Last week, Kate and I busted through some of the most common copywriting myths (if you missed it, you can catch that episode here!)
This week? You guessed it: the last of some of the most prevalent (and, yup, still dangerous) copywriting myths.
This is the information we wish we had when we were starting out. It’s all too easy to dwell on the negatives and the “what ifs.”
If we focused on what we want instead of dwelling on those negatives and “what ifs,” we would hit our goals so much faster. (Not to mention save ourselves so much mental, physical, and emotional pain!)
On this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Kate and I are shattering seven more copywriting myths.
Let’s bust these myths once and for all and focus on the tactics that will move your business forward!
Miss part I? Catch it right here >
TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher
Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[01:58] In the previous episode, we went through the first seven copywriting myths. In this episode, we’re going to go through the second seven. And should this come up in casual conversation, you’ll be ready to bust those myths with data behind you.
[03:50] Myth 8: “You have to be a full-time copywriter.” Just like any career, you can make copywriting what you want! Certainly there are full-time copywriting jobs, but there are also part-time jobs, whether in an ad agency, as a contractor, or freelance. But certainly, as a freelancer, there’s plenty of opportunities for you to decide how much and when you work, which is the beauty of freelancing.
[06:35] Myth 9: “Contracting is the same as freelancing.” I know we just dropped the word contracting that you can do that part-time. You can also contract full-time for usually a set period of time, whether it’s three months, nine months, six months, or a year.
[08:07] Myth 10: “Copywriters have to choose a niche.” The riches are in the niches. You were unnecessarily limiting your opportunities. When you choose a niche, then you’ve created a portfolio site that is geared toward that niche. You don’t have to design your whole online presence around that niche.
[14:21] We always say to our students, as you’re building out your portfolios, you want to demonstrate breadth of experience. Let people know that you can write in different kinds of brand voices, projects, and industries. Number one, it’s going to help you land more clients. But number two, it’s gonna be more fun for you, frankly, as a copywriter to do all kinds of different work for all kinds of different clients.
[19:45] Myth 11: “You can’t make money quickly as a copywriter.” Guess what? We wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t make money as a copywriter and there wouldn’t be ad agencies. There wouldn’t be marketing agencies.
[21:30] A trained copywriter will command high rates because they are skilled and they have experience and they partner with their clients. So, yes, you will see companies that want to pay peanuts for copywriter or that also want someone who does copy and design and SEO and developing. If you are coming across companies that don’t want to pay high rates, you’re probably looking in the wrong place.
[22:30] Myth 12: “You need to go to portfolio school to become a copywriter.” They are a great option. If you have an extra $40,000 and an extra two or three years to go, then great, do it. But most people who are transitioning into a new career don’t have that time.
[24:10] Nicki shares why she created the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy. Number one, because previously there wasn’t a lot of great training out there. You have to buy like six different courses to even begin to be able to write copy and land clients and portfolio and all that stuff.
[26:50] Myth 13: “Copywriting is a young person’s game.” If you hear us talking school and college and what not, you can come and become a copywriter at any point which is the beauty of it. There’s something we go through with all of our students called the USP or Unique Selling Point where we show you how to highlight the skills that you have developed in your previous experience and show how those make you a better copywriter.
[27:52] It’s your background, any experience that you have, any life experience you have, only makes you a more well experienced but intelligent, discerning person. Your age doesn’t matter. It’s not a young person’s game. It’s also not an older person’s game. It’s not a woman’s game. It’s not a bad game. It’s anybody’s game.
[31:25] Myth 14: “All the money is in online sales letter writing.” Huge myth. The assumption that a lot of people make when it comes to anything with writing projects that there’s a specific industry or there’s a specific type of copywriting that makes the most money and it’s just not true.
[20:32] It’s trying to game the system. You can make money writing for any industry with any set, with any type of project so why limit yourself? Wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to do a lot of different projects for a lot of different kinds of clients that all pay really well.
[36:00] Start from a place of what you feel drawn to and called to and excited about. That’s going to feel a lot more genuine in your outreach, which is gonna result in a lot more positive responses. A lot less time wasted.
[37:09] There’s a reason that I’ve been doing this for 20 years. Kate, you’ve been doing this for 15. It’s a fun industry and I think one of the things that gets me frustrated is there are these myths out there. There is so much bad advice floating around out there and that’s part of why we put up blog posts, we put out podcast episodes, we do do events and all that kind of stuff.
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:
“You can learn everything that you need to learn. You can get that feedback and you can hone your skills and you can transition seamlessly from whatever career you were in, into a very well paying copywriting career. And you can do it all remotely. ” -Nicki
“You’re limiting yourself in so many, many ways by choosing a niche. And you absolutely don’t have to. I would absolutely say that when you are first getting started, you should not. It is dangerous to start out your career by choosing a niche. ” -Nicki
“If you can write great copy, you can get work and you can get plenty of work. What matters most to clients more than anything else is that your good copywriter and they’re going to judge you on the quality of your work.” -Nicki
“There’s a lot of great copywriting projects, roles that pay very well in every single industry. So don’t make any assumptions and don’t spend your time trying to figure out how to find the one best thing when you’d be so much better spending your time pitching, reaching out to all kinds of different companies.” -Nicki
“It’s information we wish we had when we were starting out. It’s so easy to dwell on the negative and what ifs. If we focused on what we wanted and on the goal and what we want outcome to be. We would get there so much faster and save us so much pain. Literally, mental, physical, emotional from dwelling on things that aren’t moving us forward, that aren’t actually even impacting us at all, that are not even coming to fruition.” -Kate
Mentioned in the Episode
- Ep. 5: Why Choosing a Copywriting Niche is Terrible Advice
- Episode 84: When to Break the Copywriting Niche Rule
- Episode 195: Freelance vs. Contract: Which is Better?
- Episode 173: How to Elevate Your Profile & Land Copywriting Clients on LinkedIn
Related Links
- Top Copywriting Myths & Misconceptions (And the Truth Behind Them!)
- Ep. 93: The SEO Copywriting Myth
- 5 Myths of Working in an Office as a Copywriter
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
