5 Things You Can Do to Find the
Time and Motivation to Launch
Your Copywriting Career
By Tom Kavala, AWAI-Trained Copywriter

This is embarrassing to admit, but after I received AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting in the mail, it was almost a year before I opened it!

See, I’m a very busy guy. I work 100-110 hours a week as a sales trainer for multi-national corporations, including Coca-Cola.

My demanding schedule means I’m in a new city every day and only come home for the weekend. This is part of the reason why I never opened up the program. I never found the time for it.

But that all changed one day not too long ago …

After a long week of traveling, I pulled into my driveway. Just as I was about to get out of the car, my dog came running out. But instead of wanting to greet me, he was prepared to tear me to shreds.

So I stayed in my car while I called my wife on my cell phone. I asked her to come outside and get a hold of the dog so I could get out of the car and into the house – my own house – safely.

Apparently, I’d been gone so much that my own dog didn’t recognize me anymore.

That’s the night I decided something had to change. I couldn’t keep working like a dog (no pun intended) and traveling so much. I decided I was going to take this “copywriting thing” seriously.

At first it was tough. My schedule was still hectic and finding time to study copywriting seemed impossible

But eventually I found a way to study and keep at it, despite holding a very demanding full-time job.

Here’s what you can do to get your copywriting career off the ground like I did …

1. Keep a time journal.

As I mentioned before, finding time to study copywriting seemed impossible at first. So I decided to keep a log of my daily activities. Every half hour I stopped to write down what I was doing at that moment. Eventually, I found out that I was spending almost two hours at night watching television in my hotel room. Deciding to use that time to study was tough, especially because I considered it “me” time. I was protective of it and didn’t want to let it go. But I was committed to my success and just did it.

2. Use the piggyback technique.

After analyzing how I was using my time throughout the day, I used what I call the “piggyback” technique to piggyback copywriting time onto any activity I was currently engaged in. Basically, I took the program wherever I went, along with printouts of “The Golden Thread.” Whenever I found myself waiting for a plane, riding in a cab, or any free moment at all, I’d whip out my materials and start studying, even if only for two or three minutes.

3. Be patient.

Some days, I felt no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t going to “get it.” Plus, I was pretty impatient and wanted copywriting success immediately. That’s when I kept reminding myself that it doesn’t matter how quickly you climb a mountain. Whether you’re the first one or the last one to the top, the view is the same.

4. Stick with it.

When I started copywriting, I didn’t think I was a good writer. This led to many doubts whether I’d actually be able to call myself a copywriter. But I stuck with it and succeeded, despite there being numerous days I wanted to give up. Just remember, in copywriting the money is so good, it’s absolutely worth doing badly for a while until you get good and succeed. The payoff is BIG.

Finally, the most important piece of advice I can give is don’t stand still.

5. Take action.

Reaching success is like getting to the top of a tree. And the way I see it, you’ve got two options. You can get to the top of the tree by sitting on an acorn and waiting for a very long time for it to grow – or you can go out, find a tree, and climb it.

So step one is to get the skills. Study and practice every moment you get. And don’t think you’re too busy for it. Force yourself to find the time for it, like I did.

Then, once you’ve got the skills, get out there and land some clients. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Just remember it’s a numbers game. The more potential clients you get in front of, the more “yeses” you’ll hear. And as a copywriter, that’s money in the bank.

I drummed up some business while still working as a sales trainer. This year I’m on track to make about $60,000 from my part-time copywriting efforts while still working a full-time job. And now, I can proudly say I’m going to be retiring from the sales training profession very soon to work full-time as a freelance copywriter.

Use these five tried-and-true techniques to get your career started, and eventually you’ll have more business than you can handle. Even better … you’ll be living “the writer’s life,” working from home and calling your own shots … without having to worry about your dog not recognizing you.

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Published: September 3, 2008