I started the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (aka, the CCA) in 2012 and, since then, my team and I have taught more than 12,000 people to create copywriting careers of their own.
And, why, yes, that does make us the #1 all-in-one online professional copywriting training program. Thank you for noticing.
In those 14+ years, we’ve amassed countless testimonials and student success stories, including 100+ in-depth student stories that we’ve featured on our podcast, Build Your Copywriting Business.
And in working with all of these wonderful, hard-working, talented people, there are some trends I’ve found that I know you can benefit from, too.
Here goes:
Luck is great, but systems build a career
At some point or another, serendipity will hit and work will just fall into your lap. I can pretty much guarantee it.
But you can’t bank on serendipity and luck won’t pay your rent/mortgage.
And the good news it that they don’t need to:
There are proven, repeatable, scalable systems for finding and landing high-paying clients and/or landing jobs.
(And, no, these systems don’t involve posting on social media or competing for work on sites like UpWork.)
Your biggest roadblock is always yourself
Our students get everything they need to build a copywriting career—all the steps, all the strategy, all of the feedback and support—but they still, periodically find themselves dragging their feet.
Why? Because what’s between their ears gets in the way of what they want to do in the world.
There will always be plenty of opportunity for copywriters in this world. Way more opportunity, in fact, than there are copywriters to fill it.
And, sure, there’ll be some “no”s, but there will also be plenty of “yes”es.
The outside world won’t stop you…but you just might let yourself stop you. Or, at least, get in your way.
Which is why it’s so important to understand this next point:
Everyone doubts themselves. Everyone.
It’s not a matter of if you doubt yourself or doubt whether you can do this, it’s when.
Why? Because your brain is built to do that.
Your brain has a very old (as in, literally ancient) system built into it that throws up alarm bells every time you step outside your comfort zone.
And sometimes those alarm bells come in the form of self-doubt, sometimes they come in the form of procrastination, sometimes they come in the form of a very sneaky voice that says things like “You know what? You’ve already worked so hard this week. Why don’t you just leave this until next week? You deserve it.”
So when those self-doubts pop up (which they absolutely will), it doesn’t mean that it’s a sign you should give up or that you’re not meant to do this.
It just means that you’re getting outside of your comfort zone. And, as a reminder all of the best things in life are outside of your comfort zone.
That’s the time to lean on your community, remember why it matters to you do to this in the first place, and recommit to taking daily actions to move forward.
Speaking of which,
Absurdly small actions beat no actions at all
When that self-doubt kicks in, it can be tempting to close your computer and just give up for the day. (Or, worse, for longer.)
But the only thing that reliably beats self-doubt is action. Yes, the action that you absolutely don’t feel like taking.
The very best way I’ve found to get around your “just give up” brain, is to take Absurdly Tiny Actions.
Break your task into steps that are so incredibly, laughably tiny that it’s almost easier to take them than not take them.
Instead of “build a website,” your first ATAs might be “open a new tab in Chrome” and “Go to Squarespace.com.”
Steps that small don’t kick up resistance, can give you a little momentum to keep going, or, even if not, are better than nothing.
In fact,
You don’t need to go the “extra mile,” just the “extra inch”
It doesn’t actually take that much to be successful, because most people won’t even bother to do the basics.
Most people would rather wait (in vain) for work to drop into their laps than to send a simple email.
Most people click that “one click apply” in Indeed and get lost in a sea of resumes instead of just finding out the hiring manager’s email.
Most people figure their portfolios are “good enough” instead of spending a half hour writing up a sample for a job/client they’re especially interested in
I once hit the brakes on hiring one copywriter in favor of meeting with another (whom I eventually did hire) simply because that second copywriter sent a follow-up.
It does not take a lot to stand out; just a touch more effort than most people are willing to make.
You’re not that special (in a good way)
At some point or another, everyone worries that they’ll be the exception to the rule. That, even though they’ll put in the work and follow the steps and get the feedback, that they’ll be the person this career won’t work for.
(Which is funny, isn’t it? Nobody worries that becoming a veterinarian or a plumber or an accountant won’t work for them. Ah, writers: We have a lot of heart.)
So let me put it plainly and with love:
You’re not that special.
We have 12,000 students, thousands and thousands of student wins, more than 100 in-depth student success stories (we only have so much time to interview!)...
Following our system works for them. When you follow the steps, and you get the feedback, and you ask your questions…it just works.
I can’t tell you the timeline (I’m not psychic and I don’t know what your schedule looks like), but the only way to “fail” is to quit.
You’re not that special that it won’t work for you.
And isn’t that wonderful?
If you want to explore whether copywriting might be right for you, check out our free, on-demand workshop right here:
About the Author
Nicki Krawczyk has been a professional copywriter for 20+ years, writing for clients including Hasbro, adidas, Reebok, TripAdvisor, Barnes and Noble, and plenty more.
Since 2012, she’s also been teaching people to create professional copywriting careers of their own via the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy, the #1 all-in-one online professional copywriting training program.
To learn more about the CCA and about beginning your own copywriting career, check out our free, on-demand video workshop.