How do I learn copywriting as a teen?

[hoponthebop]

Since you are at the very least, bi-lingual, why dont you do some English to Portuguese or Portuguese to English transcription and translation.

Damn I've never thought of it. I know like 5 languages (romanian, russian, english, portuguese and french) I could freelance it! I mean I did translations like 3years ago but I found it boring and I did it for a relative

 

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[rjrobbins2]

Damn I've never thought of it. I know like 5 languages (romanian, russian, english, portuguese and french) I could freelance it! I mean I did translations like 3years ago but I found it boring and I did it for a relative

Screw copywriting. That is a jackpot. You can do closed captioning for TV, translating textbooks and other books, and business docs.

Get on Fiverr and Upwork. You can get loads of jobs. Watch Lex's Upwork videos and get rolling. You can probably learn copywriting by paying attention to what you transcribe as well.

 

[rjrobbins2]

Freelancing is a viable option for him but keep in mind that he's 17, and most freelancing sites require you to be 18.

True but maybe he has a family member or someone to "sponsor" or help him until he is of age.

 

[NewManRising]

I think Google Ads would be easier. Web design would be easier. Social media, SEO, transcription...you name it. All of these can be learned in a relatively short time to get you to levels where you can get the client results they want. They all still require sales though.

Agreed. The thing about learning copywriting is that it teaches you sales. I find that guys on this forum that try to freelance web design or marketing sometimes don't have a sales foundation. So, they don't know how to talk to/negotiate with clients or even have the right offer and pitch.

If I were to tell a beginner what to do, I would say learn copywriting and marketing really well. And they have to actually do the grunt work in the beginning just to get that "hands on" experience.

Since I have been doing copywriting for awhile I am now adding on other skills that complement it. It makes it just so much easier if you have some experience with sales and speaking to actual clients.

 

[Bekit]

Freelancing is a viable option for him but keep in mind that he's 17, and most freelancing sites require you to be 18.

@hoponthebop I don't think it should matter that Fiverr and Upwork won't allow you to have an account just yet. Here are two alternate approaches:

(Option 1) I just googled "english portuguese transcription" and got 7.7 million results.

Try reaching out to the companies who are offering human transcription service to see if they will hire you. Depending on where they're based, they may not have a restriction against hiring a 17-year-old. You may also be able to be hired by multiple companies at the same time. No, it's not fastlane quite yet, but you will be earning money and gaining a reputation.

Once you get some experience under your belt, you can branch out into other avenues.

(Option 2) Set up your own website and promote your own services through direct outreach to companies that look like they do business with Portuguese-speaking countries. No one will need to know that you're 17.

• Free way to do it: create your site on one of the free platforms out there. Also, create a Facebook business page.
• Really cheap way to do it: Create a free wordpress.com site and add your own custom domain so that it looks professional, and no one will know the difference. For like $25 per year, you can be running your own site and advertising your own services. (Here's the full price list for top-level domains on wordpress.com sites.)
• Standard way to do it: If you have a little bit more money and can pay for your own hosting, then pay for a hosting plan and go the wordpress.org route, but if that's expensive at the moment, you can always switch over to this option later.

Of course, this assumes that someone will be able to pay you. If you have a PayPal account, great! If not, open one. If you can't for some reason, if all else fails, you can always request Western Union or a wire transfer to your bank account (but this is inconvenient and sketchy, so some people won't do it)...

Here's a mindset shift that will help you to get thinking in the right direction.

Instead of thinking, "I need to do XYZ," change it to a question and ask yourself, "How can I accomplish XYZ?" Your brain will become much more creative at thinking of solutions.

 

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[AshrafI]

@hoponthebop I don't think it should matter that Fiverr and Upwork won't allow you to have an account just yet. Here are two alternate approaches:

(Option 1) I just googled "english portuguese transcription" and got 7.7 million results.

Try reaching out to the companies who are offering human transcription service to see if they will hire you. Depending on where they're based, they may not have a restriction against hiring a 17-year-old. You may also be able to be hired by multiple companies at the same time. No, it's not fastlane quite yet, but you will be earning money and gaining a reputation.

Once you get some experience under your belt, you can branch out into other avenues.

(Option 2) Set up your own website and promote your own services through direct outreach to companies that look like they do business with Portuguese-speaking countries. No one will need to know that you're 17.

• Free way to do it: create your site on one of the free platforms out there. Also, create a Facebook business page.
• Really cheap way to do it: Create a free wordpress.com site and add your own custom domain so that it looks professional, and no one will know the difference. For like $25 per year, you can be running your own site and advertising your own services. (Here's the full price list for top-level domains on wordpress.com sites.)
• Standard way to do it: If you have a little bit more money and can pay for your own hosting, then pay for a hosting plan and go the wordpress.org route, but if that's expensive at the moment, you can always switch over to this option later.

Of course, this assumes that someone will be able to pay you. If you have a PayPal account, great! If not, open one. If you can't for some reason, if all else fails, you can always request Western Union or a wire transfer to your bank account (but this is inconvenient and sketchy, so some people won't do it)...

Here's a mindset shift that will help you to get thinking in the right direction.

Instead of thinking, "I need to do XYZ," change it to a question and ask yourself, "How can I accomplish XYZ?" Your brain will become much more creative at thinking of solutions.

This is very useful and is the best option right now of you are under 18 but companies like PayPal require you to be at least 18 in order to make an account and they are allowed to close down your account if they find out you're under 18, even if you have funds in the account. This is actually a problem for me right now, so I need to find other suitable choices but the only option I've got right now is to use my parent's PayPal. However, I highly doubt they will allow me to send funds to their account due to the fact that they don't want me starting a business at a young age or before I get a degree.

 

[hoponthebop]

@Lex DeVille i need to be 18 to get a job in my country and I need to be able to work full time which I cant because of school thats why I want to learn something to make momey online (i just turned 17).

 

[hoponthebop]

How do I learn copywriting?

 

[ideasunlimited1]

A lot of job routes can be learned for free. I recommend ALISON courses, since they are free flexible, and I really enjoy the lecturers they utilize. But if your main issue is that you are too young to legally work in your country, then the when and where aren't the big questions. Are you disciplined and focused enough to stick with this? You may b better off learning on how to successfully be a freelancer or make a brand.

 

[ProcessPro]

I think Google Ads would be easier. Web design would be easier. Social media, SEO, transcription...you name it. All of these can be learned in a relatively short time to get you to levels where you can get the client results they want. They all still require sales though.

Been meaning to ask for curiosity sake, do you know code? Or do you build websites for clients using wordpress or something similar? Thanks.

 

[hoponthebop]

It's going to sound harsh, but read the message behind the words:
You're not listening.

Lex gave you a winning ticket. He's definitely the one you should be listening to, if you are serious about copywriting.

Are the laws in your country preventing people from hiring you, full time or part time ? If that's the case, are the same laws preventing you from mowing lawns, shoveling snow, planting/watering plants, cleaning carpets ?
This is what the mindset is about. If you cannot turn the switch on, in your mind, and find opportunities all around you, copywriting will be hard.

Turn the switch.

There are laws that prevent people from hiring me. But they do not prevent me from doing the other stuff. The problem is the mentality in the place where I live. Its a small a$$ city in a European country where everyone is afraid of paying or doing something. If they want t someone to mow their lawn or water their garden,clean the carpet they will either do it themselves to save money (even if they are rich) or ask someone in their family. If I go around asking to do that stuff they will tell me to F*ck off (which already happened). My only chhance to do something is doing smth online or going to college (whichh Im planning to do)

 

[hoponthebop]

Where do you live? Cause it sounds pretty familiar...

Portugal

 

[astr0]

Portugal

Hm... Average salary is 3x bigger than here, but purchasing power parity is only 50% more. Which is still 2.5x less than in the US or major European countries.

That's a poor people's mentality and very hard to change... Get away from it and build strong walls against it.

 

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[astr0]

Pretty much everyone here agreed that Google Ads is the closest open door to your current position.

Check out @Andy Black threads in his signature and start learning. I suspect you don't have much money in your 17, so you won't be able to do it in his way, but you can offer your service for free pretty soon. The sale would be easier, but your client would still have to pay for the campaign so it's still a sale. Don't try to jump straight on a high ticket and popular businesses.

Your best place to start would be someone who would benefit ads and can feel your results, but in a niche where CPC is pretty low so you can bring him more prospects with a smaller budget. Research situation in your country, here that would probably be pretty much every small mid-priced service business, niched restaurants, beauty salons, construction workers, etc. Start with helping service businesses as their owners have more connections, can recommend you to other business owners and your results would be pretty noticeable to them. It's harder to track why someone bought a product.

Also, you need to work on your mindset. Check out Andy's threads on helping people, this thread is great too: The "Astonishing Secrets" Thread
Have you read MJ's books? You should have a significant mind-shift after reading Unscripted (or TMF ).
Look for young and successful people locally, they must have a better mindset than the poor ones. Starting a Google Ads hustle should get you connections. Some of them may become your friends and/or mentors in the future.

making money online

You keep repeating this phrase, so it must be very important to you. Can you tell what exact word is the most important for you now?

 

[hoponthebop]

You keep repeating this phrase, so it must be very important to you. Can you tell what exact word is the most important for you now?

money is the most important

 

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[Jeff Noel]

Now I truly understand my mindset is flawed as F*ck. But Im still lost

I second Astr0 on that. Gather your economies and get a copy of The Millionaire Fastlane or Unscripted . This isn't like any other books you'll find laying around. It's life changing.

 

[hoponthebop]

I'm currently in the same boat as you at the age of 14, I've read the books (Cashvertising and The Adweek Copywriting Handbook) and I'm currently trying to do web design for other businesses highlighted in Fox's thread. I can definitely say that working with other businesses and trying to get a sale has been particularly useful, I've read Jordan Belfort's Way of The Wolf and I am currently making a script to assist me in my cold calls. I believe you must listen to the advice the other forum members have to say as they are much more experienced than both of us.

I wish I started learning stuff when I was 14 (but I would rather procrastinate by reading success stories at that age to be honest).

I will listen to every piece of advice I get here

 

[rjrobbins2]

I've been against doing this myself because I felt like a crook. "This is so easy, I can't charge people for that".

I should rethink my past decisions.


.

It isnt easy; it is just simple. It is technology and there are always problems you have to troubleshoot. There is also SEO which is challenging.

For those interested, Astra, Phlox, and OceanWP are all free themes that have full demos you can import. They are premium quality too. They have premium versions but I have built sites using nothing but the free features. I built a full website for a business with the cost of a domain and hosting plus my labor

 

[hoponthebop]

Great, now we have some progress, acknowledging the problem is the first step to solve it!

Now

1. Embrace that the process won't be easy. It might be fast, but fast is a few years (months if lucky), not tomorrow.
2. Listen to all the bits of advice from other people in your threads. Many of them achieved something and spent their time to help you, value that.
3. Read The "Astonishing Secrets" Thread and other mindset threads here.
   
4. I highly recommend reading the Unscripted by MJ DeMarco. It's probably not like any other books on "making money" that you've read before. No mental masturbation, straight truth, strong kicks to take action. If you don't have money to buy it, at least watch his youtube channel
5. After that, you should have many ideas on the best ways to provide value to other people. Feel free to discuss them here and choose what fits you.

Don't give up and Good Luck again

I just read the astonishing secrets thread and the guy who wrote it focuses on a copywriting! Is that somethhing I should do myself?

What happens if you change the wording?

“make money online”

vs

“earn money online”

I mean the meaning is still the same right?

 

[astr0]

I mean the meaning is still the same right?

earn - obtain (money) in return for labour or services.
make - form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; create.
Source: Google Dictionary.

Pretty similar, but I guess earn has an accent on putting and effort and deserving it in return, while make is more like "create".

P.S. Not easy to tell the difference without fluent English.

 

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[rjrobbins2]

Saying "I think I should get into copywriting" makes it sound like you just heard it somewhere as a buzzword and you don't really understand it. It's a slice of the "selling stuff to people" pie. It's a bit similar to saying "I'm going to get into cold calling". Cold calling who? Selling them what? Are you going to open up a call center? Likewise, who are you writing copy for? Who are you selling to? What are you selling? How are you getting their attention in the first place? These are much more important questions to answer.

If I was 17 again I would focus on being the best looking, most charismatic, charming guy I could be. I'd read 5 sales books 10 times over. When I turned 18 I would waltz into any place offering a high end sales job, find a manager and tell them I'll be their best damn salesman they've ever had and I'm sure if you look the part you'd get a great job. Use that money to save up, move out, get a small place and save the rest of your money to start a business.

Your whole post was good but I think these two points need to be stressed. It does sound like OP just saw an article talking about how in-demand copywriting is and how profitable it can be so decided it was something worth pursuing. This is fine if you have some base skills to build on or job experience. But, OP doesnt sound like he knows what copywriting truly is which is again fine, our knowledge starts somewhere. But, it sounds like he is trying to skip lots of steps.

I was winning awards in high school for business papers I wrote including a state championship. Even then, I would have not been a good copywriter because I had no real world experience.

I think your final paragraph sums it up. However, making money online is still possible. I would stress my previous point about flipping on eBay and other 3rd party seller platforms. All you need is a camera, some stuff to sell, and the ability to describe it. The act of describing and polishing your listings will give you some base for copywriting. You will be learning to sell.

 

[AshrafI]

Screw copywriting. That is a jackpot. You can do closed captioning for TV, translating textbooks and other books, and business docs.

Get on Fiverr and Upwork. You can get loads of jobs. Watch Lex's Upwork videos and get rolling. You can probably learn copywriting by paying attention to what you transcribe as well.

Freelancing is a viable option for him but keep in mind that he's 17, and most freelancing sites require you to be 18.

 

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