.

Counter-intuitively this practice can set you up to write in your own writer’s voice.

Just as a vocalist or an instrumentalist learns to play other composers songs as preparation for writing their own, so too should a writer practice copywork as a means to improve their own compositions.

2. Copywork Improves Writing Technique

Copywork is most often used to teach young students basic handwriting skills.

However, the functionality of copywork is not limited to young students.

Copywork can help you correct general grammar and spelling errors in your blog posts.

It’s a fun way to read, educate yourself, and get your technical writing skill in order.

Subsequently, it makes learning technical skills less mundane and gives you a subject of interest to write about.

Don’t be afraid to duplicate writing that truly interests you!

3. Counters Writing Block

The bane of a blogger’s existence is writer’s block.

There’s a very specific type of terror that you experience when you stare at a blank page (at least I do!).

Copywork counters this limitation by giving you the momentum that you need to break through the initial struggles of writing a new piece of content.

Practicing daily can also get you into the habit of writing early and often.

Related: Is Hubspot’s Content Marketing Certification Worth It? 11 Skills You’ll Learn

4. Copywork Builds Copywriting Skills

As a blogger, you also need to build your copywriting skills.

When utilizing different methodologies of copywork (on different types of writing) you can effectively learn digital marketing skills faster.

You aren’t limited to copywork that involves famous authors.

Use copywork to imitate powerful copywriting, social media posts, and blog posts.

For example, you can copy your favorite sales pages or email sales letters.

Choose writing that is the most applicable to your blogging needs.

Personally, I have used copywork for the top 100 Seth Godin articles.

His writing style, blogging consistency, and authoritative writing voice are all aspects that I want to include in my blog writing.

Note: I originally got the idea for this article and copying Seth Godin’s Top 100 through Matthew Encina’s article and YouTube video! Be sure to check him out 🙂

5. Increase Typing Speed and Accuracy

Using copywork in tandem with other typing methodologies (online typing tests as well as typing practice methods) can help you increase your typing speed and accuracy.

Writers like me, for example, don’t have the fastest tying speed in the world.

In fact, my typing speed is just barely above average (70 WPM). However, copywork has been a valuable way for me to practice typing n a way that I will actually use.

Typing tests often force you to type irrelevant information in orders that don’t make sense.

With copywork though, you can work on typing that actually applies to your blogging.

Record your work in one notebook or online word processor. I prefer to use Notion to store all of my copied texts.

6. Copywork Destroys Bad Writing Habits

Effective copywork will eventually iron out your bad blogging habits.

Aside from basic spelling and punctuation errors, it will get you in the habit of correcting more advanced grammar mistakes.

Grammar errors such as misused prepositions and squinting modifiers.

In addition to this, copywork will give you the opportunity to change your writing style.

By eliminating bad writing habits and replacing them with constructive ones your content will be more relevant and helpful to your readers.

7. Enhance Blogging Enjoyment + Fluidity

Copywork can get you in the flow state for writing your main blog articles, copy, and social posts.

Furthermore, by using copywork you can build valuable momentum both physically and mentally.

Eventually, daily practice will result in a long-term transformation in your enjoyment of writing.

You’ll achieve better control of your “writer’s switch”, giving you the chance to communicate effectively at will.

Related: How To Blog According to Austin Kleon

8. Master Language and Communication

The fluidity of your writing built my copywork leads to another level of writing.

Copywork will give you a great mastery over the English language (or whichever language you happen to be writing in).

A blogger’s ultimate goal is to communicate effectively and deliver value to their reader.

As a blogger, you want to hone your writing craft so that you can give that unique value to your audience.

Though it seems tedious and unoriginal, copywork is an effective way to absorb the knowledge of the greats.

It also allows you to utilize their tools, techniques, and strategies in your own writing.

Conclusion

As you can probably tell from reading this article, I have a lot of copywork to do.

There are plenty of loose ends left to tie in all of our writing journeys.

But an effective tool like copywork can help you make meaningful progress in your growth as a blogger and a writer.

Class Dismissed,

Chris Chan