In his blog post today Michel Fortin answered an irate email
asking if you really could make money writing copy.

It occurred to me that when it comes to courses and advice
teaching you how to make money from your copywriting there
may be a few steps missing.

In particular I think most of the advice, while excellent, tends
to make the assumption that your copywriting is at a high
enough level that you can actually produce the quality of
copy expected at the higher pay levels.

But if you look at the samples of most copywriters it's kind
of obvious that this isn't really true.

And I would bet that many copywriters trying to make a living
will never have the skill, talent or dedication to be A level copywriters
like Clayton Makepeace.

The other thing I've noticed that seems to be missing from these
courses are real in depth stories of the early struggles to break
into the professional copywriting world (probably because the
experience will be different for everyone).

So in this thread I'm going to give you 2 things:

1. A breakdown of my first paying clients and how much they paid
me (I'm going back a few years so I've approximated pay levels).

2. My suggestion for simple ways to make money as a professional
copywriter that don't depend on you writing brilliant copy (in other
words the answer to "What can I do TODAY to start making good
money?")


1. If copywriting was my only source of income when I started
out actively seeking clients it would not have been pretty.

But I did get paying clients in my first year including:

Business networking group owner (online sales letter and report)free in exchange for referrals and credibility (referred me to the software consultant below)

Software consultant (online sales letter) $100-$500, (then a report) $100-$500
Total time spent on sales letter and report was less than 8 hours work. Software consultant referred me to the virtual assistant

Virtual assistant (online sales letter) $100-$500 Less than 3 hours work.

Software consultant also referred me to an insurance agent (online sales letter) $1,000-$2,000 Total time spent under 10 hours work.


Made some suggestions (free) to improve the sales letter of an online marketer selling
a golf information product.

This led to:
Sales letter $400-$800, Email copy ($100-$200), 2nd, 3rd and 4th sales letters (each $400-$800), more email copy ($100-$200). Each sales letter took less than 8 hours.


Wrote online sales letter for a client's yoga product plus a letter to help them
get referrals from businesses ($1,000-$3,000) Around 10 hours work.


Came up with an idea to create business for a prominent online marketer and
offered to write the sales copy for this idea in exchange for marketing products.

This led to being hired repeatedly in the $2,000-$6,000+ range by this marketer.

Also led to percentage of turnover deals with the same marketer.



This is compressed down and doesn't include all the ridiculous deals I was offered
(some of which I followed through on) etc etc.

There were quite a few deals that looked like they'd make great money but didn't
for one reason or another. You should probably expect this until you get better
at picking the clients and deals that are worthwhile.

It did take me a good 12 months to start really making money
although my activity level was very high

I think you need to be realistic when you're starting out.

If you're aiming to make an income similar to a doctor or surgeon you have to
keep in mind how long someone in a high paid profession takes to develop their
skill and how many hours they work to get there.

Most doctors will study and work a good 7-9 years before making a six figure
income.



2. In hindsight is there a quicker way to make money?

What would I have done to ensure a steady income right from the start?

First I would have mastered getting a professional looking website onto the internet
in the first few weeks instead of taking 12 months to really master the basics.


Then I would have gone straight to the most lucrative cashed up, easy to
access market...local business owners.

Notice how nearly all of my early clients were business owners.

They were also VERY easy to deal with.

They had no copywriting knowledge and almost no marketing knowledge.

When I suggested changing the home page of their website to sell a free
consultation or just to sell their services and they started getting clients as
a result they thought I was a living breathing genius.


Instead of trying to sell my services as a copywriter I would simply have
walked into the local businesses in my area and sold my services as
an online marketing consultant/direct response website designer.

It is not difficult to get the owner of a small to medium sized business
to write you a check for $1,000 to $2,500 to help them either get a
website up or improve their website so it brings in real sales.

The same owner will spend over $1,000 just on the production of a
TV ad before they even pay for the advertising spots.

You can also look at their client follow up methods etc etc and see
opportunities for writing copy there to make a business more sales
(and of course you get an extra fee).

Once you start making a business owner money you can go back to
that owner over and over with ideas and improvements and charge
him again and again.

And he'll give you referrals (notice how nearly all of my early business
came from referrals even if I was grossly undercharging to begin with).

This is simple, virtually cost free (you just talk to business owners in
your local area) and the quality of your copy is not an issue.

Best of all you'll be doing business owners in your local area a tremendous
service.

Most local business owners really struggle to make a good living and they
get ripped off by advertising agencies, TV stations, radio stations and
newspapers with advertising that will never make them a profit.

You can help business owners make real money with very little cost or
risk.

And you can make a very lucrative income even when you're starting out as a
copywriter.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

Great post Andrew! I think you'll be getting some "rep points."

Thanks for the tips Andrew - great stuff. I have been taking the local route as you suggested and am gradually building my client base.

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

Another great post from you, Andrew. Thank you.

I do get concerned when newcomers are told to charge thousands for a sales letter, here and on the Warrior Forum. You do need to work your way up.

As far as the doctor analogy, doctors spend, what, eight years in college and med school? I sincerely wish there were more serious training available for copywriters. Basically, we're expected to figure it out for ourselves through books or a home study course. Then again, I'd rather blow some money on a bad copywriter than let a bad doctor do surgery on me.

Thanks, Andrew.

Janet

I do think that many wanna be copywriters need to first focus on improving their skills before they worry about charging big money.

Plus they need to start studying marketing and not just copywriting.

I've been seeing a rash of people lately wanting good money for salesletters that don't have the skills to back it up.

Great post Andrew!

Good post, Andrew. Here's how it happened for me.

First, I started doing direct mail in the early 90's, and I wrote all the sales copy for my products. I never knew copywriting was something that could be done as a career back then. I simply knew I needed to understand direct response copywriting in order to be effective at DM.

My first product was an info-product on quitting smoking called "Kick the Habit" (which you'd have a good laugh if you ever saw me hanging around the smoking area at seminars. I did use my method to originally quit, but let's face it: quitting's easy. I've done it hundreds of times!)

I made a few mistakes, like using a 2-step ad when a 1-step was warranted. But eventually I learned what worked and what didn't. I took my first copywriting "course" from a student of Gary Halbert's, a fellow by the name of Lawrence Tabak.

So I dabbled in DM for about 10 years or so, honing my copywriting skills, before I learned that I could write for others too. I started purchasing more copywriting courses and products, starting with AWAI's, John Carlton's, and more.

The first salesletter I actually wrote for a client was for a physical book he had just written. I got paid $500. I started getting clients, mostly through my own marketing efforts, including direct mail, postcards, online, and word of mouth.

I started charging a few $K per salesletter. I fedex'd a handful of copywriters that I knew who I wanted to work with and get any overflow work they had (I used Matt Marshall's letter as a guide, as he did something similar). I ended up getting work that way from several copywriters, some who are members of this board.

I attended marketing seminars and met many of my clients there. I got regular repeat business and many referrals.

From there things just snowballed. I started creating front-end products and developing a more effective marketing funnel--all designed to get qualified prospects to raise their hands when they needed copywriting. And to allow me to pick and choose the "fun" projects. In the process, I raised my fees accordingly along the way.

Fast forward to the present. I've got 4 new product launches in the works, and a rebranding of an existing product. 2007 was the first year where a significant portion of my income came from other-than-copywriting fees.

2008 will be even more so. I'm now at the point where I write and consult for a select few clients that I really enjoy working with.

Like many of you, I can work where I want, when I want. And thanks to my many websites and direct mail campaigns (yes, I still sell via DM), I make money even when I'm sleeping.

But this took many years in the making. It didn't happen overnight, much like many "get rich" products out there would have you believe. And I do work a lot of hours. But by choice.

I get up in the morning, and I can't wait to get started. I work well into the evening, because I like to. My work is my passion, and I wouldn't trade my career for any other out there.

I also have the freedom to enjoy my many hobbies whenever I want as well. I can get up and take a walk in the middle of the day if I want. I can pick up my guitar and write a song or just jam some blues if I feel like it.

I'm nobody special. If I can do this, anyone can, although it DOES take work, dedication, and patience.

Well, anyway. That's my history. I, too, would be interested in hearing how others got started.

Cheers,

John

Great post John.

I should've pointed out that before looking for copywriting clients
I'd already been paid to write professionally and I'd run multiple
businesses.

I'd also written quite a few sales letters both before and after
finding out that there was a profession called copywriting.

So when I was looking for clients I had a lot of reasons to believe
I could deliver.

If you're still in the early stages of learning to write sales copy
I honestly think you should follow the advice I gave earlier on
selling online marketing services to local businesses.

That way you'll be helping local business owners make money
while you learn the trade.

Thanks again for sharing John.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I'll jump in, Andrew. Thanks for starting such a cool resource thread.

First a point of concern, then I'll add my "first paying client" experience, which is quite different from yours.

My concern is the "hours of work" you quoted. I trust they are accurate for you... however, most noobs will spend much more than 10 hours on a writing gig that pays over a grand.

Unless it's just polishing heads, plugging in some triggers, and reworking some body copy, I can't imagine completing a project so quickly. (And not too many noobs are qualified to "fix" copy)

Maybe I'm slow... But, my market research on a new product can take up to 20-40 hours (or more) depending on the market. So, I don't want the new CWs thinking they should be pumping out letters in one day. I know there are people who do it, but in the words of Truman Capote: "That's not writing, that's typing."

As for my experience getting started with paid clients...

For me it was all about referrals. I allied myself with a couple of well repped copywriters/marketers and drained their brains dry. If you show lots of respect and fortitude to the right people, you'll be amazed how willing they'll be to help you.

And you just can't beat personal training. The famous books are crucial - read them all. But if you don't have a mentor to fortify those lessons with real world experience, it's just more noise in your brain.

But, here's where those relationships really pay off... (Or did for me, at least.)

First, in getting clients...

In demand copywriters are often forced to turn down good paying work. If you've impressed them with some skill and lots of dedication, they may be willing to pass that work on to you and agree to watch over you so you don't blow it.

That's how I got my first paying gig. Vin Montello couldn't fit a big client into his schedule, so he gave him the option to hire me for much less and pay Vin a fee to "oversee" (read: guarantee) my writing. The client was aware that it was my first professional letter, but trusted Vin's recommendation. Plus he saved a good sum of money.

I worked very hard, and Vin was very patient (he's a generous teacher). He made me rewrite sections over and over when it would have been much easier to show me by doing it himself. At one point during the process, a light went on in my brain -- suddenly all those countless gems of wisdom I'd read in all those books had a reason to shine. And from there things just clicked.

The client went nuts for the letter, and so he referred work. Vin was confident in me, so he referred more work. And it grew from there.

I was paid $2k for that first letter. Spoiled? Maybe. But I earned the money. And the client admittedly got the deal of his life. It was trial by fire. Every letter I've written since has improved in terms of quality and conversions and my fees have risen accordingly.

If you want to earn quickly, there is just no faster way than personal coaching. If it's not too late, Michel Fortin's just made an incerdible offer for his CopyDoctor program in this thread: http://www.copywritersboard.com/copy...un-fortin.html

John Carlton, I understand is generous with his time and knowledge for a living legend.

And if I haven't ruined it for everyone, Vin Montello may take you on as well.

Thanks again for a resourceful thread, Andrew. (Your website is a goldmine of marketing resources as well)

I'll be interested to see how others nabbed that elusive first client.

Hi Andrew... I see you explained more before I posted this. I think that clarifies the hours of work aspect. Thanks.