Get really good, they'll find you. To start out, use direct mail or email marketing.

Thanks, but that's not what I was asking. Where do copywriters find leads on who to send direct mail or email marketing *to*?

Last I checked list brokers don't offer lists of "uses long copy"...

Get a scraper software or go to manta and start developing your own lists.

Watch the profile: size, revenue, HQ not branch office.

Pick a couple of niches you like to write about and stick with them.

One good way to get clients for clickbank is to find a clickbank site with bad copy and contact the owner.

Or write a sales letter to companies you would like to work for.

Or... you can use my favorite client getting machine - the phone.

Pick it up and pitch!

Drayton Bird wrote this just for you in 2010:

Advice to a copywriter - from a tired old hack who's still banging it out | Drayton Bird AssociatesDrayton Bird Associates

You can do what I did when I first started copywriting for clients and not just my own products.

If you go to AWAI... they have specialty copywriting courses. Ones for the Health Market, Financial markets, etc...

Depending on which one you buy... some of these programs offer huge lists of leads that are associated with that market.

so, because of my health and fitness background, I bought the AWAI "Secrets of Writing for the Health Market" back in 2009.

Now, I didn't learn a ton from the course itself... since I had been doing health and fitness copy for the previous 7 years or so.

But what was invaluable was... they give you a list of 500 or so leads that are major players, direct mailers, supplement companies, and others that could use a health copywriter.

In other words, they hand you a list of leads, in that market.

So, I used it to send out a few hundred direct mail letters and sure enough, got some calls and offers.

But I had some experience and credentials already under my belt, so that might have helped.

I don't know if they do this for their other catalog courses, but they did for the Health one. What better leads than all of the biggest health publishers, mailers, supplement companies, etc...

Also, if you sign up with them... you get access to Directresponsejobs.com, which I'll check out from time to time to see what's on there.

Well, just the past few weeks...

CBS Radio, Rent-A-Center, Apple, NBC, Sears, Martha Stewart... all had postings looking for copywriters.

So, this could be one direction to take...

I never do cold-calling. I don't want to waste my time or a prospective client's time if they don't have a perceived marketing need and if they aren't willing to hire someone to meet their need. 99% of the time that I'm on the phone is paid consultative time and that is by appointment only.

I rarely go looking for clients although I do meet them at times through networking at different marketing seminars/groups.

I frequently focus on doing direct response marketing to attract the right types of prospects who then approach me about their marketing needs. From there, it comes down to whether my skills and their needs are a solid match and finalizing terms. This is normally done by email but occassionally I need to do this by phone/Skype or in person. If it's in person, then I'm compensated for my travel, regardless of whether we wind up working together.

If you truly learn how to do direct response marketing then your question goes from "where do I get clients" to "What methods do I want to use to get the right types of clients?" instead.

If you truly decide how you want to do business as a copywriter then that's how you will wind up doing business as a copywriter.

Food for thought,

Mike

i dont understand your OP

Thanks for the excellent advice, everyone!

Well based on the rates that most folks want to pay copywriters.

I would say they find them down back alleys, with their pants down, bent over with a tub of lube.