The copywriting world is full of wannabes and folks who will never be…
Just like any other market or group, the copywriting world adheres to the law of 80/20.
80% of success is had by 20% of the people in the industry.
And in that top 20%, is another top 20% (4% of the total) that has 80% of the 80% (64% of the total) success.
Another layer deep, .8% of the copywriting world has 51.2% of the total success.
And it goes deeper…
Just 16 out of every 1,000 people who at one time or another consider themselves to be copywriters or copywriter wannabes will enjoy approximately 41% of the total success of that 1,000.
Playing with some math…
If 1,000 people who call themselves copywriters will earn an average of $100,000 next year, applying this math means the top 16 will split $41 million between them… Averaging over $2.5 million each. But really, the top three will split about $32.8 million between them, with one of those getting most of that. Like it or not, that’s the way the cookie crumbles…
(Side note: Don’t get hung up on the numbers — even if it’s not exact, the principle applies.)
In other words, there are a “vital few” copywriters who enjoy most of the spoils of this biz…
While there’s a “trivial many” who will always feel like they’re on the outside looking in on others’ success…
If you’ve ever gotten a book or course on copywriting and thought, “finally, THE answer,” here’s a hint: if you stop there, you’re one of the trivial many.
If you discovered copywriting, wondered, “how deep does this rabbit hole go?” and still haven’t found the bottom? Well, you may end up among the vital few yet.
If you want to be among the 16 in 1,000 who will enjoy disproportionately HUGE results, I’m going to give you a 3-step process to rapidly catapult your copywriting prowess…
I can encompass the process of becoming a better copywriter and marketer in just three words: LEARN, WRITE, TEST.
I’m going to explain to you, within the next few minutes, exactly how these three words lay out the most effective, proven process for boosting your copywriting skills — and can cause a huge leap in your abilities (and financial results) within the next 12 months…
And how, if repeated, will “quickly” catapult you into that vital few…
LEARN…
I know of very few highly-successful copywriters who stopped at reading one or two marketing books. Do they exist? Certainly. But they had other mentors and avenues of learning (usually they worked directly under another top copywriter). AND they were students of human nature, as applied in direct response.
Most of the highly-skilled copywriters I know are always studying marketing and markets. They have a ravenous appetite for marketing knowledge, best practices, and ideas — plus any and every field of knowledge that contributes to their understanding of people and markets. They don’t let a week go by without trying to expand their knowledge by at least 1% (the seed idea behind Breakthrough Marketing Secrets).
So, if YOU want to make yourself into a great marketer, you have to become a lifelong student. Of marketing, of markets, of psychology, of people, of selling, of business, and of any and every topic that can help you connect with your audience on every level.
Develop an insatiable appetite for knowledge and wisdom.
WRITE…
Frankly, that last step is easy — because there’s little risk to the ego in learning anything and everything. You can hole yourself up like a monk, and read all you want about marketing.
And in fact, I see so many wannabe copywriters who are convinced that if they take “just another program” or read “just another book,” they’ll finally have what it takes to get started.
Bullshit.
If you’ve got a keyboard or a pen and paper, you have what it takes to get started (and the A-list copywriters who’ve never read a marketing book are a testament to that).
To be a copywriter (or any kind of writer), you have to write. A lot. Some of it will be shitty. Some of it will be great. But if there’s not words coming out of you (preferably on the level of thousands per day) you’re not a writer, you’re a wannabe.
So, find a way to write, a lot. You have to apply what you’re learning, or it won’t stick. If you actually use what you learn, then it’s knowledge or know-how. If you simply stick to book learnin’, all you’re doing is developing a store-house for trivia in your little brain.
But you’re not quite there yet…
TEST…
If all you do is learn and write, you can get a job in the Marketing department of the College of Business Administration at your local university.
But that does not make you a marketer.
If you want to be a real marketer (whether that means you’re a freelance copywriter, a staff marketer/copywriter, or a business-builder working on your own projects), your copy MUST see the light of day.
You must put what you write in front of a real market, asking for a real response. And judge the effectiveness of your know-how not on how good it makes you feel, but on how good it is at getting a response from your target market.
You can do this by working for clients. You can do this on your own business or side projects. Or, preferably, do it all!
But if you want to be a better copywriter, you have to put your copy into the market. You have to feel the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. You must enjoy some wins, and endure painful losses.
You have to experience, firsthand, when something you dialed in and paid barely any attention to becomes a big blockbuster, and when something you were SURE would win comes up a big flop.
Rinse, repeat…
About that claim of “quickly” catapulting your success…
Well, a lot of wannabes want overnight success. And so they’re willing to go through the LEARN, WRITE, TEST cycle once or twice. But when it doesn’t deliver, they give up.
If that’s your expectation of success, get a job doing something else — something where you can learn it in minutes, do it on repeat, and get paid for time at work. Like bagging groceries.
But if you’re willing to accept that in the context of a lifelong pursuit, getting good at something in 10 years can be considered “quickly,” hop aboard.
Put the three steps above on repeat in your copywriting and marketing journey.
You’ll start to get better and better. There will be lessons you learned in your first few months that don’t become embedded in your subconscious until 10 years later. There will be a TON that you learn and realize it was all BS and a distraction. And there will be a few things you pick up and apply and that get you breakthrough results right away.
You’ll be surprised at how much you know and how good you are… As well as how little you truly understand…
You’ll have great months and years, and sometimes some real duds — but the trend will tend to be up, as long as you act with focused determination and a sense of ethics that keeps you doing the right thing.
And, you’ll probably have a little fun along the way, too.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr