There are a lot of great copywriters here and I wanted to ask you what tips you have for people wanting to become successful at copy writing who are willing to put in the work. What does it really take to get good at this...

What products would you recc?
What daily practice did/do you use (esp when starting out)?
Roadblocks your encounter/ed

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TheWealthMaster

"Cut through the pain and frustration and get YOUR success labotomy now!"

"Just Do It!" Most folks starting out are terrified to put words down.

Essentials: read everything Michel Fortin has ever written (no, he doesn't pay me to say this; he's just good).

Decide what TYPE of copywriting you want to do. For the world? Or do you have expertise in a niche? I was formerly an RN for 17 years, so it was natural for me to work with the healthcare market, using my insider knowledge. If you have insider knowledge of ANYTHING, leverage it. That also means leveraging your contacts within the industry, since you might know folks who could use writing...if you only approached them.

Read all the greats: Ogilvey, Kennedy, Caples, et al. Visit "hardtofindcopy.com" and read some of the all-time best-selling direct marketing letters to see examples of what sells. Analyze them.

Keep learning. Never stop.

Then, take on your first writing assignment. Do it. Learn. Ask for feedback. Then do it some more. Accept criticism gracefully (you will be getting it, especially at first). Learn from it.

Ask questions. Thousands of questions.

Don't be afraid to try. Don't listen to people who say you're too young, too old, too inexperienced, too eager, not eager enough, too timid, too brash...you will hear it all as you start out.

Don't listen to them. Follow your passion. Writing is a passion that literally drives you. You'll spend time at night, dreaming about projects, and wake up with new ideas. You'll wake up excited about that new ad or letter.

Stay excited. Take care of yourself. Charge twice what you think anyone will pay. Don't take on bad clients. Keep the good ones.

You will then be on the way...

Thanks for that - awesome information that has helped me move fwd.

I also want to say: "Thank you, Sheri!"

Being a beginner (but you already know that ) I find your words very supporting and motivating!

Katarina

Hello,

I just tried going to www.hardtofindcopy.com and nothing came up. Not sure if it's just a problem on my side.

Rgds,

Clint.

I couldn't link to Hardtofindcopy either, but I DID come across "Hardtofindads.com".
The site offers free swiping and has copy from Gary Halbert, Eugene Schwartz and others. This may not be the same site, but it's worth bookmarking anyway!

I'm sure she meant

www.hardtofindads.com

Enjoy.

Clint,
Thanks for the name tip. I've been looking for another good one!

It works great without the "www", but should resolve in the next 24-48 hours.

My opinion for a great copy is, it is able to offer an "Aha!" experience to readers. That's why more than 70% of the time I spend is in the research.

I think if you start doing this way, you'll be successful faster. Because your clients will come back to you with more assignments.

I'm speaking from personal experience. When I just started copywriting service, I was like many copywriters who love to 'play with words'. Later I changed my style and put more efforts in the research. I ended with more repeated customers.


Bard