The Realist’s Guide to Getting Work

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things."
— Albert Einstein

In Issue #227

The Realist’s Guide to Getting Work
by Monica Day

Not to sound like a dinosaur of the industry…but things have changed since I first came on the copywriting scene. And it was only seven years ago!

Then, it was a good idea to have your own website…now it’s a must. It was a new twist to collect names into a list and publish an ezine as a way to market your services…now it’s the norm. It was the rare ultra-entrepreneurial soul who would self-publish their own information products on the side and offer them to their list…now, everybody’s doing it.

It makes a newbie feel like they have to jump through a lot of hoops just to get started. Let alone keep up.

Before you get discouraged, let me tell you what I think you do – and don’t – need to worry about:

#1 Focus On Building Your Skills

The first myth I want to bust is that you HAVE to do all these things before you start making any money. That’s simply not true.

There is one thing and one thing only that you must do to start getting work: produce good copy.

If you have very good – or maybe even great – copywriting skills, you can make money. Over time, as you get all the other bells and whistles working, you’ll make more money. But you have to make the writing itself the backbone of all your other efforts.

I mean, you can do everything else right – be a good little networker, put up a website, start a blog or an ezine – but if you can’t write good copy, you aren’t going to make any money. Not now, not ever.

So start there.

#2 Set Reasonable Goals

The best way to meet your goals is to make them reasonable in the first place. If you have a full-time job and can only dedicate about 10 “spare” hours a week to copywriting gigs – you’re not likely to break $100,000 in six months!

But you can bring in an extra $500 to $1000 a month to supplement your income or pay off some bills – in as little as 3-6 months of getting started…maybe less.

The same goes for getting clients. I met a colleague (who became a good friend) at a conference four years ago. She and everyone else in the room wanted to snag the high end client who sponsored the gathering. But they made it clear – they work with A-level copywriters only.

Just last month my friend did her first package for them – and got paid five figures for it.

I’ve witnessed firsthand her efforts for the last four years. She worked very, very hard…and made sacrifices most wouldn’t even consider. Had she expected to achieve this level of success in just six months after that conference, she would have gotten frustrated and quit a long, long time ago. But because she was realistic about the time and effort it would take to get there – she made it.

#3 Don’t Wait To Be Perfect To Get Paid

In my yet-to-be-written Book of Life, there is no such thing as “perfect” or “finished” – especially when it comes to websites, business plans and mastery in writing. You will constantly be learning, tweaking, and changing these elements of your business.

So you might as well give up such foolish notions and make a few bucks!

I once earned $50 for writing an invitation – I’m not kidding! It was one of my first gigs – I found it on a crowded job board. The client was a geeky science type – good with numbers, bad with words. The invitation had to be well-written, and somewhat politically persuasive. He felt out of his league – and was thrilled to pay me to write it for him. It didn’t pay the rent, but it gave me a boost of confidence, a check to copy and put on my wall, and a few bucks in my pocket.

Sometimes, that’s all you need to keep going.

Finally, if you haven’t already read Michael Masterson’s book, Ready, Fire, Aim, I suggest you grab a copy. It shows you how to succeed when so many others fail at starting – and thriving – in their own business.

The key is being willing to put your product out in the market and make a sale. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to go from “Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat” – as the book’s subtitle describes – or you just need to make a few extra bucks a month to make ends meet. The principles are the same.

Ready yourself to go to market. Fire your product out to people who need it, and are willing and able to pay for it. Then, aim for the top and keep going.

Sounds simple, but it works every time.

Resource Referral: Get Your Goals Back On!           

How are you doing with your 2009 goals? You remember…the ones you toasted to and washed down with champagne on the first day of the year?

Whether you’re part of the 80% of people who have already given up – or the 20% who are still plugging along – my guess is you could use a boost. I know I can!

I mentioned one of my mentors to you in the essay above – Michael Masterson. He’s one of the most goal-oriented people I’ve ever met. And he’s passionate about showing other people how to achieve their goals, too.

When Michael first started his daily missive – Early To Rise – he had a modest goal-setting program. I thought it was very helpful and used it myself. But now, seven years and many improvements later – the ETR team has created the Mother of All Goal Programs!

It’s called the 2009 Total Success Achievement Program.

This program works because it recognizes the ultimate truth: resolutions themselves aren’t the problem. Your method of attaining them is.

Perhaps you want to lose weight. Simply saying you want to lose weight in 2009 isn’t going to help. You need a specific plan along with a specific number of pounds in mind that you want to lose. Or what about making more money in 2009? Just wishing for them isn’t going to bring those riches your way. 

You have to break each goal down. Exactly how much money do you want to make in 2009?  What are you going to do every day in 2009 to make more money? Like that…

If you seriously want to succeed in your New Year’s resolutions, then you must change the way you tackle them. Success in every area of your life is possible if you follow a few easy steps. Click here to learn how you can make 2009 the year you achieve every goal you set!

(Editor’s Disclaimer: I have to confess, I close any promotion that starts with a picture of some guy pointing his finger at me – but read the whole thing anyway! It’s not only a good program…it’s great copy. Check it out!)

Quick Tip: Five Questions You Must Answer Before Starting Your Ezine

When you do decide to take the plunge and start your own ezine, don’t just start writing something generic. Sit down and really think through the following four questions. I know, they seem basic. Of course you would know to ask them! After all, you’re a copywriter.

Well…

You might be surprised at how many copywriters neglect to use the same basic approach to their own marketing efforts that they use so successfully with their clients. Just like the old cobbler’s kids running around without shoes. So, just in case, here’s your ezine starter’s cheat sheet…

Granted, some of your answers will change over time. Two-hundred-plus issues of The Copy Protégé later, Krista and I are much clearer about our message, style, and most of all, what would be useful to our readers. But before we launched we each wrote about a half dozen essays and sent them back and forth to one another. Until slowly, The Copy Protégé started to take shape.

Take the time to do this homework. Your list – and income – will grow much faster.