Copywriter who lost $10,000

[verial]

I ordered MF a month ago on Amazon, but didn't read it until yesterday. In fact, yesterday was the perfect timing, as I just found out that one of my biggest clients went bankrupt and is defaulting on the 10,000 they owe me for my copywriting services. MF stated it perfectly: If you want to be rich, you need CONTROL.

I read MF front cover to back in one 6-hour sitting. This book was the most eye-opening book on money I've ever read. It sparked something in me that made my brain come alive... I can no longer rely on others to pay me if I want to be rich--I have to find a way to pay myself.

Copywriting is a great job. I get to sit at home, sipping tea while I make $1,000 for writing a 2-page sales letter. But this job has its flaws:

• I've become lazy. I only work 2-4 hours a day. So, even though I have a high-paying job, my monthly salary is no different from a slowlaner.
• I'm trading time for money. While some of my clients give me royalties for sales, most just pay me a lump sum. This means if I want to earn more, I have to trade more time.
• Copywriting fails in three commandments: Control, Scale, and Time.

After finishing MF yesterday, I just sat there thinking for awhile. I think I am like many others here, who only recently realized their approach to making money was flawed. I also want to get on the fastlane.

Right now, I am at the very beginning. I have a few ideas, but I need to work out the kinks. I will continue copywriting for some immediate income, but slowly ween myself off. I'd love to hear from others who've gone through what I am going through right now.

 

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[Entrepking]

Copywriting is one of those jobs that depends on having faith in the employer. That is such an awful thing to hear, and you are right that the only way to truly become rich is to work for yourself.

Many people realize this and simply hold a part or full time job while they are building their business. As someone who also works from home (not quite as comfortably) I will say that laziness can be a problem.

Working for someone else always begs that dilemma, how hard am I willing to work for someone else's gain?

Having your own company means that you are the only who gets hurt by laziness.

I have not experience this in the same way, but I know many people who have started their own business while using their previous job or a freelance gig to keep them afloat during the early steps.

Good luck!

 

[healthstatus]

Start writing copy for yourself! Find a few affiliate products, put up a wordpress site, write some magical copy, write some adword ads that will pull traffic, and as long as your copy can convert at a better rate than it costs to drive traffic you can be as lazy as you are today and make even more $$$$, and you no longer rely on customers with $1,000 to show up.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

While some of my clients give me royalties for sales,

Perhaps you can expand on this angle. Your copywriting services for free and you're paid a royalty/commission. This way, you can leverage the works of dozens, perhaps hundreds of products -- all that work FOR YOU, while you aren't working.

It also presents a great hook -- if my copywriting isn't effective, I don't get paid! I can't recall ever seeing that.

Welcome aboard, glad you found the book helpful.

 

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[evanwebb]

Start writing copy for yourself! Find a few affiliate products, put up a wordpress site, write some magical copy, write some adword ads that will pull traffic, and as long as your copy can convert at a better rate than it costs to drive traffic you can be as lazy as you are today and make even more $$$$, and you no longer rely on customers with $1,000 to show up.

I'm pretty sure most if not all of the copywriters whose names are well known made their money this way...cut their teeth working for other people and then made their millions selling their own product (especially how-to copywriting programs, books, and guides).

 

[halfstepdown88]

I know this is an old thread. But would you mind posting how you got to where you are now in copywriting?

 

[enlightening]

Perhaps you can expand on this angle. Your copywriting services for free and you're paid a royalty/commission. This way, you can leverage the works of dozens, perhaps hundreds of products -- all that work FOR YOU, while you aren't working.

It also presents a great hook -- if my copywriting isn't effective, I don't get paid! I can't recall ever seeing that.

What if you made this a non-negotiable condition for new clients? There are a lot of different payment terms you can work with, and you end up living with the clients that you choose to accept. You could even provide more value by managing more of the process for them in return for a royalty.

I'm in a similar position (with a different service). I don't need to work long hours now, but that still leaves several limitations that are a bit inconvenient I think the service has enough value to build a decent business so I'm hiring and training others. I'm also looking at getting more control by testing out some ideas for my own products.

One thing I'm trying now is a promising partnership. If you can get involved with a partner who needs strong online sales (which you can do) that can give you more control over the business as well as the benefit of their experience and skills. But you have to be a lot more selective than you are with regular clients...

 

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[GuestUser112]

I've become lazy. I only work 2-4 hours a day. So, even though I have a high-paying job, my monthly salary is no different from a slowlaner.

Get moving man. I got 6 hours of sleep last night. That means I have 18 hours in a day to work towards my goals, no matter what they are. Do I always work this much? No, but I get better at it every day through diligence and determination. If you go from working 2-4 hours a day to working even 8 hours per day, you could accomplish 2-4 times as much. That's huge. Two great resources I would recommend for time management are Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (if you haven't read this, do so immediately, for more than just time management) and Brian Tracy's "Eat That Frog!"

The idea behind Eat That Frog is pretty simple actually. The idea is if the first thing you did every morning was to eat a live frog, you could go through the rest of the day with the safe assumption that it would have been the most unpleasant and difficult thing you did all day. Translated into something literal, it means that if your first priority of every day is to do the most difficult and/or productive task you have planned, then you will accomplish much more every time. It relates to the Pareto principle of 80/20 as well. Definitely worth reading.

Good luck man, I know I felt the exact same way about TMF when I first read it too. Welcome to Team Producer.