Platinum Author
When I first started copywriting, I got a little sick of hearing about these $10,000.00 copywriting gigs that some of these big name copywriters were landing. Were they making all this up? How in the world could someone be earning $10, 000.00 for something that writers on Elance, Guru and Osdesk are agreeing to do for a measly $200? Ah, one of the great mysteries of the world of copywriting. Let's take a closer look shall we?
Paying the Price: The Key to Big Money in Copywriting
If you're in copywriting, you must pay the price before you can land big money jobs. In fact, this rule applies in just about every profession where there's such a wide range of earning potential which is based on performance. Copywriters who charge only $250 for a project which other writers would charge thousands for either aren't that good or they haven't yet paid the price by building a reputation for themselves. What does it mean to pay the price to become a great copywriter?
First, start setting aside the first hour of your day to hone your craft. Don't check your email, your voice messages or even log onto the bloody internet until you've spent one hour just honing your skills. Find a writer who you really get "sucked in" by (you know, those books you just can't put down) and just copy their writing word for word. The more you do this, the more your mind will start to develop patterns which are similar to this person's writing and the better you'll get.
Notice that I said to find "book," not ad copy to practice with. There are too many bad copywriters out there and if you copy only advertising, you'll probably end up being another one of them. Of course, I studied Dan Kennedy and all those copywriting pros myself, but I learned more about being a great writer from Stephen Kind, Capote and Hemingway. Are those guys sales writers? I say yes, they sell a lot of books because their writing literally sells itself....that's pretty powerful.
As you pay the price to get better at copywriting, something magical will start to happen...
The "Secret" of Getting Big Writing Gigs
The "secret" to getting big writing gigs isn't really a secret. It just kind of happens as you get better. It's odd actually, when you start building a reputation, high paying clients just start seeking you out. I admit that this is hard for a go getter to accept, but it's just something you have to face. Even if you go out and look for the big gigs, they'll continue to elude you. Why is this? It's because the high paying clients rely mainly on word to mouth advertising.
It makes sense when you think about it, word to mouth is the most fail safe means of hooking up with a good writer who has produced good results for someone you trust to take a recommendation from. That's why you have to pay the price and get good, when you do, the magic of word to mouth starts to kick in. Believe me, if you're good, it's only a matter of time before word gets around to a few key people, then you'll have more high paying jobs than you know what to do with.
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