Like many Comprehensive Copywriting Academy students, Sonali came from an entirely different professional background. After 11 years in social work, she knew it wasn’t her forever job. Sonali always had an affinity for writing and copywriting soon became an attractive career choice.
Sonali decided to go all in on her new career and set a goal to hit $5K a month by June 2023. Spoiler: She hit that by April and now has her sights set on hitting $10K a month by the end of the year! But it’s not just the financial freedom she’s benefitting from, as she now has the flexibility to spend more time with her family in India.
Tune in to hear Sonali tell us all about how to be your own superpower when it comes to finding success in copywriting.
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A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[3:30] Comprehensive Copywriting Academy student Sonali worked as a social worker for 11 years and despite it being a very rewarding job, she knew she didn’t want to do it forever. She always had a talent for writing and after seeing Facebook ads for the CCA course, she eventually decided to buy the course in January 2021.
[7:33] Sonali knew her sister worked for an advertising agency but wasn’t too aware that copywriting was part of her role. Her first impression of the marketing industry was quite negative as her sister worked long hours and wasn’t very happy. However this was more to do with her working environment rather than the job itself.
[8:58] The fact you can work on your own terms, it’s interesting, and she was already good at writing, made copywriting an attractive career choice for Sonali. She also thought the course provided insane value for the price she had to pay.
[10:07] Sonali was able to transfer a lot of the skills she had gained for her job as a social worker and apply them to her new endeavor in copywriting.
[11:46] The positive and encouraging environment in the CCA Facebook group acted as a fantastic support to Sonali when she was just starting out, especially when she had moments of self doubt.
[13:23] The big “why” behind Sonali’s career shift was the time freedom and financial freedom she could gain. She has much more flexibility to travel to India to spend time with family and the earning potential is a lot higher than it was at her old job.
[14:24] Sonali is very risk averse and knew that she would not respond well to pressure, so she made sure she saved up enough money to give her a cushion in case things didn’t work out.
[16:15] After realizing she needed to go all in on copywriting, Sonali set a goal for herself at the end of last year that by June 2023, she would be making $5K a month. She hit that by April and now has her sights set on her next goal, which is to hit $10K a month by the end of the year!
[19:22] Sonali advises taking your time to hone your craft and land your first clients, and accepting the fact that although outreach can feel painful, it won’t be at that level of intensity forever.
[20:48] It’s important to remind yourself of your big “why” and the wins that you’ve had so that you keep gaining confidence in your work, what you charge, and how you can bring value to your clients.
[22:28] To find success in copywriting, you have to become okay with doing the boring stuff like knuckling down and perfecting your outreach.
[23:09] When it comes to mindset, Sonali reminds us that you can be your own worst enemy or your own superpower but it’s you who gets to pick every day what you want to be.
[26:44] Sonali advises us to never make the mistake of stopping outreach. It’s important to continue pitching, even if you have retainer clients, because things can change.
[28:03] In terms of the projects Sonali works on, she has narrowed her focus into websites, emails, and sales pages. She is now moving more of a retainer based model which involves knowing the whole sales funnel, so that she can provide ongoing support to clients.
[29:54] Sonali thought she needed to finish the entire CCA course before she even started pitching but really you just need to know more than the client, and have the willingness and ability to learn. Don’t let it act as a form of resistance–you can always revisit modules if needed!
[33:22] If you have an affinity for writing, and can afford to invest in the CCA course, Sonali advises giving it a go. The worst case scenario is that you decide it isn’t for you but the best case scenario is that you end up having a career and a life you absolutely love.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“For the value that you provide Nicki, the price that I paid was ridiculous. Honestly, absolutely ridiculous. So another thing I was thinking of was if this doesn’t work out, it’s not a life changing sum of money that I am investing anyway because I am extremely risk averse.” – Sonali
“And what I found really, really incredible was just how supportive the group is. I remember, I think it was one of the early exercises, I think it was the brand voice, I had spent a whole day doing it and I posted it and people where so kind. And so even when people are giving feedback, the fact that everyone was so kind about it, I loved that because I’m pretty sure if my first couple of experiences posting in the group hadn’t been as positive as they were, I would have probably completely withdrawn and not done it because I would have been like “I suck at this, I can’t do it”. But I think the fact that you guys work so hard to keep that a very positive and encouraging environment went a long way.” – Sonali
“Listening to other people’s wins made me think well if they can do it, surely I can do it.” – Sonali
“You don’t have to know everything there is to know about copywriting and marketing, you just have to know more than them and have the willingness and ability to learn.” – Sonali
“You’re literally just one outreach away from someone saying yes.” – Sonali
Mentioned on this Episode
- Her Goal Was to Replace Her Teaching Income in 5 Months: She Did It in 6 Weeks
- View Sonali’s portfolio
Related Links
- From Financial Professional to Copywriter—Chaundell’s Story
- Landing a 4-Figure Project 2 Months In—Courtney’s Story
- Most Common Copywriter Backgrounds
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Last Updated on April 23, 2025
