Becoming a self-employed copywriter

[GuestUser112]

Greetings from Ontario,
So last night, I was working the night shift at the warehouse as usual. Before work I had been watching a video that had really engaged me, I was learning about entrepreneurship, but I had to stop watching the video to go to work. At work, as I cleaned grease out of metal parts, all I could think was that I wanted to get back to my learning and that I was wasting my time. So I quit. After coffee break, I said goodbye to the guys and walked out. Most of the guys looked at me with utter disbelief. Funny part though, an older man named Jim perked up from his desk as I was walking by and yelled out "That guy is the only smart one in here!". I thought that was pretty cool.

Anyway, now I have 52 days ahead of me to make some money the self employed way, so I've decided to start off writing copy. If I don't make any money in 52 days I'm probably going to have to work at McDonalds or something. So if anybody here has any books on writing copy they could recommend I would be very grateful. If anybody has any experience in the business and could offer me advice, even better.

My plan is to make a decent living writing copy ($1500 a month would be enough), write an ebook or two in my off-time (planting a moneytree seedling), and use the rest of my now cleared schedule to formulate my next business. I really don't want to work at Mcdonalds so wish me luck.

 

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[CryptO]

This is how I made $1500+ in a few weeks of starting and very quickly earned a 5 star rep on Odesk.

First step.

• Research, you're going to need to learn how to think and write like a copywriter.
• Check out sites like copyblogger to get a feel for the basics.
• For more research have a look at the list of books I posted in this thread, but don't get bogged down reading too many books!!!

Copywriting Resources


Second step.

Write some copy for free (you're not really doing it for free, you'll see why). Get testimonials. You'll need at least 5 examples.

Third step.

Set up an account on Odesk. Make your description stand out from everybody else.

Fourth step.

Go after work and start by offering your service for about $60 per page, people will ask to see previous examples of your work, refer them to testimonials you already collected (you don't have to tell them you did that for free!)

Then it's just a case of doing everything you can to get that first 5 star feedback. DO IT

Ramp up your prices after every successful job completed, always hit 5 stars!!!

In 3 to 4 weeks you can be charging $500 for a sales letter!

I did it and so can you!

 

[Jonleehacker]

I have a simple project for the OP if you want to do your first job for a good reference, we can run it through oDesk if you like. It's for a Kindle book that I'm about to release.

PM me if interested.

 

[CryptO]

I have a simple project for the OP if you want to do your first job for a good reference, we can run it through oDesk if you like. It's for a Kindle book that I'm about to release.

PM me if interested.

OP this is a dream offer!

Snap this up ASAP, you won't find a better way to get started than this!!

 

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[GuestUser112]

Thank you Alty, this is the best advice I possibly could have been given

 

[snowbank]

write an ebook or two in my off-time

good lord why does everyone starting out want to write ebooks so badly. don't do this.

Read stuff from Neville Medhora. He also has a youtube channel:
Kopywriting Kourse - YouTube

Read cashvertising

 

[Michael Raphael]

I am willing to give you a second job, would love to have a copyeditor look at my work. What do you say? It's short so wont be too hard! Would let you write the referral any way you want and put my signature / company signature on it.

Alty seeing you everywhere recently and really impressed with your story and knowledge keep it up!

 

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[Kencan98]

Your homepage should be Info Marketin Blog. Google it and read everything on there. It's a collection of Halbert, Kennedy, Abraham, Bly and others. The swipes you will find there are priceless.

I second Nevilles course. I didn't take the course but Neville is the real deal. Also look up another App Sumo guy, the CEO, Noah Kagan.

Writing copy as a business idea might get you off the ground and give you some money to get you started on a fastlane venture but if you ever get really good you should never be writing for other people. Even if they pay you $10,000 for a letter or a script, just sell your own stuff. You'll make way more money that way.

Direct Response Copywriting is the most valuable business skill anyone can acquire in my opinion.

Good Luck


PS - here's a link to IMB's Gary Halbert stuff.
http://www.infomarketingblog.com/ca...ipe-file/gary-halbert-copywriting-swipe-file/

 

[joschi]

i would also recommend ca$hvertising
one of the best ways to show how strong your copywriting is is to rank it on google . so just as a suggestion, you might open up a blog or landing page and rank it or a niche with a strong copy! you can then use this as an example (google for "your nieche term") and even for affiliate marketng or something

regards
Patrick

 

[Cyberseraph]

@Alty:
Thanks for sharing your experience.

Do you write at Odesk in English as well?
(I have noticed that you are from France but you seem to be fluent in English).

This is how I made $1500+ in a few weeks of starting and very quickly earned a 5 star rep on Odesk.

First step.

• Research, you're going to need to learn how to think and write like a copywriter.
• Check out sites like copyblogger to get a feel for the basics.
• For more research have a look at the list of books I posted in this thread, but don't get bogged down reading too many books!!!

Copywriting Resources


Second step.

Write some copy for free (you're not really doing it for free, you'll see why). Get testimonials. You'll need at least 5 examples.

Third step.

Set up an account on Odesk. Make your description stand out from everybody else.

Fourth step.

Go after work and start by offering your service for about $60 per page, people will ask to see previous examples of your work, refer them to testimonials you already collected (you don't have to tell them you did that for free!)

Then it's just a case of doing everything you can to get that first 5 star feedback. DO IT

Ramp up your prices after every successful job completed, always hit 5 stars!!!

In 3 to 4 weeks you can be charging $500 for a sales letter!

I did it and so can you!

 

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[CryptO]

@Alty:

Do you write at Odesk in English as well?
(I have noticed that you are from France but you seem to be fluent in English).

I used to write on Odesk in english. I moved to France about 10 years ago from the UK so I'm more comfortable writing in english than french!

Interestingly, it's been at least 10 months since I stopped using Odesk, but every few weeks I'll get a new request for an interview for another copywriting job. I'm tempted to accept sometimes but I just can't make that commitment due to my construction company (which is in its infancy) and demanding most of my time.

If you're going to become a copywriter, you cannot offer a good service if you do it half heartedly, you have to commit fully and stay up to date with current trends etc.

 

[shoaib]

I have started learning copywriting for the past few months...

I have read almost everything from Gary Halbert.

You can never read him enough... Reading his books twice/thrice and taking notes is a must.

If you absorb everything from Gary Halbert you don't need anyone else, no kidding.

Read Boron letters, Gary Halbert XXX recordings, Make maximum money in minimum time, his seminars and his newsletters.

Read them again... and again.

I have almost every ad Gary Halbert has written... Must have for a copywriter.

 

[GuestUser112]

Quick Update

I have read half the Gary Halbert letters, Scientific Advertising, Cashvertising, and various books from copyblogger. They have all proved incredibly helpful, thank you guys. I also watched Neville Medhora's course, and I was impressed so I tweeted him about it, and he actually tweeted back saying my tweet was testimonial worthy! That was cool. So anyway I just woke up and had my coffee. After I read for about 15 minutes, I'm going for a run and then immediately diving back into writing. Lots on the table, and for the first time in a long time I'm doing work that I thoroughly enjoy. If I can get my clients' work to sell, even though I'm now working for free, it will be a huge accomplishment for me. More to come later

 

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[Rafal]

Ever wonder why Frank Kern - one of the best copywriters - is not
writing his own copy now?

And why do you think putting time, energy and money into
being freelance copywriter is a good idea? It's very time consuming
task if you wanna be that good.

 

[GuestUser112]

Ever wonder why Frank Kern - one of the best copywriters - is not
writing his own copy now?

And why do you think putting time, energy and money into
being freelance copywriter is a good idea? It's very time consuming
task if you wanna be that good.

Time consuming, yes and no. To learn, yes. But what isn't? To make money doing, not at all. I could write for an hour and possibly make a few hundred or thousand dollars once I have a reputation. A reputation that may only take a couple months to build if done effectively. And it's a skill that will never go away, I don't need a degree for it, and I can learn it for free. Writing has always come naturally to me, and I find I really enjoy this type of persuasive writing especially. In highschool, I came in first place in every english contest I entered with stories that I cooked up in an hour or less. Writing copy is fairly easy in comparison to character development and essay writing, at least from my perspective.

Also, I plan to start doing some affiliate marketing for extra income, where having this skill will come in handy, and will lead to me marketing my own products. Copywriting is a necessity of online business, and I'd rather do it myself for my business than hire somebody who I have to pay and could misrepresent my company, not including the inconvenient trial-and-error process of hiring contractors (when I am a start-up, that is). Learning business skills is always going to be valuable, and to make money in anything you have to put the work in. So make the work something you enjoy. Or at least have a Passionate Why.

 

[mma323]

Any progress, DreamCreator?

You've probably read this in Gary Halbert's letter already, but copying successful ads by hand is a great way to learn copywriting. I've copied 315 ads so far and am aiming to reach the 500 mark at least.

 

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[Kak]

Greetings from Ontario,
So last night, I was working the night shift at the warehouse as usual. Before work I had been watching a video that had really engaged me, I was learning about entrepreneurship, but I had to stop watching the video to go to work. At work, as I cleaned grease out of metal parts, all I could think was that I wanted to get back to my learning and that I was wasting my time. So I quit. After coffee break, I said goodbye to the guys and walked out. Most of the guys looked at me with utter disbelief. Funny part though, an older man named Jim perked up from his desk as I was walking by and yelled out "That guy is the only smart one in here!". I thought that was pretty cool.

Anyway, now I have 52 days ahead of me to make some money the self employed way, so I've decided to start off writing copy. If I don't make any money in 52 days I'm probably going to have to work at McDonalds or something. So if anybody here has any books on writing copy they could recommend I would be very grateful. If anybody has any experience in the business and could offer me advice, even better.

My plan is to make a decent living writing copy ($1500 a month would be enough), write an ebook or two in my off-time (planting a moneytree seedling), and use the rest of my now cleared schedule to formulate my next business. I really don't want to work at Mcdonalds so wish me luck.

Want to make this fastlane instead of creating yourself a crappy job?

Hire some copy writers on a case by case basis. You can even do this over the internet and hire people in India or the Philippines to do this for very cheap.

Also, customer acquisition is going to be much harder than "when you build it they come" I see nothing above to talk about your customer acquisition strategy. As someone who ran multiple service companies, I might argue this is the hardest and most expensive part of running a service business. Think outsourcing cold calling, list building, internet marketing, odesk. <This shit alone is competitive...

Remember, if you are not spending your time personally working for clients you never have to turn one away. That is how growth and scalability works. There is nothing wrong with a service business, there is just something wrong with calling the above statement entrepreneurship.

 

[Kak]

Time consuming, yes and no. To learn, yes. But what isn't? To make money doing, not at all. I could write for an hour and possibly make a few hundred or thousand dollars once I have a reputation.

Time consuming yes definitely. Why specialize? There are people for this and they damn sure are not worth hundreds or thousands of dollars per hour.

A reputation that may only take a couple months to build if done effectively. And it's a skill that will never go away, I don't need a degree for it, and I can learn it for free.

Yes it is a skill that will never go away, but why do you need it? Once again there are already people for this. You are pipe dreaming if you think you can build a reputation in a few months. Cashvertising is as far as I ever learned this topic, why because it was interesting to that point for me. Taking it farther would serve no purpose.

Also, I plan to start doing some affiliate marketing for extra income, where having this skill will come in handy, and will lead to me marketing my own products.

I would argue that the difficulty level for affiliate marketing is even higher than selling your own products. No one makes spare money doing affiliate marketing. The only people I know who have made real money in it sock their lives into it. They have to find windows and take advantage of them while they are open because they ALWAYS CLOSE. Furthermore, most of these people also would advise against doing AM at all.

Copywriting is a necessity of online business, and I'd rather do it myself for my business than hire somebody who I have to pay and could misrepresent my company, not including the inconvenient trial-and-error process of hiring contractors (when I am a start-up, that is).

This is understandable, but as soon as you find a good person for this position you always have their phone number. You NEED to delegate to grow beyond your own means. It will become much much more inconvenient to do this mundane crap yourself.

Learning business skills is always going to be valuable, and to make money in anything you have to put the work in

Learning business skills is valuable, but how valuable?? If you can find a 4 dollar an hour Indian to do this job for you your opportunity cost is massive.

By the way... I am not at all trying to piss in your cheerios. I am trying to help you. If there is anything I can help explain to you please shoot.

 

[Jonleehacker]

DreamCatcher must have lost the dream.

We exchanged emails, went over all the details of the project I offered him/her, much enthusiasm about how he was going to do a great job.

Never heard from him again.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Never heard from him again.

The entrepreneurial process for newbs is like New Year's Resolutions... they make em, get excited for a week or two, take a few "event oriented" actions (join a gym, buy some workout gear/supplements) and then disappear when the hard work shows up. Making bold proclamations is pretty easy-- eating right everyday and hitting the gym several times a week is not. That's all process...

Who knows what happened here.

 

[truesouth]

The entrepreneurial process for newbs is like New Year's Resolutions... they make em, get excited for a week or two, take a few "event oriented" actions (join a gym, buy some workout gear/supplements) and then disappear when the hard work shows up. Making bold proclamations is pretty easy-- eating right everyday and hitting the gym several times a week is not. That's all process...

Who knows what happened here.

I am confident that he is working hard.

 

[DennisD]

Any progress, DreamCreator?

You've probably read this in Gary Halbert's letter already, but copying successful ads by hand is a great way to learn copywriting. I've copied 315 ads so far and am aiming to reach the 500 mark at least.

This.
When I was in broadcast/media college, I used go through old radio ads and commercials and try to recreate them from scratch. Some of the best damned education I ever got.

When you recreate and rework original copy, longhand, it SEEMS silly. But you're realling giving your brain the TIME to pour over the copy. Writing something out once = reading it 100 times. You really start to get a connection to the work and internalize it differently.

There's nothing 'magical' about handwriting as opposed to typing, except the TIME it takes you to write, which is a huge plus.
I'm actually going to do this to improve my copy. Thanks or the reminder

customer acquisition is going to be much harder than "when you build it they come" I see nothing above to talk about your customer acquisition strategy. As someone who ran multiple service companies, I might argue this is the hardest and most expensive part of running a service business. Think outsourcing cold calling, list building, internet marketing, odesk. <This shit alone is competitive.

It's true. You can't just ASSUME that you'll find gigs.

Right now my primary source of income is through video gigs.
For a LONG while, I applied to 50 craigslist gigs a day (using a system I developed), 10 elance gigs a day,I cold called, and cold emailed. I got a total of 3 gigs/month. Service industry is competitive.

I had a good portfolio, I've worked with Caddy, Sears, Hummer, HP, Nike. I was using a skill that took years of training just to learn, and nearly a decade to get good at. I still struggle with getting new customer leads.

100% of my leads right now come from previous customers and referrals. Somebody mentions they want to make a commercial, my name comes up, and they come to me. Or I helped somebody (usually for free) and then they spread the word about me (without me asking for it).

But getting to that point in 52 days is tough. You can't just assume you'll get gigs. You need a definitive plan. Your copywriting skills will really come in handy here. You've got to sell your clients on your services. If you can't do that, you're not worth paying to do THEIR copy.

 

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[GuestUser112]

Oh hey guys. Yeah so I went on odesk to check out the competition for copywriting and saw about a million people offering services for about $2 per hour - figured it wasn't worth getting into. Sorry for never contacting you again Jonleehacker. My girlfriend had just left me for a physicist and I got a DUI so my mind wasn't anywhere near doing some free copywriting for some random guy on the internet. Don't drink and drive, btw.

On another note, I did learn a lot about sales copy that I knew absolutely nothing about before so reading all those books on it wasn't a waste of time.

I've now decided to create my dream, becoming a musician. I produce, rap and sing. Yes, I know that a lot of you will be laughing at this. I don't care. Just because you've accepted that you "cannot" do something doesn't mean I have. I'd rather try and fail then never go for it. I've also realized that a lot can actually be said for increasing intrinsic value, contrary to MJ's opinion as expressed in "The Millionaire Fastlane ", which I've read 4 times now (Great Book). Intrinsic value can add tremendously to any future business enterprise. Here's my logic behind pursuing my 'unrealistic' dream:

1. A song is a product, like any other. If you can sell one thing, you should be able to sell another. The process of networking, cold-calling (radio stations), "product development", branding etc in music is similar to starting a small business.

2. Self-made artists are increasingly growing incredibly popular due to their own utilization of youtube and their own entreprenurial skills - Hopsin, Mac Miller, etc. So why can't I do it.

3. I see no reason to accept the so-called fact that I am 'average' and that superstar status is reserved for the 'special few'. Skill takes work. I can work. And the thing about being a musician as opposed to, say, a professional athlete - you don't have to be in the top 99.998th percentile. That would be like saying Justin Bieber is one of the best singers/dancers in the world. Lol. You just have to sound good and be heard. Puttin in work.

4. The intrinsic value that will come with success as a musician is the BRANDING. Jimmy Buffett had ONE hit single - "Margaritaville". Thanks to some excellent business skills, Jimmy Buffett makes over 100 million per year through all the random shit that his "Margarita" brand is associated with - he even has his own line of Tequila. 50 Cent put his brand on a vitamin water company - sold it for 400 Mil.

5. I absolutely love music and I will never stop loving it, so the passion is constantly being reignited. Music motivates me, inspires me, affects me so powerfully that I feel like I can do anything. So I make music that makes other people feel that way, and I feel good about doing it. You said it yourself MJ - the Law of Effection. "Make a million people feel good...". I just have to bring my music to a million people.

 

[stranger]

Time consuming yes definitely. Why specialize? There are people for this and they damn sure are not worth hundreds or thousands of dollars per hour.



Yes it is a skill that will never go away, but why do you need it? Once again there are already people for this. You are pipe dreaming if you think you can build a reputation in a few months. Cashvertising is as far as I ever learned this topic, why because it was interesting to that point for me. Taking it farther would serve no purpose.



I would argue that the difficulty level for affiliate marketing is even higher than selling your own products. No one makes spare money doing affiliate marketing. The only people I know who have made real money in it sock their lives into it. They have to find windows and take advantage of them while they are open because they ALWAYS CLOSE. Furthermore, most of these people also would advise against doing AM at all.



This is understandable, but as soon as you find a good person for this position you always have their phone number. You NEED to delegate to grow beyond your own means. It will become much much more inconvenient to do this mundane crap yourself.



Learning business skills is valuable, but how valuable?? If you can find a 4 dollar an hour Indian to do this job for you your opportunity cost is massive.

By the way... I am not at all trying to piss in your cheerios. I am trying to help you. If there is anything I can help explain to you please shoot.

WOW. I imagine how many hours he would spend to find a skilled copywriter from India. Did you hire a copywriter from India for your project/s? It's ok to hire a programer or a designer from there, and not a copywriter.

 

[1PercentStreet]

5. I absolutely love music and I will never stop loving it, so the passion is constantly being reignited.

Go make a few $$$ then pursue your music. You'll never stop loving it right?


Cars, money, sex, music, traveling, real estate, motorcycles... yeah I love all those things. Doing what you love doesn't always work.
It doesn't mean I'll be doing those things to get rich.
Become agnostic to the market and give it what it NEEDS.
The world doesn't give a damn about what you or I want, only what you can do for the world.

 

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[stranger]

I've now decided to create my dream, becoming a musician.

Don't forget to say about your next decision here when you see there's a ton of musicians around. haha.

 

[DTran]

Dang, that was a let down. I thought he would at least try to go through with it before giving up

Look, Dreamcreator, I wish you the best in becoming a musician, and remember that you gave up on becoming a self-employed copywriter because it was so competitive. Being a musician is not that easy either, but seem like you have your eyes set on something this time

Meanwhile, I found some really great advice on how to improve my copywriting skill here, so...sweet~

 

[Mrs. BRKb]

So I quit. After coffee break, I said goodbye to the guys and walked out.

Anyway, now I have 52 days ahead of me to make some money the self employed way, so I've decided to start off writing copy. If I don't make any money in 52 days I'm probably going to have to work at McDonalds or something.

Oh hey guys. Yeah so I went on odesk to check out the competition for copywriting and saw about a million people offering services for about $2 per hour - figured it wasn't worth getting into.

Thanks for the update.

Posting more fee info for subsequent readers of this thread:

RECOMMENDED RATES FOR HIRING COPYWRITERS

Typical Copywriting Fees By Project - Profitable Copy

Freelance Copywriter Career: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

...so my mind wasn't anywhere near doing some free copywriting for some random guy on the internet.

Glad you said sorry to Jonleehacker. He's the esteemed FL member who stepped up and offered a chance to try out copywriting skills, at a time when you had walked away from your job and had 52 days to sink or swim. Not some random guy on the internet around here.

Best wishes with your music new venture, DreamCreator!

 

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[cristian tello]

what is copywriting ?
i have hearda bout it but have no idea about the process

 

[Mrs. BRKb]

what is copywriting ?
i have hearda bout it but have no idea about the process

[video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kzDdU0bZghw[/video]