Let Your Passion Lead You

In This Issue:

• Main Essay: Let Your Passion Lead You by Monica Day
• Resource Referral: Why You Have To Hire Yourself Before Anyone Else Will
• Reader Feedback: A Little Creativity Can Get You To Bootcamp

Let Your Passion Lead You
by Monica Day

Finding your first client can be a daunting prospect. When you first get started as a copywriter, you know all the stats – the multi-trillion dollar industry, the shortage of good copywriters, the many different products and clients to choose from.

But what starts out feeling like a very big opportunity soon becomes an ocean at high tide – and you realize you don’t know how to swim. Suddenly, you feel completely overwhelmed…you don’t know where to start…and your efforts become scattered and ineffective.

But just this week, I was reminded by one of the members of our Copy Protégé Mentoring Program how easy it can be to secure your first gig when you follow your passion and let it provide you with focus and determination.

In this case, one of our budding copywriters is deeply committed to the work of the American Red Cross. Not only is she a blood donor, but she had a very personal experience in her family where the services of the Red Cross brought comfort during a devastating tragedy. She received regular letters from them for support – and had often been moved by them to respond favorably.

Until last month.

As a beginning copywriter, she scans her mail now with an eagle eye to see what’s working and what isn’t. To her dismay, the letter from her local chapter of the American Red Cross is a real clunker.

Now, what happens next is a lesson for every single copywriter – whether beginner or experienced…

When she received that letter, this copy protégé wasn’t thinking so much about the many aspects of getting started as a copywriter that were confounding her. She wasn’t worrying in that moment about getting her first client…or about how much she needed to start earning some fees…or about whether her website was going to work for her.

She had a single focus. The letter that was sent by an organization she passionately supported was not up to the standard of past letters. She was afraid it probably wasn’t working for them. And she knew that, given the chance, she could do better.

So she picked up the phone, dialed the local chapter and asked to speak to the person in charge of their direct mail campaigns. She introduced herself – and very gently inquired about the letter – and found out that they would be happy to consider some new copy to test. Almost without thinking, she let her passion guide her to an opportunity that was not posted or advertised anywhere – and she secured her most solid lead so far for her first assignment.

Stay tuned – she’s in the process of following up – and I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes. But for now, the lesson I want you to remember is this…

Let your passion be your guide. The email our protégé wrote to her new contact was probably the best writing I’ve seen from her to date. She let her passion speak. Somehow, that pushed her nerves out of the way and let her most authentic voice shine through. I’m willing to bet it’s going to get her foot in the door – and ultimately make the American Red Cross a few more donation dollars than they would have otherwise received.

Resource Referral: Why You Have To Hire Yourself Before Anyone Else Will

The best marketing efforts are the ones where your passion shines through – and infects your potential client with the energy to hire you. And if you can’t find your passion – or you don’t know how to let it shine through – nailing your first client is going to be tough.

You simply have to be willing to hire yourself – and assign yourself to the formidable task of marketing your services – before anyone else is going to take a chance on you.

That said, there are many different approaches and formats that could shape your self-promotion efforts. Learning how to approach potential clients – and get them to hire you – isn’t something you want to guess at. There are proven formulas that can help you connect your passion for a certain product, client or niche market with an approach that will produce results.

AWAI’s “Selling Yourself” program is the best, most comprehensive approach to marketing your skills as a copywriter. Find out how to:

• Immediately land a client, your first writing sample, a reference and a testimonial
• Quickly meet lots of potential clients and build your credibility
• Effectively generate leads for your freelance copywriting services
• Write classified ads that get business
• Follow-up leads until they give you a job—without pestering them
• Close the sale

I used this program myself – and credit it with the portion of my success that was due to effort and not luck. Since I ordered it a few years ago, it’s been re-designed and improved a great deal. You’re likely to earn back every penny you’ve invested to become a copywriter when you put just a few of the ideas on this program into practice. Check it out: www.selling-yourself.com/cp

Reader Feedback : A Little Creativity Can Get You To Bootcamp

I am very close to making the decision to attend my first Bootcamp. However, this is a huge financial undertaking for me and I was wondering if there was any way to connect with other females who might be interested in sharing a hotel room in order to cut costs. Should I contact AWAI office or could we do something through your newsletter? I would appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks. – KA, Copy Protégé Reader

I certainly understand the plunge it is to come to Bootcamp financially…and I can assure you are not alone in your efforts to try to make it come together. Yours is one of many we’ve received from people who desperately want to come but lack the resources. So, here are a few thoughts for everyone who is trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat…

1) Cost-Sharing Opportunities: To share room costs, your best bet is to go to the AWAI forums. You can simply post a note and also meet fellow copywriters who will be attending this year’s Bootcamp on the AWAI Forum under the 2007 FastTrack to Copywriting Success thread here: http://www.awaistudents.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=38. If you live close enough, you might be able to share a ride as well.

2) Asking Friends And Family For Support: A lot of readers I’ve heard from feel tapped out – and they simply don’t know where to get the funds from to attend. While it may be tough to ask friends or family for a cash infusion…there may be other ways they can help you out. Have you considered asking for frequent flier miles for your flight? Marriott Rewards points for your hotel? Get creative about the types of support you ask for and you just might find more abundance out there than you imagined.

3) Work Your Way To Delray: I funded my first trip to Bootcamp with my first paying project. You don’t need to land something big, even. How about just a few $500 gigs? A local business in your area might be willing to pay a writer for web copy, or your local veterinarian might fork out a few clams for a brochure or newsletter. I once earned $300 to write an invitation to an academic conference. It took me an afternoon to do. For the next couple of months, just focus on getting a few lower-paying jobs – and earmark it for Bootcamp.

Sometimes we get so focused on our big, bodacious goals we lose sight of how to manifest some of our smaller goals along the way. But you’d be surprised how far you can stretch just a little bit of creativity. I suspect the resources you need might be easier to secure than you dared hope.

(Editor’s note: When you do sign up for Bootcamp, be sure to do it here at Copy Protégé: www.awaionline.com/monicastory, Krista and I still have a handful of spaces left in our peer review groups. And we’ll hold those spaces open right up until the date…until they’re full. So grab yours as soon as you can. We look forward to meeting you! )