Treat it like a job · Copywriting Launchpad

Treat it like a job

“If you treated a regular job like you're treating this, what would happen?

…

“I'm asking you. I want you to tell me.”

“I would get fired.”

“Exactly. Just because this is online and remote and there aren't set hours, doesn't mean you can't take it seriously. You are being paid to do a job. And you need to treat it like a job.”

Many copywriters arrive at this line of work because they failed at some other part of life. I know because I am one of them. I flunked out of university my first time around. I was awful at my 9-to-5. Alhamdulillah I found copywriting, took to it, and was good enough at it to make something of myself, even though I'm still 10 years behind my peers. This might be a bit of a stretch but, to my knowledge, it's rare for someone who's successful in a more traditional vocation or life path to switch careers to become a copywriter.

So, because many of them are failures, or have trouble with authority, or can't keep a real job, or have never had a real job, they don't treat copywriting like a serious profession. They don't treat copywriting like a real skill that must be learned. They don't treat freelancing like a real job that must be worked at. They think they can succeed by doing a poor facsimile of work for a few hours a day. They fell for the half-truth of work-life balance. They see copywriting influencers traveling the world, barely working, and allegedly making boatloads of cash, and think that's what they're in for too. They fail to realize the influencer only starts vlogging after they've "made it."

Vlogging about doing outreach for 12 hours and getting rejected hundreds of times in a row doesn't exactly make for good TV. You didn't see the full year where Cardinal Mason was trying to make copywriting work and having little success. You didn't see the few years Matthew Volkwyn wasn't making enough to be a copywriter full-time. You didn't see the year where I was in no-man's land, burning through my savings trying to figure things out, before I finally got my "big break."

And WHY did we go through this period of difficulty? It's because we didn't treat copywriting like a serious profession. We didn't put in the time or the effort required to get good enough at the craft or good enough at the business. This is why I make it a point to never sugar coat how much work is required to become a successful copywriter. It's why I can sometimes seem negative or discouraging. Because you have to to treat this like a real job if you want to get somewhere. You have to put in your 8 to 12 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week. Keep a schedule. Write a to-do list. Dress-up for work, even if you work from your kitchen table. Be a serious person.

Once you're at $30,000/month, then you can start thinking about work-life balance. Until then, shut up and get to work.

P.S. Some copywriters do vlog themselves doing hours of cold outreach 👇

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