3 questions, from one of my readers:
- Where on earth do I even start???
- How do you get around that need to be perfect and how do you know when you’ve done your best and it’s time to move on to the next step?
- If you could give me one tip on how to go from being an average copywriter to an amazing one, what would it be?
The advice I’m about to give you may make you think I’m really lazy. And I am. But that’s not why I’m choosing to answer all 3 questions with the same answer. I’m doing this because I think in all 3 cases, the same answer is the best answer. So here goes nothing:
Q: “Where on earth do I even start??? I want my copy to be amazing and original, but it feels like everything has been written and said. I am new to the copywriting scene and really want to do things right!”
A: Start by writing. 🙂
I don’t say that to be coy. I say that because it’s the #1 thing that keeps bad copywriters from becoming good – they don’t write. They read tons of books. They subscribe to all the pros. They know all the theory. But they never actually write. And that’s the biggest mistake you can make.
Copywriting is actually very simple. It’s just basic salesmanship… applied to written word(and basic salesmanship isn’t that complicated). Yes, there are little tricks & tactics you can learn. Yes, a deep grasp of a few important principles will greatly improve your copy. But here’s the thing: it’s not that hard getting the theory into your head. The challenge is getting the theory into your hands. And this only comes with writing. You can know all the principles & tactics & strategies & techniques in the world… but until you start writing, and consciously practicing the application of these principles in actual writing… your “knowledge” will be useless to you.
…and as you write, do your research. Read the books. Learn the tricks & tactics. Learn the core principles. Read the books. Learn the theory. But ONLY in the context of actually writing.
Let’s continue…
Q: “How do you get around that need to be perfect and how do you know when you’ve done your best and it’s time to move on to the next step? I feel like when I’m writing copy, I tend to over complicate things and try too hard to make it perfect.”
A: Solve by writing.
Okay, now I’ll get a little more practical. Because my answer may seem fairly unhelpful so far… so let me make an addition:
Solve by forcing yourself to write ‘low-bar’ copy every day. ” ‘low-bar’ copy?” Yes, low-bar copy. See… all sales copy falls somewhere on the “how okay it is if my copy sucks” spectrum:
(not okay at all) 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10 (totally fine)
Example: sales pages for high-ticket products score something like a 1 or 2 on that spectrum. i.e. it’s not really okay if they suck. You really want to obsess over your sales pages in most cases (especially if you’re selling a really expensive product). Because it’ll make a big difference to your bottom line if your copy sucks. HOWEVER.
Another example: emails (depending on what their function is) usually score something like a 5-8. i.e. it’s not the end of the world if you write a bad one. Because if you write & send a not-that-persuasive email… oh well… just send another one tomorrow. You’ve got as many swings as you want.
…and so by forcing yourself to write *low-bar* copy every day… you give yourself permission to write bad copy. Which you need to do if you’re gonna start writing copy. Which you need to if you’re gonna get good.
But what does this look like concretely – forcing yourself to write ‘low-bar’ copy every day?
I’ll answer that in response to my reader’s last question…
Q: “If you could give me one tip on how to go from being an average copywriter to an amazing one, what would it be?”
A: Write.
More specifically…
Write to your email list(even if you only have 2 subscribers), tell them that you’re going to send them an email every day for 30 days, and then do it. Don’t have an email list? Take 5 minutes, create a free Mailchimp account, and then post a signup link on your Facebook wall… or buy a couple ads sending people to a squeeze page… until you have just 10-20 subscribers. And then write & send those emails.
The goal is not to make sales.
The goal is not to write great emails.
The goal is not to write good emails.
The goal is to write & send bad emails if you have to… but to actually write & SEND 30.
If you do this…
You’ll have done more than what 95% of email marketers have done. You’ll have taken a BIG step out of your head… and into the real world of copywriting. You’ll have flushed out lots of the “copy crap” from your system… as every copywriter needs to do in order to become a strong, healthy copywriter. We’ve all got ‘copy toxins’ in our system which can only get ‘purged’ or ‘flushed’ out of us when we write, write, write.
But how do you know WHAT to write in those 30 emails?
When do you pitch your services… versus just giving quality content in your emails?
Is there a basic template you can use to write all of those emails?
Answers to these questions, coming soon…
