(05-18-2016, 09:18 PM)heavysm Wrote: One odd consideration came up that I have been seriously thinking about…
A friend mentioned that I might work for an ad agency as a copywriting newby / apprentice in my area. I might only get like $12 – 16 an hour (I haven’t had a day job since 2010) but it would be ONE way I could learn and earn my way into the copywriting world, if only through the scope of a small local advertising agency.
If I were to consider this, I would definitely be setting aside the businessman ego bull crap so I can allow others who know the game to show me the ropes. Even if that job ends up as a dead end gig, it wouldn’t matter since I have the copywriting coaching on the side and I would be a freelancer doing my own thing aside from the job anyway.
I haven’t researched that much, but it’s an option. I’m not willing to take the “holier-than-thou” stance that a lot of my business friends take toward working a normal 9 – 5. I won’t make it a permanent thing, obviously but if it helps me learn and grow, why not?
Hey heavysm
I've been doing some freelance copywriting myself for the last few months for the same reason you are considering it, and I decided to throw in my 2 cents if that's of any use to you.
A little relevant info: I'm currently at $50/hour after I built my portfolio a little and I'm getting enough requests for work to never have to seek them out on my own. Granted, I'm working on other projects too and I can only set aside 10-20 hours a week, but still.
To be blunt - in my experience working with clients is a bad way to learn copywriting, unless you find clients that are willing to trust you completely. Almost everyone I've working with has been very particular about how they want their sales copy, which for me makes it pointless as a learning experience.
For example - just the other day a client paid me 100 bucks for a short sales copy piece... however it turns out they wanted it lifeless and generic, lol. When I said I don't believe that's what they need, she just wrote the piece the way she wanted it, gave it to me for revision (which took me 10 minutes total) and she was completely happy with my work.
To put it simply - when you're a copywriter for a client, it seems to me that more often than not you're selling the copy to your client. Trying to write something that actually sells, while still making it attractive to *your* client can be an uphill battle, in my experience. Which might lead to forming some bad habits in your copywriting if you don't watch out.
If you can find enough clients that trust you and let you work, it can be a good learning experience. It hasn't been easy for me as a freelancer, I'd imagine it would be even harder if you work for an agency. As my hourly rate goes up, I'm hoping that might change though. That's the only reason I keep doing it to some degree. If not... it's just going to be my safety net income.
Sorry I'm not giving you a lot of positive news here, just my experience.
