For many people considering a career change, there’s always the niggling doubt that they’re not good enough to make the grade. But how do you know? Should you just blindly go ahead and worry about it later, or should you just forget your ambitions and stay in that dull, boring job?
The answer to this one is probably somewhere in the middle. When you’re thinking about your career, going blindly ahead without any thought or research is not the best idea. If you have a family to support and other financial obligations, that would be foolhardy. Any change of direction involves an element of risk. If you don’t take considered risks, you won’t achieve. There is nothing worse than looking back saying ‘if only’.
But, if you’re casting around for something to do and copywriting seems an easy option, then it might not be for you. That’s likely to have more do with a lack of commitment than writing skills. If you’ve read online that copywriters earn huge salaries for doing nothing more taxing than coming up with the odd clever strapline now and again, you’ll be in for a big shock.
But if you love to write and have a good command of the language, then it’s almost certain you can learn the skills needed to become a good copywriter. Making a career change and becoming a copywriter is about more than just your writing skills. There are other factors to take into account.
So, let’s assume you enjoy writing and it’s something you believe you’re good at. Let’s also assume you know it means hard work and you’ll have to take some risks along the way. Here are some tips that might help you on your way to deciding if copywriting is the career for you …
Ignore the sites and articles that promise you the earth and tell you in just two weeks you can be a top-earning copywriter. They’re the copywriting equivalent of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Be open-minded but be sceptical as well.
Read copywriter’s blogs. If you know any copywriters, speak to them and ask what life’s really like. If you don’t know any, go out and find some. If you use social media, connect with established copywriters. Speak to them and ask for advice.
If you’re planning to go freelance, do you know what’s involved in being self-employed? That’s something else to find out about. Are you motivated enough to work on your own, probably from home? If you’re used to working in a busy environment, how will you cope with being on your own?
Perhaps you could consider building your copywriting business in your spare time and fitting it in around your existing job. If that isn’t an option, you’ll have to work out your finances and have an idea of how much money you will need to cover those early months.
Would you let someone cut your hair just because they have a pair of scissors? Would you let someone rewire your house just because they know to change a fuse? No? So ask yourself why a prospective client would put their future sales and business reputation on the line by letting an untrained copywriter loose with their copywriting?
Another benefit of copywriting training is a considerable increase in your self-confidence. The Copywriting Apprentice course is comprehensive and challenging. When you’ve completed it, you will be armed with a considerable amount of knowledge and practical experience. That demonstrates you have not only invested in your future but in your prospective clients’ too.
We have recently been contacted by someone commenting on what they thought was a series of misspellings on the Copywriting Apprentice website. This person kindly got in touch privately to point it out. In fact, the spelling mistake wasn’t a mistake at all. It was simply a difference between UK English and US English. This… Continue Reading
This is top of our frequently asked questions. In fairness, not many people ask us this up front. But as they progress through the course, it’s a doubt that many students confess to. They also say they don’t want to sound daft, so that’s why they don’t ask the question. When you’re thinking about a… Continue Reading
For many people, copywriting is a second career. And like any other life-changing decision, you have to make sure it’s the right one for you. You’ve probably been scouring the web trying to find out what it’s like to be a copywriter and what’s involved. Realistically, nobody can predict your future and tell you that… Continue Reading
A guest blog by freelance copywriter, Caroline Roodhouse of the Word Bird I’m sure there’s no right or wrong way to begin life as a copywriter. I certainly wasn’t armed with a perfect plan. I’d developed a rather healthy network of business acquaintances from previous experiences so I felt confident there was at least a… Continue Reading
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