Copywriting My Way To 20k/Year

[Anon38776]

My name's Rob.

Goal
Make (USD) 20k/year, 1700/month, 425/week, 15/h. Before tax. Working 7h/work day.

Why
I want to...

...live on my own; peace of mind, freedom, control.
...have cool stuff like an OP2, new PC, new office chair/table, good food, a fuzzy pet.
...write great copy or stuff. Seriously.​

What I've done so far
I have some work success on UpWork and a profile on Fiverr. Freelancer smells or I just don't know how to use it properly (don't mind the countless scammers that don't get banned). I don't think I need any other sites, but if you know any with good rep, please post.

I've obviously studied some copy.

Where I'm stuck

• I don't know how to judge my own copy. I don't know how to write good copy for a product that I think is shitty (should I just not write copy for that?).
• Fiverr is complicated (pricing issues, finding customers), but I'm going to get over that.
• I'm not pushing out as much content as I wish I did, mostly because I decided to be lazy when I was hot.
• Not sure, if I need a blog or not. Probably not. A portfolio site would work great, but who has money for that, lol.

Next targets

• Get in the flow again and push out more content. (quality > quantity)
• Fix my Fiverr profile.
• Get more work or ways to get work.

Here's the "Copywriting to Entrepreneurship" Skype Mastermind Group if anyone's interested, or you can just add me on Skype - Taykamant.

I'll be posting monthly to update on my progress.

 

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[InstantNoodles]

Good luck! Although personally I think you should aim higher than 20k/year.

 

[Captain Jack]

My name's Rob.

Goal
Make (USD) 20k/year, 1700/month, 425/week, 15/h. Before tax. Working 7h/work day.

Why
I want to...

...live on my own; peace of mind, freedom, control.
...have cool stuff like an OP2, new PC, new office chair/table, good food, a fuzzy pet.
...write great copy or stuff. Seriously.​

What I've done so far
I have some work success on UpWork and a profile on Fiverr. Freelancer smells or I just don't know how to use it properly (don't mind the countless scammers that don't get banned). I don't think I need any other sites, but if you know any with good rep, please post.

I've obviously studied some copy.

Where I'm stuck

• I don't know how to judge my own copy. I don't know how to write good copy for a product that I think is shitty (should I just not write copy for that?).
• Fiverr is complicated (pricing issues, finding customers), but I'm going to get over that.
• I'm not pushing out as much content as I wish I did, mostly because I decided to be lazy when I was hot.
• Not sure, if I need a blog or not. Probably not. A portfolio site would work great, but who has money for that, lol.

Next targets

• Get in the flow again and push out more content. (quality > quantity)
• Fix my Fiverr profile.
• Get more work or ways to get work.

Here's the "Copywriting to Entrepreneurship" Skype Mastermind Group if anyone's interested, or you can just add me on Skype - Taykamant.

I'll be posting monthly to update on my progress.

Make sure to check out @SinisterLex epic thread on this. There is a ton of money to be made in this space. I agree that you are selling yourself short at 20k/yr.

 

[Steven French]

Good luck man. Remember not to give up if things start getting tough! There is always a way.

 

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[Brandon Parker]

Earning 20k/yr while working 7 hours a day will yield you the job quality of a minimum-wage job. It's a good start to learn copywriting and freelance, but you need to aim higher if you don't want to be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Aim for a higher wage or a lower amount of work per week. Making 20k with 5-7 hours per week would be pretty sweet. Making 20k with 40+ hours per week will kill you.

 

[Anon38776]

Good luck! Although personally I think you should aim higher than 20k/year.

I agree that you are selling yourself short at 20k/yr.

Earning 20k/yr while working 7 hours a day will yield you the job quality of a minimum-wage job. It's a good start to learn copywriting and freelance, but you need to aim higher if you don't want to be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Aim for a higher wage or a lower amount of work per week. Making 20k with 5-7 hours per week would be pretty sweet. Making 20k with 40+ hours per week will kill you.

My step-dad makes 9k in his full-time job and you guys are telling me to aim for like 5 times more than he makes and, honestly, that's extremelly encouraging. Right now, I would be pretty much set if I got to 20k. At that point I would be able to work on a business pretty much freely. I'll obviously always aim for higher, but for a primary goal, I think, 20k is fine.

Make sure to check out @SinisterLex epic thread on this.

I will. Thank You.

 

[jon.a]

My step-dad makes 9k in his full-time job and you guys are telling me to aim for like 5 times more than he makes and, honestly, that's extremelly encouraging. Right now, I would be pretty much set if I got to 20k. At that point I would be able to work on a business pretty much freely. I'll obviously always aim for higher, but for a primary goal, I think, 20k is fine.


I will. Thank You.

I guess it's important to know that you're from Latvia.

 

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[Anon38776]

I guess it's important to know that you're from Latvia.

Yup.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Yup.

@jon.a has such a way with words.

In one sentence he cleared up a lot about this thread and taught a valuable copywriting lesson.

Context is everything.

 

[AndrewNC]

Goal
Make (USD) 20k/year, 1700/month, 425/week, 15/h. Before tax. Working 7h/work day.

To be honest, that is a pretty shitty goal.

If you continue to focus on this, you are going to fail.

Do you know what will happen when you fail?

You get frustrated. You are trapped in a life that you need the money to escape from. You'll be stuck, forced to work jobs that not only drain you, but cause you to hate every single piece of your existence.

At night, you're going to come home and continue to do the things you've been doing before, which will only lead to the same results...

Failure.

And the rest of your life is going to look like it's exactly the same.

How much does life suck when you focus on "the numbers in your mind" AKA the money.

And I say this so bluntly because if you listen to what I say right now, you are going to speed up your success...

There is a quick way to have success with this.

First, realize that the money is just a "go between". What is the type of life you want to live?

Imagine a life where you can go out and buy an exotic sports car (paying cash). And after that, you are already living in a mansion that you also paid cash for. This leaves you with with the ability to sleep in as late as you want, do what you want to do...on your own terms.

Travel the world for 12 months out of the year while not having to work for it? No problem.. It's all possible, and...

You can do it all.

When you shift 100% of your focus to what you are GIVING....in order to get that.

The more you give, the more you receive...

How can you give?

One option is to give your service away for free as you learn the skills. Offer to write free sales copy to experienced entrepreneurs who are already doing well...They can give you some free advice on how to improve your copy...one tip at a time.

Over time these skills you acquired add up - so you not only have the ability to write copy that SELLS PRODUCTS....but you also realize that applying for jobs is writing copy.

Your job application better be copy in itself if you're trying to get paid to write copy.

If you can't convince a person to pay you money for your service, than you sure as hell can't convince his or her website visitors to buy from him!

The first step is to understand that money is not even in the picture anymore....you simply are delivering something that will help somebody accomplish their goals....and you now realize you have to be able to communicate it in a way that leads them from where they are to a sale.

You're not going to fail...because you understand this, you're already on a course of being successful.

 

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[mrarcher]

This could be a cool exercise. You write copy for the product and the other guys who do copy could give you some feedback?
The product is a machine that minces meat. It is made of stainless steel and works by hand cranking instead of electric. How would you sell this? Why would i want hand crank instead of electric etc etc. Show us what you got!
Disclaimer - I am not selling a product like this but have one and was cooking today so it popped into my head!

 

[GuestUserX09]

@Taykamant These are some great goals man. I'm so happy to read this since I'm releasing a course within the next week or two teaching people to do this specifically on Fiverr. I had the idea since I have done this exact thing, around 2k/mo through Fiverr but also... launched a similar business based on my clients and reviews, etc on Fiverr. Sold the business a couple of weeks ago, nothing big but it was exciting.

It was a pretty elaborate deal but I think Fiverr is worth much more than the money you get upfront, I'd aim to build clients/rep there and send that to your own business. PM me if you want, ill let anyone here in the course for free when its open for a little feedback.

 

[Thiago Machado]

Hey man,

Here's a quote that stuck with me...

"If you want to consistently make $100,000 a year as a freelance writer, you need to avoid the “poverty mentality” that holds so many writers back from earning a high income. A doorman in New York City earns around $30,000 a year. If an unskilled laborer can make $30,000 just for opening a door, surely you can earn $50,000 to $100,000 for your skills." - Bob Bly

I'm sure 20k a year in Latvia must be good money. But try not to make that your end goal. Always aim higher. The sky is the limit my friend!

Good luck!

- Thiago

 

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[Anon38776]

One option is to give your service away for free as you learn the skills. Offer to write free sales copy to experienced entrepreneurs who are already doing well...They can give you some free advice on how to improve your copy...one tip at a time.

Over time these skills you acquired add up - so you not only have the ability to write copy that SELLS PRODUCTS....but you also realize that applying for jobs is writing copy.

Your job application better be copy in itself if you're trying to get paid to write copy.

If you can't convince a person to pay you money for your service, than you sure as hell can't convince his or her website visitors to buy from him!

The first step is to understand that money is not even in the picture anymore....you simply are delivering something that will help somebody accomplish their goals....and you now realize you have to be able to communicate it in a way that leads them from where they are to a sale.

You're not going to fail...because you understand this, you're already on a course of being successful.

I already do this. I even posted on my profile that I'll do copy for free for people on TFF. I'm currently doing somewhat cheap work on UpWork for a Google Play app CEO business guy and free work for a 2-man game dev company. I'm also having my copy reviewed by some of the more experienced copywriters on reddit (though I have mostly bad experiences with people bailing, but I'm not paying them).

I also realized that all the stuff in my profiles is copy by looking at what the other writers were doing.

The product is a machine that minces meat. It is made of stainless steel and works by hand cranking instead of electric. How would you sell this?

List of benefits:
- Physical work = health.
- No electricity = lower bills.
- Natural = because people like natural stuff.
- You can work with it anywhere.
- Stainless steel = endurance.

I was going to say that I couldn't reasonably sell that, but now I'm realizing that there are actually people that would be at some point interested in buying it. Like the ones that live off the grid. Like, "SHOVE IT TO THE MAN & get closer to mother-nature with this <b>stainless steel</b> meat-mincer."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like being close to <b>mother nature</b>? Enjoy <b>living in the wild</b>? Live in a world without electricity with this super-cool, new, manual <b>stainless steel</b> meat-mincer!

No longer worry about wasting electricity (and get some workout!) with this awesome meat-mincer. The stainless steel guarantees that it will last you a lifetime. It's great if you like living in the outdoors or you just hate wasting precious electricity. It's also incredibly simple to use! Just try it now! We guarantee that you'll love it or money back.

<b>Buy one now!</b>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...I think Fiverr is worth much more than the money you get upfront, I'd aim to build clients/rep there and send that to your own business. PM me if you want, ill let anyone here in the course for free when its open for a little feedback.

Copywriting pretty much relies on old clients to build more work with. I'm definitely interested and will PM you, though.

Hey man,

Here's a quote that stuck with me...

"If you want to consistently make $100,000 a year as a freelance writer, you need to avoid the “poverty mentality” that holds so many writers back from earning a high income. A doorman in New York City earns around $30,000 a year. If an unskilled laborer can make $30,000 just for opening a door, surely you can earn $50,000 to $100,000 for your skills." - Bob Bly

I'm sure 20k a year in Latvia must be good money. But try not to make that your end goal. Always aim higher. The sky is the limit my friend!

Good luck!

- Thiago

Yeah, I'm starting to question why I even wrote that goal. I thought it was going to be like, "Oh, I have something to work for now.", but instead it's the same as it was. The same stuff that I emphasized in all of my profile copy - just work on giving high value and high customer satisfaction. Due diligence like this seems to pay off on it's own; I once got paid 5 bucks for fixing two words, because I paid attention to my customers products - I didn't ask for a payment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyways. The Mastermind group is picking up. I'm hoping to invite 2-3 more people (which I've already sent invites out to) and then closing it. I'm not sure, if I should go beyond 5-6. I definitely could, if I find really successful people at this point.

Based on what has been said. I'm going to price my services higher. I also found a thread on the forums (which I can't find anymore) that linked to a really nice method (https://freelancetowin.com/how-to-become-a-copywriter/) of landing gigs and I'll be using that from now on. Basically, give the client a very specific sample of your work for his job.

I also got my copy reviewed by a more experienced writer and got some tips. I did some work for free for a game dev company of 2 people as well.

That's pretty much it.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Specific samples are nice and all, but that's not how you win gigs.

Just help the client.

Maybe that means specific examples or maybe it doesn't.

Anyone who says specific examples is specifically how you get gigs doesn't understand the core idea.

Just help people.

That might mean only writing for certain niches.
It might mean making some suggestion about their website.
It might mean listening carefully to their problems.

Just help people.

Focus on helping 20,000 people this year instead of earning $20k and watch what happens to your bank account.

 

[Anon38776]

I haven't been active on TMF . But I have been writing, learning, and marketing myself a lot. On the side note, I've also beaten depression/anxiety lately. Life is on the up. I've made only around $150 on my first month. Probably less. But I've given much more value back. I currently have 5 clients, only 2 are paying.

What have I been doing?
- Free work. Some might regard this as a poor choice, but I've decided to to it for a couple of reasons. First of all, starting out without clients is difficult, the best way to prove your worth is to get them results up front, prove superior quality, and only then begin charging, if they want you.
- Building a site + blog + portfolio. Not sure what to make of this yet. I imagine it might end up in being extra expenses, but I have to venture somewhere. A redditor told me this was a good idea, and, since I don't know any better, I'm going to experiment with it. After all, the more successful writers have their own sites, and it's worth copying them.
- Dealing with my mood and building routines. This has been a priority for me. Depression and anxiety didn't let me work. Whenever I sat down to write, my leg would shake or I would feel fatigued. I started running and had some revealations about how my mind should work, and I, obviously, take pills for both depression and anxiety. Everything is much better now, and I feel relaxed and ready to kick a$$. Coffee is also a big one - doesn't make sense since I sleep enough.
- Building profiles and networking. I always get people to add me on Skype. Even on UpWork. And I'm planning on asking those people to vouch for me on LinkedIn and wherever they can. Only after I've delivered sufficient value and only, if I feel like the push is necessary.

What have I discovered?
- People are really cool, and working in this environment excites me. The entrepreneurs that I've had the luck to work with have been cool stuff. They all want you to succeed. But that's not everything. I imagine it's common to feel like, "Finally, I can build something great here." I feel like this about the businesses I work with and their brands, marketing, copy, results. Everything. You get to learn from people. You get opinions from those who are more experienced in business.

What can I recommend?
- Internal monologue. The internal monologue is a creativity tool I've recently discovered. It works like this. You've researched what you're writing about, but you're not coming up with any ideas. You get up. You walk around in your room. And you, basically, talk to yourself about the benefits or the goal of the writing. Don't leave your mind blank. Make sure your thoughts aren't rambling. And you're set to get some great ideas in less than 2 hours.
- Morning coffee. If you're depressed, I can't recommend this enough along with running. I've only found benefits for coffee online, and every other article talks about how it's not unhealthy. Don't drink when it's late, though.
- Every morning run. Keep yourself sharp, feel good. This helps even, if you're not depressed. Highly recommend it.

What do I want to know?
- How do you guys network?
- What are your creativity tools?
- What do you do to feel sharp and good?

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I've made only around $150 on my first month.

Careful not to discount yourself. $150 is a great start. It only seems small now because it's being compared to a much larger number (i.e. $20,000/year). But ask any new ebook author how much they made their first month, or even in the first 90 days and you'll find most if not all of the people you ask didn't break $150 total during that time.

That's 3 months of work for less than $150.

You've already broken that, and it seems you did it by creating value. I'm all for working for free when you're starting out for numerous reasons. It gets your foot in the door and gives you a chance to gain experience and meet people you might not otherwise get to meet or work with. You can use that experience to help you build your portfolio and gain higher paying clients later on.

For networking just ask for referrals from your current clients. Also set up a profile on LinkedIn and start adding people. A lot of business professionals use LinkedIn and I've had some contact me about copywriting services. There's a thread somewhere here that talks about getting 500 LinkedIn followers. Basically you just follow a few people and then follow their followers. At least that's what I did.

For creativity you can look at a wide range of websites and different styles of copy. But also ask yourself if you really need to be more creative. Not every client needs creative copy. Some don't need creativity at all, but clarity. I watch talk shows and social media, and pay attention to the different styles of a variety of websites. I also look at how a lot of food products handle descriptions and storytelling.

To feel sharp I just wake up really early, drink coffee and exercise. I write the most important copy (highest paying client) first since after a while things start to get fuzzy. The brain gets tired and the writing starts to slip. Beyond that there's not really much else, except I avoid heavy foods like peanut butter, oatmeal, tortillas etc. when it's time to write because those put me to sleep.

 

[Anon38776]

Hey, guys.

I'm sorry I haven't updated you for a very long time. The issue with me right now is that anxiety combined with depression are destroying any will to work on copywriting. I've put copywriting on the side, and I'm trying to make progress towards improving my mental health. In the future I will avoid posting about my mental health, but I felt dirty just neglecting everyone here, so I think I had to make this post.

My mental health has gotten much better in the past few months, and I understand what I have to do to further improve it. I've gotten off my previous pills, and I'm planning on seeing the therapist about trying new ones. The previous pills only helped with the stronger, less controllable physical symptoms (random heart flutters and such), which I no longer have. I don't think pills will solve anything. I think that understanding my mind and attempting to correct my mental habits is key to getting well. I will also meditate as much as I can.

I can't imagine exactly how I'll pick up copywriting afterwards. Even writing this post feels very taxing for me, and a lot of effort will be needed to build proper flow, not even talking about progressing as a copywriter.

That's all I wanted to say. I'm sorry about the off-topic post. This is meant as a post to say, that I've not abandoned TFF.

 

[Aimee]

Don't apologise. Mental health is a huge issue -- something which definitely shouldn't be overlooked. I've been in a very similar position, so I can relate to how you are feeling. I know it often feels this way, but you are not alone. The main thing is that you've realised it's a problem for you and you're working on it.

Take the time you need to get better, then start again when you feel ready. Right now you might feel like you'll never be ready, but you will be. We'll still be here when you decide to pick it up again.

 

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[Ika]

I hope you are getting better soon.
Your plan for the future sounds good! Mental Health is more important!

 

[minirich]

- Free work. Some might regard this as a poor choice, but I've decided to to it for a couple of reasons. First of all, starting out without clients is difficult, the best way to prove your worth is to get them results up front, prove superior quality, and only then begin charging, if they want you.

I know it's a little late and a little off topic,
I found this graphic http://www.shouldiworkforfree.com/ in a slightly humoristic way very helpful if you should work for free.