Start Your Career With Confidence
As you can imagine, we get lots of questions from our students about how to get started in the copywriting business. In the upcoming weeks, we'll answer a few of the most common ones.
At issue today, is something every beginning copywriter wants to know: How do I get confidence in my work – enough so that I can go out and get clients?
We asked Michael Masterson and Bob Bly for their input, and this is what they had to say:
From Michael Masterson …
I believe you can have a mind full of doubts and worries and still succeed. I believe it's possible to achieve amazing things with a frightened heart and a terrified mind.
It's more than a belief, actually. It's certain knowledge.
I know because I have always been full of doubts and fears. I was afraid of failing when I wrote my first promotion, which resulted in tens of millions of dollars in sales. I am still full of doubts and fears now … even with all the successes I've had over the past 25 years.
I want you to know that you don't necessarily have to change your "attitude" or embolden your heart to succeed. I tried to change my psyche. I read the books and studied the tapes. But, if I had to wait till my attitude changed before I could be successful, I'd be waiting still.
Instead, I decided to ignore my doubts and fears. I reasoned that if I could muster up just a little bit of courage – just enough to take one small step at a time, I'd become successful.
I took that approach with everything I did, and what I discovered encouraged me. It didn't seem to matter whether I believed in myself – what mattered was what I was actually doing.
From Bob Bly …
I am the least self-confident person you would ever want to meet – so if I can do it, you can do it too. Entire books have been written about how to build confidence and self-esteem, but here are my quick tips:
- Work very hard to get good at your craft. Be a total student of direct response.
- Do the best job you can on every assignment. Put twice as much effort into the work as you feel the client is paying for.
- Be modest in your promises to the client. Don't tell him you will beat his control; tell him you will write the strongest package you can that you feel has the best chance of beating the control. Under-promise and then over-deliver.
- Find another student or writer who can be your "copy buddy." To get a second opinion, you read each other's work before you send it to the client. This gives you greater confidence in the copy you submit.
[Editors Note: We also recommend that you do a peer review of your copy to make sure it is A+ before you send it to a potential client.]
How to Land Clients in 21 Days with Just Your Computer
How do I land my first client? It’s a question every aspiring freelancer asks eventually. Now, there’s a proven system for landing clients that removes the guesswork. Best of all? No cold calling. Learn More »
“While no job anywhere is secure these days, Michigan, where I live, has been particularly hard-hit. My copywriting income has definitely increased our peace of mind in a very uncertain economy.”
If yes, you could be in big demand, earning big money, writing just a few hours a day from anywhere in the world you choose to be.
Get Nick Usborne’s step-by-step system for creating money-making information websites.
In just 6 hours and 35 minutes, you can be in business earning $60 – $150 an hour writing simple resumes.
Learn the secrets behind succeeding in this in-demand career.
The work is plentiful … the pay scales are generous and the competition is scarce!
Get the answers to the hundreds of questions and concerns commonly asked in specific, step-by-step details.
Use this eight-step plan to make the leap from aspiring copywriter to professional copywriter this year.
Let your fellow AWAI members show you firsthand the easiest, most powerful way to land your first client … BEFORE you finish the program.
Writing for the web is a huge opportunity for copywriters. Let web expert Nick Usborne show you how to write blockbuster web copy in record time … even if you're a complete internet “rookie”!
It’s an opportunity to make $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 a year or more … working just a few hours a day.
A once complicated profession is now something you can do on a standard computer – even if you have little or no “artistic” ability.
It’s one thing to have a website. But if your website can’t be found by the search engines, it may as well not exist.
The Internet creates new income possibilities every day. The biggest among them: online video marketing.
Get the very techniques top-performing copywriters use to rattle off one groundbreaking control after another.
In his new book, Michael Masterson teaches you his very own formula for powerful persuasion and how to apply it to direct mail sales letters as well as online promotions.
Guest, Leave a Reply
Please Note: Your comments will be visible by everyone.