Top 5 Traps With Copywriter Training
If you are a struggling freelance copywriter (or newbie hopeful), I write this page from the bottom of my heart, for you, because you deserve to succeed. Why the earnest or concerned tone in my voice? If you clicked on this article, I’m willing to bet that most of you feel way off target with your career and might not know why.
I was once where you are: hopeful, skeptical, lost, overwhelmed, determined, and many other feelings. I was transitioning away from being a service-based small business owner and began navigating the labyrinth of copywriting training options.
I found inspiration with training from online direct-response copywriting courses but quickly discovered that the material and assignments were outdated, with zero application in the modern digital marketing world.
The sales letter is dead.
A never-ending menu of copywriting courses is designed to create analysis paralysis.
And without realizing it, you digest over-promised hype, guidance from inexperienced tutors, and the risk of becoming just another faceless commodity – buried by the smoke and mirrors from “feel-good forums” that dilute your focus from what’s really important.
Sound familiar? Upset about it? Read on, friends. The future of your copywriting career is on the line.
Copywriter Training Trap Number 1: The Circle of Death: Too Many Courses
Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re like me, you probably loved the fact that you saw a ton of courses as an abundance of resources and opportunities. In theory, this mosaic of training courses might help you find your voice, but be warned: multitudes of certificates mean absolutely nothing.
Certificates are not progress with your copywriting business. It’s a smoke screen that keeps you from realizing that the chief indicator of success is finding perfect-fit, paying clients. They are false dopamine hits that make you a shiny-object-addict.
This constant consumption of information lacks real application and prevents growth. When I was a content director and in a hiring position, I often saw an abundance of skill badges on a resume and zero ability to execute when the applicant was tested.
Don’t let that be you.
The Golden Age of The Copywriting Business (#not-today)
I would argue that the Golden Age of Copy was from about 1950 to 1980. In those days, if you could whip up some sales copy focused on the end-user in an experiential or lifestyle manner, you could ask a premium for your wizardry with words.
Those days are long gone. Most companies have internal teams that produce acceptable material (and for them, “acceptable” is good enough). ChatGPT has really screwed you over. Even though it’s not perfect, it’s fast and good enough.
The world that was no longer is. You need to wake up.
As a modern-day marketer (yes, I’ve just given you a clue to the solution), you need to think beyond the written word now if you’re going to expect value from the marketplace. But I’m getting ahead of myself. More on that in a few minutes.
Knowledge Is Not Power
If you’re something of an academic (and you likely are), that’s where you’re led astray. Your greatest strength becomes your greatest weakness.
As I said earlier, overindulgence in courses becomes a trap. It promotes an illusion of progress while the crucial skills of engaging with your market are underdeveloped. How on earth can you create effective, memorable, engaging, persuasive copywriting about someone else’s product or business if you can’t do the same for yourself?
Knowledge is not power.
It’s potential power.
Knowledge, talent, and skills mean nothing if they are not applied.
If you’re at the beginning or going ’round in circles, the best thing you can do for your copywriting success is to get yourself out there, get connected with a business, and pay very close attention to what works.
The ability to extract, identify, and systematize a process that delivers a result must become your new battle cry.
Copywriter Training Trap Number 2: Dated & Dead Foundations. The Sales Letter
When’s the last time you opened junk mail and read a 2-10 page sales letter about anything?
I didn’t think so.
If you find yourself immersed in copywriting courses that teach the “art of the sales letter” as if it’s the secret to your success, run.
Spend about 2.4 seconds getting a high-level understanding of its past significance, but move on and fast. Need proof? You’re reading a blog post. Not some offensively contrived paper material killing our trees and bloating landfills.
Paper isn’t where the eyeballs are.
Copywriting has expanded beyond the rudimentary sales letter, and training needs to reflect that evolution. SEO copywriting, emails, social media posts, web pages, how to be a content marketer, and more are the modern arenas where copywriting powers are exercised.
As a marketer in the 21st century, you need to make data part of your arsenal and skillset. It is your greatest proof that what you do actually works. A testimonial and a pin-stripe suit isn’t gonna cut it.
My entire network is filled with C-Suite individuals and decision-makers from the owner/operator to SMBs. No one runs sales letters – let alone royalty fee structures promised with the teaching of them.
The sales letter’s dominance in so many courses leads novice copywriters to believe it’s the golden ticket to sales and six figures. It’s an outdated belief that paves a path to disappointment.
The focus on an almost obsolete form of advertising in many training programs inadvertently sets aspiring copywriters up for failure in contemporary marketing environments.
Copywriter Training Trap Number 3: All Hype. No Application
Another trap that ensnares aspiring copywriters is the allure of training filled with hype but devoid of practical application. These courses promise the moon, capture your imagination with tales of mega contracts and high-paying clients, yet offer little real-world application of how to really get there.
Courses like these often focus on theories and contain lengthy discussions on abstract concepts. Without any accompanying practice, those who take them remain ill-equipped to handle real-world demands. Consequently, their writing lacks the punch required to move people and elicit responses.
For what it’s worth, I never finished any of those courses. I started to connect the dots, and eventually, I walked away.
Keep your critical thinking intact.
I recently spoke with someone taking some copywriting courses about money-making websites. I asked about the course content. I was depressed by what I heard because, as a marketer proficient in creating money-making websites for clients, I saw that all the essential components were missing.
This person is a new single parent with a few kids. That’s an emergency situation. I had to set her straight. There’s no time for her or her family to make mistakes that will keep her copywriting skills from being monetized.
We had a heart-to-heart, and she’s chosen some copywriting projects that we were able to identify as the most likely to monetize.
Copywriter Training Trap Number 4: Career Quicksand. The Blind Leading the Blind
Nice? Sure. Interesting? Yes. Honest? I have to wonder. Jumping back to this money-making website example, the MISSING PIECE of that course’s story is that the instructor has been doing it for over 15 years. So, of course, those sites are making money. They have the DA and traffic to do it. Nowhere in the training does it spell out, “Hey. You might learn the skills, but realize it will take you more than a decade with what I teach to actually get to where I am.”
And surprise, surprise. The strategies that would accelerate time to success aren’t on the syllabus either. I asked.
There’s good intentions, don’t get me wrong. But so much of the copywriter training I see passes on missteps, misconceptions, and incomplete information to the trainee. When I see things like this, I have to question their alleged “expertise.”
The consequence of practices like this is a generation of copywriters poorly equipped for the reality of the field.
I have a simple solution tool to help you avoid this trap. Take a good look around. At some point, you will realize that nobody in your group is doing any better than you are.
When you find yourself stuck in a group that’s stuck, FIND YOURSELF A NEW GROUP.
Another result of training that comes from teachers who shouldn’t be teaching: market saturation with mediocre copywriters that drive down the value of the writers with real talent.
What’s the best thing that you, the writer, can do?
Push yourself to be the best. Because you’re up against mediocre. Waves of mediocre. With precision and consistency, you’ll eventually break through.
Look at yourself in the mirror. Literally, and ask if you’re copywriting training is helping you stand out or fall in line.
Copywriter Training Trap Number 5: Being the OK Commodity
There is nothing unique about being a trained copywriter or content marketer.
Businesses don’t care. You provide a service that’s available now in overwhelming abundance – and your fees become a race to the bottom.
You need something else.
Start to imagine yourself as a full-stack marketer, not just a writer. That’s where the value is. Writing is but one of the many avenues you should have available in a multitude of skills aimed at helping drive business growth.
What’s the difference between a marketer and a writer?
Most of the folks I know who are successful in marketing have a very specific voice. Many training programs homogenize writers, molding them all into a similar style without harnessing their unique standpoint. Are you being taught how to identify yours?
This lack of originality and unique voice leads to a marketplace filled with copywriters who sound alike, with no distinguishing characteristics, and worse, a perpetual display of neediness instead of value in the marketplace.
Do yourself a favor; never broadcast, “I just completed the XYZ course and have space for 3 clients this month. Who wants one?”
Really?
You just finished a course. Have zero experience and tons of time on your hands, and you only have space for three clients?
The people you wish to serve can see right through that.
So what do you do?
Personal brand building is a crucial aspect seldom touched upon in many copywriting courses. Yet, this is a major factor in standing out in an oversaturated market. A unique tone of voice, a signature writing style, or an exceptional understanding of a particular niche sector can all be differentiators for individual copywriters.
Take the time to determine what makes you unique. It will create the lock and key to your service success.
5-Minute Masterclass in Copywriter Brand Building
There’s quite a bit I can say about this topic, but I want to leave you with some actionable takeaways that you can use right away.
- You Need A Mission Statement: This is your reason for being and will help you sift through prospects that don’t deserve you while attracting those who do. For now, fill in the blanks: “My mission is to [enter your profoundly existential reason to be a copywriter here]. I do this by [the most compelling attribute of your copywriting skills] so that [enter your target client] can do [target’s goal]. If you can say that with force and verve, you are ahead of 90% of the copywriters out there.
- You Need An Offer: Time to get all Godfather Part 1 and craft an offer that your prospect would be insane to walk away from. I wish there was a template for this – but there isn’t. Search your soul. Think about the offers you’ve accepted along the way. Think about the people you want to serve and try to connect to their psychology in a deep, meaningful way. What can you truly give to a prospect so that they can take that magical leap of faith in you?
Will outlining those two things help you find perfect-fit clients? Yes. Is onboarding guaranteed? No. But here’s the good news: If you have an awesome mission statement and a killer offer and a prospect says no, they weren’t right for you anyway.
Keep moving. One egg and one basket are not enough.
Check out this article on branding and other KPIs that will help you get the competitive edge.
My Solution to The Useless Copywriter Training Course Trap
There’s no way for me to sugar-coat this topic. If you’ve detected an air of me being pissed off, I am.
I was a career mentor for copywriters through a writer’s organization I was a part of. I spoke to a lot of folks and quickly observed a problem: overeducation and zero success over a membership with thousands of people. This is across hundreds of copywriters, not just one or two.
Eventually, a few of my more courageous mentees asked me to create a course that would go beyond our allotted 30-minute chats. I didn’t know if I could do it, but I was motivated enough to see people I cared about succeed. So, I put something together. They reviewed the syllabus, and away we went.
The Profitability Process was born.
The mentorship course I teach is prohibitively expensive. It’s ridiculously intense. And it’s filled with more hard truths than this ‘ole copyblogger can fill into an article like this.
But here’s what happens:
Folks come out the other side in 90 days more focused and prepared for success than they ever were for today’s world. Once the course is officially over, I fly wingman as they get on their feet to ensure they implement correctly. Beyond that period, if desired, I offer an alumni after-hours program that targets individual needs in a highly personalized way. We don’t rehash the original program. We look at the road ahead and focus on what’s stopping them today.
There’s no bullshit there. It’s a lot of tough love. The people I’ve taught demand success and demand the best of me to help them get it. There isn’t room for wasted time, fluff, and fanfare.
I don’t do the course often, and I don’t take more than six people when I do it. If you’d like to learn a little more about me and my crazy way of pushing you to succeed, send me an email.
The Not-So-Shocking Conclusion
This article was probably a lot to take.
But it’s your life on the line.
My personal buck stops with the bullshit that gets us nowhere.
When is mediocre unacceptable?
When is it time for you to win?
It’s not to say that copywriter training isn’t important; it is. But more than any course, you need to be your own driver of success.
There’s no room in this industry for second best.
If you leave this article with nothing else, go with this: your success should be measured by the value you get from the market because of the value you bring to it. Make sure you can measure the ways you are helping businesses grow. Don’t ask companies to pay for your creative habits.
There’s a big difference between the two.
You can waste years repeating endless ineffective cycles of actions. Eyes up. Save yourself time that you’ll never get back.
If you suspect your copywriter training isn’t helping you watch the sunrise, only you can choose to do a 180 and start running east.
