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Filthy Rich Writer

Tips, tools, & training for new and aspiring copywriters.

Tips, Tools and Training for New and Aspiring Copywriters

  • What does “Filthy Rich” mean? It means having a job you love, being good at what you do…and making great money doing it!

Why People Tell You “Copywriting is Hard to Get Into”

By Nicki Krawczyk

“Ooo, copywriting is really hard to get into.” That’s one of the most popular things for people to say when they hear you’re interested in the field. But why? And what is that based on?

So, let me start out with a little story. Practically anytime I’m at party or event and I meet someone new, we do the standard “What do you do?” exchange and I tell them I’m a copywriter. And pretty much invariably, I get back, “Ooo, that’s really hard to get into.”

Now, most often they’ll follow up with something like “my brother’s friend tried to get into it and just failed miserably” or “my college roommate tried that a few years ago and couldn’t make a go of it.”

So my first point is that this is all second-hand information—all speculation. That’s the first thing to watch out for. Everyone wants to have an opinion, but it’s pretty rare that the opinion is based on actual experience.

Sometimes, though, the person I’m talking to will say, “Yeah, I tried to do that and I just couldn’t make any money.” So my next question is always, “Oh? How did you go about looking for work?” And they’ll say they talked to friends of friends, or they applied to agencies. And that’s fine, that’s somewhat in line with what you have to do.

But them comes my next question: “How did you get trained to write copy?” And absolutely always, without fail, they answer, “Oh, I’m just a good writer, so I started doing it.”

And I’m not trying to embarrass or shame these people because they were doing they best they could, but that’s just really kind of nuts. I mean, any career is going to be hard to break into if you don’t have training or experience!

Do you think people who just like to draw land careers as graphic designers without learning design principles and building a portfolio? Or do you think that people who like to cook land chef jobs at restaurants without years of learning and experience? Of course not!

What real, working copywriters will tell you is that, yes, copywriting is very hard to break into—if you don’t have any training or experience. Every time someone who has no training or experience applies for a job, they’re up against other people who do have them. So who do you think the Creative Director is going to hire?

Copywriting is absolutely no harder a career to break into than any other one. But very, very, very few people are going to be able to successfully build a career if they don’t actually know how to write copy! (And there’s a big difference between thinking you know how to write copy and understanding the fundamental principles and advanced techniques.)

So, first, don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you that it’s “hard to get into.” Either that’s not based on first-hand experience, or it’s based on the flawed premise that just because they like to write, the world would throw copy jobs at their feet.

You absolutely can be successful as a copywriter. Ab-so-lutely. But the key to being successful is going into it with a plan. You need to have a plan for how you’re going to get trained and how you’re going to get experience and how you’re going to get your questions answered and how you’re going to grow.

(And, Asha, I know you’re a member of our Comprehensive Copywriting Academy, so you’ve taken the right step. And we’ve put that plan together for you!)

Don’t let anyone who doesn’t know what they’re talking sway you from what you want to do. Stay focused, keep working, and look forward to when you can tell these same people that you’ve landed a the copywriting job of your dreams.

Your turn! Have you heard people tell you that “copywriting is hard to get into?” Who were they? How did you respond? Let us know in the comments below!

Last Updated on December 22, 2021 by Nick Olds

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Filed Under: Business Development, Copywriting Q&A, Mindset & Professional Development, Pitching

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About Nicki Krawczyk

Nicki is a copywriter, copy coach and the founder of Filthy Rich Writer. She's been writing copy for more than 20 years.

Comments

  1. Kingsley says

    October 24, 2018 at 3:11 am

    Great motivation from you Nicki.
    Thanks

  2. Jazlyn says

    January 4, 2020 at 4:39 pm

    I really appreciate this. Thank you for the motivation.

    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      January 6, 2020 at 6:33 am

      Hi Jazlyn,

      You are so welcome! I’m glad it helped. 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

  3. Greg Anthou says

    April 15, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Hi Nicki, thank you for posting this inspiring article. I say inspiring because of the reminder to think “around” doubters. You make a great point about proper training, too, and that leads me to wonder: do you have some tips on where to go/look for training options to become a copywriter? Thanks again!
    -Greg

    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 15, 2020 at 1:34 pm

      Hi Greg,

      I’m glad it was helpful! And, why yes, I *do* have a good resource: https://filthyrichwriter.com/training

      🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

  4. Greg Anthou says

    April 15, 2020 at 1:36 pm

    Holy response time ?! Thank you so much!

    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      April 15, 2020 at 1:39 pm

      Sittin’ in front of my computer. 🙂 And you’re welcome!

      Thanks!
      Nicki

  5. Alex says

    October 14, 2021 at 5:55 am

    I’m finally getting around to taking control of my life and dreams/goals as a writer and freelance writing is one of them. And after some research I found copywriting to be something I know I will enjoy and I’ve been fixating so much on the “hows” and the “what ifs” and doing so much googling on the same topics over and over. I’m not proud, haha. But this is the second time today I’ve found a helpful article on here! And your insight is SO valuable to me right now. It’s giving me the confidence to “be scared and still do it” as someone said once haha. And further find the self love discipline I know I have to learn and practice as much as I can. I’m so happy I have found you! I look forward to learning more from you.

    • Tracy Yothsackda says

      October 15, 2021 at 2:08 am

      Thank you for your kind words, Alex! We are so happy that you found us and are enjoying the content. Please let us know if you have any questions about a career in copywriting.

  6. DJ says

    January 3, 2022 at 12:38 pm

    Thank you for providing this article and resources! There was a specific and notable “buzz” that traveled through me after taking your quiz and reading about the types of people who would make successful copywriters. It’s as if you can describe me better than I’d have been able to describe myself! Excited to see where this can lead.

    • Kate Sitarz says

      January 3, 2022 at 8:19 pm

      So happy to hear it, DJ! Thank you for sharing 🙂

  7. Billie says

    January 25, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    I have a passion for writing and would love to earn income as a copywriting stay-at-home mama! Where do I start?

    • The Filthy Rich Writer Team says

      January 27, 2022 at 1:23 am

      Our Free Video Training is a great place to start. It’s packed full of useful information about copywriting to help you learn and decide if this is the right step for you. Here is the link: https://filthyrichwriter.com/free-video-training

      If you have any questions please feel free to email us at [email protected]!

  8. Gourav Kumar says

    April 25, 2022 at 4:20 pm

    Hey, I’m trying to get into copywriting and I know I’ve loved it till now, but I’m a little worried about the future of the copywriting as now there are Ai assisted copywriting softwares in the market now? And they are definitely going to improve in the next few years to come whatever level they are now! So, what do you think about the future of copywriting as a career in near future?

    • The Filthy Rich Writer Team says

      April 26, 2022 at 12:48 am

      Even when it gets good AI can’t be creative – it can’t come up with possibilities that make sense that no one’s ever heard before. It just can’t. By its very nature, it’s going to be derivative.

      Check out this blog post by Nicki that dives deeper into the question! – https://filthyrichwriter.com/can-copywriting-software-replace-skilled-copywriters/

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