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TRUTH about copywriting

by jimharrison78
19 replies
hello,

I'm about to complete a PhD in Literature and I also have an MFA in creative writing. I have been teaching college level literature, composition, and creative writing for the past 6 years or so. The academic job market is atrocious and I just had a kid, so I have been thinking about getting into freelance copywriting. I have a few leads for first timer jobs since my brother in law is in the website design industry. Anyway, I'm writing to you seasoned veterans with a handfull of questions about the reality of this kind of work. In the dream world of copywriting that I've managed to conjur, I imagine that I work 4 days a week about 6 hours a day on copywriting stuff, but in the mornign I'm able to work on my own manuscript, and in the afternoon I'm able to get outside for a bit. All the while in this fantasy, I'm netting $60,000 American dollars a year. Now, are you all gone bust this dream for me, or are you gone say it's feasible? I'm not looking to make a killing, I just want to live a good life, enjoy the outside, and also make a serious career for myself as a poet (not that that will ever pay, but it's what makes me feel most alive).

I have so many other questions, but I'll start here. Is anything like this feasible? In addition, do you just think about work ALL THE TIME having your own business? I'm looking for real resoponses, what are your days like? Is it how you imagined? Would you advise someone with language skills to get into this market? There are so many BS copywriting blogs that a clearly just selling books and what not that I don't know who to believe. I'm hoping this is not one of those places.

Thanks for your responses, I'm looking forward to getting to know a lot more from you all.

Take Care
#copywriting #truth
  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Hi Jim,

    Welcome to the warrior forum.

    Copywriting is more akin to salesmanship than it is to creative writing. Copywriting is about getting into the head of your potential buyer, figuring out what his/her problems are, and demonstrating how your widget (or your client's widget) will effectively solve the buyer's problems.

    The writing style is completely different than either academic or creative writing.

    Start collecting sales pages and sales letter advertising, especially any you see being repeated. Study their styles.

    A couple of really good books are Dan Kennedy's "The Ultimate Salesletter," and John Capel's "Tested Advertising Methods."

    Good salesmanship is more conversational than stilted and written as if you are speaking to one person.

    :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      Hi Jim,

      Welcome to the warrior forum.

      Copywriting is more akin to salesmanship than it is to creative writing. Copywriting is about getting into the head of your potential buyer, figuring out what his/her problems are, and demonstrating how your widget (or your client's widget) will effectively solve the buyer's problems.

      The writing style is completely different than either academic or creative writing.

      :-Don
      Welcome, and I agree 100% with what this^ guy is saying. It's not about writing, it's about selling. That's two totally different animals.

      Per the $60k, you can pretty much sleepwalk your way to that if you're a decent writer and willing to plunge into the marketing.

      Based on what I know about what you're doing now (I'm the only person in my family who isn't a teacher), you'd be a lot better off even if you only replaced your current income and get some more control over your time and location.

      Much success
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    • Profile picture of the author JerryKuzma
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  • Profile picture of the author SoCalMarketing
    I have read enough about copywriting as a business to have a relatively good level of comfort in saying that a good copywriter can make $60K in a few months or a few consulting jobs. As mentioned by the previous response, Dan Kennedy is a testament to how lucrative that type of work can be. There are quite a few good copywriters out there right now making excellent money, 6 and 7 figures in American Dollars.. Of all the parts of the business that most of us marketers wish we could excel at, copywriting is at the top of the list for most of us. Most successful marketers would never be there if it wasn't for great sales letters and masterful copywriting. The big gurus in the business I understand pay LARGE sums for copywriting, there is definitely a lot of money to be made in it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
    If you can't learn to write differently than the style you used in this post, forget it. If you can, you can make the $60k.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Warriors
    I will tell you this.

    My experience has taught me that, for someone who knows how to communicate and write well, copywriting is some of the best money out there for the least amount of work.

    Note that I'm referring to "communication" and "writing" as two separate things here. That's not an accident.

    A good copywriter needs to be able to write, but they also need to be able to communicate in a personable way.

    The point was raised above that copywriting is more like salesmanship than creative writing. I think that's true, but at the same time, I also think it's easier to master copywriting as a writer without sales experience than as a salesperson without writing experience.

    At the end of the day, things like word choice, spelling and sentence structure "count" in copywriting, while usual sales things like voice tone and body language obviously don't. On the whole, I would say doing a bit of copywriting is a pretty smart career move for aspiring creative writers. I mean, plenty of famous fiction writers got their start as copywriters. Look at William S. Burroughs, Terry Gilliam, Dorothy Sayers, etc.

    At the same time, you should keep in mind that copywriting is about selling, and that you don't have the kind of "creative license" in this world that you have in the fiction world. As long as you pay attention to the actual principles of the craft and don't treat it like general article writing or whatever, you should do fine.

    And yes, the earnings potential is high. I'm hitting 3k a month, and I only work part time on freelance sites charging $25/hr. Plenty of copywriters charge $60 an hour plus; even part time, I could easily see someone hitting six figures at those rates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
    You can easily make $30k per year being a killer copywriter. But you could double that if you removed the word "killer."

    Personally, I've been planning to create a product and start so many different projects over the past few years, but in reality, my energy is used up each day with copywriting clients.

    Am I complaining? No way. I make great money, I live a lifestyle that 70% of society is furiously jealous of, and I enjoy what I do with a real passion and sense of achievement.

    For you, if poetry is your thing, you may find a conflict between the two styles and approaches of poetry and sales copy... But who knows, until you try.

    Start small. Learn the core principles, see how far it gets you with some low budget clients. If you can get any measurable, positive results from your work with them, then build on it and see where it takes you.

    There's a lot to learn, plus a hill to climb in getting regular clients, but once you get to the top, it's a ball.
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    • Profile picture of the author TomFang
      You can make 6 figures writing copy easily. But you need to show results and have the results be directly linked to your copy rather than other factors.

      In the beginning you would need to write free copy for people/companies with a reputation. Once you have your portfolio, resume, or whatever you want to call it, you can still charging people.

      The bottom line is still results based rather than salaries or whatnot if you're working for say a newspaper.

      -Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    Originally Posted by jimharrison78 View Post

    I have so many other questions, but I'll start here. Is anything like this feasible? In addition, do you just think about work ALL THE TIME having your own business? I'm looking for real resoponses, what are your days like? Is it how you imagined? Would you advise someone with language skills to get into this market? There are so many BS copywriting blogs that a clearly just selling books and what not that I don't know who to believe. I'm hoping this is not one of those places.

    Thanks for your responses, I'm looking forward to getting to know a lot more from you all.

    Take Care
    With your academic background your biggest obstacle will
    be yourself. It's hard to crush that voice in your head
    that prevents you from writing "simple". It is a big switch
    from "high" writing to "low" writing.

    Yet no one can predict what you can do until you try.
    At least you have the language skills so all you need are
    the sales skills to add to your set.

    On the marketing front you can use your degrees as
    credibility builders as most businesses wouldn't
    know what I share with you above. Just the same
    way that they don't know that MBA's can't hold
    a light to Internet Marketers. But the degree does
    help in marketing yourself.

    -Ray Edwards
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  • Profile picture of the author Omar Khafagy
    This identical post appeared over at the Copywriting Board, from a person with a completely different name:

    seeking the TRUTH about copy writing...also, any other writers in here?

    Not sure what gives.
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    Omar Khafagy
    Administrator of www.CopywritingBoard.com

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    • Profile picture of the author wimbledonwoman
      I've been writing articles for a couple of years. 2012 is my year to move up to copywriting. Peter Bowerman's The Well Fed Writer is an excellent (and easy) read.
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    • Profile picture of the author wimbledonwoman
      Just joined the Forum Omar, glad I found this thread - Karen
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      • Profile picture of the author Charley Brown
        There are definitely some excellent suggestions made in this thread. As a writer that is looking to break into copywriting much like the OP, I appreciate the information given by those that replied.
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  • Profile picture of the author maximus242
    Perhaps he is just seeking the answer to a question from multiple sources and using fake names.
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  • Profile picture of the author RickDuris
    Hi jimharrison78

    Jump in, the water's fine.

    As long as you can 1) Shake some trees and stir up business AND 2) write to produce the results the client is looking for in their business, you'll do just fine.

    1) The first may or may not require much effort. Some folks have a knack for rainmaking and closing business.

    2) The second is the harder part.

    It's rather easy to find work. Almost anyone you talk to who's in business for themselves, is a prospect. The hardest part here is finding work that's a fit for you.

    But delivering the goods is what matters most. And if one has any pride in their work, there's an almost nagging feeling you carry with you to improve.

    - Rick Duris
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    • Profile picture of the author arfasaira
      With your background, you could easily write for local academic institutions and be paid handsomely for it. Last year I worked with a local college and did 6 hours work at $125 an hour.

      One of my friends isn't a copywriter - he writes only for universities. He just received a project worth $8,000 for 12 weeks work PART-TIME (he is already working full time in another position)

      Can you make $60,000? Yes you can, but its down to you how good you are at marketing yourself and bringing in the business, and how well you can position yourself as a true solution provider and not as a commodity.

      Copywriting is salesmanship in print, and if you are serious about it, your best bet is to get some coaching - Paul Hancox's and Raydal from the forum here are both highly respected and coach students to become good copywriters.

      If you don't want to learn copywriting, I would strongly consider commercial freelancing which is something I still do on top of copywriting. And the pay? $50-$125 an hour...

      There are many commercial freelancers out there who earn 6 figures and they aren't copywriters (Steve Slauthwaite, Peter Bowerman and Ed Gandia etc). And there are copywriters out there making multiple 7 figures (John Carlton, Clayton Makepeace, Dan Kennedy etc )

      I have several offline clients with whom I work with on a regular basis... I'm contracted with 2 offline businesses and 3 agencies, including a huge branding agency in the Middle East who have now hired me long term after I worked on two projects for their government investment portfolio... and at $160 an hour, it's VERY good money too.

      It's clear you are more than qualified to write well - I know you can't PM me at the moment, but if you're interested in breaking into the commercial market, email me on info@arfawrites.com and I'll send you my commercial freelancing report.

      best of luck
      arfa
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  • Profile picture of the author thetrafficguy
    It's definitely possible, however just like any other business you should be willing to invest sweat equity when starting it.

    It is unlikely you'll have a stable business from the get go with only part time hours.
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  • Profile picture of the author JTzor
    Copywriting falls in to multiple categories - you can write copy for online and offline as well, it is not just limited to one medium or one space.

    The language you speak, as someone earlier posted, when you are composing your copy should be targeted specifically to that particular segment that you are hoping to sell to. So you must be dynamically fluent - not statically - in other words your style should be adaptable to the different markets that you are pitching to. Copywriting is not solely about the writing aspect, as you must also conduct research, strategize, and work hand in hand with the product creator/business owner for whom you are writing.

    There are a host of quality copywriters on this forum, Malcolm Lambe is one of my favorites, not only for the style of his copy, but also, dare I say, his brashness, and his ability to "engage" and "converse" with his fellow warriors - he makes it fun, although you do have to dodge a couple of stray bullets when you are reading his threads/comments/replies.

    Welcome to the Warrior Forum, and may your copywriting journey be filled with excitement and success.

    Warmest Regards,

    - John Tzor (JT)
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