Copywriting is the very best career for people who love to write—and who want to earn a great income. This in-demand career is creative and strategic, while giving writers the ability to add more freedom, fulfillment, and financial security to their lives.
But it’s not all smooth sailing! In fact, a lot of the advice you’ll find out there will not only slow your career growth, but might derail it completely. Here are are most common mistakes new copywriters make—and exactly how to avoid them.
#1 Thinking it’s “all or nothing”
Copywriting is a fantastic career—but that doesn’t mean that new copywriters have to jump in with both feet. Copywriting can also be a great part-time work that allows you to add extra income—and extra stability to your income. In strange economic times like these, it’s essential to be able to use a skill to bring in more money when you want (or need) to and copywriting is a perfect solution. You can take on as many or as few clients as you’d like, and work on their projects a few nights a week or on weekends.
Want to go full-time freelance or land a full-time copywriting job? You absolutely can—but you don’t have to start there. You can start working with clients and earning income on the side first.
#2 Choosing a niche
One of the worst pieces of advice out there is that you need to “choose a niche,” otherwise known as specializing in a specific type of industry or writing a specific type of copy to the exclusion of all others.
The first problem with this is that you can’t possibly know what industries or what specialties you’re going to like when you’re brand new. Even if you’re attracted to an industry, you may find that you quickly tire of it when that’s the only work you do.
And, worse, when you choose a niche and focus your website and your professional presence on that, people from other industries will assume that you won’t (or, worse, can’t) write for them and won’t reach out to you about work. You’re limiting your opportunities at the beginning of your career—and that’s dangerous.
The right way to build a copywriting career is to build a depth and breadth of experience across multiple industries and copy projects, demonstrating both your skill and flexibility, so that potential clients will be confident that you can write well for them, too.
#3 Paying for a certificate
Getting a certificate for completing a course sure feels nice…but this is one that could mark you as an amateur right out of the gate.
A certificate from a course only proves one thing: That you paid for a course. It doesn’t actually certify you of anything and certainly doesn’t prove your skill in copywriting. When it comes to copy, the proof is in the pudding. The only thing that can truly demonstrate your skill and will sway clients is a solid portfolio where you clearly show how well you can write for your clients.
Additionally, a belief in the validity of a “certificate” marks you as someone who is brand new to the industry. If you walk into a Creative Director’s office and talk about your “certificate,” you’ll get laughed right out of the room.
#4 Learning to write but not learning to land clients
A lot of online programs or books will teach you some of the fundamentals of writing copy, but that’s where they stop. And, since this is the real world and landing work isn’t as simple as just saying to the world, “Hey, I write copy now!” those students are left high and dry.
A copywriting training isn’t complete without a systematic, proven, step-by-step process for finding, landing, and working with high-paying clients. And no, relying on sites like UpWork or relying on referrals won’t do (see #11 and #12).
If a training teaches you to write copy without teaching you how to land work, it hasn’t taught you a career—it’s taught you a hobby.
#5 Learning without getting feedback
Books and freebie courses are great for getting information, but when it comes to actual career training, their use is pretty limited. As with any other career, you need feedback to hone your skills and you can’t get that on your own. You need to be getting feedback from expert copywriters who can help you improve your skills (and the work that you do), so that you can confidently command high rates from your clients.
Copywriting is a collaborative career, which also means that you need to learn how to incorporate feedback and input from your clients…and getting feedback from expert copywriters is essential to developing that skill.
#6 Working for free
Many new copywriters think a great way to get started in the industry is to offer to work for free. They assume that this will let them prove themselves so that they can then start charging for their services.
Here’s the problem with that: Assuming that a copywriter has been trained and has developed the skills (no one should be charging for services they don’t truly know how to perform!), the service they’re selling is valuable. Yes, even when the copywriter is new to the industry and perhaps feeling a bit insecure. After all, a doctor right out of medical school provides a valuable service, right?
Second, offering to work for free conveys a lack of confidence in their own work that makes a copywriter less appealing to a potential client. It begs the question of, “How good can they be if they’re willing to work for free?” And the worst case scenario for a client isn’t just that they end up with bad copy, but that they wasted their time and then end up with bad copy. That risk doesn’t make sense for a reasonable client to make: It’s much smarter for a client to just work with a skilled copywriter who charges for their services.
Further, not only does a client who’s willing to work with you for free mark them as a questionable client at best, it also disincentivizes them to pay you your standard rate after the free work is done. After all, if you’re willing to work for free, it certainly implies that your rates are open to negotiation, right?
Build your copywriting experience within your training by doing practice work and getting feedback from professional copywriters (a key element of a good copywriting training program) and then always charge for your services once you start taking clients.
#7 Confusing content with copy
Copywriting is writing that’s designed to persuade and sometimes to literally sell. It gets people to take action by connecting people who have a want or a need with the best solution to that want or that need. And we make that connection by writing in ways that resonate with the target audience.
Content writing, though, is writing that’s designed to educate, to entertain, or to inspire. This covers things like blog posts, social posts, “listicles,” and other types of non-persuasive writing. While content can be great for gradually building a relationship with an audience, it’s a lot less impactful. Companies can directly tie copywriting to their goals, so copywriting pays a great deal more than content writing.
Watch out for programs that profess to teach you copywriting, but teach you about writing blogs instead. That’s a red flag for a program that’s not based on industry standards.
#8 Limiting your learning (and earning!) to “online businesses”
Online course creators, coaches, and digital businesses are abundant and can make great clients—but they shouldn’t be your only clients. When economic downturns hit an entire industry (like the online business industry) you can find yourself in a world of trouble if those are the only clients you’ve got.
Find a training that teaches you to write for not just online businesses but all other types of businesses and organizations: corporations large and small, non-profits, brick and mortar businesses, and all of the other assorted types of potential clients. If the program creator only has experience with online businesses, you’re going to be limited in what you can learn from them.
#9 Relying on Upwork (or other job bidding sites)
Upwork can seem like a freelancer’s dream: You log on to a site where people who need copy post jobs and you just choose the ones you like and apply! Except…it’s definitely not that simple.
First, you have to do free work by creating a compelling proposal—and, since you’re a copywriter, it’s got to be exceptionally well-written. Second, remember that you’re not the only copywriter on the site—in fact, you’re likely to be competing with dozens and dozens of other copywriters for the same work. And since these copywriters are relying on Upwork for work, they’re incentivized to drop their rates to be as competitive as possible…which means you’ll have to as well.
Best case scenario? You end up doing work for much less pay than you should. Worst case? You end up spending your time putting together proposals that never win the jobs, leaving you frustrated and confused.
Professional copywriters know that the only way to truly be in charge of their careers is to control their own opportunities (instead of waiting for strangers to post jobs). They rely on proven, scalable, step-by-step methods of outreach that let them work with as many high-paying clients as they want to. (And, of course, a good training needs to teach you this process, too.)
#10 Banking on referrals
What’s better than getting people to send work your way? Nothing! Well: Almost nothing. Referrals are great, but relying on referrals puts your business in a precarious position.
When you’re relying on referrals for work, you don’t have any control over whether or not your previous clients refer you to new ones. That puts the control of your business—and your income—solely in someone else’s hands.
Referrals are great and will be a part of your business, but they should never be your main source of clients. Instead, professional copywriters know that (as we mention in point #9) they need a reliable system to create their own unlimited source of opportunities, always focusing on providing value instead of selling.
#11 Conflating cost with quality
There’s become a trend in the online course business space to “charge as much as the market will handle;” meaning, charging the highest they can for a program, regardless of quality.
Many students finish $3,000 or even $8,000 limited-time courses feeling unsure of their skills, not knowing how to land clients, and no longer having access to the support they paid before.
Make sure to do a thorough review of a program before you purchase it; more expensive doesn’t mean it’s better—it just means that the course creator wanted to charge more.
#12 Worrying about AI (instead of using it as a tool)
There’s been a lot of talk about “AI taking our jobs” and writers, especially, have been nervous. The great news is that all of the business titans who used to think AI would take over writers’ jobs are now all saying that AI is a great tool, but that businesses need to use human writers.
Certainly, content writers should be concerned: It’s easy for AI to churn out a blog post in a matter of moments. But copywriting is so much more than just writing: AI isn’t able to collaborate and strategize with clients, not to mention the fact that it fundamentally can’t create anything original or unexpected.
AI is a great tool for copywriters to use, but it’s not going to take over our jobs.
#13 Thinking you’ll be “done learning”
Just like any other career, there are opportunities for growing and developing within copywriting all throughout your years of working. You’ll need to learn how to write for new mediums, not to mention new techniques for working with your clients, and you’ll need to stay on top of new developments within the industry.
The best trainings recognize this and both regularly update their materials, as well as offer lifetime access—since learning is a lifetime process.
#14 Waiting to get started
There’s a proverb that says that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the next best time is right now. The longer you wait to get started, the longer you’ll have to wait before you can start landing clients and earning an income with your copywriting skills.
Even if you have a lot of time commitments and you need to spread out your learning, you can still make progress to your goal. After all, even if it takes you a year to learn and be ready to take clients, you’ll still have met your goal. Either way, a year will pass. Wouldn’t you rather have that year pass and have a whole new career, as well?
Last Updated on January 27, 2025