Legendary copywriter Clayton Makepeace once said don’t make the mistake of comparing your first draft to his seventeenth. That’s a paraphrase, but it gives you the gist.
You also shouldn’t compare your first year as a copywriter to his tenth… or to anyone’s tenth, for that matter.
It takes time to get competent at something… and then more time to get really good at it… and even more time to truly master it.
And when it comes to making that progress, there’s no substitute for consistent action over — you guessed it — time.
Freelancing Is a Lifestyle
Freelancing is a lot like exercise. You have to put in the work, not just today, but every day for a lot of days to get a great result. It can take a while to gain traction — you have to keep showing up!
One way to do that is to turn the steps you know you need to take into daily habits, so they become part of your lifestyle.
Otherwise, you’ll do what you need to do for a couple of weeks and then decide it’s not working and try something else. That’s a recipe for a lot of false starts.
It’s so easy to feel like the results of your hard work should be immediate, but often, they’re not. If you’re trying to run an eight-minute mile, it can take months of regular running, stretching, and strength-training to get there. And your progress won’t be linear. You might hit 10 minutes one run and then not hit that again for weeks. You’ll experience plateaus, gains, and even backslides. It’s all part of the journey.
If someone assured you that you would be a successful freelancer two years from now if only you would send out a single pitch every day between now and then, would you do it? Too often the answer is no. If you want to succeed, make the answer yes.
Think about the small things you can do every day over time that will eventually lead to big results. Then turn those things into part of your daily lifestyle.
Put in the Reps
Keeping with the loose exercise metaphor, when it comes to good things happening over time, you have to put in the reps.
The best way to become a better writer is to write more. Jon Morrow wrote one hundred headlines a day during his first thirty days working at Copyblogger… and then he kept that habit up. Now he’s considered one of the best headline writers in the business.
The best way to become better at writing LinkedIn posts is to write more LinkedIn posts.
The best way to become better at writing pitch emails is to write more pitch emails.
You get the gist. Once you’ve done something a hundred times, you’ll notice it getting easier. Once you’ve done it a thousand times, you’ll start to feel pretty darn good at it.
Set a Long Goal
I’m a fan of quarterly goals — smaller goals I can work on intensely for a couple of months.
Outlining a book, starting a blog, landing a new client, implementing a new marketing strategy… these are all good quarterly goals.
But it’s also really useful to set a long-term goal… something you want to work on over the next five years, or even ten. Maybe, in five years, you want to be invited to do a Ted Talk… or maybe you want to publish a best-selling book… or maybe you want to transform your business into a multimillion-dollar success.
Whatever your long-term goal is, think about one thing that, if you did it every day, would be crucial to reaching it. And then start doing that thing.
Good things can and do happen. The recipe for success is simple… but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It takes patience and commitment. And time.
Share in the comments what your one new daily commitment will be.
In Case You Missed It…
Higher engagement. More Likes. More shares. If you want the social media posts you’re writing for clients (or yourself) to get noticed, they need one important thing… Visuals. But where do you find high-quality images for social media? And especially, where can you find them for free? In her newest Social Media column, Bonnie Fanning shares some of the best places to find images and photos. She also shares plenty of tips for choosing the best kind of images to grab attention. Give it a read.
Speaking of social media, with the way platform algorithms work these days, you’re rewarded for content that keeps people on the platform longer. And posts you make trying to get people to visit your website… well, they might not get much traction at all. With that in mind, does it make sense to have a website anymore? That’s the question Jonna Jerome tackles in her latest Web Content & SEO column. Spoiler alert: When you integrate the two, you can accomplish big things. Click through to find some great ideas for building connectivity between your website and your social media presence.
With the rise of AI, the writing landscape is changing. But opportunities for writers aren’t going away. In fact, they’re becoming more rewarding. In her most recent Reality Blog, Jennifer Ayling explores how she overcame some concerns she had about writing nonfiction books. And she shares the insights she gained into how writers can make sure they’re standing out, offering value, and making connections. You can check it out right here.
The Reality Blog Challenge Is Underway
It’s not too late to join in our Reality Blog Challenge where you have the chance to become the Digital Copywriter Reality Blogger for 2025.
You can find all the details — including important dates — right here.
You can also watch the Reality Blog Challenge Kickoff webinar where I share all the things you can do to give yourself an edge in the selection process.
And if you didn’t get a chance to listen in to my interview with former Reality Blogger, Suzanna Fitzgerald, go give that a listen right here.
By participating in the Challenge, you’ll sharpen your writing skills… and you might just land a year-long gig. I hope you’ll join in the fun!
3 Things I Think You Might Enjoy
Do you love popups or hate them? The fact is, popups work. But they shouldn’t destroy the user experience. OptinMonster shares examples of popups done right.
The future of marketing is in human-AI partnerships. And the human part of that equation is becoming more valuable all the time. See what I mean in this article from Marketing Profs.
Creating a successful content marketing strategy involves a lot of communication… and not just about your content. Read this piece from the Content Marketing Institute to get ideas for how you can help your clients do more with the content you create for them.
That’s all for now. Have a great weekend!
