Wow…

Two whole years.

I can hardly believe it’s been that long since I showed up in Copy School wearing that ill-fitting uniform and worrying if John Carlton was gonna steal my lunch money.

And yet, it was indeed July 2010 when I took my first tentative steps to getting good at freelancing…

…steps that continue now, of course.

There’s a hell of a lot of learning still to be done, as any good copy-dude will tell you.

Before then I’d written plenty of ‘practice assignments’, and helped out on some campaigns, but that was all purely about my own learning curve…

And nobody really benefited except me.

But then, starting two years ago this month, I suddenly had to produce work that would benefit somebody else too…

…clients.

Gulp!

Fortunately, they’ve been happy with my work – and at the very least, appreciative of the efforts I made on their behalf.

All in all, it’s been a richly rewarding period, in which I’ve earned while I’ve learned.

Can’t ask for much more than that.

Reflecting on this time with a copy-buddy at the bar last week – one of the best places for reflection, the bar – I was asked:

“So what are the key things you’ve learned over these first couple of years?”

Which got us started on an interesting discussion that lasted a couple more rounds…

And I thought:

This could make a pretty useful blog post for you guys.

Which brings us to:

 

6 Of The Best: Nuggets Gleaned From A Fledgling Copy Career (Part One)…

 

1: “Don’t Look Back In Anger”

 

While we’re talking reflection, make sure you understand the value of looking back from time to time.

About 6 months in, I went back over some work I’d done right at the start, back when I wasn’t even sure of the basics of copywriting.

My first thought:

I SUCKED!

Second thought:

I’ve got so much BETTER.

It’s a great feeling to look back and see how far you’ve come – no matter how far you still have left to go, right?

So do yourself a favour:

Look back and pull out something you were working on 6-12 months ago.

It’s eye-opening…

Sometimes you can even pinpoint exactly what you learned on a particular campaign.

It’s right there looking up at you, and you’ll picture yourself writing that very sentence… actually learning as you went.

Give yourself that boost a couple of times a year and spot the mistakes you made that you wouldn’t make now.

Laugh at them like you would at your baby pictures, because you’re older and wiser.

Embrace it…

Chart your progress.

If you’re a better writer today than you were 6 months ago, give yourself a pat on the back.

That’s your achievement. Enjoy it.

 

2: “Learn From Your Clients”

 

All of ’em…

The Good, The Bad, AND The Ugly!

 

The good ones will teach you what THEY know that you don’t…

About their market, their product, the research behind the research.

And you need to know this stuff, so talk to them…

…and listen.

Ask plenty questions in your first couple of meetings…

It’s not all about you pitching your ‘creative genius’ to them. You need to listen carefully to what they have to offer, because everyone has their area of expertise.

If yours is different to theirs, you can learn a lot – and in many cases it’ll be useful to you on future projects too, not just theirs.

Besides, everyone likes to feel like they’re teaching someone something – so they’ll enjoy educating you.

 

The bad ones you can learn from too…

Let’s say, as can happen, you have a bad experience with a client.

They don’t pay when they say they’ll pay…

Or they change their mind about something huge on the eve of a launch, leaving you with a ton of re-writing…

Try and learn – even from this pain-in-the-ass situation.

Could you have seen it coming? What were the warning signs? Will you recognise them in future and nip it in the bud?

Some of the most important aspects to freelancing come from your survival instinct.

Get tough…

You’re gonna take some punches. Roll with ’em and learn how to defend yourself.

And next time, you’ll be stronger and wiser.

 

The ugly ones…

Well, all my clients have been handsome, beautiful people (ahem)…

…and the bad ones we covered above, so… what’s ugly?

I guess here I’m talking more about the ugly JOBS.

The dull gigs, or the low-paid ones that just might open doors…

This is where you learn about your writing process.

If you find yourself with a gig that doesn’t really inspire you – if it’s for a boring-sounding product, say…

Or you’re tasked with churning out thousands of words for someone you’d like to work for down the line, just not right now for THAT small a fee…

Think of it as a test. And you need to pass.

Because once you’ve accepted that gig, you have to find a way to inspire yourself to do as good a job as you would for any client.

It’s about professionalism…

So suck it up.

Not inspired by the product? Ask the client how they dreamed it up, what inspired them to market it.

You’re more likely to find something interesting to write about that way – and it’ll make for better sales copy too, if you can translate that intrigue to the prospect.

Another good tip is to analyse your writing/researching process for this kind of job…

…and note it down for use the next time you get a similar assignment.

If you made it through successfully once, chances are you can duplicate that process and make the next one easier (or at least shorter!) by following the same steps.

(I’m not talking about duplicating copy here – it’s about your planning and tactics… how you kept yourself interested, how you uncovered the hook that made the copy sizzle, that kinda thing)

Not inspired by the fee? Well, first up, ask yourself what you’re worth and WHY you’re doing it…

Did you take it on out of desperation?

If so, think about what you could have done earlier to prevent getting to that point.

 

3: “Your ‘Style’ Is Irrelevant”

 

People don’t buy a product because Famous Copywriter X wrote the ad…

They buy because Famous Copywriter X did a good job of selling them the product.

While you and I may enjoy reading the latest copy from say, Clayton Makepeace, he’s not hired for $x-squillion to fill writers’ swipe-files…

He’s hired to make SALES.

The big takeaway here is to leave the ego behind when you’re hired.

For sales copy, ALWAYS write FOR the market, in whatever way they need to hear to help them make that buying decision.

Believe me, you’ll have fun trying to write in many different voices…

You’ll get to be a whole host of different personalities…

Sometimes, even yourself.

 

Besides, you can always practice writing in different styles on your blog…

Which is where I’ll wrap up for today, and we’ll continue this – hopefully useful – trip down memory lane next week when I’ll lay down 3 more actionable nuggets for you.

Now go be good,

Pete