Here I am, being awarded a $10,000 “big check” prize as the industry’s hottest up and coming direct response copywriter… So yeah, I probably know at least something about becoming a copywriter!
It’s Copy Tuesday, and that means we’re going to talk all about copywriting!
Today, specifically, how to break into this biz and become a copywriter yourself.
If you’re an experienced, working, in-the-trenches copywriter (or a business owner, or anyone else who has no interest in becoming a copywriter), you may be able to skip this. Then again, I’m sure I’ll throw in a few nuggets that will make it worth your 5-minute read. (On your way to that 1% improvement per week!)
You may have noticed, my title for today’s lesson is “the second-best way to become a copywriter.” And I’ll get to that in a moment.
First though, I’ll remind you of what I consider to be the first-best way to become a copywriter.
It’s encompassed in my favorite slogan of all time (though purely for personal development reasons)…
“Just do it.”
Throw yourself into the fray with reckless abandon, and learn as you go.
You MUST have an appetite for failure, and be ready and willing to learn from it. However, this is the best way to get started, get good, and get successful, fast.
The best learning is definitely hands-on, in-the-trenches learning. You have far more at stake, so you take the learning bit more seriously.
Yes, you can turn around and study all the greats, buy all the courses, go to all the workshops, and so on. And that’s all well and good and helpful when you’re learning as you go.
But ultimately, is in applying everything you’re learning that you’ll really internalize it and use it to get dang good at this craft.
So, that’s the best way to get started… What’s the second-best way to become a copywriter?
I guarantee I’m going to get some flak for this. Because, well, I’m going to promote a product… One that’s not universally liked in the copywriting community.
However, this product is single-handedly responsible for setting more folks on the road to becoming a freelance copywriting success than any other product or resource I know of.
It’s NOT the only resource you should own…
It’s NOT going to teach you every single thing you need to know about copywriting…
And it’s certainly NOT a magic button that turns you into a successful copywriter overnight…
But it’s a dang-good resource on how to become a successful copywriter, and it just keeps getting better.
And I’m not only going to tell you what the resource is, I’m going to show you how to use it to get started on your path to freelance copywriting success (whether you’re trying to pull it off full-time, or getting started part-time on the side like I did).
Now, before I get into this, some transparency…
- I WILL be using affiliate links in this post as part of sharing this. That means if you click the links and buy, I’ll get a commission on your purchase. Here’s the thing, though. I believe in this product and the company behind it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t promote their product. No matter how much they offered to pay me. They really do want you to become a huge copywriting success (I’m one of their success stories). And it shows in the quality, depth, and breadth of their products. But if it bugs you that I might get a portion of the money you spend in exchange for pointing you their way, Google them and you can find the product yourself. I regularly use affiliate links, but money is never my primary motivation for promoting a product.
- I have been paid tens of thousands of dollars by this company, possibly in excess of $100,000, over the last few years. I do have a preexisting business relationship with them, and that may influence my impression of them. I’d rather you know that and judge my review of their product negatively because of it, than hide it and have you hate me for it later.
- You’re a grown-up, able to make your own decisions, and evaluate things for yourself. Please do so. As in all things, caveat emptor — buyer beware. I will inform you of a completely risk-free way to try the product, and this company has always to my knowledge been great in terms of honoring their guarantees. But ultimately, “with great responsibility comes great power” — take responsibility for your buying decisions, your career success, and your life, and good things will come to you.
Okay, with those out of the way…
If you want to become a successful freelance copywriter, you should own the AWAI Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting…
Some self-appointed copywriting gurus like to trash AWAI as “the four-letter organization.”
… YES, AWAI is great at selling the dream of “The Writer’s Life” (a lesson to learn from!)…
… YES, not every AWAI student is successful — and a lot of wannabes buy AWAI programs and never become a great copywriter…
… YES, if you limit your learning to AWAI you’ll also be limiting the scope of your success (but you’re already beyond that trap because you’re a Breakthrough Marketing Secrets reader!)…
But here’s the thing…
If you want to become a great copywriter — just in terms of the skills and abilities — you have to know two main bodies of knowledge…
- The classic, tried-and-true, direct-response “sales multiplied” approach to selling through media…
- What’s working NOW in direct response…
And AWAI has specifically built their program around BOTH knowledge areas, plus packed in a ton more valuable content on how to be successful as a copywriter… Including, insiders’ secrets to building a successful copywriting BUSINESS.
Within the AWAI Six-Figure Copywriting Program there are profiles of all the legends of direct response. Ogilvy, Hopkins, Schwartz, Caples, and more. Who they were, why you should know them, and their fundamental teachings on direct response.
Those are intermixed and intermingled with a ton of content that’s especially relevant today… Understanding the field of copywriting, what it takes to get clients and be successful today, how to apply classic principles in new media, alternative opportunities for copywriters, and more.
As I said before, it’s not comprehensive — any resource that claims to be is lying. But it is a great jumping off point for your own individualized path to copywriting success.
But this core curriculum is only the beginning!
When I first became an AWAI member, I decided I only wanted to do it if I could make it “free.” That is, if I could leverage OTHER resources within the program to pay back my investment.
And that’s exactly what I did.
Every AWAI member gets access to a separate site called Direct Response Jobs. It’s a private jobs board listing a ton of income opportunities for copywriters. Everything from little content writing gigs, to spec opportunities to get in with the major publishers.
Truthfully, the opportunities there wax and wane. I can’t promise you that your dream job will be there tomorrow, waiting for you. But I’ve made far more from jobs in that job board than I’ve ever spent with AWAI. And that’s money I wouldn’t have made if I didn’t make an investment in AWAI.
Speaking of income opportunities…
Simply by being an AWAI member, you also get access to a bunch of AWAI spec challenges, listed under the $10k Challenge.
Yeah, that’s the same $10k Challenge I won in 2010, where I got a huge (literally!) check up on stage.
You shouldn’t do this for the $10k Challenge though, if you’re just at the stage of becoming a copywriter.
Instead, you should do AWAI specs because it’s a way to get a TON more value out of your relationship with them. AWAI has a vested interest in making their members more successful as copywriters. And so they offer a ton of opportunities to write for them — including articles, sales letters, and more. And any time you write for them, you’re going to be working under some of the most caring, you-focused copy “supervisors” you could ever hope to have. THEY WILL HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER COPYWRITER, even if you’re just writing an article!
A ton of my early success was with AWAI, and a ton of it was because Katie, Rebecca, and others at AWAI held my hand and showed me how to use my current writing abilities to write much better copy. I had everything I needed inside of me — working with them brought it out.
But it all started when I raised my hand — through spec work — and told the folks at AWAI that I wanted to work with them!
And that’s ONLY available if you’re an AWAI member — a status you can get when you pick up the AWAI Six-Figure Program.
Even more value…
The program is packed with even more value. Including a lot I’m not even going to mention here, in the interest of time and space. But there are two more things I do want to highlight…
- You’ll also get access to the “AWAI Hall of Fame.” These are proven-successful direct response ads and sales letters, with in-depth analysis of why they worked (often from the copywriter themselves). There really is NO better way to learn to write great copy than by seeing, understanding, analyzing, and internalizing great copy. You’ve heard of the practice of copying it out by hand — and you can do it with these Hall of Fame ads. But there’s another level of understanding available when you don’t just see the copy, but you also get the thinking behind it. This alone is a HUGE value for any serious student of direct response.
- Finally, you’re also taking your first step toward attending Bootcamp. Yes, I know that’s talking about spending even more money. But it’s worth every penny. Before my first Bootcamp, I’d spent 4 years working full-time in sales and marketing, but my freelance copywriting career was mostly a dream. After attending Bootcamp, it was only 3 months and 3 days before I was out on my own, building a successful freelance copywriting business (part-time, from home). I was probably headed in that direction anyway, but Bootcamp was an accelerant, and I continue to see it as a smart investment every time I go (and I’m there almost every year).
If I were writing a full sales promotion and not just a long article, I’d go into a ton more detail on why I think the AWAI Six-Figure Copywriting Program is such a powerful way to get started on becoming a copywriter. But alas, I’m not. And besides…
The best way for you to truly understand this valuable resource is to try it yourself…
For the next few days, AWAI has given me a special offer I can share with you as a Breakthrough Marketing Secrets reader.
For less than a plate of Double-Glazed Baby Back Ribs at Applebee’s, you can test-drive EVERYTHING in the Six-Figure Copywriting Program for yourself for the next 30 days.
You put just $17 down and you get it all — access to every stinking thing others have paid as much as $497 for.
Call my bluff. Let me know — personally — if I got anything here wrong. And experience for yourself everything I got right.
And decide — not on the basis of some sales message that sells the dream, but on the actual reality of the product they deliver — if it’s right for you.
You’ll have at least until January 1st to make sure it lives up to all the promises — mine and AWAI’s. That it is, indeed, the second-best way to become a copywriter!
And if you’re not totally and completely satisfied with this introduction to the craft and the business of copywriting, get a prompt and courteous full refund of your $17 initial investment.
Now, if you decide it is right for you, your total investment in the program will be $197 — your $180 balance will be charged only AFTER your 30-day trial period. Again, others have paid as much as 2.5X as much to get the same materials.
This is a stinking good deal on an even better resource — and the ability to try it at no risk is certainly icing on the cake.
Click here to take advantage of this limited-time offer…
Is there a catch? Maybe — you must respond by December 19th, 2014 to get this deal.
Final thoughts…
Okay, so this may be one of the most promotional issues of Breakthrough Marketing Secrets ever. But there’s a big point here — and a lot of little marketing lessons in it, both overt and covert.
You could probably search the internet and find a ton of the information in AWAI’s program. But if you do that, you’re not valuing your time in a way that you need to in order to become a successful copywriter.
You could probably even steal the program, through a torrent site or something similar. If you do that, not only will you miss out on some of the most valuable resource like the spec opportunities and jobs site, you’re also telling the universe that you don’t believe in investing in your own success (and Karma can be a cruel mistress).
And you could wait around, saying to yourself that “I’ll get around to it eventually,” or some other excuse. If you do that, not only are you going to miss out on $300 in savings, you’re also telling yourself and the universe that you don’t want success yet.
If 2014 wasn’t the year you broke out… Nor 2013… 2012… 2011, 2010, or 2009… 2008… Or any year before…
What makes you think 2015 will finally be the year success comes to you?
I can promise you, it WILL NOT, unless YOU make it happen. With great responsibility comes great power.
And at every juncture of my career where I really wanted to make something happen, I made it a point to take personal responsibility for making it happen.
That included a lot of things, but it often included making an investment in myself and in my future…
In deciding that I was worth putting my own money behind, that my knowledge and skills were worth putting money on improving.
Even when it was painful. Even when I felt it wasn’t in the budget.
I made it work. I made it pay back.
That’s what made the investments smart.
Many folks use new years as new opportunities to get ahead. It’s a choice, and I know it can work — if you’re dedicated to it. Why not make 2015 the year you finally start to become that copywriter you’ve wanted to be?
If you’ve been wanting to “start living The Writer’s Life,” become a freelance copywriter, or simply get paid for doing pretty cool work from home, it could be the breakthrough you’re looking for.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
P.S. — When I did my Advanced Direct Response Copywriting Workshop, I stated it was NOT for beginners, and that you’d be better served elsewhere. AWAI definitely has that covered, and would be a good first-step if you’re also looking to invest in my workshop recordings when they become available.
