Copywriting: The Massive Definitive Guide (2023)

Here is my Massive Definitive Guide to Copywriting for 2023.

But before you dive in, here’s the deal:

If you make it all the way through this post and follow all of the steps handed you, you can start making money within weeks.

Not only can you start selling your services as a copywriter, but you will be able to:

• Sell affiliate products
• Promote your own business
• Become a maven in your niche
• Write for a multitude of different products
• Consult businesses

As you become proficient at copywriting, many more opportunities will open up for you than you can imagine.

So, how does all of this work?

I thought you would never ask…

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the method of writing marketing messages that influence people to take action. These messages can appear online or in print and motivate readers to make purchases or take some other type of action.

Copywriting pieces can be used as scripts in audio and video formats for commercials.

The people who write these messages are called copywriters, and the work they produce is referred to as copy.

via GIPHY

Copywriting is Everywhere

A lot of people think that copywriting doesn’t matter anymore. Thanks to the Internet, copywriting is even more vital. Almost every business uses online content to promote services and products.

Here are some of the online formats that businesses use copywriting for:

• Blog posts
• eBooks
• Videos
• PowerPoint presentations
• Social media ads and posts
• Whiteboard commercials
• Podcast introductions
• Downloadable assets like white papers
• Online sales pages
• Email campaigns

Here are just a few of the offline copywriting formats:

• Magazine articles
• Print media ads
• Billboard advertisements
• TV commercials and infomercials
• Brochures
• Direct response sales letters (regular mail)
• Radio advertisements
• Scripts for speeches
• Labels for products
• Newsletters
• Ghostwriting books
• Information products and courses

What do Copywriters do?

Copywriters are professional writers who create assets like the ones in the lists above. The most important thing a copywriter can do is to study and understand a specific audience.

Understanding a group of people and their focused passion is vital. Once a copywriter knows who his prospects are it is easier to persuade them to take action, whether it’s making a purchase, reading an article, or subscribing to a service.

Copywriters spend most of their days writing, but there is more to copywriting than just hitting keys on a laptop.

One of the main things a copywriter does is spend a lot of time learning about their clients and customers. A copywriter must understand everything about the service or product they are writing about, and knowing what consumers are looking for in a product or service is very important.

If you sell something using words on a page, researching on the front end is a large part of what you will need to do in copywriting. Once you know about the desires, fears, and ideas buyers have when reading your compelling words, the easier it is to sell them.

A List of Copywriter’s Tasks

If you are still confused about what a copywriter does, here is a descriptive list to give you an idea:

• Writes compelling copy to get readers to take action, like purchasing a product or signing up for an email newsletter
• Performs research about clients’ products and services and learns about all the benefits and features
• Generates content writing that will inform, educate, and inspire readers to help them make a decision or take action
• Proofreading, editing, and stylizing the copy
• Researching and using search engine optimization techniques to help online content rank higher
• Making recommendations to clients about positioning and promoting content

Despite what you commonly read online, copywriting is not a business you can jump into without learning the craft first. Like any other business, you must gain knowledge and experience to make money with this skill.

Why is Copywriting so Important? 

Copywriting has been around since the earliest days of the written word, and if there was a product or service and a means to advertise it, you can bet there were copywriters.

However, it first became mainstream in the 1800s with the advent of department stores. These all-in-one stores became a business force across Europe and the United States. One of the first prominent copywriters to emerge was John Emory Powers. Powers was so good at writing clear, compelling copy that he is called the father of copywriting.

The Industrial Age was a period of mass production, and competitive vendors had to sell their wares by advertising in periodicals and newspapers.

Today, not only do we have millions of magazines and newspapers, but we have millions of businesses on the Internet that need copywriting services. With the number of businesses globally and the marketing media they use, the need for copywriters is enormous.

In the last decade, eCommerce went from approximately $175 billion to over $600 billion – a jump of over 250%! (2010 – 2020 figures.)

All that revenue had to be generated by skilled copywriters who understood the craft and psychology of selling with words.

It is the reason why copywriting and copywriters are so important.

Selling a product or service is much easier and cheaper by using compelling words than any other means.

So, if you’re an experienced copywriter who can sell products and ideas with your words, you will be worth your weight in gold.

What it Takes Become a Copywriter

Copywriting does not require a college degree; all you need to become a copywriter is a lot of desire and the willingness to learn. However, you will need to put in the time and effort to study the art and business of copywriting.

I can’t stand it when I see copywriting course advertisements that show an image of someone with a laptop on a beach.

That is not an accurate depiction of being a copywriter.

The closest thing I ever came to doing something like that was when I went on a cruise for a week (Big mistake). I took my laptop to the ship’s library and sat at a table to write a blog post.

So to become a copywriter, you need to read books, take courses, work with mentors, and practice every chance you get. Copywriting is just like learning a musical instrument; you must practice your craft as much as you can to become a professional.

My Copywriter Journey

My copywriting education began in 1976 while in the United States Army Band program. I had to write program notes for concerts, articles, and other materials.

Creating graphics for these publications was another part of my duties, and one of my airbrushed covers wound up in a museum.

Around 1987, my wife and I designed a product for the Army Band program, and we received military contracts worldwide.

It was my first experience with direct marketing, and I used a Dan Kennedy copywriting course called Magnetic Marketing to sell our products.

Since then, I have spent untold dollars on courses and books on the craft and business of copywriting.

Thanks to several teachers and mentors, I have learned how to write copy for my businesses.

I have also written for other businesses and companies.

Professionally, I have written:

• Website copy
• Speeches
• Whiteboard videos
• Email campaigns
• Blog posts
• Brochure copy
• PowerPoint Presentations
• White papers
• Direct mail campaigns

The kinds of businesses I have written for are:

• Cryptocurrency hedge fund companies
• Educational institutions
• Financial websites
• Startup companies
• eLearning websites
• YouTube channels
• Religious organizations

As you can see, I have written for different kinds of businesses over the years. However, don’t jump into all these categories if you are a beginner at copywriting. You should pick three niches while learning because it is much better than trying to market yourself to everyone.

Blueprint for Becoming a Copywriter

There are many ways to learn copywriting, but I will tell you the fastest way to learn. The method I will show you is the one I used.

Step 1: Focus on learning advertising copy.

Why am I telling you to learn advertising copy first?

If you look at magazine articles and advertising copy, they are very similar.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Look at the Reader’s Digest magazine image below. As you can see, this article uses the same headlines, subheads, and other advertising elements that copywriters use to sell products and services. 

 

Look at the image below. It is an advertisement that ran in a publication years ago, and there are headlines, subheads, and other elements copywriters use today.

Step 2: Take courses in writing advertising copy.

There are a lot of guides to learning how to become a copywriter online. All you have to do to find them is Google the keyword phrase, How to Become a Copywriter.

Some of these blog posts give excellent advice, but if you want a good education in copywriting, you should take a course.

Why would I say that?

I’m a professional teacher with a Master’s degree in Instructional Design. You will learn better and faster by using a well-thought-out course from a professional.

Rather than write a 20,000-word post on how to write advertising copy, I will show you three ways you can learn.

The first way is free, the second is cheap, and the third way will cost you some money.

Course #1 – Make Your Words Sell (Free)

The first course I would recommend is Ken Envoy’s free eBook called Make Your Words Sell.

It is one of the first books I read on copywriting. Envoy wrote this book because he was marketing an online system called Make Your Site Sell, and this free eBook was a free part of that system.

This course is extensive, and it will help you learn the art of selling with words.

Here is a sample of what you will learn from this eBook:

• Why most web copy fails (Chapter 2)
• Getting the basics right (Chapter 4)
• Adjust to your reader’s personality type (Chapter 6)
• How to create and use a Unique Selling Proposition (Chapter 7)
• Pro tips for writing headlines (Chapter 8)
• How to use your new skills (Chapter 10)

There are 251 pages to this eBook/course. If you study it and practice, you will be on your way to becoming a copywriter.

Course #2 – How to Write a Good Advertisement ($11.00 plus shipping)

The second resource I want to tell you about is a book called, How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab.

Published in 1962, it is a step-by-step course that teaches you procedurally how to write sales copy. Schwab was a top-drawer copywriter who had built his own advertising agency.

There are 14 chapters, and they cover the different parts of writing copy logically.

I like this book because it is just like taking a course. There are questions at the end of the chapters to make sure that you understand and remember what you learned.

You can buy a copy of this book used at Amazon for $11.00 plus shipping. Once you have studied this book and Ken Envoy’s free eBook, there is no telling the new heights you’ll hit in copywriting.

Course #3 – Cult of Copy’s Copywriting Mind Map ($99 a month)

The last course I want you to get is by a copywriter named Collin Theriot. (Terry-O is his last name, not The-Riot.)

His Cult of Copy Copywriting Mind Map course is the best I have ever taken on writing sales copy. It is a two-hour video that covers every aspect of writing a sales letter from start to finish.

I have watched this video at least ten times and taken extensive notes.

Any beginner could take this course and start making money writing sales letters quickly. As a teacher who has taken many classes in the past, this is my favorite one on copywriting. Theriot cuts through all the bull and tells you exactly what you need to know to start making money with copywriting.

It isn’t cheap, but it is worth the price because you will learn how to write sales copy quickly.

How to Get Copywriting Clients

Landing clients and getting work is the most challenging aspect of copywriting for most copywriters.

Not long ago, I took a webinar course with a famous copywriter who is a millionaire from his business. I was amazed at what he told us about the averages of people who took his expensive $5,000 masterclass. He told the class that of the 47 people who took his masterclass, only 2 became copywriters.

Why is this average so low? Well, it is kind of like golfing.

I’m not a golfer; I’ve only golfed twice in my entire life. Hitting the ball down the fairway isn’t the hard part of golfing. As a matter of fact, I can whack the golf ball clear down the range with accuracy.

The hard part of golfing is on the green where the hole is. Putting the little white ball into the target is hard.

It is the same way with copywriting. Learning how to write copy isn’t the hard part – acquiring clients is. (That’s my opinion, of course.)

The Two Thoughts of Getting Clients

There are two trains of thought when it comes to copywriting.

Some copywriters will tell you to pitch to high-paying clients from the start. Other copywriters will tell you to get any low-paying writing job that you can.

If you are brand new to the game, you should get the low-paying gigs first, then move to higher-paying jobs as soon as possible.

The reason why you should start with the cheaper clients first is that you need to get some experience of working with them. If you have never dealt with clients before, you will appear inexperienced.

Also, you need to know how to send pitches to clients so that you will be able to approach them professionally.

There are two sites you can use to get started copywriting immediately. It is vital to land your first clients fast, so you can have a quick victory and gain experience.

The first site is Fiverr, and the other one is Upwork. It is easy to get an account with these two sites, and it should take just a few minutes to sign up.

Create a Good Profile

Once you have the accounts, take the time to create a good profile on them. You will need to make it look as professional as possible.
Don’t be afraid to tell the world you are a professional copywriter because there are no requirements for becoming one. There are no degrees or certificates required, so don’t hold back.

Here is a list of profile items you need to display:

• A professional, high-quality profile picture
• A well-written summary of your services
• Any writing samples that you have
• Charge at least $30 an hour
• If you can, create a video about your services

When you send out a proposal, try to tailor it toward their businesses.

If you send a pitch to a real estate company, mention that in your cover letter.

You should keep a file of pitches for the niches you are approaching. For example, if you are responding to ads from credit card companies, keep a file of those on hand.

Keep a record of your pitches when responding to different companies. This way, you don’t have to do a lot of rewriting – all you have to do is change a few words and send them.

Write a Professional Overview

Before writing your overview, you should think about who your clients are. You will need to be specific if you want to be the go-to copywriter in your niche.

Deciding on niches isn’t hard, but it might take time to figure out what market you want to write in, and you will also need to figure out what kind of writing you want to do. (Blog posts, email messages, sales letters, etc.)

Pick three niches to focus on first and expand to more later on. For example, you could choose finance, software, and cryptocurrency companies to target at the start.

When you decide on your niches and the kind of writing you want to do, you can begin writing your overview for your Fiverr and Upwork profiles.

You can also use this overview in your LinkedIn profile.

I got this template from an A-list copywriter, Joanna Wiebe, at Copyhackers. She is an excellent copywriter, and I highly recommend you read her blog posts.

Here is her template:

You don’t have to copy this exactly the way it is, but you can use it as an idea generator.

Another way to get ideas is by looking at other people’s profiles. While reading them, write down the words and phrases you see used repeatedly. You don’t want to use those repeated ideas because you don’t want to be the same as everyone else – write your profile so that you will stand out from the crowd.

How to Approach Copywriting Prospects

Approaching prospects on Fiverr and Upwork is pretty simple because both platforms have search engines with jobs on them.

Here is a screen capture of Upwork’s search function:

As you can see, you will get a list of jobs and how much the prospective clients are willing to pay.

On this particular day, there were 39 email campaign jobs listed. If I had just typed in the word, email, there would have been more results.

Once you find a gig that interests you, click on the little heart icon and save it. That way, you can come back to the job later and send a pitch to a prospect.

After you have saved enough jobs, go to the menu at the top left of your Upwork page and click on the words Saved Jobs.

How to Send Out Pitches on Upwork and Fiverr

Remember, you are competing against other freelancers on Upwork and Fiverr, so you must make your pitches stand out as much as possible. The offers you send should be concise and clear and address the problems the client is trying to solve.

Another thing you want to do is build a good portfolio of work. If you are trying to get gigs writing blog posts for people, you should have portfolio pieces reflecting that kind of work. One of the best ways to write portfolio work for your business is to take a course. Take lessons in writing blog posts, and then have someone critique your writing.

I’m a member of the Warrior Forum, and it is easy to get copywriters who hang out there to critique your writing. This forum is one of the best places to get brutal, honest advice on your pieces. (Admission is very cheap, a one-time admission of $10, and you can use it for a lifetime.)

The last piece of advice I want to give you about approaching clients on Fiverr and Upwork is to be professional by displaying a polished look in your samples, profile picture, and communications.

Getting Clients On Your Own

After your first several months of using freelancing sites, you will need to move into finding clients on your own. If you have been writing for the same type of clients and delivering similar projects (like blog posts or email campaigns), you can start approaching clients without using Upwork or Fiverr.

The reasons why you will want to do this are simple, to build your client base and to make more money.

One of the problems of using freelancing sites is that they will take large chunks of your pay as a commission. Upwork charges you 20%, so if you earn $500, Upwork will take $100, leaving you with a mere $400.

That might not seem like much at first, but if you earn $20,000, Upwork will take over $1500 from you, and that’s before taxes.

Steps to Getting Attention

You need to be everywhere, so here are a few ideas to get you started:

Start a Facebook Business Page

One of the great things about Facebook is you can start as many business pages and groups as you want.  Collin Theriot, the owner of the Cult of Copy, has a massive presence on Facebook.  He has at least four business pages dedicated to his copywriting business and a horde of dedicated followers. So, having a good social media presence on a site like Facebook is an excellent way to gain authority.

Build a Website with a Blog

If you learn how to optimize your site and blog posts for SEO, you can get free traffic sent to you. Having a website will show clients that you are a serious business, and you will have a space for your samples to reside.

You Need to Start Writing

You should write as much and as often as possible, and one good way to do that is to start writing blog posts. I try to book at least 500 words a day. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but getting everything perfect takes time, so a minimum of 500 words is a good measure for most writers.

Get a LinkedIn Account and Build a Profile

LinkedIn is an excellent place for writers to meet prospective clients, and it’s easy to network and approach people on the platform. One benefit you will get from LinkedIn is checking out the people and companies using the platform’s search engine. Target companies with plenty of employees if you want to make more money. When you build a LinkedIn profile, have a professional picture of yourself and list clients and work you have completed. It takes time to create a profile, and you should update yours at least once a month.

Write Guest Posts for Established Businesses

This is a good way of getting attention when you start writing online. Approach established businesses related to copywriting and write free posts for them. After they put your post on their blogs, have them place a link to your site. It is one of the fastest ways to get attention and traffic.

Guest Speak at Business Events

Speaking at local events in your communities is an excellent way to get more business. An easy way to get in front of people is to join a local chapter of Toastmasters. Dedicated to helping people become public speakers, Toastmasters is one of the quickest ways to get in front of people about what you do. Also, if you have any local business events that need speakers, you can volunteer. It is an excellent way to meet local businesses and let them know what you do.

Cold Email Pitching to Prospects

Besides joining freelancing sites, this is the quickest way to get clients. It requires a lot of work and following up, but it is the fastest way to start writing for money.   I will show you one of the systems I use to get clients, but you will probably develop your own method after a while.

You want to keep a record of who you send pitches to. A lot of copywriters use a spreadsheet like Excel or Google Sheets. Here is a free email marketing template you can get from HubSpot.

The problem with HubSpot’s template is that it is time-consuming filling out all of the fields. While pitching clients, you won’t have enough time to fill in loads of data, so my suggestion to you is that you modify your sheet to make it simpler.

Actually, I went a step further and created my own sheet using the tables function in Microsoft Word.

Here is what my sheet looks like:

I have other versions of this sheet; one has a landscape format with the page sideways so more information can fit into the boxes. As you can see, I’ve kept the sections to a minimum so I can fill the sheet out faster.

On the right side, if I get a response telling me to quit sending emails, I make those notes in red and make sure I do not send any more emails to that party. If one of my recipients wants more information or to schedule a Zoom meeting, I mark it in green letters.

The main thing to remember about these sheets is that you don’t want to spend too much time filling them out. However, they are a necessary evil because you will want to follow up several times with these contacts.

Qualifying Prospective Clients

Now we’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of how to approach copywriting clients.

The biggest problem I had when I started was getting the names of the right people and then finding their email addresses. For some reason, you won’t find good information on the Internet about this.

So, I’m going to show you how I do it.

There is an old saying in business, “Marketing to everybody is marketing to nobody.”

If you remember earlier, I told you that you need to pick only a few kinds of businesses to approach. You should also decide on what type of writing you want to do for these businesses.

For example, you want to pitch personal finance companies and write blog posts for them.

Do you see how simple that is?

You do not want to work yourself to death trying to pitch to every type of business. All you will need to do is focus on one kind of business and one type of writing in your pitches to clients.

I’m not saying you won’t pitch to other types of clients and write different kinds of copy, but when you’re starting, try to focus on one.

Step 1: Find the Right Kinds of Clients

If you want to approach personal finance sites to write blog posts, you need to know where to find them.

But wait a second.

You don’t want to pitch to any personal finance company – you need to target the ones with specific criteria.

1. Do they have the money to pay you well for your services?
2. Are they well-established?
3. Do they have more than ten people at their company?
4. Do they have a blog with a lot of posts?

So, how do you find the answers to these questions?

First, perform a google search.

(In this example, I performed a Google search for personal finance blogs.)

The first several listings are pure gold!

Why?

You will notice that the first listings are ads. These sites have personal finance blogs and the capital to pay for Google advertisements.

Google ads are not cheap, so anyone paying for them has money for marketing and a copywriter.

Next, take a look at the company blog. If they have a lot of posts, you know they embrace the idea of content marketing. You don’t want to approach owners who don’t have a content marketing plan in place. You are a copywriter and don’t have time to convince people they need a blog.

Usually, convincing a business owner to start a blog is a losing battle, so don’t waste your time.

You will also want to check out their About page to see how many people they have on staff.

Sometimes, if you can’t find the About page at the top of the site, you can scroll down to see if they listed it at the bottom. The About page usually talks about the staff.

But wait for a second!

This website has a Meet the Team page, and when you click on that link, you will find an entire page of staff members.

How to Find Editors and Content Managers Using Google Search

If you can’t find staff members’ names on the company’s website, I have another hack for you: perform a Google search.

In Google’s search field, type in something like this: Content manager for XYZ company.

You can perform a search for the marketing manager or editor too.

Here is a listing from a Google search I did for the editor of NerdWallet:

As you can see, the names of the editors associated with NerdWallet are displayed. So, in this case, there are several editors you could send a cold pitch to in an email.

(I will show you how to find the email addresses of these professionals later in this post.)

You will see many LinkedIn listings for the managers you are researching. You need to click on those because their profiles will lead you to other important people in their companies.

If you can’t find who you are searching for, you can also search for the CEOs, owners, and founders.

Some professional copywriters I get advice from will tell you not to approach the owners or CEOs. However, I disagree.

One of the last gigs I got was from a CEO who referred me to her content manager.

Do Not Approach Puny Companies

If you want to start making decent money copywriting, do not target small businesses. Copywriting is a way to market a business, and new and small startups usually do not understand marketing or are new to it.

Educating and motivating new entrepreneurs about how they should promote their businesses is hard, and you will bang your head against the wall working with most of them.

Another reason why they are not prospects to pursue is that they lack capital. The only exception to this is a company that has raised enough money to get started.

Many copywriters will search a website like Seed Invest to see which startups have raised enough to launch their businesses and can also check them out on LinkedIn.

But if a company doesn’t have much money or has a small staff, it is not worth the time to pitch them your services.

When I started my copywriting business, a man approached me for my copywriting services, and he had previously had a multimillion-dollar mattress business and was trying to rebuild it.

He asked me to write copy for him for free and that he would pay me after the money started rolling in.

(As a matter of fact, he was begging me to do it.)

I declined his offer because my business doesn’t run on promises; my business runs on cash.

And more recently, I had a Zoom call with a young man who was a sole proprietor without a staff who needed someone to write blog posts for him.

However, he wanted me to do SEO research for him to prove that I could find the right keywords for his blog.

No thanks.

He can do his own research.

I don’t work in his business every day – he does, and at this point in his business, he should have had a content marketing plan finished with all that information in place.

The moral of my stories?

Only pitch companies that have money and don’t take a pee without getting paid.

How to Find the Email Addresses of Decision Makers

So far, you should know where to look for clients that have money to pay you. Now you need to find their contact information.

It is time-consuming trying to find a client’s contact information, but once you have a system in place, your ability to find email addresses will get easier.

Let’s say that you want to write for eLearning companies. If you remember earlier, I told you to go to the bottom of a company’s home page to find out if they have a list of staff members.

Look at the Menu Titles

In this example, I want to write for the eLearning company, CourseHero.

I looked at the top of their home page and didn’t find much, so I scrolled down to the bottom and found several menus. Usually, the About page is where you will find a list of the top people in the company. (CEOs, Owners, Marketing Managers, etc.)

However, in this case, all that Coursehero’s About page had was some general information.

So I looked at the menu again, and guess what I found? A page called Leadership.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

When I went to the Leadership page, I found pictures and writeups about the big shots at the company.  Next, I started to look for one who had a description involving marketing.

Sure enough, I found a lady with something about branding in her description, and the title Chief Branding Officer is a marketing title, so I could deduce that she was in that capacity.

Sometimes when you click on a person’s picture on a page like this, you can get their email address. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. In this case, the only thing that happened when I clicked on her picture was a more elaborate description displayed.

Finding the Coveted Email Address

Once you know the name and title of the person you want to approach, you need to get their email address.

I have read a lot of prospecting advice from copywriters about prospecting, but I rarely see any advice that will tell you how to find email addresses.

So, I’m going to tell you how I find them.

Is it easy?

Nope.

Is it fun?

Not really.

Is it time-consuming?

Some days it takes me 90 minutes to get ten good email addresses. But if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Try These Email Combinations

The first thing you want to do is start testing possible email formats.

80% of the time, email addresses follow this format:

First Name + Website URL

In this case, the professional’s first name is Harriet. So, here is what the email address might be:
harriet@coursehero.com

There are other email combinations you can try:
(Put the company’s .com, net, or .org after each combination.)

Use Free Email Validators

I’m a cheapskate. I don’t blow money on tools unless I have to. So, I use as many free online tools as I can.

One of the free tools I love to use to see if I have a good email address is Google’s Gmail.

If you don’t have a Gmail account, you need to get one, even if you only use it as a secondary account.

You can check to see if a professional has an email account using Gmail by clicking the compose button on the upper left side. Once in the email composition field, paste the email address you want to check into the To: field.

If it is a good email address, you will see a picture of the person and more details about them when you hover your cursor over their email address.

So I used another email validator to find out if it would work. The reason why I used the Gmail method first is that it is free. The other site I use to check email addresses is called Email Checker.

If you use Email Checker more than 5 or 6 times within an hour, it won’t let you check any more of them.

Don’t worry – there are other free email checkers you can use online.

When I placed the Branding Officer’s name into Email Checker, it confirmed the address.

The Other Free Email Checkers

I told you that there were other free email checkers at your disposal.

Each validator has a limit on how many times you can check them in a day or hour. But if you use four or five of them, that will be plenty.

Here is a list of the ones I use:

Email Checker – This is the one I use a lot. It will let you check several times in an hour and then resets.

Verifalia

Zero Bounce

Quick Email Verification – This email validator will let you check up to 100 free emails per month.

Another free tool you can use is called Hunter.io.

Hunter is a tool that will display all the email addresses associated with a website. It is easier to use the Hunter extension if you use Google’s browser, Chrome. All you need to do to use Hunter is go to its website and log in, then drop the target web address into Hunter’s search window.

Automatically, you will see the results:

You can see by the example above Hunter will show you the names and titles of the people who own the email addresses. As I mentioned earlier, you should look for professionals who are editors, content managers, or marketers.

If you cannot find those names, email a CEO or other executive.

If you come up dry, look for a sales professional. Sales employees love to help, so you can email and ask one of them for help. You should politely ask for the email address, name, and title, and you will be amazed at how helpful these professionals can be.

If you are dying to write work with a company and can’t find contact information, you can always call the company and ask for help. You will find it helpful to look at a company’s contact page, and not only will you find a way to contact the business, but it will also tell you how well-established the company is.

How to Send Pitches to Prospective Copywriting Clients

You are now at the point where you can start sending out pitches and begin making money.

I know you are dying to start, but believe me, all of this preparation will pay off.

This section will teach you enough about approaching prospective clients that you could get started today if you wanted to.

The easiest way to write pitches is to have a template.

The example I’m sharing is a pitch I used to get a contract with a company.

(The names are blurred because I don’t want readers bothering my clients.)

I have numbered the sections to show you what you need to write.
Yes, this example looks simple, but don’t let that deceive you because sometimes writing simple stuff is more challenging than rambling on and boring your prospect.

An Important Point About Pitching Clients

You will want to pitch clients daily because it takes time to land them.

Usually, it’s not a one-and-done pitch.

It took me several months to get the owner to respond to my query, and I had to send several follow-ups before she got back to me.

And by the way, for every 100 pitches I send out, only one may respond.

Owners and editors of companies are like fish.

You can catch five fish on a particular day and, the next, come up empty-handed. It could be that the water is too rough, too warm, too late in the day, or you may have the wrong bait.

Who knows, except the fish, right?

It’s the same with editors – they might not respond to you because they have a lot of work or are finishing other projects. The reason could be that the holidays are rolling around, and they are thinking about their families.

So, you have to go back and fish some more; you may not have caught your fish on Monday, but on Thursday, they are biting.

The Email Template for Getting Copywriting Clients

Here is the template I use to approach clients.

Here is the email in text format:

To: Laura Whatshername From: Mark Elmo Ellis – You’re Not Selling XYZ Company Too…Are Ya?

Gather Background Intel First

In many cases, I send longer pitches, but it depends on the client and their business.

I’ll show you what I mean in a minute, but first, let’s go over this example.

Take a look at  #1 in this message.  You want to have an eye-catching subject line for your email.

The most effective way to do that is by mentioning something about them.

Sure, there are a lot of different subject lines you can use to grab a reader’s attention, but we are sending email pitches to professionals who may need to contract your services.

So, I usually investigate the people I am pitching. That’s right – I dig up a bit about their background before I send them my message.

In the case of this email pitch, I found out that the owner had sold a previous company that she owned.

How did I get this information? Simple, I Googled her name like this:

article by Laura Whatshername

You can also find out about people by Googling this way:

Interview with Laura Whatshername

And one of the articles I found was an interview where she talked about selling one of her companies. So, I used that in my subject line.

As you can see, I wrote in the subject line: You’re not selling XYZ company too, are you?

Try to Find Some Common Ground

Many emails you receive have your name in the subject line, and it is a common practice to send them out that way.

But think about this: how many subject lines do you receive that know something about you and your life?

Not many, right?

I advise you to research your target editor, owner, or CEO before you send your pitch and find something to say.

You can even look for common ground.

I recently sent a pitch to an executive in Wisconsin. My dad was from Madison, so I included something about that in my email. Sending personalized emails is easy and will increase the chances of getting them opened.

A good example of this can be seen in section #2.

I just finished your post on how you sold your company, XYZ.  What an interesting read!  Thanks to your post on Medium, I now have another pile of books to read.  So, Thanks a lot! (Please add a dash of sarcasm. Ha-hah!)

In this section, I told the recipient I had read her article and then complimented her. I also mentioned what I liked about it so she could see that I read it.

You don’t want to write, “Hey, I read your article.” because anyone could have written that. Write something short that proves you read the article if you can.

How to Introduce Yourself in a Pitch

In section #3, I introduced myself very briefly.

I’m a freelance copywriter who lives on the fringes of the bluegrass, and I would love to write for your company, XYZ.

Some copywriters send out pitches where they talk about themselves at the beginning of the message, but that’s not a good strategy. You will want to catch their eye by talking about THEM and not yourself.

In this pitch, I added a bit of personality to it by telling them something about myself. As you can see, the writing is as concise as possible.

Don’t brag about how great you are because if you work for them, they’ll expect a home run in every sentence.    I’m not telling you to do substandard work, but even professional ball players have off days when their game is not perfect.

Another thing to do is mention their company again in your email. You don’t want your email to look like a cut-and-paste template you send to everyone. So it is a good idea to use their name or company name more than once in your pitch.

Popping the Big Question

OK, now we are at the point in your email where we pitch our copywriting services.

But before I get to that, how about some inspiration?

I know that some of you may have butterflies in your stomach when pitching your services, but you have nothing to fear but fear itself.

I’m extroverted, so I have no problem sending these emails to big shots.

Once again, all you have to do is keep it simple like I did (#4):

Do you have any email marketing content needs?

I specialize in email marketing campaigns for coaching businesses and related digital products.

(I’m also an expert at writing blog posts.)

I was promoting my email marketing and blog writing services in this email, so I talked about those services. If I wanted to sell my sales letter writing services, I would have mentioned that instead.

Also, you’ll notice I started this section with a question.

I did this for two reasons.

First, I wanted to break up the conversation with a question rather than a series of statements.

Second, it activates your reader’s brain and engages them in the conversation. Anything you can do to get them involved in your pitch, the better off you are.

Also, I used this line:

(I’m also an expert at writing blog posts.)

I do realize that I probably sound like I’m braggadocious about writing content, but I do want to be confident.  I could have used different wording, but if you appear too timid, it will come across.

So, if you are confident about some aspect of writing, put it down; don’t go on and on about how great you are.

Once again, keep it short and easy to understand.

Once you tell your prospect about your abilities, you should provide samples of what you can do for them. The best thing to have is a portfolio of work (#5).

But if you have just a few writing samples, that will be fine.

Don’t Make This Amateur Mistake

Warning: Do not send attachments of your work to content managers, editors, or other professionals because it will smell like a rank amateur.

Why?

Professional editors and content managers don’t want to get viruses in their email messages. If they see an attachment in an email, they won’t open it, and I have had editors tell me not to send attachments even after they have known me for years.

You will need a place to store your work and share the information with them that is safe from viruses.

One of the best ways to do that is to use Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/) or another service.

(My portfolio is on my site, so I share the links of my work from there.)

As I mentioned earlier, I change up these pitches depending on the kind of company and individual.

Another Example You Can Learn From

Here is an example of another one I sent:

Hey Perry,

Man, I love Utah so much I’m just looking for a reason to come over there. My son was stationed at Hill Air Force Base and we went hiking in your state as much as possible.

I was looking at some of Orange Dog Advertising’s blog posts when I noticed your name on most of them. It must be difficult to run a successful company like that AND create all of that content for it. I also watched your video on MailChimp automation – I love that email platform and use it daily, but I haven’t used the automation functions, so thanks for creating a video that explains it.

I’m a freelance copywriter, living on the fringes of the Kentucky bluegrass, and I would love to write for your company, Orange Dog Advertising.

Do you have any email or content marketing needs?

I specialize in email marketing campaigns for small to mid-range companies.

(I’m also an expert at writing blog posts and sales pages.)

Here is a series of emails I wrote for an online company as well as my portfolio:

Email Series for Online Course

It’s totally cool if you don’t use email or content marketing, but I do appreciate your consideration.

If you’re interested, it would be great to run a few ideas by you.

When’s the best time to discuss these? We can talk by cell phone or a Zoom call.

Thanks!
Mark Elmo Ellis
Copywriter Supremo
ElmoCopy.com

Conclusion

Now, it’s time for you to do the most important thing – take action. Many people want to become copywriters, but few will give it a good shot.

Like any other business, it takes a lot of work, persistence, and patience. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true. The beauty of the copywriting business is that you can get started for nothing. You don’t need a lot of capital, just a desire to study, practice, and promote yourself.

And you don’t have to start as a freelance advertising copywriter and compete with a lot of competition. You can begin as a blog post writer or email campaign writer and later expand your skills into advertising copy.

If you decide to become a copywriter or are already one, we would love to read your comments in the boxes below – it would make our day!