How to Turn Your Copywriting Savvy Into BIG Money

Dear Business Builder,

Wow.

Well, that was interesting!

Seems I’ve stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article about how a lot of younger copywriters seem to think they’re automatically entitled to a six-figure income – and in some cases, maybe even more.

When I offer them a fair fee for their apprentice-level work – a fee that acknowledges the enormous amount of painstaking labor I’ll have to do to whip their copy into shape – they seem insulted.

Then, they sleepwalk through the whole process, submitting sloppy first drafts, and sulk when I politely tear their work to shreds.

In short, they seem to believe that all they have to do to earn a huge income for the rest of their lives is to read a few books about copywriting.

So I wondered, “Where in the world are people getting these crazy notions?” And I set out to see if maybe some copywriting gurus out there might be “guilding the lily a bit” when it came to selling their books, courses and seminars online.

And right off the bat, I found a website – A SITE OWNED BY A GUY I’D NEVER HEARD OF – claiming that …

1. He is an “acknowledged expert” on copywriting and marketing …
2. He can teach you how to write sales letters that will make you rich in no time flat…
3. You can make up to $50 million with a one-page sales letter…
4. You can work “where you want (true), when you want (true)” and make all the money you want…
5. The ONLY person who can teach you winning copywriting techniques is him…
6. And that at nearly $5,000, his copywriting course is a “bargain.”

So, I wrote an article challenging those claims … to try to bring a little sanity to this whole copywriting thing … to give younger copywriters a more balanced inside view of what a freelance career is really like … to challenge them to invest the time and effort required to become a top writer … and most of all, to make the point that IT’S WORTH IT!

Well, I can honestly tell you, I have never written an article that got more attention than that one did.

Almost immediately, my inbox was jammed to overflowing with notes from readers thanking me for bringing some balance to over-the-top claims like those.

And I got even MORE e-mails asking my advice on the best way to get the fastest possible start as a freelance copywriter today.

Here’s my answer:

Step #1:
Buy and Read the Masters

These are the books that got me started – and that every copywriter and direct marketer worth his or her salt should read, and then re-read ever year …

• How to Write a Good Advertisement by Vic Schwab
• My Life in Advertising & Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
• Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
• The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
• Reality in Advertising by Rosser Reeves
• Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
• Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
• Reason-Why Advertising by John E. Kennedy

Also – to master the nuts and bolts side of things, I recommend Successful Direct Marketing Methods by Bob Stone.

And to get a better handle on human motivation and how to move people to action, I love Robert Ringer’s Looking Out for #1 and Psychocybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.

This step is not optional. It makes no sense whatsoever to spend thousands of dollars on courses or seminars – mine or anyone else’s – until you have mastered the foundational copywriting philosophies, strategies and tactics of The Masters.

Step #2:
Get to Work

You can do all of the above and still fail – spectacularly – unless you actually put what you’ve learned to work.

Sounds obvious, I know. But you’d be surprised at how many promising new writers are either too intimidated or too lazy to do what it takes to build a successful freelance business.

Early in my career, I spent about half my time just selling myself to prospective clients. So have a work ethic. Bang the phones. Send out tons of samples. Create entire promotions on spec for the major mailers and Internet marketers. Then, bang the phones again.

If you can’t get a big national direct response marketer like Rodale or Boardroom to hire you right off the bat, don’t be discouraged: Pick up a local client or two and create the hottest promotions they’ve ever seen.

Be a pest. Risk rejection. Keep your eyes on the prize – the fantastic money and freedom copywriting can bring you – and don’t let up until you’re getting the kinds of clients and assignments that get you the big bucks.

Step #3:
If Freelance Assignments Aren’t In
The Offing, Apply for a
Full-Time Copywriting Job.

I happen to know that Agora Health, Agora Financial, Weiss Research and many other firms are looking for full-time junior writers – and as I mentioned last week, not only will interning with a top copy chief pay your bills while you learn, it’ll also make you a better writer and make you more money over the long haul.

The other day, I interviewed ace financial copywriter Jack Forde for an hour on the phone – it’s March’s Roadhouse Rants Interview for my EasyWriters Marketing Club.

John Forde, for example, lives an idyllic life in Paris and makes a bleedin’ fortune as a freelance copywriter. He got his start interning under Bill Bonner and Michael Masterson at Agora.

And as I pointed out last week, Gary Bencivenga, Jim Rutz, Arthur Johnson, Kent Komae, David Deutsch and most of the other top freelance copywriters I could name (including ME) started out with full-time jobs at agencies, direct response companies or with senior copywriters.

So if it’s not happening for you – if the freelance thing isn’t paying the bills – don’t be discouraged. Make a list of the people you’d love to work for, perhaps even the companies you’d eventually love to have as freelance clients, and apply for a full-time job with them.

Above all, do NOT lose heart. Remember:

The freedom is real.

The work is fun.

The money is real.

Hope this helps …

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE