3 Things Every Copywriter Should Do Daily
The first morning you sit down in your home office as a full-time copywriter, don’t be surprised if this question immediately pops into your head:
“OK, what do I do now?”
Because, as prepared as we think we are, the doing is always surprisingly different than the dreaming.
Today in The Writer’s Life, I want to help you avoid that initial moment of uncertainty with an outline for daily success.
To make sure I cover all the necessary ground on the road to copywriting mastery, I follow a Three-Part Workday. I think it can help you, too, as you plan your daily freelance schedule.
Why three parts? Well, throughout my training at AWAI, I’ve learned that, in order to make money for yourself and your clients while continuing to grow your business, you have to be committed to the following things:
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Copywriting – crafting persuasion.
As Katie and Rebecca always say, “Write every day!” Even if you don’t have a current paid project, write anyway.
Pick a spec assignment from the AWAI website, write a persuasive blog entry, or rewrite ads for potential clients you think could be improved upon.
As a full-time freelancer, I currently write for a minimum of three hours per day. Back when I had a full-time job, I enforced a one-hour minimum in the evenings.
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Marketing – finding out what people want and showing them how to get it.
This is the part of your day where you share your services and expertise with the world, so people know about you.
You can send out the letter I discussed writing yesterday, interact on LinkedIn groups in your niche, and attend networking functions in your area.
I spend at least one hour per day marketing myself. The important thing is that you’re always keeping potential jobs coming down the pipeline and increasing awareness of your business.
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Learning – journey to mastery.
Copywriters are perpetual students of the craft. There are enough books to read by the masters to last you years. There are enough AWAI programs to fill up the rest of your life. And there’s new content being posted on the AWAI website every single day.
Don’t forget to read current promotions that are going out in the mail and by email and study what’s working right now.
Keep learning and keep reviewing what you’ve learned. My goal is to spend at least an hour a day working toward mastery. And, if possible, I’ll always do more.
Before I go to bed at night, I make sure my schedule for the next day includes each of these three elements.
If you’re a person who likes to break things down by the week, you can use this same technique on a weekly basis.
As long as you’re writing, marketing, and learning consistently, you’ll undoubtedly attract clients, sharpen your skills and build a deep knowledge base.
How about you? How can you best divide your time between these three areas? Let me know in the comments section.
Tomorrow, we’re going to go one step further. Not only will you know exactly what to do every day, but you’ll have a clear path to follow from the moment you wake up until the moment you close your eyes at night. I think you’re going to love it!
The AWAI Method™ for Becoming a Skilled, In-Demand Copywriter
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When ever I come accross and stumble on such wonderfull artcles, makes me think, boy why I was born so early in life and came to America so late.
This country is really made up of wonderful, wonderfull people plus aknowledge society.
God bless you, AWAI and it's members and God bless America.
Thanx again for appreciative Good work.
Guest (Habib) –
Thanks for the article.
I am taking the AWAI course and I divide my time by keeping regular M-F office hours.
8:30- 12:30 I work on the Accelerated Copywriter course.
12:20- 1:30 Lunch and exercise
1:30 - 3:00 10K challenge
3:30-5:00 Job boards...
If I get writing jobs I adjust my schedule.
After hours:
1 hr related reading
20 min organizing for next day
4 hours on weekend working on my websites
I plan to incorporate your ideas into my schedule. Thanks.
Guest (Matt Hook) –
@ Habib, it's never too late! At the same time, there are opportunities that have come my way that make me think, "Why couldn't I have found this 8 years ago?" The key is truly believing that where you are right now is perfect. Best of luck to you!
Julie Hassett –
@Matt Hook, you're a man after my own heart. Way to go. Looks like a no-fail strategy to me!
Julie Hassett –
Love this article. I just completed the Live Companion Series, and have created a roadmap to my goals, with these three "buckets" of tasks/activities at the core of my efforts. It helps me to ensure that all my bases are covered as I launch my writing career. I connect my monthly and weekly objectives to specific tasks, make sure all three areas are covered, and then divide my calendar day into tasks reflecting these elements. So far, so good!
Colette –
@Colette - Sounds like exactly what I did (and continue to do)! If you haven't done it already, I would suggest finding an accountability partner who is also a copywriter to check in with every week. It helps so much to stay on track! Thanks for commenting!
Julie Hassett –
Time management is my biggest problem, due to lack of focus from constant distractions of thoughts about other unfinished tasks, incoming messages, etc.
I'm SHOCKED that folks write 3-5 hrs/day and make $$. BUT, that's probably b/c I'm so used to low content mill pay that mandates high VOLUME for $$.
Recent efforts to branch out to more lucrative writing formats means LOTS of marketing. Meanwhile, I still have to live and keep learning my craft.
Any helpful advice? Thanks in advance!
Crissie –
@Crissie - Time management is HUGE. When you're writing, shut down all your email and social media tabs. Even shut off your phone. Tomorrow, my article deals with exactly this topic.
And, yes, copywriting is research intense and very precise, so 5 hours a day is sometimes just about all the brain can handle! And the other hours of the workday are spent researching, marketing or learning. Maintaining focus and balance is key!
But, don't get down on yourself if you didn't get everything done that you wanted to in a day. As long as you got a little bit better or as long as one more person in the world knows that you're a copywriter, you've had a victory.
Keep working and hopefully we'll meet at Boot Camp this year!
Julie Hassett –
Hi Julie,
I am struggling with the Accelerated Program. Particularly, I have done a draft of the restaurant letter but I still feel something is missing. I want to polish it and hopefully post it to the group site for review. I want to do that by Thursday.
I have a big challenge with managing my time. Life challenges are still getting into my way to a desired future.
I am starting on that letter you told me to write. I want to finish it by end of today. Greatly excited to do it.
Christine Muleme –