How Did You Get Your First Copywriting Assignment?

5 replies
Good Afternoon,

I think that's an interesting and fair question. I would like to know.

Seems to me it's at least somewhat similar to selling a screenplay; there are traditional avenues... though endless personal stories.

I'm writing my first screenplay; for the moment though, back to my WSO article writing. LOL

John
NJ USA
#assignment #copywriting
  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    Well, get a client first. Get a prospect before that. Turn
    the prospect into a client. Then you make the agreement.

    Of course you can just run a WSO for a super-cheap
    salesletter, but it won't endear you to your colleagues
    who are working to establish copywriting as a skilled
    profession... plus you may have awkward experiences
    where your work gets butchered and so forth. Clients
    who spend closer to market value tend to be more
    respectful of the writer's craftsmanship and expertise.

    Funny how that works.

    I used to be a cabinet-maker and I often fielded inquiries
    from people who wanted custom quality at IKEA prices.
    Such jobs, when I tried to make them work, were always
    more hassle than they were worth, never led to promised
    referrals for higher-paying work and I sometimes even got
    outright screwed.

    The clients who were willing to invest in quality tended to
    be easier to work with and also tended to pay their bills.
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    • Profile picture of the author dtendrich
      I was asked to do a guest blog post on Craigslist advertising after I built a guitar lessons business from the ground up using nothing but that.

      ... then people started writing me asking me to make Craigslist ads for them. That soon turned into websites, newspaper ads, sales letters, post cards, etc., etc., etc.

      So I guess the simple answer is I gave away a bunch of really high quality free content that solved a particular problem, and the side-effect was, without realizing it, I positioned myself as an expert in Craigslist advertising (totally by accident).

      David
      Signature
      Copywriting Tips, internet marketing jargon, thoughts, and rants by me.

      Atlanta Copywriter, serving clients worldwide.

      Write your life.
      David Tendrich
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    • Profile picture of the author dtendrich
      Originally Posted by Paul McQuillan View Post

      I got mine posting on a forum (not this one).

      The funny thing is I got the offer from just talking about
      marketing... I was not even a copywriter yet!

      First mail piece did a little over $200k in local sales.

      Voila, copywriter
      Right on dude! How did that feel?

      Had you studied copywriting at that point? Or was that your very first crack at it?
      Signature
      Copywriting Tips, internet marketing jargon, thoughts, and rants by me.

      Atlanta Copywriter, serving clients worldwide.

      Write your life.
      David Tendrich
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