If It Was So Easy Everybody Would Do It, Right?

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It's baffling how little respect copywriters get as a whole. Not that people should bow down and worship them at the altar.

But of all the disciplines of Internet marketing it's safe to say copywriters help run the engine the most.

But still the ones I know have to fight and claw over price, with one hand and face client over expectations with the other. In addition to dodging shysters and rip-off artist who want to use their talents to stiff customers.

One of my best friends daughter is thinking about becoming a freelance copywriter. Any advice from copywriters who read this (warnings included) would be appreciated. I plan to send her this link.

Thanks.
#copywriting #easy
  • Copywriters who eschew price shoppers usually don't have respect and fee-quibbling problems with their prospective clients.

    Alex
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    • Good point, but doesn't that come with the territory.

      At some point many will ask how much will it cost and start comparing your price with others ... or how much they have in their bank account. Right?
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    • Alex,

      This is my biggest problem right now. How do you find the right prospective clients? What's the best way of wheedling the time-wasters and undervaluers out?
      • [1] reply
  • Years ago, no one knew what a copywriter was. Now everyone who can pick up a pen wants to do it, because somehow they've become convinced that it's easy.

    For your friend's daughter: I'd advise pursuing a career in something with a higher barrier to entry, more objective standards of proficiency, verifiable criteria for success, and less relationship-dependent prospects for work. And make sure it's a growing field, of course.

    Medicine or tech security or law enforcement for example. And remember, if you have in-depth knowledge and experience in a field with a high barrier to entry, it's an easy pivot into writing about it -- including marketing writing, such as copywriting. As a specialist writer, you'll even have better odds of success.

    What you don't want to do is throw your hat into the ring of a field with a low barrier to entry at the same time that everyone and his niece is doing so. Especially if you're doing it just because you think it's a shortcut to the easy life.

    That being said: if you're going to win, you'll stick with it in spite of all setbacks, and if you're going to lose, it's best to lose quick and early. ... So if you think you love copywriting, give it a shot!

    Presuming your friend's daughter is a youngster, however, I would steer any kid of mine away from any career in writing. Writing (including copywriting) is something you can get into anytime, so I'd advise using your youth and energy to acquire more specialized knowledge, experience, contacts, etc.
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    • Really? Copywriting has a rather high barrier to entry, high standards of proficiency and obvious returns.

      I'd say it was one of the hardest things to get into, unless you're a freakish natural. Those are in pretty short supply, though.
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  • There are two basic categories of copywriters... those who write filler for search engines, and those who actually write important things actual human beings will read. One of these two is Fiverr work, typically cheap, and widely available. The other, people are willing to pay for.

    If you're marketing yourself based on your understanding of search engines and ability to drive traffic, you're putting yourself into the first group. If you're marketing yourself based on your ability to understand and describe complex products/scenarios, and your ability to engage and captivate an audience, you won't have any problem finding clients who need you. Sell your knowledge, not your time and number of keystrokes.
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  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • ... Though I must say, someone with their heart set on copywriting might do better if they specialized in something like pharmaceutical copywriting or technical copywriting -- fields in which formal education definitely help.

    And the kid should go to college anyway. The fact that copywriting doesn't require formal education is all the more reason to go to school for some other specialization... something that could help your copywriting career or something that you can do in case writing isn't your bag...

    Settling for just a high school diploma is risky, no matter your career plan, imho. Way too many jobs want that piece of paper from the university before they'll even talk to you...
    • [2] replies
    • Meh. The school of hard knocks is getting a lot more (much deserved) credit these days.

      My pedigree got my foot in the door, but it has nothing to do with what I ultimately chose for a career. Can't say I'm super stoked to be footing the bill for such a prestigious university when I could have just gotten right to it (had I known what I wanted to do back then, that is).

      Believe it or not, I got rejected for a pro writing Master's degree from one of the schools.

      They don't always know what the **** they're talking about, these schools. If I'd let them tell me what I could and could not do, I'd be screwed for life.

      To boot, in copywriting you spend as much time unlearning bad school habits as you do picking up good writing habits. Better to get paid to learn, says me.

      But hey, each opinion works only when it works. Is it more difficult to get a job without a degree? Depends on the job. I know a dude that builds space shuttles for a living, and he's just a high school grad. He passed all the tests though, and continues to smoke competitors.

      TL;DR - there's no one RIGHT way to do anything. Do what feels right for you, whether it's additional schooling, or diving in head first.
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    • Remember my friend, she's not looking for a job, she has one. She's looking to start a freelance copywriting business.
  • Gene Schwartz said part of being a good copywriter is knowing what is going on in the world, what real people are doing and saying. He said go to popular movies, read popular books, watch TV shows. Understand how your avatar lives. Your education is constant.

    Extended education can only help. Want to be a financial copywriter? Take courses in economics, investing, accounting. Same with health and nutraceuticals. Or tech.

    But also take courses in art, history, and philosophy. Now you can take some of the best courses from the top universities in the world for free. Here are some of them:

    Intro to Finance/ Univ of Michigan
    https://www.coursera.org/course/introfinance

    The Modern and the Postmodern/ Wesleyan University
    https://class.coursera.org/modernpostmodern-003

    Intro to Philosophy/ University of Edinburgh
    https://class.coursera.org/introphil-003

    The Modern World/ Univ of Virginia
    https://www.coursera.org/course/modernworld

    Wharton School Foundation Series/ Univ of Penn
    Coursera Blog • THE WHARTON FOUNDATION SERIES

    You don't have to get a college degree--liberal arts degrees get a bad rap for good reason (It's my POETRY homework, man!), but the idea of broadening your mind by learning some "soft" topics can only help your writing.

    If nothing else, you'll develop your eye and can become a leading art collector with all your copywriting riches.

    Like Gene. Heck, he gave a lot if it away.
    http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/07/ob...ctor-dies.html
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    • That article mentions him being on the cover of New York magazine:

      New York Magazine - Google Books
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    • Agreed. This is what I was getting at, if I didn't make it clear.

      Not that ZERO education is the route. Just that a formal degree doesn't necessarily hold as much weight as it once did.

      By all means, be a student of life. Just don't be a slave to student debt.

      Go be a copywriter and make that money, honey!
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • The #1 chart-topping-awareness (with a bullet, BANG!) that a new copywriter needs to have is:

    Understanding positioning.

    When I look at how the majority of copywriters position themselves, I wonder what the hell they're doing.

    Here's what I mean...

    You get to CHOOSE how you enter a conversation.

    So you can CHOOSE to talk with people who don't understand the value of copy and try to educate them...

    Or...

    You can enter a conversation with people who have already successfully used copy to amass a small fortune.

    Never... ever try to convince someone of your value. It's a no-win situation 100% of the time.

    You create the conversation (positioning.) You CHOOSE where that conversation goes. And if you're not using that power, you deserve low-balling clients. Simple as that.

    Mark

    P.S. Remember, EVERYTHING you write and how you positioning yourself is a demonstration of what you can do for ME. If your positioning sucks, you're of no apparent value to ME. So how much do you think I'm gonna pay you?

    P.P.S. This isn't directed at anyone. Just ranting.
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    • I have a cure for that - booze and a flamethrower.

      Flamethrowers - for when you just HAVE to set something on fire, but it's TOO FAR AWAY.
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    • Mark;
      Is that a metaphor or do you mean that statement literally. If so, could you expand on that point or go a little deeper? This could be a learning moment for me. -Thanks.
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  • Writers in general don't get nearly enough credit as they should. Take screenwriters, for example. There more animals with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame than there are writers.
    • [1] reply
    • Whoa! You were right. I had to look.

      That would be an excellent Trivia or Jeopardy question.

      There are 3 animals and only 2 screenwriters who only did screenwriting. The Animals were of course Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and Strong Heart.

      Even more shocking, there were 10 times more fictional characters (20) on the walk than screenwriters. Who woulda thought?

      The moral of the story: If you're a screenwriter and you want to be on the Walk of Fame you have to be at least a director, actor,or producer too.

      Just being a screenwriter alone won't get it. According to Hollywood that's nothing. I just wonder what a movie would be without one.
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