FREELANCING: HOW TO COMPETE WITH NEWBIES

 

In today’s blog post, I'm giving you my take on how to make it as a successful freelance copywriter today. In the realm of freelancing, there are a lot of copywriters out there hustling for the same jobs you are looking for. In other words, you will meet stiff competitions.

 

Without mincing words, there are two kinds of competitors you'll face in this field, which are the professionals and the new entrants know as Newbies.

 

The first group, the old pros … senior copywriters, many of them A-level and the rest solid B-level, with much more experience and better credentials – a large client list, great testimonials, good track record of results – than you may have.

 

The second type of competition comes from newbie copywriters. And no matter where you are in your career, this big group of newbie copywriters represents competition for you.

 

If you're an old pro, the large pool of newbies gives clients a cheaper alternative to hiring you, putting downward pressure on fees.

 

If you're a newbie copywriter, how do you compete against other newbies with training, skill level, and experience as good as or better than yours?

 

Here are a few strategies that can help you win work and beat out your competition …

 

1.      To begin with, be a specialist, not a generalist.

Specialists are more in demand and command higher fees. They have an easier time getting assignments and have fewer competitors than generalists.

To be a specialist, you must pick a niche, marketing yourself as a specialist in that niche, and master the subject matter.

 

2.      Become a copy cub.

A limited number of senior copywriters hire junior copywriters in some fashion to work with them. These juniors are called "copy cubs," a term I find demeaning, but no one asked me. (To be fair, junior newspaper reports used to be called "cub reporters.")

 

Becoming a copy cub to a big-name, A-list copywriter can accelerate your career in several ways. First, it's great training – one of the best ways to accelerate your progress as a high-performance copywriter.

 

Second, you build a track record and a portfolio you can use to sell yourself to other clients. Caveat: some senior copywriters require their cubs to keep the relationship confidential and do not allow them to present samples or results as their own.

 

3.      Get a staff job.

Get a staff position as a copywriter at a top company in your niche.

If you want to write financial copy, there's no better preparation than to become a staff copywriter at Agora- (Online Marketplace).

 

If you want to write for high-tech, a job as a writer with Microsoft or Dell would be good starting points.

 

For social media? Facebook is the place to be.

 

 Working as a staff copywriter for big corporations for a few years before going freelance, will be a beneficial apprenticeship for you.

 

4.      The Claude Hopkins secret.

Legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins said the reason he earned more than twice as much as any other copywriter of the day was that he worked more than twice as hard and long.

 

Putting your nose to the grindstone can place you in an income bracket your fellow copywriters would envy. Somebody may become a millionaire while still in my 30s, all from his or her writing. And the person can still work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week.

 

Tell me in the comment which strategy you plan to use to get ahead of your competition. Also, share this post in other social media. Thanks!