Written October 2020 – 3-min read
Let me say straight away, before you read all the way to the end and get angry about my clickbait title, I’ll be offering virtually no solutions to your problems in this article. I’m not going to tell you which copywriting course you should do, I’m not going to tell you which freelancing website to use, and I’m not going to tell you “how to make $10,000 in your first month!!”.
My aim here isn’t to make you do or buy anything, so this isn’t copywriting, it’s just writing, about copywriting. Maybe it’ll make someone, somewhere, feel a little better.
I’ll start with a very brief bit of background. A few months ago I lost my job due to the pandemic (cue violins), and decided to become a freelance copywriter. Copywriting had been a big part of my previous role, and I’m a good writer with an understanding of sales, websites, business etc., so it made sense to me.
I landed a great client almost immediately, grabbed from the burning plane crash of my old job, and basically thought I’d nailed it. I completed the project, my client was pleased, I got paid, happy days.
What came next was a reality check. I had no clients and no idea how to get them. My contacts were mainly in the travel industry, where there was unlikely to be much work available for some time. I had a lot to learn, so I ventured online to look for answers…….
One problem I’ve found with the copywriting industry is that it’s full of copywriters, and copywriters love to write about copywriting. Unsuccessful copywriters write about their struggles and ask for advice from successful copywriters, who in turn write about their successes and how they came about. Very successful copywriters write about courses they offer to help unsuccessful copywriters become successful copywriters, and the cycle continues.
Worst of all, copywriters are naturally inclined to write in a way which sells, so everyone sounds like they’re the expert.
Well, not everyone.
The result is an ever-expanding ocean of content, opinions, stories, advice, groups, courses, opportunities and arguments. I felt like I was about cross the Atlantic in a canoe.
I’ve spent many hours staring at this ocean of information. I’ve taken courses, listened to podcasts, signed up to newsletters, used freelancing sites, joined facebook groups and ‘connected’ with total strangers, but I still feel like my toes are barely wet, and I’ve not had much fun.
It bothered me. Recently it bothered me so much that I closed my laptop and took a few days away from it all. I watched TV, I drew stuff, I read about football and I made elaborate snacks whilst drinking beer in the afternoon.
The ocean started to bother me less – did I really have to see the whole thing? Did I have to listen to all these opinions, read all these newsletters, sign up to all these websites?? Probably not, I thought, and maybe I should stop beating myself up about it. I only have a canoe, after all.
The next day I took action. I left some groups, closed some accounts, and spent the time I saved sending some speculative e-mails to potential clients. To my surprise, one of my e-mails actually worked!
There are some great resources and very helpful people online, so I will still read and I will still learn, but I’ve decided to be a lot more selective about who I listen to, and I won’t spend nearly as much time doing it.
Maybe I can’t call myself a ‘successful copywriter’ just yet, but I am a happier one.
I guess my point is this; if you find yourself staring out across that ocean of noise, wondering how the hell you’re going to navigate it all, just relax, take a breath and accept that you’ll never know everything. The good thing is that you probably don’t need to. You just need to know enough to get your canoe to float, then start paddling like hell.
