How to make good bucks copy writing.
Two ladies I respect wrote three wise words that say it all:
“Write Every Day!”
- Katie Yeakal (Executive Director) and Rebecca Matter (President) AWAI.
Posted above my desk is a laminated Copywriter’s “Cheat Sheet”.
It helps me, but not by cheating, per se. The poster, from American Writers and Artists Inc. (AWAI), reeks with wisdom about how to make good bucks bashing out good copy.
A wise person named Aristotle once wrote “What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.”
Everyone who is good at copywriting has learned to do it. The skill doesn’t come from superior talent or intelligence.
That’s important to me because I have neither. Reading, watching or listening all help but I learn best by doing.
This says it all to me: “Write Every Day!”
Profound. Simple. Right.
I practice what the ladies preach every day, mostly for, well, practice. But more and more for clients who pay well. So, it’s working.
No surprise of course.
Remember the old joke:
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice.”
Sounds like work, and is. But, as Noel Coward courageously insisted “Work is more fun than fun.” Even when you’re not being paid, because with an attitude like that “work” pays off.
When you want to be a copywriter it’s never a waste of time to write.
Even a guy never known for his writing, Henry Ford, nailed it when he observed “…most people get ahead during the time that others waste.”
Picking up on Coward’s comment about work being fun (and therefore not really work), humorist Stephen Leacock wrote “I’m a great believer in luck and find the harder I work the luckier I get.” And he was serious. He saw the connection among “practice”, “work” and “fun”.
What’s in that kind of thinking for you?
At the very least, Fun.
Write Every Day. It’s Fun. Over time you will make money. But You’ll only make money writing by writing. Persist patiently and it could make you a lot of money.
Where do wannabe writers start?
It’s a bit corny to say “at the start”. But all journeys start with the first step.
First? Seek proven mentors who are passionate about giving back. (They think they’re still paying forward.)
Second. Read books by master copywriters. Take credible courses.
Then do as Katie and Rebecca say: “Write Every Day!”
Sure there’s risk. You’ll invest time. Money too. Maybe even scare or frustrate yourself from time to time.
A risk-embracing guy you may have heard of, Winston Churchill once stated “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
Risk to pursue your passion is fun.
Lily Tomlin, for whom fun was passion, quipped “The road to success is always under construction.”
And me? I’m learning how to fill in my potholes pretty quickly embracing those three wise words: “Write Every Day!”
