5 steps to starting your copywriting journey
“If you learn this skill, you should never have to worry about money again.”
These words by late Gary Halbert are what spark the light in me and got me really interested in copywriting.
Copywriting simply put, is the use of words to influence or persuade people to take an action (which in most cases is to get them to buy from you).
The good news about learning this skill is that every business in the world needs a copywriter.
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They’ll either need you to write copies for their Facebook ads, landing page, sales page or email series.
Every single business needs the service of a copywriter and that is what makes copywriting a hot-in-demand skill.
Now just before I jump into explaining the 5 steps to take to start your copywriting journey, there’s a misconception a lot of people have that I need to clear.
You don’t need to be a classic writer or have A’s in English to be a copywriter.
That doesn’t matter at all.
What you need is empathy, creativity and a passion for writing.
As long as you can read this, then you can become a badass copywriter.
Let’s begin.
Step 1: Study
The habit of successful Copywriters is to continuously study!
You have to read and study other successful Copywriters constantly.
You do this to actively sharpen your skills.
Even if you’ve written a sales letter that brings in millions, you’ll still have to continue studying.
Step 2: Be crystal clear on what you have to offer
What kind of copy do you want to write?
Is it long-form or short-form?
Do you want to write for social media ads?
Is it landing page content?
Or is it a video sales letter?
What niche do you want to write for?
Is it the finance, business, health, or real estate?
How do you want to work?
Do you want to work full time, part-time or take retainers?
You have to be crystal clear on how you want to work, what exactly you want to offer and how you want to offer it.
Step 3: Write a self sales pitch
If you want people to hire you to write sales copies for them, then you have to be able to effectively write a self sales pitch that’ll attract them.
If you can’t convince them enough with your sales pitch then there’s no way they’ll let you work with them.
Note that you don’t have to be a seasoned copywriter or lie in your pitch, just show that you know your craft and you can bring results.
The client doesn’t care how long you’ve been a copywriter, what he cares about is the result you can bring him.
Step 4: Build an online portfolio
- If you want clients to find you, then you have to be present in the online spice.
- Get yourself on LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
- Drop value bombs every day (or as often as possible).
- Show that you’re present and active.
- And if you have people you’ve worked for in the past, get reviews from them and put them up.
- If you haven’t worked with anyone, create samples or find 1-2 clients to work with for free.
Step 5: Go out and hunt for clients
The first 4 steps are geared towards positioning you to attract clients.
This step is going to show you how to go out and get the clients yourself.
Start with Facebook and check for ads that have poorly written copies.
Join their mailing list if they have one, follow them on all social platforms.
Study their sales funnel and check for loops in it.
If you’ve completely studied their entire sales funnel and you’re equipped with what you can help them with.
Now is the time to reach out to them and offer to help them fix their errors for free.
You’re shocked it’s for free right?
Yes it has to be for free…
Help them fix it and they’ll easily hire you as long as the solution you brought them helped them.
They’ll now see you as an expert and will be more likely to hire you.
However, if you ask them to pay you in the first step which is what most Copywriters do, you’ll be ignored.
Your goal is to offer value upfront to get them to hire you later.
I hope this helps someone start out their journey as a copywriter.
