5 Surprising Copywriting Lessons I Learned The HARD Way 😳

Key Takeaways

yes I learned the hard way so you don't have to if you're in the throes of starting or scaling your copywriting business allow me to save you some time as I shed light on five of the most surprising lessons I've learned over the last eight years [Music] hey guys it's Alex and this week I am peeling back the curtain to give you a little peek into my own journey of building a successful copywriting business so not too long ago I was having a conversation with my good friend mark lang and if you're not familiar with mark he's like an affiliate marketing Legend and owns multiple seven-figure businesses across a variety of different niches he is over 50 front-end products and 150 upsells so it's safe to say he knows a little thing or two about copywriting and creating offers that convert anyway we got to talking about this whole copywriting business and the lessons that we've learned over the years and that conversation inspired me to create this video it also goes out to those of you who have been copywriting for a while but maybe you just need a little friendly nudge in the right direction and a reminder that you're on the right path because I know the going can get tough but don't give up for me copywriting really paved the way for a life of freedom flexibility growth and adventure there's nothing quite like building a business of your own getting paid to do what you're great at working with clients and brands that align with your passions and values and being able to lead a lifestyle that fills you up however like any worthwhile endeavor yes you're bound to hit a speed bump or two along the way becoming a highly paid copywriter doesn't come without putting in the time and effort to consistently hone your skills learn the latest techniques and strategies and stay true to the ethos of writing authentic copy that both connects and converts and that's what I'm here to help you with right here on my channel you'll find dozens of copywriting tutorials and guides to help you on your journey so hit that subscribe button below and join the global coffee posse and let's have some fun shall we and don't forget to hit that little Bell icon so you're notified of what my next video goes live now here they are the five biggest and frankly most surprising lessons I've learned while building my copywriting business lesson number one copywriting isn't just about the sales page I am sure all you aspiring direct response copywriters out there can agree that a well-written sales page is like the creme de la creme of portfolio assets I used to think that way too and I would get so excited at the prospect of tackling a long sales letter to uplevel and showcase my skills until I realized that there is still great leverage learning that can be gained through writing those copy pieces that surround the main offer you can significantly boost the conversion rate of a sales campaign by giving the same amount of attention to assets like emails a webinar script and abandoned cart sequence relevant upsells with targeting ads and landing pages the list goes on copywriting is about being able to use congruent and compelling messaging across the entire ecosystem of a campaign no sales page can stand alone without the other key pillars that hold up the fort when you understand this critical copywriting lesson you'll realize that your opportunities to support of business go through the roof sure a client might already have a sales page but that doesn't mean they don't need coffee help think outside the box and offer assets that most businesses and copywriters tend to completely forget about this is why a great portfolio is one that features a diverse range of copy assets to prove to your client that you understand the complete picture of a sales campaign and all those different copy pieces that are required to produce it my coaching program the coffee posse Launchpad is specifically designed to do just that I will teach you the highly sought after copywriting skills that today's businesses are looking for and help you write a holistic portfolio of high converting copy assets that will get your clients wanting to work with you again and again and again you can click the link in the description below to learn more about that all right the second copywriting lesson you may be surprised to learn is this copywriting opportunities are everywhere but not always obvious I'll be frank as if I'm not always already there is a lot and I mean a lot of average copy floating around out there in fact most businesses are built on average copy that can later be improved through testing and revisions except it rarely is I've said it before the secret to writing great copy is to step 1 write bad copy and step 2 fix it the problem is most people stop at step 1 I know from experience that most businesses tend to put all their focus on new products and funnels rather than optimizing the ones they have as long as they're converting ok so that leaves a ton money on the table for copywriters like you so when you're looking for copywriting clients don't assume a company with an existing sales page doesn't need your support you can focus on the ancillary assets like I mentioned earlier the follow-up emails the abandoned cart sequences or the upsells or you can offer to improve their existing copy conversion rate I'm here to tell you that any business owner would pay good money for even a 10% boost in conversion rate on one landing page or one sales page or one checkout page so here's the takeaway as you're coming up with your list of services and the kind of packages you'd like to offer consider all those relevant copy pieces that are actually needed to keep the machine running at full speed and to get some inspiration sign up for a few funnels and actually buy some programs take note of every single page step and part of the campaign you're taken through and then consider how those pieces actually influence your buying decision I know when I first started I used to study other funnels religiously I once bought the Brazilian Butt Lift DVDs from Beachbody have you guys seen their marketing it is truly brilliant and I wanted to see what happened behind that purchase wall after I bought and I don't even have a DVD player alright so moving on to lesson number three there isn't as much competition as you think so when I first got into copywriting and many of you know that was never my intention when I finished business school but when I first got into copywriting I really felt like I was diving into this sea of amazing copywriters and everyone would be better than me and we'd all be climbed for the same work boy was I wrong years later I can tell you both from my experience of being a copywriter and also hiring copywriters that decent copywriters are hard to find and I am not alone in this I get asked all the time for my friends clients and mastermind members if I know any great copywriters that I can refer to them and the honest truth is that my answer is usually no and that's because most copywriters don't produce great results either because they lack experience the relevant niche or they were never being honest of their skill level in the first place and that's why I created this community to help aspiring copywriters who are willing to learn and dedicate it to putting in the work create copy that both connects and converts listen you cannot be a copywriter overnighter but the upside of putting in the time is huge guys because when we do find copywriters who know what they're doing we pay them well and we will do anything to not let them go so as you're building your copywriting business consider the kind of nice you want to write in and make that a clear part of your marketing as you approach potential clients this alone will significantly increase your probability of delivering real results so yes well it might seem like there is a ton of competition out there the good news is if you're actually committed to learning the skill and doing it well there really is very little and there's even better news for those of you who join my copypasta Launchpad because by completing the program and creating your portfolio you'll become part of my go-to rolodex of writers that I can confidently refer to my friends clients and mastermind members hello that is a win-win and you can find out more about that program by clicking the link in the description below all right now I'm to number four on my list good copywriting cannot be done in a rush oh yes that old newbie habit of wanting to please every client and say yes to timelines even the most seasoned copywriters would balk at I know it's because you're terrified of losing momentum or running out of job opportunities if you heaven forbid take a breath can you relate to that I know it's easy to get so hung up on the actual sit down and right aspect of copywriting that you often forget to take into account the hours need to allocate for the important steps before and after you start writing and then you end up in mad panic mode at the 11th hour of a deadline now here's a fact copywriting is only 50% writing no matter what you're writing it takes research ideation structuring customer analysis and strategic offer mapping before a single word gets written every piece of copy requires the same plan write and review process so why not take the time to produce something stellar that will also increase your chances of getting rehired you think there weren't fifty to a hundred different headline options written before the world's award-winning ad campaigns came to be yes sometimes even just a few words can take hours to get right it took j.r.r token a staggering 16 years to complete the Lord of the Rings trilogy now of course it won't take you that long to write a high converting sales page but I can tell you it will take longer than a couple of days only you can figure it out though just like writing a novel there is no one size that's all timeline to copywriting Robert Louis Stevenson apparently wrote The Strange Case of dr. Jekyll and mr. Hyde and just six days so as a copywriter looking at the project ahead of you it's really important that you get familiar with your own process and flow so that you can give yourself enough leeway to produce quality work and are able to manage your clients expectations when it comes to the deadlines and turnaround times if you're just starting out I'd highly recommend logging your hours diligently so list down all the steps you take from start to finish and take note of the number of revision rounds you need on average to complete project that way you computes the best copy possible without subjecting yourself to that high amount of stress during crunch time and to learn my six step process for writing a sales page stick to the end of this video because I will link to that next alright moving on to the final lesson to share with you today and that is copywriting is a numbers game how many Picasso masterpieces do we marvel at today it's about a hundred but do you know how many pieces he actually created through his life more than fifty thousand that means only one percent of his work ever made it into the record books so I'm not saying we'll take 50 thousand coffee pieces for you to finally become a successful copywriter but you get the gist like any venture copywriting is a numbers game the point is to create and put that scale into practice and get better with each piece or project remember clients are not only paying you for your time but the experience that you have to be able to produce quality work in that time now I've said this before and I'll say it again the best copywriters in the world are the best copywriters because they have failed the most we are not wired to only produce great results those accolades can only come with experience and practice and learning as much as we can not all pieces will be a winner but how else do you learn and improve if I were to look back at everything I've written do a quick scan of every single piece of coffee I've produced there are definitely some probably more than some that I would not add to my portfolio today because they fluff and I know this because I always ask for feedback and conversion metrics of my coffee see more numbers the numbers game also applies when it comes to reaching out to clients like every business not everyone will say yes guys some might not even get back to you and that is okay you just got keep putting yourself out there add as much value as you can and position yourself with authority and before you know it someone someone will get back to you and then that someone will lead you to someone else and so on before you know it you are a copywriter JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was famously turned down 12 times before Bloomsbury agreed to publish it and now look at her enough said so there you have it guys the five lessons that I learned the hard way and building my copywriting business give me a thumbs up if this video has been helpful to you in any way next up check out my video on my secret six step copywriting process you can watch that right here and as always thank you so much for watching and subscribing I will see you next week until then I'm Alex ciao for now haha episode 47 five surprising lessons I learned the hard way