I once put the F word in the subject line of an email I wrote for a client…
…a client with a very wholesome brand voice and an even more wholesome audience.
Let’s just say…
It did not go over well.
But even THAT wasn’t as bad as these 5 common mistakes that keep new copywriters stuck, broke and unsuccessful.
Hey Posse, what’s up? It’s Alex.
And whewwwwieeee. I am feeling spicy today, my friends.
Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of comments – or should I say complaints – by new copywriters around the Internet. Like..
“Why is it taking SOOOOO long to find a client?…” (when it’s been 2 months)
Or “Ugh, all I can find is stupid jobs writing social media captions or blogs.”
Or “Well they wouldn’t pay me $80/hour so I told them no. I know my worth.”
And so, so, sooooo many more things that honestly make me cringe a little.
Now, you know I like to keep it real…
So in this blog, I gotta tell you some hard truths about “making it” as a copywriter…
And, yes, some of them might sting a little.
But this isn’t to call anyone out or make you feel bad if you’re guilty of these things…
I mean, hey, in the beginning, it’s all new and scary, and it’s easy to fall into these traps…
I WANT nothing more than to see you succeed… that is WHY I started the Copy Posse…
So please take this blog as a little loving kick in the butt to help you understand the mistakes that are likely…
Keeping your income capped at a certain level…
Working your butt off and not seeing any results…
Saying yes to unfulfilling or low-paying projects…
Or worse – endlessly searching for clients without ever getting hired AT ALL.
I share the common traps you might be falling into, then let me offer some mindset shifts and reframes to help you get to the next level.
So let’s dive in…
TRAP #1 – The Shortcut Slowdown
Oh yes. This is a big one.
Everyone wants to learn copywriting and get rich as FAST as possible.
Everyone wants the easy button.
Everyone wants to go to sleep tonight as a brand-new copywriter and wake up tomorrow rich and super successful.
So we do everything we can to find the shortcuts…
- Instead of reading the books, we read summaries of the books.
- Instead of taking the course, we browse Reddit.
- Instead of doing the work, we use A.I.
And then we WONDER why the heck it’s not all working out for us…
Look – no one ever said becoming a copywriter (or building the business of your dream) is an overnight thing…
If you think it is, your expectations need a reality check.
And here’s the cold hard truth, in all that time you’re spending searching for the magic button you could get WAY farther ahead by just doing the uncomfortable work.
Yup, your search for shortcuts is slowing you down…
Instead, use that time and effort to go deeper, past the surface-level stuff…
You HAVE to write bad copy before you can write good copy…
Read the books…
Take the course…
Network at events…
Put yourself out there…
Join a copywriting community to get support and guidance…
And what’s amazing is that if you do those things, you can become a great copywriter FASTER than almost any other traditional career path…
I have students who have gone from $0 to $10,000K/month in as little as 6 months to a year!
But they did the work…
They invested time, money and energy into understanding good marketing, copywriting, storytelling, and branding and they did it right here…
That’s exactly what I teach on my YouTube Channel.
So you’re already in the right place. If you’re not already part of the crew, subscribe to my newsletter to be first to know when my tutorial goes out.
TRAP #2 – The DIY Delay
Another common mistake is having what I call the “lone wolf” or “DIY” mentality.
I get this one DEEP because this was me for a really long time.
When I first started copywriting, I had SUCH a hard time asking for help.
I don’t know WHO I was trying to impress or WHAT I was trying to prove but I had this “I don’t need anyone, I can do this on my own” chip on my shoulder.
It’s humbling and a little embarrassing to admit that now…
Because the cold hard truth was, I was freakin’ scared…
Scared of failing…
Scared of asking for help…
Scared of putting myself out there…
And, worst of all, scared of letting people down.
I came up with every reason in the world why I had to do it on my own…
Learn the skills, grow my skills, find clients, scale my business… I, as someone who had ZERO EXPERIENCE doing any of those things, thought I had to do it all 100% on my own…
Or else somehow that meant I wasn’t good enough or smart enough.
Hello, imposter syndrome.
It wasn’t until I started investing in myself – memberships, coaching, and other programs – that my business took off…
Looking back now it’s SO obvious. In order to get to the next level in our lives and businesses…
In order to do something we’ve never done before…
We NEED support – mentors, accountability and community. We need people walking the path with us.
Sure, you can white-knuckle your way to success for a while…
But let me tell you, it’s exhausting and so much easier to give up when no one is encouraging you along the way…
SO if that’s you…
Start surrounding yourself with people who are DOING what you WANT to be doing.
You become more of WHO you want to be, when you surround yourself with people who are WHO are on that same journey.
TRAP #3 – The Glamor Myth
I cringe a little when I hear brand-new copywriters complain about writing for boring projects… or companies who don’t have some epic mission to change the world… or agencies who don’t care about branding… or clients who don’t feel “in alignment” because their products or services are in a niche they aren’t passionate about…
And then in the same breath, they complain that they can’t find any clients…
*crickets sound effect*
HELLO.
When you’re a new copywriter, a writing job – any writing job – should be celebrated!
It’s such backwards thinking to go into copywriting and expect that you’ll get your dream job, writing for your dream client, in your dream niche immediately.
Starting a new business of ANY KIND is not glamorous like the perfectly curated social media world might have you believe…
It takes work and sometimes you gotta kiss a few frogs before you find your prince charming client…
So if you’re just getting started…
Stop being ultra-selective with the type of jobs you’ll accept…
Stop expecting DREAM clients to hire you immediately without any experience.
Take ANY job to gain experience (as long as they aren’t douchey or scammy or compromise your values) and work your way up to the writing jobs that bring you joy…
In fact, I bet you’ll get to where you want to go FASTER that way than saying “no” to opportunities while you await your dream client to magically appear.
One of my favorite stories is my Launch Pad Season 1 Grad Sam, who literally said YES to everything in the beginning. His first writing job was on Fiverr, where he was hired to write 1,000 variants of an email for 100 pounds.
He hated it and wondered what in the hell he was thinking.
Later he closed a 1000-pound job on Fiverr…
And within a few months, he was making $16,000 a month as a freelance copywriter and today runs his own successful email agency.
As I like to say…
First get paid. Then get picky.
You gotta start somewhere and what better way to start practicing and perfecting your writing skills than with jobs you’re maybe LESS excited about…
It’s easy to write about stuff you love. But great copywriters can write about anything…
TRAP #4 – The Boundary Backfire
Ahhh yes, boundaries.
It’s a buzzword right now and for good reason. It’s important to set and respect your boundaries and others’…
However, sometimes I feel like this “respect my boundaries or else” mentality backfires…
And keeps new copywriters stuck by their own unrealistic expectations, especially around pricing…
Are your prices actual boundaries or are they simply preferences? This is something you need to decide…
I know there’s a lot of talk out there about “charging your worth” and “owning your value”…
And you are worth a million dollars. I’m not here to argue with that…
But sometimes, the value you get back from a client is LESS about how much they are paying you and MORE about the connections, authority and experience you can get from the relationship.
Now, I’m not saying you should compromise your well-being or worth and arbitrarily lower your rates…
But, in the beginning, when connections, authority and experience are INCREDIBLY valuable to you…
It’s wise to be more fluid and creative with your pricing based on WHAT feels good vs what other people say you absolutely should be charging for a project or deliverable.
Remember, you can raise your prices over time as your experience and expertise grow – and you get to decide how and when that happens…
I told you the story of how Sam did his first copywriting project for WAY lower than he should have charged, but he didn’t know that until he DID the damn thing.
What irks me is when a new copywriter hears about another copywriter making, let’s say $1000/month for some email copywriting…
So they think that’s what all copywriters should charge, no matter their level of experience…
It doesn’t work that way.
Pricing is impacted by MANY factors, including your experience and expertise, of course…
But also how badly you want to work with this particular client and how the relationship could open future doors for you…
LISTEN guys… I made $800/month FULL-TIME as an intern at Mindvalley for the first 6 months or so…
I could have scoffed and rolled my eyes and walked away.
Instead, I said YES… got promoted 3X and left the company as the Creative Director making MUCH MUCH more than that…
Not to mention the path it led me down…
So rather than quoting high, hardballing, and refusing to negotiate, which is not a good look (especially if you’re brand new)…
Think of your price as a starting point… a way to start a genuine conversation and find a price that feels great for you BOTH.
TRAP #5 – The One-Way Highway
Come on, be honest…
Are you really looking everywhere for clients? Are you telling everyone you know about your business? Are you having meaningful conversations, checking job boards and connecting with potential clients every day?
- If you’re putting all of your client-getting eggs in one basket…
- Not planting seeds everywhere and often…
- Putting new irons in the fire one by one…
- Or following just ONE way to get a client…
- Or any other analogy or metaphor that works here…
You are making it a lot harder on yourself…
My most successful students look for clients EVERYWHERE.
Literally everywhere and all the time.
I love this recent share from one of my Launch Pad Season 5’ers, she posted…
Let me tell you, it’s the copywriters with THIS mentality that hit $10k/month less than a year after starting.
And the truth is…
This level of success IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TOO.
Stop falling into these traps…
Start planting seeds…
And remember – there is not ONE right way to find clients…
Or one MAGICAL source where all the BEST clients hang out…
Different methods work for different people…
And based on your personality type, there are COUNTLESS strategies for you to try that will FEEL good to you…
If you want to discover how to find copywriting clients with more ease & confidence…
I have something fun for you to try out…
My team and I created a new 30-second quiz that reveals YOUR unique Client Attraction Formula (based on your personality type, hidden preferences & secret strengths)…
And you can take this quiz now for free now. I can’t wait to hear your results…
I hope this little tough-love session was helpful…
I’ll see you next week with a brand-new tutorial. Until then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now.
