The Copywriting Process

...has been answered here recently. So, a week digging through this sub-forum would give you a couple of books of ANSWERS. That being said...

good on you for doing something and getting started. My personal opinion that a new copy writer wannabe should be doing is...writing.

You'll find that some here don't use contracts, others have a 6 page legal document. The essentials of ANY contract are the details of what you will be doing for how much or what kind of compensation, wrapped into a time frame.

What will you be doing. How much you are charging. When. How. All the details can and in most cases should be included in a written and signed document. Fax is still be used, but an original agreement may have 2 copies, one for each party on real paper.

BUT, it is a little early in your game to be concerned about it, isn't it?

You deliver your copy as agreed, usually as the client requested. If he wants it on rice paper or papyrus, give it to him. More often than not, the media will determine the how. If you have an assignment for a newspaper or magazine ad, you can deliver the copy in the format to be used.

If it is just the text copy, a word document is often used. If you are doing copy for a web site, you and your client will decide how the copy is delivered, and these questions should be answered even before you shake hands.

Many copywriters give potential clients a check list or a sheet of questions, this helps determine whether or not you might be a good fit.

The bottom line is usually the standard in direct response copy, in brand advertising, or other types of copy you might just be hired as a sales wordsmith, as in catalog copy.

But the metrics and measurements of direct response allow a good copywriter to participate in profits or to get a higher fee, if established, again, something you don't have to worry about.

As a mentor, I don't want my opinion --neither the praise or the criticism to really matter. I may love a new copy cub's work, but, it may not work in the market. NONE of us know for sure, but we can usually identify poorly written copy.

Which is why I make my students write, and to sell something very early in the process. An A+ English Major can be a F copywriter, the market decides their grade, not me.

You wrote: I'm struggling with the idea of pitching my work to the first few clients before having tested any of my copy or shown any tangible results.

So, why do it? Write first and get results.

Again, a few hours in this forum, you'll find all kinds of good advice on overcoming this, some of the common replies are:

Create or acquire your own product to sell.
Find a click bank product and write your own copy.
Find a local ad and improve it, and if you do get paid from profits.

But, the main thing is this

Copy writers become copywriters by WRITING.

You will find several mentors here, some have you as part of a team, you learn via collaboration. Others have huge courses to wade through, still others carefully guide you through their steps to copy success.

ONLY writing for results and building on those results, will expedite your success.

gjabiz

PS. This forum has some of the best educated and versed in copy students as anywhere, yet, after months, some years...they can't sell their copy services.

Your best bet is to look at the contracts for other copywriters to
get an idea on what to include in your own contract. There are
also general service type contract you can get. I provide my
own contract to my coaching students to use or model.

I have a general agreement that covers all the writing services I do so I just
check in the table what the contract pertains to. Only for consultation I have
a different version of that contract. I present my finished copy in HTML
or whatever is closes to how the copy is going to be used.

As a copywriting coach I've received many such offers but you learn quickly that
when little is invested there is little to lose and less commitment. So personally,
I do not accept anything but money. I think most coaches are the same. You can
learn a lot from studying free resources online, so you are in no way handicapped
in this way. In the final analysis your copy will prove itself by whether it sells
stuff or not.

You can find poorly written sales letter and offer to rewrite them and get paid
on performance. You have to start somewhere. But you can write for your
OWN product in that way you don't have to ask anyone's permission.

The first sales letter I wrote for the web was for my own product that
I created and that letter is still selling (in another for) after 12 years!
At times it converted at over 20%! So you'll never know until your try.

Best of luck,

-Ray Edwards

gjabiz I have a word document on my desktop where I've copy/pasted many of your posts from around the forum. Very actionable and paradigm shifting advice as always. Thank you!

Raydal that's awesome! Can I see the product / sales letter?