Noob here looking for some guidance

[Vanja Horvat]

Hello all!

I am new to copywriting, (not that new) though I have been doing content writing for a decade now.

Time to make a slight pivot. Now...

What can I expect that's gonna suck as a copywriter?

I want to get these out of the way as fast as possible so I can get to the inevitable grind that's gonna get my XP points up.

What are the beginners' pitfalls that I need to know upfront?

Appreciate you guys

[SARubin]

What can I expect that's gonna suck as a copywriter?

Well, I can only speak for myself, but the biggest suck for me has always been when you spend a lot of time and effort crafting a beautiful sales pitch, and you think you hit all the right notes and trigger points... and it bombs.

Some copywriters I know can brush it off and move on to the next project right away. But for me, even after all these years I still can't help but take it personal on some level.

The logical side of me knows it isn't my fault (a lot of things out of our control can cause an offer to bomb) but part of me still feels rejected. And that feeling sucks.

Another suck if you're working for a client with unrealistic expectations, it can suck big time.

Some clients think that just because they paid you a few hundred dollars, or a few thousand dollars, then all your copy should automatically be big winners. Sure you might get lucky and hit it out of the park on the first try, but most of the time it takes split testing to find the right offer.

If you ever find yourself working for a client that doesn't understand split testing, then you should walk away from that client as soon as you can afford to do so. because they clearly don't understand how advertising and marketing works. And you will likely be blamed every time it doesn't work immediately.

What are the beginners' pitfalls that I need to know upfront?

The biggest mistake I see new copywriters make is thinking it's all about knowing how to write.

Many believe if they simply put the right words on the page, in the right order, then sales will magically start pouring in. But in reality, knowing how to write is less than half of what makes good copy effective.

Knowing what to write is the biggest factor.

And knowing what to write comes from understanding the market.

And understanding the market comes from research. Researching the product (to find a good hook), researching the buyers (to see what they're already buying, and why), researching the competition (to develop a good USP).

Research can be boring and tedious sometimes, but the more research we do the less likely we are to feel that suck I mentioned in my response to the other question above.


Another option is to develop a formula, and just start pumping out massive amounts of copy for a product.
If you can pump out 10 or 20 sales pages a day, and split test them relentlessly, then just by the sheer volume you're bound to tap into the law of big numbers and make some sales.

But you'll still need to do some research to understand the market, because even great copy won't make any sales to a market with no interest in the product or service.

Anyway, that's been my experience.
Hope it helps.

All the best,
Steve

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