Hi guys

As a 'newbie' I would be really interested in your answers to the following two questions.

1) How did you get your first client?
2) How long had you been reading/studying copywriting for before you went out and got your first client?

thanks

Luckily for me, a job writing press releases fell into my lap. So I did have some experience with that. And a co-worker hired me to write more press releases as a freelancer for her church.

But I still had trouble marketing myself as a freelancer until I took Marcia Yudkin's one-on-one course.

Now I need more hand holding than others, I admit that. But the course truly helped me get started.

She has you re-work three websites for real clients, in exchange for a testimonial and the ability to show those samples in your online portfolio. The clients get your work free, supervised by Marcia. You should try to get these clients yourself, but frankly, I could only get one. Marcia had two other clients for me to work with.

The course was invaluble to me, but it is expensive. Here's the URL for the course I took, which focused on websites:

Become a Certified Web Site Marketing Makeover Consultant in 12 Weeks

She also has a similar course for more general marketing and copywriting:

Become a Marketing Consultant and Earn $75-$150/Hour!

I chose the first one because it had a guarantee - she would coach you until you made back your investment. And boy, I kept her coaching for a long time!

I hope this is helpful.

I also hope others will weigh in, as we've all taken different paths to get here.

Namaste,

Janet

I should add that she also helped me put up my own website and helped me with the copy for it. And she helped me with other issues that came up (trouble I had dealing with clients, getting out a press release announcing my new business, etc.).

Dear Vik,

Long ago, a magazine article writer was sitting at her typewriter, researching content for yet another pithy piece, when she stumbled across a book written by an enterprising copywriter.

The book said that she could make money by the barrel-full, by writing compelling copy for businesses and individuals. The sales letter for the book was well-written, and the writer was hooked.

She read the book, then took an AWAI course and got excellent marks. Trembling with eagerness, she visited Craigslist online, where folks in the San Francisco area were begging for help from an expert copywriter.

While she was by no means an expert, and lived far away from San Francisco, she applied. Got no results. Applied to many, many such ads. And even approached some online agencies that advertise "writers for hire", such as Aquent.

She finally got a real, live client by sending out bait on multiple hooks. Now, she was trembling in fear: what if she "blew it" and ruined her first-ever client? But she took the assignment anyway, putting her chin up and braving her fears of disaster.

The client was ecstatic. The sales came in. And the writer breathed a huge sigh of relief. And thus began a journey that led to hundreds of clients. Now, most clients hear about her from their friends.

But she has never forgotten her origins, and how much hard work it took...


Best of wishes to you in your own journey!

Referrals from other copywriters so busy they couldn't handle or even schedule every client that came along far in advance. It's a wonderful thing to meet people electronically and end up building real friendships that also turn into symbiotic business relationships.

Contribute and keep your eyes and ears open. Something will pop up. Sometimes in the most unlikely places like at neighborhood barbeques, block parties, the weekly farmers market, or any other place people congregate.

I'm thinking of checking out the local wine store that has tasting in the evenings. It gets pretty crowded and lots of the successful downtown merchants tend to go there every so often.