How to get copywriting clients when nothing else is working?
If you’re struggling to find your next copywriting client… this post is for you.
Maybe you’ve been trying all the things, posting on LinkedIn, sending cold outreach messages, religiously applying for jobs on Upwork…
But you’re still not having any luck turning that effort into actual paying clients… what gives?!
Well, I’m telling you right now it’s not because you need a better portfolio… or more experience… or another certification… OR because AI has made your skillset irrelevant.
(In fact, the exact opposite is true… businesses need your critical thinking, creativity and strategic brain more than ever right now)…
The reason is a lot simpler than you think…
Btw, if you’re new around here, hi, I’m Alex! I’ve helped tens of thousands of regular people from around the world start and grow copywriting businesses at home from scratch.
From school teachers, to servers, to physio therapists, engineers, corporate bankers, retail workers, college students and everything in between.
So if you’re looking to get your copywriting business off the ground and reach predictable monthly income, you are in the right place!
And if you are looking for ways to find clients, I’m going to give you 101 different ways to find your next copywriting client. Check out my free guide with 101 Ways To Find Copywriting Clients.
Now, I’m going to show you 3 simple shifts you can make in the way you find and connect with potential clients that will dramatically increase the number of “bites” you get.
Including one that seems almost too easy, which is why new copywriters tend to completely overlook it.
But trust me, because it works. Every single week, inside my Spark membership, I see copywriters celebrating wins like these.
First clients, landing retainers, discovery calls & interviews knocked out of the park, thousands of dollars in monthly revenue…
And these aren’t all veteran copywriters with years of experience.
In fact, most of them are brand new to copywriting and still landing clients, without a website, cold outreach or constantly creating social media content.
So what’s working for them? Let’s talk about 3 shifts you can make starting today.
SHIFT #1: Stop Trying To “Look” Like A Copywriter
Okay, this is probably going to sound a little counterintuitive coming from someone who constantly talks about the importance of positioning yourself and being super specific about who you are and what you do.
Believe me, I still 100% believe you should do that. But hear me out.
One of the biggest mistakes I see new copywriters make is taking this concept of “positioning yourself” entirely too seriously.
Essentially creating a brand new internet personality the second they decide they want to start finding clients because they want to seem more “legit” or “professional.”
Then posting content to try to appear like an expert, when they aren’t yet.
Every post becomes:
“3 reasons your website copy isn’t converting”…
“5 email mistakes costing you sales”…
“Here’s why your CTA sucks”…
Listen. There is absolutely nothing wrong with posting educational content. In fact, I think it’s important you demonstrate that you actually know what you’re talking about every now and then.
The problem is.
A lot of new copywriters create new profiles “just for their business”… and then only post “business content” on it and then wonder why no one is reaching out.
Here’s what I need you to understand. Your clients don’t hire you because of your content. They hire you because of you. They want to work with a person.
They’re going to be emailing you, slacking you, jumping on calls with you and trusting you with a pretty important piece of their business.
So yeah, of course they want to know that you can do the job they hired you for (which is exactly what a portfolio is for).
But they also want to know:
- Do I vibe with this person?
- Can I trust this person?
- Does this seem like a person who shares my values?
- Do I actually want to work with this person?
And that’s really hard to answer if every single thing you post sounds like it came straight out of ChatGPT (sorry, but true).
The secret to showing up on social media is simple, don’t create “content”, be yourself.
Post your morning cup of coffee, talk about what you’re working on right now, share a little bit of your life, share your opinions, yes I said share your opinions.
Celebrate your wins… be candid about your failures and lessons learned…
Talk about that time you were trying to write an email while your kid was having a meltdown because the dog ate her cheerios.
You do not need to manufacture some buttoned-up, hyper-professional version of yourself because you think that’s what clients want.
Because when people get to know the real you, something really important starts happening.
You stop feeling like a rando on the internet. And you become that copywriter they know, and when the time comes that they need to hire a copywriter, guess who they are reaching out to first?
And that brings me to the second shift.
SHIFT #2: Stop Marketing Only To Strangers
When people ask me: “Alex, where do I find clients?” I can’t help but laugh a little because it’s not like there’s some secret magical source where all the best clients hang out and I’m gatekeeping this information and only giving it to my customers.
No! You guys, clients are everywhere and there is no magic bullet to finding them.
Like “Just copy and paste this exact message and watch in wonder as 109,483,915,781,837 clients beg you to be their copywriter!! Works immediately!! Guaranteed client by tomorrow morning!!” Said no one ever.
Clients are everywhere and finding them is simpler than you are making it in your head. That’s exactly why I put together this list of 101 ways to find your next client.
But before you start trying to convince complete strangers on the internet to give you money.
Have you considered telling the people you already know what you’re up to? I know, shocking right.
This is one of the most overlooked client-getting strategies ever.
Friends, former coworkers, old bosses, people from your gym, local business owners, people you haven’t spoken to since high school but still follow on social media…
Your existing social network, no matter how small, can be one of the best places for finding clients.
Remember this. Not everyone is a potential client. But everyone is a potential referrer.
You never know who owns a business… but everyone knows someone who does.
I see this happen inside my Spark Membership all the time.
One of our members, Marci, had been what she called “lurking in the Posse shadows for years”…
Then she finally started putting herself out there.
She sent ten emails, just 10, mostly to friends and acquaintances, aka people who already know her.
And from those ten emails.
She booked two discovery calls and had one more promising lead.
And then she landed her first freelance client on retainer.
Notice what she didn’t do? She didn’t distract herself by creating content on LinkedIn…
She didn’t send 300 cold pitches to brands and businesses that have never heard of her.
And she didn’t spend six months creating the world’s most perfect portfolio.
She simply started letting people know “Hey. This is what I’m up to and here’s how I can help. Let me know if you know of anyone I can help!”
And here’s another one.
One of our Sparkies, Maddy, wasn’t having luck applying for jobs through LinkedIn or Upwork.
So she joined a Facebook group of local businesses and offered to share some free email marketing tips with business owners.
And guess what happened?
She had two business owners ask if she was available for work.
She wasn’t even pitching them!
And she was being helpful in a place where potential clients were already hanging out.
And that is the lesson I really want you to take away from this.
Finding clients isn’t always about getting out there in front of as many people as possible.
Or sending a bazillion cold DMs.
Most of the time, it’s about becoming more visible to the people who already know, like and trust you.
But there’s one more mistake you’re probably making that is completely sabotaging this.
SHIFT #3: Stop Waiting Until You Feel “Ready”
Sorry to call you out… but this is a big one.
I see so many talented copywriters sitting on the sidelines convincing themselves… “I just need one more course”…
Or “I just need to finish my website”…
“I just need to learn all the ins + outs of email marketing first”…
“Well I can’t approach that client or apply for that job. I’m not experienced enough yet”…
And on and on it goes.
At some point, you simply have to accept that you are probably never going to feel 100% ready for the next level of your business.
Not because you aren’t smart enough or good enough.
But because you’ve never done it before. How can you feel “ready” for something you’ve never done?!
I’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years and I still feel “not ready” when I’m stepping outside my comfort zone.
Look at this post from one of my Spark Members.
“Not gonna lie. Shitting myself.”
Then she gets the brief.
Starts thinking about pricing.
Realizes she needs to learn Klaviyo.
And suddenly says:
“After everything I’ve learnt, I suddenly feel as though I know nothing, and also quite anxious. Is this normal??”
Yes. Yes it is. So normal. And here’s the biggest takeaway.
She felt that way after she got the job. The fear didn’t magically disappear.
She put herself out there while she was scared, and then figured out the next step when she got there, which is why being part of a community like this is so, so helpful.
Confidence isn’t a prerequisite for taking action. Confidence is the result of taking action.
And you can see that pattern in the wins my Spark Members share over and over again.
Marci said putting herself out there still felt “intense and awkward”… But she did it.
Christine landed her first SEO client and got her first payment.
Another member started Upwork and landed more than $3,500 in monthly retainers.
Dawn got an interview despite being brand new.
Shannon landed her second paying client, got booked for the next few months and had a third opportunity already looking promising.
Different people… completely different strategies… but the same underlying pattern: they put themselves out there.
They just took action and then came to their crew to get support. Even when it felt messy or they didn’t feel ready.
And that is really the thing I want you to walk away from this post.
Waiting for the one “magical” strategy to find clients is probably why you’re stuck.
There are literally hundreds of different ways you could find your next client.
That’s why I put together a free guide with 101 Ways To Find Copywriting Clients.
If you want to go even deeper on turning those first clients into serious, recurring income, I’ve also broken down how to land retainer clients here, and if you’re still figuring out the fundamentals, this is everything I wish I knew when I was starting out.
Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
