If you read my article, How Do I Become A Freelance Writer, Part 1, you know my story so I’m not going to get into it here.
But what I will reiterate is that while magazine writing can end up being a useful place to promote your credentials or get some great travel freebies, it’s not a great place to make a living. The magazine industry is really struggling, and even in its stronger days, it was more of a buyers’ market.
What I’d like to point you in the direction is copywriting – marketing writing for businesses. Even with a recession, this writer’s market is hunting for good writers. Right now especially, businesses need to market hard. And to do so they require good, skilled, insightful writers. Best of all, because you’re helping businesses make money, you can get paid pretty handsomely, too.
This kind of writing is not about Ph. D. vocabulary. Quite the opposite. Copywriting requires being able to write as a person, to another person. Some of the most successful copywriters today started out as siding salespeople, carpenters, even grocery stockpersons.
But you can’t just jump into it. There are tricks to the trade and it does require working at your skills. And while there are some books I highly recommend, I think American Writers and Artists, Inc. (AWAI) provides the best place to start.
There courses may seem a little pricey at anywhere from $199 -699, but when you understand that copywriters regularly get paid anywhere between $2000-$10,000 per project, that price starts to look small.
And they are really the real deal. They were created by copywriters who are sincerely interested in helping new copywriters get started. Sure, they like making some money teaching their craft, but they don’t shirk in what they provide for the fee. I’ve purchased several of their courses and each time it’s advanced my business, brought me new clients and new streams of income that have more than paid for it.
And when I’ve had a few questions about contracts or business protocol, I’ve called AWAI up and someone’s either referred me to someone who can help me or provided me with the information right then and there.
Finally, with just about all of AWAI’s courses, they come with access to spec assignments. What do I mean by that? Assignments you do on speculation. You see, once you become an AWAI member by purchasing one of their courses you have access to writing assignments for real businesses looking for copywriters – both general ones and ones specific to the course you purchased. You don’t get paid up front to do the assignment. But if the business likes what you submit they will pay you for the piece (usually about $1000) and you have something ready for your portfolio as well.
One of these businesses is AWAI itself. And not only do you get the job and the sample, but often you get the chance to work with a master copywriter on the project.
Through my work as a copywriter, I know that AWAI has a solid reputation for teaching good copywriter skills. Many businesses recognize the credentials of an AWAI course under your belt. Having networked with many copywriters who have started up in the last decade, I know that AWAI has helped them open many doors and get off to a solid start.
I would start with their most basic course,
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