“Oh, copywriting is really hard to get into.” That’s one of the most popular things for people to say when they hear you’re interested in the field. But why? And what is that based on?
So, let me start out with a little story. Practically anytime I’m at party or event and I meet someone new, we do the standard “What do you do?” exchange and I tell them I’m a copywriter. And pretty much invariably, I get back, “Oh, that’s really hard to get into.”
Now, most often they’ll follow up with something like “my brother’s friend tried to get into it and just failed miserably” or “my college roommate tried that a few years ago and couldn’t make a go of it.”
So, my first point is that this is all second-hand information—all speculation. That’s the first thing to watch out for. Everyone wants to have an opinion, but it’s pretty rare that the opinion is based on actual experience.
Sometimes, though, the person I’m talking to will say, “Yeah, I tried to do that and I just couldn’t make any money.” So, my next question is always, “Oh? How did you go about looking for work?” And they’ll say they talked to friends of friends or they applied to agencies. And that’s fine; that’s somewhat in line with what you have to do.
But them comes my next question: “How did you get trained to write copy?” And absolutely always, without fail, they answer, “Oh, I’m just a good writer, so I started doing it.”
Copywriting Is Hard to Get Into—If You Don’t Have Training
I’m not trying to embarrass or shame these people because they were doing the best they could, but that’s kind of nuts. I mean, any career is going to be hard to break into if you don’t have training or experience!
Do you think people who just like to draw land careers as graphic designers without learning design principles and building a portfolio? Or do you think that people who like to cook land chef jobs at restaurants without years of learning and experience? Of course not!
What real, working copywriters will tell you is that, yes, copywriting is very hard to break into—if you don’t have any training or experience. If you have no training or experience and apply for a job, you’re up against people who do have training. So, who do you think the creative director is going to hire?
Copywriting is absolutely no harder a career to break into than any other one. But very, very, very few people are going to successfully build a career if they don’t know how to write copy!
And there’s a big difference between thinking you know how to write copy and understanding the fundamental principles and advanced techniques. Features versus benefits, CTAs, and email funnels are just the tip of the iceberg.
So, first, don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you that it’s “hard to get into” or tries to dissuade you in any other way. (People—including our family and friends—are going to have opinions about what you do.Some will be positive and some will be…not so positive. We have more advice on how to deal with the haters in this blog post.)
Either that’s not based on firsthand experience or it’s based on the flawed premise that just because they like to write the world would throw copy jobs at their feet.
Success in Any Field Requires a Plan
You absolutely can be successful as a copywriter. Ab-so-lutely. But the key to being successful is going into it with a plan. You need to have a plan for how you’re going to get trained and how you’re going to get experience and how you’re going to get your questions answered and how you’re going to grow.
(Comprehensive Copywriting Academy students know we’ve put that plan together for them! See just some of their wins here and hear more student journeys here.)
See the six must-take steps to becoming a copywriter >>
Listen to People Who Are Successful at What You Want to Do
Don’t let anyone who doesn’t know what they’re talking sway you from what you want to do. Stay focused, keep working, and look forward to when you can tell these same people that you’ve landed a the copywriting job of your dreams.
When it comes to success in your career, you want to take advice from people who are successfully doing what it is you want to do.
Watch More
Watch this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast to learn more about why copywriting isn’t hard to get into—if you have gained practice and have a system for finding and landing clients. Plus, hear how much opportunity there is for copywriters who have training and experience.
Your Turn!
Have you heard people tell you that “copywriting is hard to get into?” Who were they? How did you respond? Let us know in the comments below!
Last Updated on February 12, 2024
