Using Words to Create a Richer Life
Words matter.
As a copywriter, you already know that.
Words are powerful. They can create deep emotional feelings. They can persuade people to action. They can transform a business. They can make mounds of money.
If you can learn to craft powerful messages, the world is at your command. Doors that you didn't even know existed start to open.
Besides making really good money from copywriting, there's that unexpected bonus.
Remember Michael Masterson talking about "glicken" in the Accelerated Program? (If it's been a while, I'd encourage you to go back and read Part 1, Section 6.)
Glicken is the extra rewards that go beyond what you'd normally expect from copywriting. More than the money.
I remember first reading the chapter on glicken, and thinking that I'd experience it one day when I became a well-known copywriter.
I'll let you in on a little secret. If I had known about this two years ago, I would have made the leap to full-time copywriter even sooner.
The glicken is available to everyone who goes after it! You don't have to be an A-level copywriter to get in on the bounty!
I’m not 100% certain of what I'm doing yet in the copywriting world, and here are just a few things I've experienced recently:
- I was just asked to co-author a book, due out later this year
- A friend asked me to be his campaign manager/chief marketing guru in his run for a U.S. House seat (I turned him down – too many skeletons in my closet)
- I got to work on a project with a New York Times best-selling author last year
- I'm going to be a guest on a life coach's weekly radio show in Madison, Wisconsin
- Thousands of dollars in free materials from a personal development client
- Numerous free dinners with clients
- Free personal training sessions at an upscale fitness club
All based on the fact that I'm a copywriter.
More than what I've received, it feels good to help others, too, even without compensation.
The parent group at my kids' charter school was thrilled that a simple two-page letter I wrote generated over $6,000 in donations. A friend was ecstatic when she got a job with the resume I wrote for her. A five-page letter I wrote helped sell a very small business for $16,000 (the owner was expecting $10,000).
So, if the glicken (and monetary rewards, of course) is available to anyone who goes after it, why don't more people do it?
The biggest objection I hear from aspiring copywriters is, "I'm not quite ready."
I'm living proof that you don't have to have everything in order before launching your freelance business! It helps, but it isn't necessary.
Two years ago, when I made the leap, I didn't have a business card, a business name, a website, a niche, or any clients on contracted retainer. Nothing.
Don't make the same mistake. A better approach would be to check out the updated Making the Leap, recently updated by AWAI 10K Challenge winner Roy Furr.
But here's my point. You'll never have everything in order. I talked to A-level copywriters at the Web Intensive in San Diego who admitted that even they don't have everything in order!
With the pace of change accelerating, it's almost impossible to completely keep up.
Your best bet? Find a trusted source to tap into. There are a lot of resources out there. Obviously for me, it's been AWAI, and it's worked out quite well so far.
But whether it's crafting your elevator pitch, developing your niche, building your website, or sending out self-promotional materials, one thing is imperative. You must ACT.
In one of my favorite books, "The Greatest Salesman in the World," Og Mandino writes:
"My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. I will act now."
I don't know if you'll enjoy the same kind of glicken I've received, but I can promise you this.
Forget what you've done up until now. Take consistent action toward your goal of the writer's life. Press on toward that goal, and you will win.
If you're like me, your only regret will be that you didn't do it sooner. To ensure you start NOW, share your goal with me in the comments.
Making the Leap: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Getting from Wherever You Are ... To the Freedom, Independence, and Financial Rewards of Living The Writer’s Life!
This eight-step, hands-on guide gives you the confidence you need to make the leap from aspiring copywriter to polished professional. Learn More »
“I’m no longer stuck in a 8-5 job in an industry in which I have little interest, for an average salary, with very little time with my son. Copywriting’s made all the difference in the world.”
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Let your fellow AWAI members show you firsthand the easiest, most powerful way to land your first client … BEFORE you finish the program.
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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.
Steve,
I've really appreciated your letters this week... A great encouragement. I'm just getting started with AWAI, and the "getting it done" part is the biggest challenge.
Your comment yesterday regarding your history in the legal publishing business was of particular interest, as I too came from that business.. ( The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co.) Just curious who you were with in those days.
Thanks again for your excellent letters!
Guest (Mark Prince) – April 20, 2011 at 10:27 am
Mark, glad you're enjoying the articles. I was with Matthew Bender in the early 90s. I first covered Madison, WI, and the Quad Cities area, then Minneapolis. I think direct sales is a perfect training ground for direct response copywriting - you learn how to read prospects, what questions to ask, and how to lead them to action.
Best wishes as you move forward in copywriting!
Steve Roller – April 20, 2011 at 11:08 am
Steve, I love your philosophy.My passion is in poetry. God writes the poems I put them on paper. People keep saying you need to make a business of your gift.
I am scared to death but could pump several out a day if I could get a company's attention.We just wrote one on the Heroes Of 9-11. WOULD BE GLAD TO SEND IT TO YOU TO READ.
YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION!! GOD BLESS &PEACE!! MARILYN!I
Guest (MARILYN ) – April 20, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I really enjoyed your article, Steve. Learning about copywriting and its potential for creating a life of self-sufficiency is a bit like waiting for a roller coaster. I am hesitant, anxious, excited, fearful and a little envious of those who are hopping out of the recently returned cars, sucessful and thrilled with their ride. I need to step up, climb in and JUST GO. Thanks for the pep talk about getting started!
Cynthia – April 20, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Thanks, Marilyn. I'm guessing you could use your gift of writing poems for writing articles, blog posts, or sales copy. It's difficult, but not impossible, to make a good living writing poetry. Tap into a niche where you can use your talents and get paid well for them, then you can pursue ways to publish and sell your poems. Best wishes to you (and I'd love to read your 9/11 poem - send it to me!)
Steve Roller – April 20, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Cynthia - great analogy! I liken it to biking, too. The uphills seem to take forever (the "getting started" part) but the long, glorious downhills make it all worth it! And one step further - if being an employee is like pedaling hard on the back of a tandem bike, being a freelance copywriter is like being in front, in complete control. It's the ultimate freedom. One word: Pedal.
Steve Roller – April 20, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Hi there Steve, Good to know I don't need to have everything before i start my own copywriting! I am desperate to work for myself and be a huge success at it. I am at that point in my life where i am tired of working hard and making someone else all that money, playing with other people's rules, tolerating their nonsense i am sure you get the picture...Now all i need is to hear you say I CAN DO IT AND I WILL!!! Am signing up for the AWAI copywriter's course. So looking forward to hearing from you!
Guest (Jane) – April 21, 2011 at 1:34 am
Jane, you won't regret your decision. Congratulations on getting started! I can't fully describe it, but it is so much more fun working for yourself and by your own rules. It's not easy, but it's like a heavy weight being lifted from your shoulders. I will be rooting for you from my little corner of the copywriting world! You can do this.
Steve Roller – April 21, 2011 at 11:48 am
I just wanted you to know that your title "Using words to create a richer life" and the short sentence "Words matter" resonated with me on a deep level.
It is true that words have great power in all aspects of our lives.
Thanks,Steve, for your words...they do matter.
Guest (Kim Green) – April 24, 2011 at 10:58 am
Kim, thanks for your note. Here's to the never-ending quest for the right words! Press on, and keep writing.
Steve Roller – April 24, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Steve,
Thank you for this contribution.
I appreciate your sense of humour. In fact, if your copywriting career goes down the drain, you could write spoofs for MAD magazine or get a gig on SNL.
Just kidding, of course.
Your point is well taken. Avoid perfectionism and go out there with what you have: you will learn as you gain the experience anyway.
Too many of us are fence-sitters and wait till the last moment until everything is perfect and we feel confident in our abilities.
Cheers.
Archan Mehta – May 16, 2011 at 1:39 am
Hey, even if my copywriting doesn't go down the drain, I might consider a gig with MAD or SNL! Fun stuff! As my good friend Henry David Thoreau once said, "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours."
Steve Roller – May 16, 2011 at 2:03 pm