Need Confidence

[danagirl]

I've taken a couple of copywriting classes, and I'm decent at it, but not great. I don't seem to have the drive for it or something. Because of this, I'm very timid about offering my services as a copywriter. I've studied, and I've practiced, but at the end of the day, I'm still not completely satisfied with my work. I don't know if I'm being too critical of myself or if I should just stay away from copywriting and stick to my other talents. Any advice?

[Scott Murdaugh]

There's a lot of BS courses out there saying they can teach ANYONE how to be a six figure copywriter...

Now I'm NOT saying you don't have what it takes, but most people don't.

The biggest confidence boost for me is seeing my copy working. Maybe you should try to come up with some kind of a product, or PLR, write some copy, send some targeted traffic, and sell it?

If you hit a home run, you'll have confidence AND proof that you know how to make a website convert.

A lot of people will tell you not to write on spec (for free if it's not used)... I wouldn't, but if you have zero track record that may not be a bad way to go.

Make them an offer they can't refuse... You write for free, they can test the page over x amount of visitors, and if they want to keep it they pay your fee.

That'll at least give you a little experience.

Maybe some other guys can chime in with more suggestions.

Good luck,

-Scott

[Daniel Scott]

Do you have some examples of your work?

Get some other copywriters to look over them... see what they think.

That's what I did anyway... and still do, sort of (Vin looks over the stuff I write these days, since I'm one of his students).

You could consider being mentored by someone, such as Vin... but it won't be cheap. Not saying it's not worth it - it definitely is - but you need to be prepared to invest some cash.

Also... the fact you RECOGNIZE that you're "not great" is FANTASTIC... you have no idea how many "wanna be" copywriters think they're amazing without having the skills to back that up.

I don't think the whole "write for free" idea is a good one... but just because it "devalues" your work... but also because people often don't use copy they've paid a lot of cash for... let alone something they got for free. If you know the person, it's not a terrible idea... but I have very little confidence in people's work ethic, even if all they have to do is put up a page.

Another thing you can do is to take a crappy CB page... re-write it... and use your own affiliate link. Drive some traffic to it and see how it converts.

Some ideas.

-Dan

[MikeHumphreys]

Confidence is built by taking repeated small risks and continuing to move forward. Success or failure... doesn't matter... as long as you continue to move forward and learn from your experiences.

Coaching could be very beneficial for you but ultimately the motivation to become successful as a copywriter has to come from within you.

I'm a big fan of Jim Rohn who is known as one of the best business philosophers out there. I try to read or listen to something of his every week. He's not a rah-rah type of speaker but what he says is timeless and dead-on accurate in my opinion.

I'll sign off with a quote of Jim Rohn's that you may enjoy:

"When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it."

Best of luck,

Mike

[Bill Jeffels]

Don't give up.

If you really want to become a good copywriter... you can... it's your choice.

Here is my opinion. If you want to become a good copywriter you have to become obsessed with it.

You have to read the books. You have to watch the seminars. You have to listen to the cd's. And when I say read the books I don't mean reading a book by Victor Schwab one time and letting it collect dust.

I'm talking about reading the books, taking notes, reading the books again. I've lost count how many times I have read "The Robert Collier Letter Book".

You know what my definition of a good time was many years ago. My buddies would be going to the bars partying... Guess what I was doing? I was at home studying headlines... creating headlines... writing out bullets... writing out winning sales letters in my own hand writing.

You know how long it took me to write out John Carltons "Amazing Secret Discovered By One-Legged Golfer" ad. Hours.

Gary Halbert's Direct Marketing Secrets dvd... I've watched it so many times I bet I could recite the whole thing to you... word for word... I'm being serious.

It may seem like I'm bitching at you... but I'm not. You just have to become passonite about this stuff.

Take care,

Bill Jeffels

[Dean Dhuli]

Be scared, and do it nevertheless because that's the way it works!

You can start off charging a fee like $500 to gain some confidence
and keep the risk quotient low.

That way the client won't have huge expectations from your copy
and there also won't be much pressure on you.

However, at the same time, I advise you not to take the results
from these letters too seriously.

Most low-end clients will not have the resources to put the copy
to best use... and hence, if your letter converts at 5% for an
established marketer, it might only convert at 1% here.

So just keep in mind that you're doing this only to gain experience
of writing for clients.


Hope this helps,

Dean.

[The Copy Nazi]

Originally Posted by danagirl

I've taken a couple of copywriting classes, and I'm decent at it, but not great. I don't seem to have the drive for it or something. Because of this, I'm very timid about offering my services as a copywriter. I've studied, and I've practiced, but at the end of the day, I'm still not completely satisfied with my work. I don't know if I'm being too critical of myself or if I should just stay away from copywriting and stick to my other talents. Any advice?

Find your own voice. Write from the heart. Write one-on-one - as if you're talking to your best mate. Stay away from clichés and hackneyed sayings ("at the end of the day"). Cut to the chase - don't try to be "cute". Then your copy will "resonate". And write like this - using simple, short sentences. Forget about trying to "sell" your reader. Just tell them what you've got, why their lives will be so much better if they have it and tell them where to get it. Voila!

p.s. yes yes, I know "cut to the chase" is trite but it really does convey what I want to say.

[Jag82]

Originally Posted by danagirl

I've taken a couple of copywriting classes, and I'm decent at it, but not great. I don't seem to have the drive for it or something. Because of this, I'm very timid about offering my services as a copywriter. I've studied, and I've practiced, but at the end of the day, I'm still not completely satisfied with my work. I don't know if I'm being too critical of myself or if I should just stay away from copywriting and stick to my other talents. Any advice?

Danagirl,

If you don't try...you will never be the great copywriter you know you can be...and are about to be...

Listen. There is an exercise you may want to try out. Everyday, take out 15 minutes, and read a great copy. By great copy, I mean copies by Eugene Schwartz, John Carlton, Gary Halbert and all those unbelievably talented legends.

You can find a lot of their ads at www.HardToFindAds.com

Now, scrutinize the sales letter, and break down the copy into parts:
- Headline
- Bullets
- Offer
- Guarantee
- Offer
- P.S
...and so on...

Swipe them all into a swipe file. Really read them and allow
them to sink in to your brain. Keep doing it.

Soon, you will find yourself much more tuned to copy.
And it will come more naturally to you.

As your natural database of copy concepts and your
power words vocab increases, you will then find yourself
more confident. More confident to approach clients...and
more confident to educate them about sales copywriting and
what a job you can do for them.

You can do it, Dana. But first, you gotta believe in yourself.

Warmly,
Jag

[lisag]

Confidence comes from cashing checks.
Cashing checks comes from writing copy.
So, get busy. You have checks to cash!

[Alexa Smith]

Two things from me:-

1. There are a lot of good, helpful, useful replies above (as ever)

2. It's a whole lot better to be a decent writer with plenty of potential and slightly lacking in confidence than it is to be a poor writer with plenty of misplaced confidence

[KenThompson]

Hello Dana,

All of the above posts are sincere and filled with excellent advice. There's
really not a lot I could add, but I wanted to offer some of my experiences
and perhaps that may help you.

You want to talk about confidence. I had next to zero confidence when I
first started writing copy. But one thing that happened to me is a guy paid
me very well to write copy for him.

Of course he knew I was rank as hell. But I could not pass-up that kind of
money. So I just sat down and did it. He sent feedback. I did rewrites.

Like Mr. McQuillan above writing postcards. There were times in the beginning
when I was nervous just to sit down and write.

So that is one thing, just to put your self out there. Whatever happens will
not be the end of the world and you'll be fine.

Secondly, I'd like to echo what someone said, above, about taking small
steps and trying other things to build confidence. Trying other things is
something I did and it led to a whole other world for me. I'm talking about
basically writing for myself.

You can write articles, engage in affiliate marketing, write your own
sales letters, and everything else you need.

Third, someone suggested this earlier, but I want to reinforce it because it
is a great exercise. Writing successful copy by hand. Not only writing it, but
really taking your time and studying what that writer was doing in the letter.

I used to take a letter and write it 10 times in one sitting. I would do this for
a total of 100 times for the same letter.

Doing that will elevate so many aspects of your writing.

Best regards.

[CopyMonster]

Everyone has their own talent. Everyone takes their own path to copywriting enlightenment

Don't know how long you've been writing copy, but the top copywriters didn't just pop out of thin air - they worked at it. Carlton, Halbert, Bencivenga they've all recounted their stories at the beginning.

If drive seems to be lacking, you need to really ask yourself why. If it's just a case of falling over and being discouraged, perhaps just ask yourself what you'd do if you were able to cash checks like the big dogs? If however you don't enjoy the process, the thinking behind it, then maybe it isn't for you. Nothing wrong with that.

The magic bean here is to: Write lots + Read lots (good copy & good copy books/courses/teachers) + See/Imagine yourself as that confident super converting copywriter EVERY day for 5-15 minutes = Confidence

You will find, the more you convert, the more confident you'll be.

[green1]

I must admit that I'm surprised that none of you high-powered copywriters have directed the lady to your webpage on which you are selling your top-secret, powerful, fool-proof plan entitled: 'How to Become a Confident Copywriter Within 30 Days!'