Quote: (10-06-2015 09:52 AM)thirty-six Wrote:
I'd steer clear of paying for any online course. Here's my advice to any beginner who wants to get started in copywriting: Make a website, write some very nicely designed (get a graphic designer to do the art/layout) spec pieces that have strong/catchy "concept" for the popular industries, and network.
There's no real "right" way to break into the business. I know of guys who have used 36's method to great success. I know of guys who have cold-called their way into gigs. I know guys who have booked their first gigs based on ads on Warrior Forum, and guys who work the freelance sites.
For me, the key to the course/mentorships I took were the confidence they gave me to go out and solicit clients. When I first started copywriting, I had zero contacts and a few books to guide me. I found the paid stuff pretty edifying--I still even go back to the materials from my mentor every now-and-then when I hit a brick wall.
That's not to say the mentorship route is for everyone--it's pretty expensive when you're starting out, if nothing else. But you're going to have to invest either time or money to get "up to speed." I figured if I invested money up front, it would boost my rates and thus be a good investment down the road. I was proven right. But it's definitely possible to use the Halbert method or read a bunch of books to get there...I just don't think many guys are deep down willing to put in the effort.
And it's not like classes/mentorships don't require effort, either--there are regular homework assignments for both, at least for the helpful ones. But you'll have someone who knows what he's talking about to steer you in the right direction, cut you off if you're not on the right track.
One other thing to consider--essentially, becoming a copywriter requires becoming a graduate-level psychology student. Not in the "chick who doesn't know what she wants to do so she regurgitates a lot of the professor's psycho-babble bullshit" sense, either--we're generally talking taking a red-pill view of the world, examining a demographic, and selling them on what they want to hear.
You can learn this through sheer brute force repetition and examination, like Gary Halbert's method. Sometimes it helps to have someone with experience to help guide you through helpful triggers and structure, among other things. Again, to each his own.
Long-winded way of saying I preferred the class/mentor route, but if you're willing to put in the work, the Halbert/self-study method is equally valid. All depends on how you learn.
-Vigo