You already know that I strongly discourage copywriters from using job-bidding sites like Upwork or Fiverr or Freelancer to find work. (If you need a reminder, here’s why.) And people love to try to argue that with me. Case in point, here’s an article someone posted on one of our ads to “prove” that people can make six figures on Upwork. Now, I’ve never said that you … [Read more...]
How Much Does it Cost to Set Up a Copywriting Business?
They say that it takes money to make money…but that’s not always true. Case in point: Your copywriting business. Now, it goes without saying that you need training in order to work as a copywriter. You have to know how to actually provide the service you want to provide, right? And you also know that it’s a specialized form of writing that’s very different from any other … [Read more...]
How Many Rounds of Copywriting Revisions Should You Offer?
I get this question a lot—“how many rounds of revisions do I give my client?”—and I understand the thinking behind it. People are worried that clients are going to “take advantage” of them and request round after round after round of revisions until it’s perfect. But here’s the thing: Our copy is supposed to be perfect. (Or, at least, as close to perfect as it can be.) It’s … [Read more...]
The Sneaky Distractions That Will Block Your Copywriting Career Progress
When people think of the things that might get in the way of being successful in their copywriting careers, they tend to all think of the same things: not enough time, other commitments, having trouble finding clients, etc. The good news is that all of these are easy to identify and surprisingly easy to surmount with a good plan. But it’s the other distractions—the … [Read more...]
The Most Expensive Mistake I’ve Ever Made as a Copywriter
I’ve been a professional copywriter for more than 15 years, and I’ve had a lot of successes and worked with a lot of fantastic clients in that time. But part of what’s fueled that success has been learning from mistakes…and making sure I never make them again. Lucky for you, you don’t have to make all of them in the first place; you can learn from my mistakes, instead! And … [Read more...]
One Question That Can Literally Change Your Life
Okay, the bad news is that your mind doesn’t want you to be happy. (There's good news coming too, but bear with me for a moment.) Truly: The oldest part of your brain, the lizard brain, doesn’t care if you’re happy as long as you’re safe. And that means it’s going to use aaaaaall kinds of sneaky tactics to keep you in your comfort zone—even if the rest of you wants out of … [Read more...]
Why Landing Pages Are the Perfect First Copywriting Projects
If you’re looking for a way to get started with a potential client—or, perhaps, a good piece of value to bring to a potential client to convince them to work with you—landing pages might just be the perfect place to start. Landing pages are where a visitor “lands” after taking an action link clicking an ad, clicking a link, or opting in. Landing pages have exactly ONE … [Read more...]
10 Resources to Keep You Resourceful
Okay, look, I promise that I'm not going to be the 10,000th person today to tell you that we’re living through “challenging times.” But I will, gently, remind you that while some worrying is natural…it’s not going to help anything. (And, as copywriters, we’re very fortunate that there’s a bit less to worry about for us than for lots of other people.) So, in the spirit of … [Read more...]
Your Copywriting Clients NEED Your Guidance
As our students can attest, when you land your first few clients you feel elation followed very quickly by panic. (Which, by the way, does subside and occurs much less often as you land more and more clients.) The reason for this panic is that it’s now time to walk the walk as well as you talk the talk—to actually do the work you’ve been practicing and preparing for. And … [Read more...]
Will the Market Be Flooded with Copywriters?
A few nights ago, someone left a comment on one of our Facebook ads essentially saying, “Your training is all well and good, but when the market is flooded with copywriters no one will be able to find work and everyone will have to work for peanuts.” Well, that’s a pretty dire prediction. But as you’ve likely heard me say before: The people who know the least about a topic … [Read more...]