Talking to Strangers is the Best Way to Practice Your Copywriting Skills

A proven writing practice regime.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

You won’t become a copywriter without writing copies.

But you don’t have to limit your copywriting practice to only sales copies and ad letters.

The fundamental duty of your copy is to persuade someone to take action and there’s a better way of practising this. A way that will not only enhance your copy skills but also give you opportunities you might have never expected.

The best way to practice your writing/copywriting skills is to talk to strangers… by writing cold emails to them!

A cold email is an email you send to someone who doesn’t know you. People send cold emails to generate leads, get job opportunities or simply network.

But you, my friend, will send cold emails to practice your copywriting skills.

Let me explain how (and why):

The two crucial properties of an effective copy are:

• A convincing headline
• A persuasive body

Here’s how you must write and send cold emails to master the pillars of an effective copy:

1. The Headline = The Subject line:

Your subject line aims to get them to open your mail.

Just like a headline, your subject line is perhaps the first (and only) thing your prospective reader will look at.

As I learned that a good headline will always promise a benefit or reward to the user, I used it in action to send out a cold email for a job application.

Here’s my most effective email subject:

I used this email to get my first engineering job out of college.

I sent out 100+ emails with this subject and got 12 responses which is higher than the average 4–5% response rate of cold emails.

Now your headline does not need to promise a reward, you could use it to generate enough curiosity.

Here’s another one that I used:

I praise and generate curiosity.

This headline got Ankur Warikoo, one of the biggest social media personalities in the world, to open and read my email (and I got a reply).

Writing subject lines will enhance your headline and hook writing skills for Medium, X or any other writing platform

2. A persuasive body = Are you convincing?:

Once you reel them in with your subject line, you need to keep them hooked.

With a standard copy, you tell a story or share an insight that amplifies the beliefs of the user making it more compelling in the reader’s mind.

You can practice persuasive writing through the body of your cold emails.

Whether the receiver reads your email will depend on how compelling your email is.

For example, when asking for help if you just state that you need help, why would they respond? Whereas when you have sufficient knowledge about the backstory, the struggles and the desires of the receiver, you can carve a body that will feel comforting to them.

Do your research about the receiver. They are your customers.

Share a story that makes you look human. Circle back to how your philosophy resembles the receiver’s philosophy.

A good email will strike a bond with the receiver and talk directly to them. That’s how you become persuasive in your emails.

Writing enough persuasive cold emails will skyrocket the quality of your writing by teaching you:

• The importance of customer research
• Effective storytelling
• Strike a bond of reliability

Your Takeaway:

Talking to strangers is the best way to practice your Copywriting skills

Send out cold emails to strangers

If you get a reply, congratulations! You’re copy worked

If not, keep shooting until you do

Cold emails have helped me:

• Practice my hooks (Do they open my mail by reading the subject line?)
• Make better offers (Do I sound convincing?)
• Practice the art of persuasion (Do they respond?)

Don’t think. Shoot that cold email /DM NOW!