FAQ
Who are some of your clients?
Some of my past and present clients include: Tai Lopez, Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Robert Kiyosaki, Brandon Carter, Jay Papasan (co-author of The ONE Thing, Jay Baer, Nick Unsworth, and MindValley.
I've also written for many lesser-known offline and online small businesses in multiple niches and several dozen Amazon sellers.
Want copywriting help on your next project?
Go here.
What copywriting books do you recommend?
Before I share what books I recommend, let me tell you what I prefer more than reading books.
Experience.
Nothing beats experience. Experience will be your best teacher.
That being said, here are a few books that gave me some ah-ha moments when it comes to writing copy.
- Breakthrough Advertising (Eugene Schwartz) - Not the easiest read. You will have to read this more than once. If you can at least understand the first few takeaways on Stages of Awareness, you're off to a good start.
- Adweek Copywriter's Handbook (Joseph Sugarman) - Joe has the amazing ability to interweave a personal story with a pitch. His craft of storytelling and selling is what makes him one of my favorite copywriters. This book from Joe is both entertaining and educational.
- Gary Halbert Letter - This isn't a book, it's a website. I'm adding it here under "books" because it's still worth reading. Gary was ahead of his time; he was one of the first copywriters I know of who brought his personality into his copy. He was funny, smart, and highly successful.
How did you educate yourself to work for clients?
I keep myself educated on what clients want.
If you don't know about autoresponders, sales funnels, and VSLs, for example, you'll be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting client work and dealing with clients.
Learn about online and internet marketing, direct mail, and "old school" copywriting also helps you create better marketing for your own business.
Here's a list of useful resources, programs, and websites for improving your copywriting and marketing skills:
- Swiped.co (website) - A collection of both new and old sales copy. Mike, the founder of the site, also annotates the copy with his takeaways. If you want to better understand the mechanisms behind great sales copy, this site will get you started.
- FunnelHacks (online training) - The following four links are from Russell Brunson — a highly-successful marketer who has the ability to make complicated concepts simple. In this training, he'll show you his process for building sales funnels (i.e., a way to systemize the sales of any product or service).
- Affiliate Bootcamp (online training) - Affiliate marketing is a great way to supplement your online income. Affiliate marketing can also be your main thing, if you want. I know several affiliate marketers who make money helping other brands and businesses get sales. This free training from Russell gets you started.
- Dotcom Secrets (book) - This book shares Russell's process for selling online. Even though it's already a few years old (online marketing moves fast), the concepts within the book are still being used today. If you read this book, you'll become smarter than most online marketers.
- Expert Secrets (book) - Russell's latest book is about how to create a cult-like following for your brand. Expect the concepts in this book to last for several years, if not decades.
Favorite tools for your freelance copywriting business?
I don't use a lot of tools.
As I've already mentioned on my About Me page, I prefer simplicity.
When it comes to running my freelance copywriting business, here are the simple tools I use:
- 17Hats (Software) - This is what I use for invoicing my clients. 17Hats has a lot of fancy stuff — like workflows, surveys, etc. — I primarily use it for sending invoices that get me paid.
- Drip (email Marketing) - I love Drip. Drip takes care of everything; from campaigns, autoresponders, and broadcasts; to tracking opens, clicks, and sales (down to the LTV of an email subscriber); to letting you know what URLs are getting the most email optins; to sending emails based on the behavior of your subscribers. Like I said, it takes care of everything. Get a online demo of Drip here.
- Demio (webinars) - Demio is a slick tool for hosting online classes, training, and interviews (i.e., webinars). You can invite people, host replays, and track viewers and buyers. Very powerful, simple, and slick.
- Clickfunnels (sales funnels) - Clickfunnels is the go-to sales funnel builder for most marketers today. There are alternatives, but none of them get the job done as well as Clickfunnels. Not only is it powerful, it's also fun to use!
- Namecheap (domain purchasing) - This is what I use for buying websites. I usually spend less than $10 per domain. There is rarely a time when you should ever spend more.
- Airbnb (traveling) - Airbnb lets you rent a room in someone's home — or their home entirely — when you travel. I like to mix it up between hotels and Airbnb. Hotels are great for service, but Airbnb gives you the feeling of living like a local. If you click this link, you can get $40 in Airbnb credit during your first stay of $75 or more.
- Monosnap (screenshots) - This is a great app for taking screenshots and recording video online. It has an automatic upload feature for hosting your media. There's a free and paid version. I use the paid version for the added features.
- Vimeo (video) - For uploading and hosting videos for my paid program, this is what I use.
Got more questions?
Ask me anything here.