Timeless Principles on Starting Your Copywriting Career
This legend’s advice is proven to work — no matter what economy we’re in
2009 feels like a lifetime ago!
Netflix was mailing physical DVDs to its subscribers …
No one had ever heard of Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok …
Tiger Woods was the world’s best golfer …
Steve Jobs got to celebrate Apple’s release of the iPhone 2 …
And watching the Avengers team up on the big screen was just a Marvel-lover’s fantasy. 😍
But one thing is eerily similar between then and now …
At the start of 2009, the global financial crisis was wreaking havoc around the world, costing millions of people their jobs, homes, and savings.
It was ultimately called, The Great Recession.
And here we are once again, as we near the end of 2022, entering another recession.
While it’s nowhere near that bad right now, some experts predict the worst is yet to come next year.
Now, I’m not writing this to alarm you.
I’m writing it to arm you with some important facts.
Because again, we’ve been through this before.
And writers, once again, will thrive.
Even when our economic outlook was at its most bleak, businesses still needed to market themselves. Their survival was at stake.
So, copywriters had one advantage over most other professionals …
A financially valuable, recession-proof skillset.
The same is still true almost 14 years later.
No matter what direction this current recession takes, copywriters are better equipped than most professionals to not only weather the storm — but also THRIVE.
Best of all, the formula for success remains mostly the same.
Let me show you …
This article from legendary copywriter Bob Bly was published in Writers Digest in January 2009 — yet it still holds up today.
Bob wrote about eight money-making strategies that would serve anyone well who wants to make an excellent income as a copywriter.
You can read all eight by clicking here to download the full article (we got permission!). But I’d like to highlight a few of Bob’s timeless ideas and principles …
Get these right and you can make money in any conditions:
1) Most of us never win the lottery.
In other words, don’t count on luck.
Copywriting is always in demand. And you can learn it and use your skills to earn an excellent income.
Sure, it takes time and practice …
But our self-paced training programs … in a wide variety of copywriting skills …
Along with higher-level Certification trainings, industry events like Copywriting Success & Getting Clients Bootcamp, mentorship opportunities through Circle of Success, and more …
All provide a proven path to copywriting success.
So, if you’re dreaming of writing a bestselling novel that earns you a fortune, or a screenplay that gets turned into a Hollywood blockbuster, that’s great …
But do that on the side — because along with talent you’ll need some luck that you just can’t count on.
2) Supercharge your income by making one key decision.
Bob wrote back in 2009 that gaining specialized knowledge in a subject area besides writing makes you much more valuable and marketable to clients.
And we continue to beat this drum today.
There are countless niches that need skilled copywriters and content writers — including financial newsletters, alternative health, the pet industry, travel, personal development, and many more.
When you can write AND you’re a subject matter expert in whichever niche or industry you choose …
When you understand the language and jargon …
And you can speak to the hopes, fears, and pain points of the audience you’re writing to …
Your copy and content will be stronger … you’ll write faster … and you’ll get paid more for your specialized knowledge.
3) Stop trading time for money.
If your only path to earning more money as a writer is by taking on more assignments and working more hours, there will always be a ceiling on your income.
Sooner or later, you’ll run out of hours.
That’s what makes passive income so appealing. Passive income comes in continuously, even when you haven’t written anything new.
There are a number of ways you can earn great passive income …
One option is writing sales letters for clients that pay you royalties (on top of your original fee), giving you passive income again and again, without doing more work.
E-books are another great path to passive income. Once you finish writing an e-book — which doesn’t have to be nearly as long as a traditional book — it can stay on your professional website indefinitely, bringing in sales every day.
Or you can go the route of a money-making website that attracts steady traffic and gives you an income stream that’s working for you even while you sleep.
Being able to write something once, and have it make money for you for months or even years to come, is a surefire way to remove any cap on how much money you can make as a writer.
Bob has a lot more to say in his article, too — about maximizing your productivity, appreciating the value of money, using your lucrative writing pursuits to fund the fun ones, and more.
And even though it’s been nearly 14 years since he wrote it, none of his advice is outdated.
Like Bob, his insights have staying power! 🤩
If you’re looking for your first step forward into this world of well-paid writing, go here.
You’ll learn to write an in-demand assignment, while looking over the shoulder of one of our writers, so you can get going, and start getting paid.
And either way, no matter what happens in the economy in the coming months, know that you’re in the right place at the right time …
It’s the exact right time to be a copywriter.
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