How to become a beauty copywriter

by Alice Starkie One of the best ways to establish yourself as a copywriter is to showcase your ability to write for a niche market. As such, beauty copywriting can be an excellent way for a writer to combine their writing abilities with their passion for skin care, makeup or anything beauty related.Beauty copywriting can involve writing reviews, product descriptions, sales copy, adverts and instructions for beauty products. If this sounds like a career that would interest you, but you are unsure exactly how to become a beauty copywriter, take a look at our tips below. Steps to becoming a beauty copywriter 1. Utilise your blog & social media As a freelance writer, you should see your social media as an extension of yourself, as your social media accounts can be stumbled upon by numerous potential clients. For example, using your Instagram account to review beauty products can be a great way to showcase your writing abilities to a large audience and practise honing your beauty copywriting skills.Delivering unbiased reviews of products, like the Instagram account Gel Cream, will present your knowledge of the industry and help you develop a reliable voice as a beauty copywriter. Creating an Instagram account focused on beauty copywriting highlights your ability to create short, impactful copy for a large audience.Blogging is another important tool to show off your industry expertise and can help you get spotted by potential clients. A lot of this comes down to finding a niche. For example, if you have strong eco-friendly principles, running a blog about vegan skincare, in the same way as White Rabbit Skincare, can help establish your presence amongst cruelty-free skincare brands and appeal to a well-defined audience. Blogging can be especially useful if you potentially want to become a beauty copywriter for a particular brand’s blog or magazine, as it is can display your ability to write long pieces of work regularly.Beauty and lifestyle blogger Rachel Parcell began her blog, Pink Peonies, to simply document her wedding and share her outfits with friends. But, she recalls, “quickly, I started to be noticed by major brands in L.A. and New York. They could see from their analytics that a young Mormon girl from Utah was driving not only traffic but lots of sales. Pink Peonies then went from a hobby to a business.” Now the owner of her own clothing line, Parcell’s success story shows how blogging can be a great way to attract industry attention and turn a hobby into a career. 2. Show potential clients what you can do While using social media can be a great way to reach a mass audience, sometimes a more direct approach is required. Research start-up or independent beauty brands and offer to complete some trial copy for them. While creating free beauty copy is not ideal, it can be a great way to build a portfolio and test your copywriting abilities, particularly if you don’t yet have much experience.Don’t be afraid to ask the brand specifically what they liked/disliked about the copy you produced; consider their feedback as payment for the order. Take on any criticisms the client may have and address them as you begin to pitch yourself to paying clients. Try to treat creating the free copy as if it were for a paying client. For example, set yourself a time frame and stick to it, this way you will be able to give clients an accurate estimate of your service. 3. Build a portfolio After you have created your first few pieces of beauty copy, you can begin compiling your work into a professional copywriting portfolio.For copywriters targeting the beauty industry, including multiple versions of a piece of copy can be a useful way to showcase your versatility. For example, if you are mocking up a product description for an all-purpose moisturiser, providing a version that is aimed at teens and a version aimed at retired women can highlight how you can adapt your writing style to different target markets. 4. Get involved with the industry and network Now you have some experience in beauty copywriting and are armed with your portfolio, it’s time to reach out to the industry and begin networking. Search for beauty trade shows or beauty industry events and connect with businesses. Rather than sending out a mass email to every beauty company you can think of, tailor each message you send to a company and explain why you want to work specifically with them. A few well-tailored pitches will be more effective than a generic pitch that will most likely be perceived as spam. Beauty copywriting career paths Beauty copywriting is a creative career that offers a lot of freedom. However, like many writing jobs, it can be hard finding opportunities. Here are some beauty copywriting career paths available to you… 1. In-house copywriter Being hired as an in-house writer for a company is more reliable than working freelance as you will be expected to provide a steady stream of copy for the company. As the beauty industry is very diverse, there are multiple sectors that require in-house beauty copywriting, such as magazines and newspapers, but also more niche areas of the industry such as spas, salons and retailers who may require marketing materials and eCommerce beauty descriptions for example. While this won’t be as versatile as working freelance, as you will be presumably writing about the same beauty brand or product each day, it can be a rewarding career option if you choose to work for a company you are passionate about. 2. Blogging & freelancing You may decide to contract out your services by submitting pitches for articles or sales writing to several beauty brands, publishers or websites. If you really put the hours in and can build a strong brand, you can even make a living from blogging about beauty or as a beauty influencer by monetising your blog.Alternatively, applying to work with a copywriting service offers the flexibility of freelancing but with a more varied and steady stream of work. Although when working with a copywriting service like Copify you are not guaranteed to only find beauty copywriting jobs, you will often work on related jobs such as eCommerce product descriptions and blog posts. 3. Agency copywriting Working for a digital marketing company can be an interesting career path for a beauty copywriter. A digital marketing company will be more focused on how well a piece of content performs online, by using insights gathered from search analytics. This makes it a great career option to explore for an individual interested in SEO copywriting who may want to be involved in refining and optimising content as well as promoting it across various online channels. Don’t give up! Like most careers, you will not become a successful beauty copywriter overnight. Building your client base or finding a company that you are passionate enough to write for can be a long process. Don’t despair if you are rejected from the first few jobs you apply for or if your networking attempts are unsuccessful. Continue to practise your copywriting skills and eventually the timing will be right.If you are struggling to find work as a beauty copywriter, it can be a good idea to begin by gaining more experience across the broader spectrum of freelance writing by signing up to a copywriting service. This will help you practise creating high-quality copy and will mean you can earn money from your writing while you wait for the right beauty copywriting opportunity to come along.If you are interested in exploring a copywriting career but do not wish to focus on the beauty industry, you can find general tips on beginning a copywriting career here. Main image credits: KinkateInternal image credits: Free-Photos, Kaboompics, PexelsSpread the word: Twitter Facebook Linkedin Alice StarkieAlice is a Lancaster University graduate and Content Delivery Manager at Copify. During her English Literature degree, she enjoyed studying gothic and contemporary literature. Alice has a particular interest in beauty copywriting and enjoys attending concerts in her spare time.