Getting started in copywriting is undoubtedly not easy. There's a lot of hard work and, even for an experienced writer, there's a steep learning curve.
Just over three weeks ago, after thinking about it for a few months, I decided that I would set myself up as a freelance copywriter. I knew that writing was something that I was good at, as I had often been complimented on my work as an engineer when I needed to write proposals, manuals, work instructions, etc. I had also been writing fiction for a long time.
The tricky part was getting started. I did a lot of research and started work on my website. I wrote some practice pieces and read a LOT of blogs on how to begin finding paid assignments.
Getting work from cold pitches was not something I was ready to contemplate yet, so, having read about them on a few writing blogs, I decided to give some of the 'content mills' a try.
What's A Content Mill?
Content mills are websites where businesses and private individuals buy content for blogs, websites, marketing materials, and even social media posts. Writers sign up, pick up jobs, and get paid. The pay rates are not great, but they are an excellent place to earn while you learn.
I signed up for a couple and was surprised to be rejected based on my sample pieces. Where was I going wrong?
Well, after a bit more research, it turns out that my estimate of my abilities was slightly over-inflated (strange, right?!).
As a writer of mostly fiction, my writing can be too wordy for the expectations of people who want fast copy that is easy to read - according to The Guardian, in 2019, the average Briton had a reading age of 9. Now, most target audiences will do slightly better than this, but it seems that aiming for a 12-year-old level of reading comprehension is about right for most content.
In addition, my ideas on grammar expectations were a bit outdated, and I was unfamiliar with the AP Style, which is an expectation for most content. I remedied this by more reading and investing in Grammarly (this is a great app, and I would recommend it to any writer.)
So, lessons learned, I applied for another content mill and was accepted to Textbroker. Fantastic! Now I could get started! Of course, I'm at a relatively low level there, but now I can get more practice, get paid, and work my way up.
Now that I'm feeling a little more confident, I can start on some cold pitches. I'll let you know how that goes!
So, the journey continues. As I said at the beginning of this post, beginning a career in copywriting is not easy; I've discovered that, as well as the hard work involved, it requires persistence and a willingness to learn, as well as unlearning what you may think you know.
But am I up to the challenge? I think so. Let me know what you think of this blog post, and let's see if I'm making progress!