I've wasted over 2 years. 2020 won't be the 3rd - COPYWRITING

[ElPatrico]

Who the hell am I, and my quick story ​

2 years of procrastination, meanwhile so many of you here are crushing it!

I joined this forum by the end of 2017. I've read Millionaire Fastalane, and so many other books on personal dev.
Even did 52 books a year challenge, figured out that it's worth nothing if you won't execute.
Now I don't remember 96% of the stuff I've read, hardly remember titles.
Lesson learned - more knowledge is pointless, unless you apply it.

Basically spent 2 years divin into the PUA stuff, getting confidence.
Not a lot results with it, again. A lot of knowledge, and only so little action taken.
But overall I think it was worth it. I've gained deeper understanding about man-woman interactions.
Deeper than majority of the guys will ever have.


and BOOM

here we are

20th April 2020.

How I intend to earn money:​

Copywriting.


In the recent weeks, I realized I am gonna be finishing my school in about 2 months.
This was my wake up call.

I was like: HOLY MOLY, I DON'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL SKILLS

Vision of me going down the path of 9-5 till my last days..
I feel like I have much more potential in me.
I can achieve extraordinary results.

And I will either fulfill this potential or die trying.
So I reminded myself I was hooked with copy.
As one of the most important skills you can learn.

My starting point, what is my niche, what exactly I will be doing?​

So I am a total beginner at this copywriting world.
No previous experience, no portfolio. I've only read @Lex DeVille thread
And adding to it all - English is my second language, originally I'm from Poland.

Do you sometimes feel like all the odds are against you?
I definitely do right now.

So what I'm gonna do?​

Honestly I have no f@ckin clue. As I didn't 2 years ago.
The only difference is - now I am taking action.
I remember reading Richard Branson's book

He said that he never knew what to do...
but always took the opportunity and figured it out later, along the way.

I learned that the more you specialize the niche -
the less competition you have, and actually you're more helpful to busineses.

Consider this. If you run a supplement business would you rather hire:

A) John who specializes in nothing, he has written in financial, fishing, health, cleaning industries
He posseses only surface knowledge.

B) And now, our second guy, Patryk ( ya ya, that me)
The only thing he writes about is supplements. He knows ins and outs of the industry.
Own information, that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere on the internet

Of course second guy would get you so much more sales.

Okay okay, it turned into a talk, that sounds like a virgin who try to give advice about sex.

Anyway...

What is my plan? What are my resources?​

I will choose as much specific niche as I can.
Just choose something, anything.
I will stick to it for 90 days.
If I won't like it/won't see opportunities/find it impossible to get some clients - SWITCH

Maybe I will switch to writing in polish along the way.
Maybe I will totally change what I wanna do.

Maybe...

I know one thing. Anything is better than nothing.

Maybe I will fail - so what!?
Maybe I won't like it at all - so what!?
Maybe I will get rejected over and over again - SO WHAAAT!?

My resources are:
- Cashvertising - Whitman Drew Eric
- GOLD! - Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting in 15 Days or Less

this guy is real GOAT, giving so much value guys. The best way to repay him is to show that he helped someone.

For now that's it. Maybe some free course on copywriting on udemy.
And anything else I can put my hands on, so recommendations are welcomed
Trying to not overthink it.
Overload of information out there, just chose one.

If there is one thing that I've learned from my fitness journey is this

Even a shitty workout routine is better than none at all if you stick to it.

I believe it applies to copywriting and every other skill as well.
Choose one, don't overthink it, upgrade along the way.

Okaaaaay, hold on... so what's the point of this thread? Why you created this?​

Let me tell you a quick story.

There was a guy driving a car with his son. They were on a highway.
Suddenly the engine stopped making weird sounds.
The dad pulled over to the side, pooped up the hood.
This looked ugly.

The dad took his son out of the car, and they started to wave to approaching cars
None of them stopped. Not a single one.

Finally dad decided to do something.
He started to push the car, but it seemed like it's impossible.

All of sudden 2 cars stopped, the drivers got out of the car.
And they helped him to push the car to the nearest station.


Moral of the story is:

Nobody will help you untill you help yourself first.

I understand the value of good advice, the value of the mentor.
But why would anybody help you, if they know you will do nothing with the advice they gave you?
There's so many people out there reaching out for advice.

If you want to get one - you got to be willing to show them that you take action.
That's my mindset.
Therefore if you have any tips, resources, anything is welcome.

The second thing is accountability.
I wouldn't say most of the people I surround myself with are toxic.
But they aren't very ambitious either.

So I went here. To the community of people who believe that
They are entitled to achieve astonishing results in their lives
People who will push me harder, who will keep me in check.

This is my defense mechanism to make sure I won't quit, and go into the lethargic state of procrastination again.

And lastly.

If I succeed I may inspire at least one person, it can be the PROOF
That you - yes YOU can do it too.

If I fail it will be an interesting experience
Log of the things, that for sure won't give you success you want.

So no matter how it goes, I feel like you will get value
Independently if I fail or win.
Either inspiration or a lesson.

Both valuable.

I'm gonna be brutal, and blunt, no fluffy words, no lying to myself.

Okay, last point now, I promise.

What made you decide to take action this time, and simply go for it...
even if you procrastinated to do that for over 2 years?​

Yesterday I was listening to the second chapter of Tony Robbins - Personal Power
It was all about procrastination.

He said that people are procrastinating because of the fear of failure and the pain that this failure would lead to
He said that people don't realize that failing and "wasting time" on trying to achieve something
is still better. Cause you will always learn something during the process.

But when you procrastinate... Basically you're doing that to avoid failure.
But this path is the surest way to failure anyway.

So what's my choice? I can learn a skill that will later help me to create business
learn about sales, which is the #1 skill ever.

Sounds good? And that's only the worst case scenario ;>




P.S. I consider this post as my first step. You can hopefully find some pieces of copy hereand there haha

 

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[amp0193]

Thanks for your post

I recently had a turning point similar to yours. I outlined it here:

HOT! - EXECUTION - To Those Panicked/Discouraged by the PANDEMIC (or New to FLF)

Four months ago I graduated from college significantly depressed. My biggest life goal had been reached. It 's ALWAYS been my dream to be a successful entrepreneur. Somewhere along my scripted life I put it on the back-burner. It became something to dream about, smiling to myself thinking...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Theres a handful of threads in there that played a game-changing role in my journey this last month.

Looking forward to your next progress post

Please post tomorrow with what action you have taken since writing this post.

 

[amp0193]

P.S. I consider this post as my first step. You can hopefully find some pieces of copy hereand there haha​

What's your second step?

Did you do anything today?

Please report.


Daily action yields success. Don't let a day go by where you do nothing.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

If I applied the techniques in the book 1to1 my copy would read either as clickbait ad or a cheap informercial.
If mindset is an issue then it is not well communicated in the book.

Drew wrote a book with psychological techniques packaged for people who want to be advertisers. Going a step further, he wrote for his target audience and you bought and read his book (in other words he sold you). Even if you stole his book it means he sold you on wanting the book bad enough to steal it. It's possible you didn't read his book, but then how can you have an opinion on it?

If one person gets good results using the techniques, then it proves the techniques can work. When many people get good results right now, then it proves they aren't outdated or too salesy. I get good results using Drew Whitman's techniques as do hundreds of thousands of other people right now.

Drew never said to copy his words or style "1to1." He laid out principles. Principles apply to different situations in different ways. Obviously you wouldn't write like Drew to sell minivans to 40 year old soccer moms. That doesn't change the fact that the principles work to sell those vans to that audience when properly applied.

 

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[sparechange]

This advice might be valid. But the point still remains. How can you start a business without skills? OP seems to have the problem of not having skills, so he's just trying to learn something, instead of wandering around aimlessly.

Or are you suggesting to, 1. set a project goal and only then 2. learn the skills necessary to make the project real? I'm more or less in the same situation as OP and I started web design as a way to get started into something. And web development skills can be transferred pretty much in any business so I doubt it's a waste of time.

Skills DO NOT matter at all, noone has business skills starting off, everyone is as clueless and ignorant as the next person, it's about constantly learning and adjusting on the fly.

Did you know Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team in high school? He totally sucked at the game, but put in the work to become great and you know the rest of the story.

The same concept applies to business. Sure set a goal and learn what you need on the go, great idea.

 

[GravyBoat]

@ElPatrico

You need to pick something and stick with it bud. Otherwise another 2 years will be wasted.

If you pick copywriting, you should be applying to 50 jobs per day, or whatever the maximum amount of jobs you can apply for would be. Then go apply for 50 more on another platform. Then go hit Craigslist and see what's out there. Then go on Linked In and message as many people as it allows you to. Then go post in every Facebook group you're allowed in that you're looking for copywriting work.

I just hired a copy writer off UpWork today.

It's a numbers game. If you apply to 1 job, you have 1 chance. You can just take a blanket success rate of like 1% for basically anything. This means you need to apply to 100 jobs, then you'll get one. Do you see what I'm saying here?

Either you're all in or you're gonna waste more years. The choice is yours.

 

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[RealDreams]

Have you read the book "Mastery" by George Leonard?

I've had such times of "euphory" a lot of times, but you'll reach a point (pleateau) where you feel like quitting. This might be in 3 days, or in 2 weeks.

What matters is that you keep going and don't quit.

Good luck!

 

[ElPatrico]

First of all thank you all for your feedback, I really appreciate that, I expected no responses till at least 30 days into my journey, but I am actually positively surprised.

Second of all, I am not sure yet how to work with quoting here, therefore this post may be a mess, so sorry for that, I will improve.

Thanks for your post

I recently had a turning point similar to yours. I outlined it here:

HOT! - EXECUTION - To Those Panicked/Discouraged by the PANDEMIC (or New to FLF)

Four months ago I graduated from college significantly depressed. My biggest life goal had been reached. It 's ALWAYS been my dream to be a successful entrepreneur. Somewhere along my scripted life I put it on the back-burner. It became something to dream about, smiling to myself thinking...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Theres a handful of threads in there that played a game-changing role in my journey this last month.

Looking forward to your next progress post

Thank you for posting here. I will definitely look up into your thread. As you probably realized, the success stories people share in here have tremendous impact on the overall mindset. I remember when I first started on this forum in 2017, after reading "Millionaire Fastlane " by MJ de Marco, I thought I can achieve anything. And it wasn't just "empty phrase", I actually felt that deep inside me, emotionally. As if I am the next Alexander The Great.

Therefore, I am really grateful that you share what got you started, sometimes that's all the people need, this little push.

Hope.

What one man can do, another can do

Keep going man!

I'm in the same boat. I've been writing through content mills and have made several thousand over the course of a few years, but I need to niche down and start hustling. I recently started reading tips from copywriters like Jacob McMillen and Carol Tice.

It's a slow grind, but I'm still trying to get a decent strategy down and stop procrastinating/hiding with low-paying agencies.

Got you, when I was starting out, I also thought about content mills, but figured like well, it pays some money, but in the long run there are more beneficial strategies.

I only know about those mainstream copywriters you see on youtube like Dan Lok, etc. Thank you for sharing this information, I will definitely check out their tips. What advice that you took from Jacob McMilen or Carol Tice was the most beneficial to you?

And most importantly, keep me updated on how you're dealing with procrastination, and finding your niche. You've got a lot of experience about which new copywriters can only dream of, leverage. Let's crush it! Wish you best.

Have you read the book "Mastery" by George Leonard?

I've had such times of "euphory" a lot of times, but you'll reach a point (pleateau) where you feel like quitting. This might be in 3 days, or in 2 weeks.

What matters is that you keep going and don't quit.

Good luck!

I haven't read that book, but what you're saying can't be no further from the truth. I experienced it so many times! It's unbelievable how many passions and opportunities I gave up because of this one thing. Initially hooked, after 2 weeks "naaah, it's probably not for me"

But few times I actually succeded, overcame this "pleateau".

I actually never realized it's a natural process, I always thought the problem is in me, lack of passion or something. Thank you for eye-opening comment.

What's your second step?

Did you do anything today?

Please report.


Daily action yields success. Don't let a day go by where you do nothing.

Yes I did. It wasn't as crazy as "16 hours a day Gary Vaynerchuk grind"
But neverthless, I took small action, that's getting me closer to my goal. I will report it today.

Thank you for keeping me in check. I think that's the one single thing that I was missing every time I started something new. As @VicFountain said, I was like "yaaaaay, excitment, passion, drive" for 2 weeks and then burned out. And I had none accountability system, which would make me keep going.

Nonesense. Your mindset and approach to application are outdated. The techniques in Ca$hvertising work just fine.

Thank you for posting here, I want to let you know, that you and your post made me want to start a Copywriting career.

And also thanks for reassurence about Ca$hvertising book. I've seen it recommended around here multiple times, one guy even said that in some marketing company it is neccesary part of the training to read that book as a copywriter.

 

[ElPatrico]

23.04.2020
​

As you all know, yesterday I posted an offer of my free services of copy, and marketing.
Guess what! When I got up, opened the laptop, I see - 13 responses.
I felt so overwhelmed by this.

But that's okay. Little by little I have started responding.

-Helped one guy with creating a marketing plan for his new app.

-I took care of a graphic designer's instagram page. Rewritten the bio, and shared so much knowledge with him, about how to grow, since he's got a very small base of followers, and I have quite an experience in this area.

Guess what! We started with 74 followers, and in the evening he text me that he's got 60 new followers in just one day. Almost doubled the ammount.

I know it may sound as a bragging. It may be a little bit, but it's important for my confidence though. I actually proved to myself, that I have some value to offer. And it's not just some smart sounding words, I provided actual results.

Also 2 people want to schedule a call with me. I am so afraid of that, since I have never done that before... All this voices in my head (what if they will think I am a stupid teen with no experience trying to scam his way through, what if they will think my English suck, what if they will laugh at my face and tell me I'm not good enough, what if they will clearly see that I don't understand a thing that they've just said about their business, extreme fool).

As you can see. Doubts are floating around my head like leafs in windy autumn, but I will do it anyway.

I've read a chapter of Ca$hvertising today, learned about 8 most crucial human desires.

And what's more like a "inner step" (yes, we're getting into hippie, woo-woo stuff now) I overcame my urge to watch the next episode of the 5th season "Peaky Blinders" . I usually do that every day, but I figured, well.. Watching some stuff about copy will bring me closer to my goals, so I actually did.

Felt awful, felt so much resistance, but it will get better, and I'm proud of myself for that. More than anything else today, actually.

Overcoming one's mind is the greatest win of all.

See? There's hope for you procrastinators out there. I may be the biggest one I know. But yet, I managed to overcome that tendency. Just a little. Just one step at a time.

And more on this topic, I kept my promises. I realize how silly this may seem, how trivial. But I promised some people in here, that I will check out the threads, and the things, that they've recommended me. And I did. It was worth it.

You can say it's nothing. But I know it's building this invisible self-discipline, and self-trust. The actual superpower, to amp up your belief system.


Okay, that's it for today. Just one more thing that needs to be done, before I go to sleep, cause my eyes are burning. One response to an offer. Just this, 2 minutes and I'm done. And I can go feeling accomplished and grateful for today.

 

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[sparechange]

Dzien dobry from Canada,

Imo I think you should quit the copy stuff and focus on a real business, this is just action faking and time wasting. Yes even though you are putting in work, it's in the wrong direction & misplaced effort into the wrong vehicle.

What real value can you provide to the world with a product or service based business? Wasting time to make $5 or $10 is, well a waste of time and you can make more money working at McDonald's.

Even affiliate marketing if you wanted to do a time wasting venture would have a higher pay off, marketing other peoples products that are already successful and collecting commissions on product sales would be of greater benefit.

Please, for yourself focus on a real business. Not getting dirty with fiver and upwork trolls, otherwise 2020 will be the 3rd year of time wasting for you.

 

[sparechange]

Thank you for that honest review. I actually suck at grammar so bad. Of course if I would want it bad enough I would simply hire an editor, or just learned the grammar myself. but...



Cześć!

Okay. I've seen a guy posting in here something similar, but I was like F*ck it, not going to give in, keep going.

But your comment combined with a comment of a @Visionary96 hit me.

Like I feel kinda stupid for just quitting, but I think it may be the best thing to do.

I can't figure everything out by myself.
Choosing copy as a non-native. Yes, it's doable, it would take a significant amount of work, but people did it before, so could I.

But if it's worth it? Is it my passion, something I 100% love to do?
Not really. I just wanted to try something, learn some useful skill to make money, etc.

I did some quick research about the @Rivoli also on you, I have seen you refer Alex Becker too, so even more relatable to me.

It's like we have a lot of blindspots.


And I realized I have a choice. Either keep going with my decision and learn it hard way by myself, that after 1 year it wasn't really worth it...
Or maybe admit that I'm wrong and change a course of action.
Listen to someone who has done something far more significant than me, or being blinded by my ego.

I think you guys are right. Probably copy is a waste of time for me.

I don't know what the hell I am going to do now though. I will research this forum for sure, probably re-read TMF . One thing I am really afraid of is coming back to "normal life" and wasting it away by watching series, reading books all day, and not taking action, waiting for some magical idea to come to me.

It took 3 comments, over a week to wake me up.

Thank you for that all of you.

I will bounce back with something greater than that.

P.S.

I promised some guy to help him with the website. I will at least give it a try. One last gig, not for the sake of my skills, but more for the sake of keeping my own word, and building trust and self-reliance.

Don't feel bad about ''quitting'' that's nonsense, just focus on what the real goal is.

There is tons of things you can do, what type of business do you have some interest or knowledge in? You don't need to reinvent the wheel here.

Can you take an existing business and improve some aspects of it? That's how its generally done, like Myspace! Facebook came in and made a better product and look at them now, same with phones.. Remember the first flip phones from Nokia? Now we have Iphones with built in GPS systems, cameras and so on.

A similiar approach can be taken with a product or service based business, there's lots of stuff out in the world that can be improved, you just need to be the one to do it!

 

[ElPatrico]

Don't feel bad about ''quitting'' that's nonsense, just focus on what the real goal is.

There is tons of things you can do, what type of business do you have some interest or knowledge in? You don't need to reinvent the wheel here.

Can you take an existing business and improve some aspects of it? That's how its generally done, like Myspace! Facebook came in and made a better product and look at them now, same with phones.. Remember the first flip phones from Nokia? Now we have Iphones with built in GPS systems, cameras and so on.

A similiar approach can be taken with a product or service based business, there's lots of stuff out in the world that can be improved, you just need to be the one to do it!

Thanks man.

The thing is, I don't really have deep competence in one topic. I am just quite a bit better in few things than an average person, but there's no area where I have any exceptional knowledge..

I always liked flipping.

Wow, it seems so easy. Just find something that needs a little bit of improvement, and that's it. I feel my head has gone blank, and I have no idea.

But I remember a few years ago, I stumbled across the idea of James Altucher of writing lists of 10 things every single evening, for example things that need some improvement. I remember doing that for some time, and I was really amazed, how many ideas I had. Maybe it's time to come back to it.

Look at the bigger picture. With this virus going on, look at the things that people are going to start needing. E-Commerce is going to shoot up rapidly, so maybe start an online store? I've been looking at dropshipping lately and I will be setting up my shopify store very soon with a product that is going to be in demand in the coming months. I know it gets a bit of a bad rap on the forum, but it teaches you the fundamentals of selling and nurturing a business (that could be potentially very successful). Web-design I'm seriously looking into also. These sorts of things will be easier than trying to write copy when English is not your first language.

I will look into that too. Like I said I always liked the idea of selling, even when I was playing some internet games as a kid, I always loved to buy cheaper, sell for more, this kind of stuff more than actual game itself, such a thrill. Recently I started to selling my old books in local market, but corona stopped it all.

And as immoral as I am, I would feel quite bad, upping up the prices of products that people really need, but that's personal, I'm sure there are other ways, that doesn't involve dealing with moral conflict.

About web-development I think I will give it a try. It doesn't require any capital at start, just a lot of time to learn, so perfect fit for me.

I don't know whether you should continue or not and I don't believe anyone can be a Copywriter but here is a question for you.

Why do you think it has to be done in English?

I read your piece and did not think much of it to be honest, but I also note that you are Polish.

If I wrote something in Polish it would not be very good at all. Even if it was grammatically correct you would instinctively know I was not Polish.

Why don't you either:-

A) Try and sell something like an old bike, car, old table and chairs you may have etc on ebay, Amazon, local newspaper Ad, etc in Poland? Play around, see what happens.

or B) Grab a local paper and look at the Adverts of local businesses which are usually rubbish. See if you can rewrite one and offer it to the business to split run with their existing Ad. ie If your local paper runs 10,000 copies a week they can print the two Ads so that 5,000 copies have one Ad and 5,000 have the second Ad. (Just in case you were unaware of this)

The gist is to start simple and in your native language to a native audience.

Give yourself 3 months.

If you get nowhere then you wont get anywhere in hyper competitive markets like Fitness to Americans so move on.

Maybe to something like selling simple 3 page websites. Again to local businesses in Poland.

Dan

PS: Your location says Poland so I presume that is correct.

Hey Dan, yes you're right about the location.
Sure, definitely got your point, it is not only about grammatical stuff, but more so about the fact, like you said this intuition, people who live there know the culture, how people think in their area, it's hard to learn that

about;

A) I really like this, and I will involve in this more in the future, selling things is something that I'm really passionate about, even though it stills feel really uncomfortable for me to negotiate, ask for a price I want, but it will come with practice for sure.

B) Thank you for the idea, I never thought of doing that. I will give it a shot on the premise that if they see it's working, they will be happy to work with me.

This advice might be valid. But the point still remains. How can you start a business without skills? OP seems to have the problem of not having skills, so he's just trying to learn something, instead of wandering around aimlessly.

Yes, it's like you're reading my mind. That was my goal, I spent so much time, waiting for some idea to magically come to me, so I thought, I could learn something useful instead, something that not only will help with the capital for future business, but also what can actually help in the long run.

 

[RealDreams]

Don't feel bad about ''quitting'' that's nonsense, just focus on what the real goal is.

There is tons of things you can do, what type of business do you have some interest or knowledge in? You don't need to reinvent the wheel here.

Can you take an existing business and improve some aspects of it? That's how its generally done, like Myspace! Facebook came in and made a better product and look at them now, same with phones.. Remember the first flip phones from Nokia? Now we have Iphones with built in GPS systems, cameras and so on.

A similiar approach can be taken with a product or service based business, there's lots of stuff out in the world that can be improved, you just need to be the one to do it!

This advice might be valid. But the point still remains. How can you start a business without skills? OP seems to have the problem of not having skills, so he's just trying to learn something, instead of wandering around aimlessly.

Or are you suggesting to, 1. set a project goal and only then 2. learn the skills necessary to make the project real? I'm more or less in the same situation as OP and I started web design as a way to get started into something. And web development skills can be transferred pretty much in any business so I doubt it's a waste of time.

 

[sparechange]

I see what you mean. But what if you are just a kid (I'm 20) and have no capital? The idea here is to get started into something to earn just enough money to start a real business.

But you have to start somewhere, and from my experience, you can't start a potential multi-million business unless you have either capital or exceptional skills in a certain field.

In fact, I had to quit a project I started with a friend and we (well, he) quit because he didn't seem to have the right mindset to keep going.

He was the actual web developer (I knew almost nothing about coding back then) so as soon as he quit I found myself lost, because I lacked the skills needed to get the project going. And I couldn't even outsource it, because it would cost at least 4-5k to get something decent.

After that episode I was tired of not being in control of my business, so I said "F*ck it" and began learning to code.

Not just for business but to have some monetizable skills that could get me just enough money while learning something useful. Yes, you can go to McDonald's and get $800 a month, but what are you going to learn applicable to your future businesses?

Your approach might work if you already have some cash saved in and/or have a stable income from a job, but I have nothing of all of that. You can say "You don't need money to get started" but the actual costs were around $4-8k just to get that previously mentioned business started.
So unless you start a small business which requires no huge costs, I have no idea how it could work. But how can you start the next Facebook with no capital or decent skills?

Simple, learn the skills required (in your case developing a website)

What is wrong with having a side job and saving up cash from that?

 

[sparechange]

I like that, I would like to do that more than doing affiliate marketing. Having a control over it.
Just need to come up with a product, thanks for help.

I would suggest to start with affiliate marketing, you'll learn how difficult it is to sell a product, and you can make money selling someone else's product. Give that a try for now, and in the meantime come up with your own idea.

 

[sparechange]

So, what have you done?

 

[GravyBoat]

I really like this insight about numbers game. I already know that it is true when it comes to people. Some will hate you, some will like you, but out of 100, there will be this 1 who will absolutely love you.
It's funny how it works in business as well, thank you.

You will start to see this more and more the further you get. The similarities in different aspects of life are uncanny. Nothing is a coincidence

 

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[sonny_1080]

Who the hell am I, and my quick story ​

2 years of procrastination, meanwhile so many of you here are crushing it!

I joined this forum by the end of 2017. I've read Millionaire Fastalane, and so many other books on personal dev.
Even did 52 books a year challenge, figured out that it's worth nothing if you won't execute.
Now I don't remember 96% of the stuff I've read, hardly remember titles.
Lesson learned - more knowledge is pointless, unless you apply it.

Basically spent 2 years divin into the PUA stuff, getting confidence.
Not a lot results with it, again. A lot of knowledge, and only so little action taken.
But overall I think it was worth it. I've gained deeper understanding about man-woman interactions.
Deeper than majority of the guys will ever have.


and BOOM

here we are

20th April 2020.

How I intend to earn money:​

Copywriting.


In the recent weeks, I realized I am gonna be finishing my school in about 2 months.
This was my wake up call.

I was like: HOLY MOLY, I DON'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL SKILLS

Vision of me going down the path of 9-5 till my last days..
I feel like I have much more potential in me.
I can achieve extraordinary results.

And I will either fulfill this potential or die trying.
So I reminded myself I was hooked with copy.
As one of the most important skills you can learn.

My starting point, what is my niche, what exactly I will be doing?​

So I am a total beginner at this copywriting world.
No previous experience, no portfolio. I've only read @Lex DeVille thread
And adding to it all - English is my second language, originally I'm from Poland.

Do you sometimes feel like all the odds are against you?
I definitely do right now.

So what I'm gonna do?​

Honestly I have no f@ckin clue. As I didn't 2 years ago.
The only difference is - now I am taking action.
I remember reading Richard Branson's book

He said that he never knew what to do...
but always took the opportunity and figured it out later, along the way.

I learned that the more you specialize the niche -
the less competition you have, and actually you're more helpful to busineses.

Consider this. If you run a supplement business would you rather hire:

A) John who specializes in nothing, he has written in financial, fishing, health, cleaning industries
He posseses only surface knowledge.

B) And now, our second guy, Patryk ( ya ya, that me)
The only thing he writes about is supplements. He knows ins and outs of the industry.
Own information, that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere on the internet

Of course second guy would get you so much more sales.

Okay okay, it turned into a talk, that sounds like a virgin who try to give advice about sex.

Anyway...

What is my plan? What are my resources?​

I will choose as much specific niche as I can.
Just choose something, anything.
I will stick to it for 90 days.
If I won't like it/won't see opportunities/find it impossible to get some clients - SWITCH

Maybe I will switch to writing in polish along the way.
Maybe I will totally change what I wanna do.

Maybe...

I know one thing. Anything is better than nothing.

Maybe I will fail - so what!?
Maybe I won't like it at all - so what!?
Maybe I will get rejected over and over again - SO WHAAAT!?

My resources are:
- Cashvertising - Whitman Drew Eric
- GOLD! - Lex DeVille's: 15 Days to Freedom - Make Money Copywriting in 15 Days or Less

this guy is real GOAT, giving so much value guys. The best way to repay him is to show that he helped someone.

For now that's it. Maybe some free course on copywriting on udemy.
And anything else I can put my hands on, so recommendations are welcomed
Trying to not overthink it.
Overload of information out there, just chose one.

If there is one thing that I've learned from my fitness journey is this

Even a shitty workout routine is better than none at all if you stick to it.

I believe it applies to copywriting and every other skill as well.
Choose one, don't overthink it, upgrade along the way.

Okaaaaay, hold on... so what's the point of this thread? Why you created this?​

Let me tell you a quick story.

There was a guy driving a car with his son. They were on a highway.
Suddenly the engine stopped making weird sounds.
The dad pulled over to the side, pooped up the hood.
This looked ugly.

The dad took his son out of the car, and they started to wave to approaching cars
None of them stopped. Not a single one.

Finally dad decided to do something.
He started to push the car, but it seemed like it's impossible.

All of sudden 2 cars stopped, the drivers got out of the car.
And they helped him to push the car to the nearest station.


Moral of the story is:

Nobody will help you untill you help yourself first.

I understand the value of good advice, the value of the mentor.
But why would anybody help you, if they know you will do nothing with the advice they gave you?
There's so many people out there reaching out for advice.

If you want to get one - you got to be willing to show them that you take action.
That's my mindset.
Therefore if you have any tips, resources, anything is welcome.

The second thing is accountability.
I wouldn't say most of the people I surround myself with are toxic.
But they aren't very ambitious either.

So I went here. To the community of people who believe that
They are entitled to achieve astonishing results in their lives
People who will push me harder, who will keep me in check.

This is my defense mechanism to make sure I won't quit, and go into the lethargic state of procrastination again.

And lastly.

If I succeed I may inspire at least one person, it can be the PROOF
That you - yes YOU can do it too.

If I fail it will be an interesting experience
Log of the things, that for sure won't give you success you want.

So no matter how it goes, I feel like you will get value
Independently if I fail or win.
Either inspiration or a lesson.

Both valuable.

I'm gonna be brutal, and blunt, no fluffy words, no lying to myself.

Okay, last point now, I promise.

What made you decide to take action this time, and simply go for it...
even if you procrastinated to do that for over 2 years?​

Yesterday I was listening to the second chapter of Tony Robbins - Personal Power
It was all about procrastination.

He said that people are procrastinating because of the fear of failure and the pain that this failure would lead to
He said that people don't realize that failing and "wasting time" on trying to achieve something
is still better. Cause you will always learn something during the process.

But when you procrastinate... Basically you're doing that to avoid failure.
But this path is the surest way to failure anyway.

So what's my choice? I can learn a skill that will later help me to create business
learn about sales, which is the #1 skill ever.

Sounds good? And that's only the worst case scenario ;>




P.S. I consider this post as my first step. You can hopefully find some pieces of copy hereand there haha

Thanks for your post

I recently had a turning point similar to yours. I outlined it here:

HOT! - EXECUTION - To Those Panicked/Discouraged by the PANDEMIC (or New to FLF)

Four months ago I graduated from college significantly depressed. My biggest life goal had been reached. It 's ALWAYS been my dream to be a successful entrepreneur. Somewhere along my scripted life I put it on the back-burner. It became something to dream about, smiling to myself thinking...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Theres a handful of threads in there that played a game-changing role in my journey this last month.

Looking forward to your next progress post

 

[gratefulwealth]

I'm in the same boat. I've been writing through content mills and have made several thousand over the course of a few years, but I need to niche down and start hustling. I recently started reading tips from copywriters like Jacob McMillen and Carol Tice.

It's a slow grind, but I'm still trying to get a decent strategy down and stop procrastinating/hiding with low-paying agencies.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Dont like cashvertising. too salesy. outdated.

Nonesense. Your mindset and approach to application are outdated. The techniques in Ca$hvertising work just fine.

 

[Rivoli]

Honestly I have no f@ckin clue. As I didn't 2 years ago.
The only difference is - now I am taking action.
I remember reading Richard Branson's book

I’ll stop you right there.

you have to re-read TMF . Or you might be taking action East when the goal is California

 

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[Black_Dragon43]

I encourage you to have the right expectations about learning copywriting and what you can do with it. It's a great first time skill. Here's a thread about that: The Limitations of Copywriting, Sales, and Marketing

You may find these two threads helpful in terms of the how-to of copywriting/online marketing:
• You WON'T Make BIG MONEY Until You Understand This... Even If You're Providing Value
• Promises Made, Promises Kept - Copywriting That Builds Trust

Good luck!

 

[ElPatrico]

I’ll stop you right there.

you have to re-read TMF . Or you might be taking action East when the goal is California

Or trying to find my way out in the Denver when I have the map of Texas in my hands.

What exactly are you implying by that? I am aware that copywriting is slowlane, and by any means, I'm not trying to go compete Richard Branson with my copy skill.

I just figured it's better to learn some skill, which may help me, when I will have some good idea to start a business, instead of dubbling around, doing nothing for another 2 years, staying wantrepreneur.

I encourage you to have the right expectations about learning copywriting and what you can do with it. It's a great first time skill. Here's a thread about that: The Limitations of Copywriting, Sales, and Marketing

You may find these two threads helpful in terms of the how-to of copywriting/online marketing:
• You WON'T Make BIG MONEY Until You Understand This... Even If You're Providing Value
• Promises Made, Promises Kept - Copywriting That Builds Trust

Good luck!

Thank you for the feedback and your recommendations. I will look into those threads you recommended me up there. I recall I actually skimmed through the first post in the morning.
I remember watching those Dan Lok videos, where he is promising that when you learn copy you become new Wizard of Oz, bending reality with your words, it's inspiring, but copy is not a remedy for a bad business as you outlined, I will definitely re-read it.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

23.04.2020
​

As you all know, yesterday I posted an offer of my free services of copy, and marketing.
Guess what! When I got up, opened the laptop, I see - 13 responses.
I felt so overwhelmed by this.

But that's okay. Little by little I have started responding.

-Helped one guy with creating a marketing plan for his new app.

-I took care of a graphic designer's instagram page. Rewritten the bio, and shared so much knowledge with him, about how to grow, since he's got a very small base of followers, and I have quite an experience in this area.

Guess what! We started with 74 followers, and in the evening he text me that he's got 60 new followers in just one day. Almost doubled the ammount.

I know it may sound as a bragging. It may be a little bit, but it's important for my confidence though. I actually proved to myself, that I have some value to offer. And it's not just some smart sounding words, I provided actual results.

Also 2 people want to schedule a call with me. I am so afraid of that, since I have never done that before... All this voices in my head (what if they will think I am a stupid teen with no experience trying to scam his way through, what if they will think my English suck, what if they will laugh at my face and tell me I'm not good enough, what if they will clearly see that I don't understand a thing that they've just said about their business, extreme fool).

As you can see. Doubts are floating around my head like leafs in windy autumn, but I will do it anyway.

I've read a chapter of Ca$hvertising today, learned about 8 most crucial human desires.

And what's more like a "inner step" (yes, we're getting into hippie, woo-woo stuff now) I overcame my urge to watch the next episode of the 5th season "Peaky Blinders" . I usually do that every day, but I figured, well.. Watching some stuff about copy will bring me closer to my goals, so I actually did.

Felt awful, felt so much resistance, but it will get better, and I'm proud of myself for that. More than anything else today, actually.

Overcoming one's mind is the greatest win of all.

See? There's hope for you procrastinators out there. I may be the biggest one I know. But yet, I managed to overcome that tendency. Just a little. Just one step at a time.

And more on this topic, I kept my promises. I realize how silly this may seem, how trivial. But I promised some people in here, that I will check out the threads, and the things, that they've recommended me. And I did. It was worth it.

You can say it's nothing. But I know it's building this invisible self-discipline, and self-trust. The actual superpower, to amp up your belief system.


Okay, that's it for today. Just one more thing that needs to be done, before I go to sleep, cause my eyes are burning. One response to an offer. Just this, 2 minutes and I'm done. And I can go feeling accomplished and grateful for today.

Wow that's awesome man. Keep helping people and you'll keep growing and learning more and more Do not be afraid to help others, and you will not run out of money.

 

[ElPatrico]

Wow that's awesome man. Keep helping people and you'll keep growing and learning more and more Do not be afraid to help others, and you will not run out of money.

Thank you man, thank you for the feedback you're dropping in here, and inspiration. I really hope all those "investments" of mine will eventually pay off.
Sometimes when it comes to helping others, I come with this agenda "oh, I will help this person just enough to be in position to ask them for a favor later. It's kinda greedy, and I try to catch myself on it, as often as I possibly can.

 

[ElPatrico]

24.04.2020
​

Quick one, cause I feel tired, I just know I got to get this shit done before I go to sleep.
When it comes to getting things done, even when I don't feel like it.. I usually give in to the feeling, and end up not doing the thing that would accelerate my results. But today I heard something (well, I've heard it so many times before, it's like some person delivers the same message, but in a slightly different way, frame it in a completely new manner, and you're like -That's it!), and I feel like it really clicked.

He said that this is the difference between professionals and procrastinators. When you get injured (which I don't wish any of you), break your arm, bleeding, red substance spilling all over the place, you go to the hospital, and... Even if it's this doctor's end of shift, he slept 2 hours last night, so exhausted, and overwhelmed. Even if that's the case he is still going to take you man, cause he's a pro.

Okay, enough of this sweet little story, let's go straight to what I did today.

Actually not that much, and I am really beating myself up for that, I feel now, like I could have done so much more.

For some reason the work I offered to do, felt like annoying liability, and even thinking about doing that made me so exhausted mentally. And not only mentally, I actually felt lethargic physically. Your body is your brain, ying yang, synergy stuff, bla bla

A guy asked me what to improve on his landing page. Do you think I ever did a landing page in my life? Of course no. So I googled, few articles literally about how to improve a landing page, researched it, found some similar pages from competitors, looked what they've done right, what they haven't done at all, and applied it.

Also there was this other guy, he asked me if I could write some kickass copy for a FB landing page from scratch, also to create ads. I have absolutely no clue about that!

I looked into his company, it's like best in the market, I'm like "holy guacamoly" , I felt so underpowered, like I couldn't face this, it's too hard for me, I'm just a beginner.
And after this draining 36 minutes long inner fight within my head I finally decided, to go for it, whatever.
Sent him some questions that I've found in an article titled "40 questions you need to ask every copywriting client" and now waiting for a response.

Like I said, quite a so-so day, I feel like I haven't tapped into my full potential, during those 15 hours of being awake.

But let's focus on the things I did, I took some small action, another day in a row. Appreciation.

And actually I have to admit, that I start to enjoy writing posts here more and more. When I have written my first post here few days ago, it was sooo exhausting "will I really have to write that every day"

Haha, sounds ridiculous, aspiring copywriter with an aversion to writing.

But let me tell you a quick story... here we go again

Do you know how to open a lock without a key?
I know, it's quite a random question, but stick with me here.

It was a skill I always wanted to acquire. It looks absolutely badass. And today I picked up my lock from the school, and finally had the opportunity to learn this.
Okay, the actual point is not my conversion from writing copy to doing La casa de Papel type of heist

I tried to figure out how to do that. It took me about an hour, failing and failing. About 20 minutes in I was like "it's stupid, it's not that cool anyway, maybe I will just give up, whatever, useless"

But after I did it for the first time
And then for the second time... Faster

And third, every time it was faster, Mastery as a Robert Greene would say

And after a while I was able to do that in about 2 minutes.

The thing is. Every time I opened the lock faster, I enjoyed it a little bit more, was more happy with it.

Maybe the same is with copy. Now I absolutely suck, so my brain has so much resistance to it, but as I improve it's going to be more and more enjoyable.

Maybe.. take care guys

 

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[ElPatrico]

Good to know you are taking action. On the same route as yours except i havent read as much as you have. Just read tmf and finished some chapters from Cashvertising while applying and approaching countless buisnesses online to offer them my services. No work yet, and its been tough but i guess thats important.

El professor.

Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad to see someone stepping to the same boat. I wish you exceptional results, and I hope we're going to push each other.

Reading doesn't change anything, unless you apply it.

I am curious about how you go about approaching businesses. Do you send cold emails? DM's?
Finally it will pay off, I believe it's numbers game.

 

[daftypunk]

27.04.2020
​

Okay so I finally created a sample for my portfolio. Nothing crazy, but good enough. If you are interested in seeing it, critiquing, then I will attach the link ;> I'm looking forward to seeing some feedback, even a harsh one.

It took me quite a bit to create it.

Also, I've read ca$hvertising.

I'm wondering if one sample is good enough. Maybe I will create another tomorrow. I am slowly leaning toward finally applying to some job at UpWork.

I got to add, that I've got 2 emails from people who I offered my free services, I asked them questions about their target audience, what do they want, etc.

You know, they tell you "you have to know your target audience before you write copy!"

The problem is, I have no idea how to use that, so that's going to be a fun adventure.

Nonetheless, here's promised piece of non-existent email newsletter
(poor subscribers, waiting for their workout routine haha)


Cheers,
ElPatrico

Good work. This was fun to read.
Being a hardgainer myself, i got alot of emails like these, and it was fun to read them aswell but they never convinced me to buy their product. And tbf i think its the worst marketing startegy one can use (in this case) , because skinny guys would be far more likely to purchase after they saw pictures of someone becoming swole after being skinny and testimonials.

In my case ; after trying to do everything to get big, i finally resorted to purchasing some whey protein and it worked wonders. People have doubts about whats in them, but it worked great for me. I had mass gainer shakes - 2 bananas, alot of peanut butter, dates, almonds, whey protein and around 500-750 ml of milk.

Worked wonders, i gained alot of weight in just 2 months.

 

[ElPatrico]

28.04.2020
​

I admit I have done very small amount of work today, I mean, researching count as a work, but I feel like I could have done so much more.. But I promised to myself, I am going to be honest, so I keep my word, not going to decept you with some fairy stories about 12 hour deep work when I did 15 minutes in reality.

Also I've read another part of Ca$hvertising today.

But nevertheless, I'm posting for the sake of consistency, and habit building, even small action is better than none. I'm looking forward to do more tomorrow

Cheers,
ElPatrico

 

[daftypunk]

So it was quite entertaining, thanks for feedback.

Yes, testimonials are really powerful, seeing skinny guy, just like you... who did it! It works wonders.

Wow, you've got one of the most caloric dense foods in there, and whey protein which single scoop can be around 300 calories, no wonders it worked great for you. I will definitely try this out.

Yep, Whey was what i needed.

And the reason i disregarded your email, was because it's too common nowadays- the tips you mentioned were entertaining, but everyone knows about them. Write something unique.

Good luck.