6 Copywriting Exercises That Will Enhance Your Content Game

Copywriting isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re fresh out of creative juices. And since we’re still very far away from having robots write meaningful copy, it pays to learn how to beat writer's block for good.

So, what do you do when the writer’s block keeps you glued on a blinking cursor?

Simple — you sharpen your axe to get better.

These six copywriting exercises will help restore your mojo and enhance your content game when your motivation takes a nosedive.

1. Practice free-writing

Here’s the thing: The more cluttered your head is, the more challenging it is to write.

This brings us to exercise #1: Clean out all that junk.

You can try Julia Cameron’s technique called “Morning Pages". The concept is pretty straightforward. Every morning, dump all your thoughts into three pages.

What’s the catch? Well, this challenge should take about 30 to 40 minutes, especially since you have to handwrite everything.

It should be well worth it, though, as you can tackle your day with more clarity.

To get started with this exercise, follow these three easy steps:

1. Take out three 8.5 x 11 pages
2. Grab a pen and start writing about anything
3. Dump all your thoughts and fill all three pages (make sure to never go beyond that)

There’s no perfect way to perform this exercise, so don’t pressure yourself too much. Although you’ll find that it gets more challenging as you go along, this exercise will help empty your mind to make space for creativity.

2. Go beyond your existing knowledge

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing about a new topic or a subject you’re well-versed in. You need to challenge yourself to widen your horizon.

While your existing knowledge is crucial, it doesn’t hurt to learn new concepts and develop your skills. Especially in today’s competitive landscape, you always need to keep an eye out for learning opportunities.

Be present in the real world and take inspiration from your daily encounters. You’ll never know what perspective you can gain by simply observing your surroundings.

A few exercises are listening to radio ads and taking a closer look at billboards and street signs. Tear them down and ask yourself how you can further improve them.

Do the copies come with calls to action? Are they using enough power words?

Look for angles that the copywriter failed to notice or cover.

While you’re at it, go through some of your favorite advertisements and rewrite them. Giving the ads your unique take allows you to break down and analyze the techniques used and the copy’s structure.

Change the headline and subtitles and use a different writing approach. Have fun while doing so, and let this exercise sharpen your copywriting eye.

3. Challenge yourself with a teaser exercise

While having a go-to collection of inspiring assets is helpful, it may not always work. If you’re fighting writer’s block, it helps to seek other problems to solve and get your creative gears turning.

This exercise is simple. Just look for a random article, video, advertisement or photo essay. It doesn’t matter if it’s a comedy short or an old ad from the ’70s.

The goal of this exercise is to work on something you haven’t encountered yet.

Challenge yourself to create a teaser for these assets. Write a single paragraph for the teaser and three to five sentences to convince readers to look at it.

To help you with this exercise, below are some helpful tips:

• Use bold statements: Write an unexpected message like something that counters a popular opinion
• Ask your readers: Capture your readers’ attention by asking an intriguing question relevant to their emotions or situation
• Leverage statistics: Spark interest by using statistics that support your claims
• Paint a picture: Add vivid details to your copy to paint a particular scenario and the emotions that go with it

4. Create a blacklist

Buzzwords can be helpful, but only if you use them appropriately.

The thing is, some buzzwords are hollow and don’t provide actual value to your readers.

Be careful not to lean on them excessively as you may appear too desperate to sell. To prevent giving off that impression, create your own blacklist.

List down buzzwords, phrases and even sentence structures you often use. Go through your recent posts and list down words you want to eliminate or replace when you write.

This document will serve as your blacklist.

For instance, if you notice you’ve been using “important” at least ten times in a single article, you can add this word to the list.

It doesn’t mean you’re prohibited from using “important” in your posts ever again. But by adding it to your blacklist, you’ll be reminded to become more mindful of its usage.

At the same time, you’ll be encouraged to expand your vocabulary by looking for replacement words. That shouldn’t be hard, especially now that Google’s only a few clicks or taps away.

Review and update your blacklist regularly. This way, you’ll keep your copies fresh, unique, and compelling.

5. Explore opportunities for enhancement

So you’re ready to roll out a new piece. Before you turn it over, review your copy and color it up.

You’ll be amazed to find several opportunities to enhance your copy and make it more engaging for your readers.

Think firmer verbs and emotional adjectives.

Your goal for this exercise is to maximize powerful language to deliver your message the best way possible.

Again, be careful not to abuse buzzwords. In fact, you should keep them at a minimum.

Focus instead on words that will give your copy a deeper substance.

Also, keep in mind that long isn’t always great. Most people don’t read long paragraphs, even if the content looks stellar.

Keep your paragraphs short but interesting to encourage readers to finish the entire post.

6. Share your work and gather feedback

It’s easy to overlook mistakes when you don’t have a second pair of eyes to review your work. This is the reason why even the best writers still need an editor.

Sharing your copy is an incredible way to gather feedback and gain inspiration from writers and non-writers alike. Have someone review your work and let them make comments and suggestions for improvement.

That, or join online communities like Writing Forums. Register and activate your account, then start a thread on the appropriate board.

Listen to what other writers have to say about your work and be open to critique and constructive feedback.

Also, ask questions if you feel stuck. These are people who understand your struggles, so someone will likely lend a helping hand when you need more insights.

Wrapping up

While practice doesn’t always make perfect, it always makes you better. Whenever your creative juices are sapped, try these exercises to get them flowing again.

Practice them daily if you can so you can stay in tip-top shape.

Finally, just write and don’t overthink things. You’ll be surprised to see just how better you’ve become at writing copies.