What would be really great is if some of the other professional
copywriters here shared their first year's experience trying to
find clients.

In hindsight it doesn't seem so bad.

You work for next to nothing but you also build up a few contacts
that end up making you a pile of money in years to follow.

Or some copywriters get lucky and land a good client very early
on.

Or they take a full time paid copywriting job.

But I think being open and honest about the process of going from
near zero to making a good income has to help new copywriters
set some realistic goals and stick with it when it seems very
hard.

I should also point out that most copywriters go through phases:

1. Struggling to find clients.

2. Making a reasonable income and trying to find higher paying clients.

3. Making an exceptional income with more clients they can handle (and
often getting burnt out in the process).

4. Building their own business (an agency or other businesses) to create
an income that comes in when they're not working.


Most experienced copywriters will tell you that it's wise to start building
your own sites and business ventures early in the process so you don't
get trapped needing to work on deadline after deadline to pay the bills.

If you start out talking to businesses in your local area and selling your
services as an internet marketing consultant/direct response web designer
and you also build your own online businesses as you go that should
help you bypass most of the grief that comes with professional copywriting.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh