How Many Hours? (honestly)

Yes yes the time disappears. Three hours can go by in about thirty subjective seconds when I'm in the middle of it.

I bid based on a portion of what I think the solution will bring in for revenue. That way I'm comfortable with the results and the pay no matter how long it takes (because it's higher than an hourly rate I'd be OK to work for). Once price is agreed upon and the down payment is in the account, I forget about money. The work is All, when I'm doing it.

Projects come and go, and copywriting is one of the things that I do, so I can't give you a consistent figure. When I'm working, I'm working. When I'm on downtime, I'm on downtime.

I do 70 hours a week or more. Some days when I am in the moods, I put in 15 hours plus a day. On a standard day I wake up at 4am and by five I am on my Compaq laptop sited next to the window overseeing a park. Occasionally I get to see the lions, monkeys, or zebras as the sun rise.


Here is by philosophy …


1. This world is governed by immutable laws of sowing and reaping, cause and effect etc. And as such the more you put in the more you get out. Therefore, if you have the ambition to earn a million dollars a year, as I do, then you need to accelerate the dream by working more.

2. Even if you were Stephen King, Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton, Clayton Makepeace, or any other brilliant writer/copywriter, the moment you stop writing, you deteriorate fast, very fast. So to be a better writer, write more and more.


3. In copywriting, research is the key to the success of your copy. And research has no shortcut. You must dig and dig and dig. This takes time; meaning more work. However, in order to research less for every subsequent copy you write, it is better to stick with one industry or certain clients.

4. Money is not evil contrarily to what most people believe. It is an excellent idea to accumulate the most in the shortest time possible when you still have the energy and opportunities. In your old age, give away as much as possible. Let your children and grand children work for theirs. After all , if you can manage to retire a multimillionaire why should they not become billionaires given the foundation you give them?


5. It is not immoral to drop low paying energy supping clients to go for big payers. In fact, one should implement the 80/20 rule ruthlessly.

6. If you can do with just 2 hours of sleep and remain healthy do it.


7. Lastly, I have read a couple of biographies of copywriters and other distinguished citizens of this world. For instance…
a) Bill Gates doesn't watch TV, he has no time for it-always busy working.
b) David Ogilvy, the legendary copywriter, used to get to the office at dawn and leave after midnight while building his ad firm. So did Claude Hopkins ( often he could leave the office at 2 am and show up at 6 am)
c) John D Rockefeller the first billionaire to grace the face of the earth, often broke his resolution of leaving the office before 10pm-having arrived at 6am. This man believed in only two things; work and family.

What does this tell you?

There is no such a thing as working 3 hours a day and earning zillions of dollars in a year.

I spend way more time THINKING about a project than actually writing.

Once I've developed the copy in my mind, the writing only takes me a 2-4 hours a day.

I used to take on up to 5 clients a month.

Now I keep it to one or two great paying gigs a month... on top of my more lucrative JV's and pimping out my own products.

As many as I can without completely ruining my family life.

Current example! I just wrote homepage copy for a client. I *think* I started at 8:30.

Some marketing guy emailed me about a presentation he's doing in a few minutes. It's almost 11:30!!!

I swear I spent a half-hour on this little project--in subjective time. Flying!

Oh, and I've been humming and hawing about the copy for days. Thinking time > Writing time. Every time.

I generally keep it between 2-4 hours a day. I like to work Smart, not hard. It's like being in a race. I bet I could beat the greatest runner in the world. How? I'll use my car. Like I said do things smart and you get more done in less time.
Sometimes however (because I am a writer) I lose track of time and find that 8 or 10 hours have passed without me realizing it.

This is interesting and leads to what I've always known. Those that are successful and work what seems like crazy hours to the general masses, don't do this because it seems like work to them. They think it's fun in their minds. Great question OP.

I don't really keep track of it but I would say that my workweek is significantly more than 40 hours. I would imagine somewhere in the 50-60 hour range is probably where it is. So let's say 12 hours a day, 5 days a week.

In a day i work for 8 hours and in a week around 48 hours.

My work time varies wildly. The past 2 months, I've worked 12-16 hour days, not all on copy but still work. But, the goal is to get to those 4 hour days, and I will. You've got to put the systems in place to get there.

Here are the facts...

If you're going to write copy for others, for a fee, you will always work crazy hours. The goal should be passive income from multiple streams. I don't like a life where, when I stop writing, the money stops flowing.

You know what makes me sad?

Seeing newbies here wanting to be six-figure copywriters. I've been and have known a lot of those. They work their asses off. And what good does it do to earn $20k a letter if the next month you earn zero?

They need a "wake up" slap and someone to scream...

"You have magic fingers! You are capable of writing words that make people give you money. Why are you not taking advantage of this powerful information?"

Here's a news flash...

You're not always going to be young, healthy and carefree. And when you're not, you'll appreciate the fact that money is still flowing in from multiple directions.

Adios

Bruce, sounds to me like you really should be training a novice on how to be a copywriter. You really know your stuff.

I am brand new; just wanting to get into the industry. I am willing to put in the hard work, but I'm not sure where to begin. How do I discover a good niche? What do I need on my site to make a good impression?

Still trying to find the answers.

My days vary. A short day might be four or five hours of actual WORK and a lot of thinking, reading and jotting notes here and there. A long day, 12 hours. I'd say 60-70 hours a week, but I'd rather be writing than doing anything but sleeping or spending time with my family.