Establishing Faith

I had a book manuscript to prepare and some articles to build, so my blogging has been neglected. I know, I have to stop that. I'll work on that ...

In a recent five-part article series I introduced my idea of the B.I.G. attitude.

Basically, it's my idea of how you have to approach this career field in order to stay on the path when you first start out. You're up against a lot of roadblocks to your success. Starting a freelance writing business of any sort is not easy for many. Family and friends don't understand the need to work this way, and they don't understand that you CAN work this way. There's not a whole lot of belief in being able to make a living by staying home and working on your own schedule - in some cases, only a few hours a day.

I guess that means for you to adopt the B.I.G. attitude, you first have to find faith. No, not religious faith. Faith in that this job field actually exists, that people actually do make a living at it, and that it's possible for you to do it too.

How do you do that?

You learn about the job field. For instance, if you want to start your own freelance business dealing in direct mail copywriter, find who are the top copywriters making their living in direct mail right now. Most have blogs. Most also teach other copywriters. Many of those copywriters take on so much business that actually hire other freelance copywriters to work with them.

Many share little tidbits of information that help you gain knowledge about what type of marketers you'd be targeting. Many publish newsletters that you can sign up for.

Do the research. Find out what copywriters really grab you in their blogs and websites. Sign up for their newsletters. See if they have free downloads available.

To build your faith in this business, there's a few resources I suggest getting.

Master copywriter, Bob Bly, has a book that breaks the areas down wonderfully. It's call THE COPYWRITER'S HANDBOOK. If you're low on money, have your library get it in for you through interlibrary loan.

Go to youtube.com and punch in copywriter names into the search. Look for writers like Bob Bly, John Carlton, and Ray Edwards. There are some pretty clear and informative clips with them that will help you understand what a copywriter thinks about, and what type of help you'll find at a seminar with them.

In addition, check out a few copywriter's message boards. Look at what copywriters talk to one another about and visualize talking with those individuals. Join a few and start meeting these people.

Perhaps you need to check out a copywriting course to boost your faith. You can find courses in low to high price ranges, depending on the teacher and content.

In the low range, I suggest Alice Seba's Copywriting Sweetie course. Her courses are jam-packed with information and very easy to follow. You can get the course without the software for $47.95 or with the software for $77.95 at http://www.copywritingsweetie.com/.

In the high range, I suggest AWAI's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting that's available at http://www.awaionline.com/copywriting/learn/make-six-figures/ for under $500 or payments of $39 per month.

(Neither of the above links are affiliate links.)

Alice Seba's course will show you the basics and how to apply them to any sales letter you create. AWAI's course has more master copywriters contributing to it, and will go into more detail. Look at the sales letters on these pages for examples of what you'll learn with their courses.

Building and sustaining your faith in this business, while dealing with the uncertainty of life and skepticism from others, takes positive energy. You need to get that from other copywriters sharing their successes. Sometimes it even takes you being 'overly excited' about being a copywriter to keep the momentum going. If you need to get emotionally supercharged about building your career to keep yourself moving forward and not give up, then do it. Participating with others and learning about all the pros and cons involved will give you this energy. Other copywriters understand this need and will project it to you, even when they suffer a failure. They will project to you how to learn from it and come out even better and stronger - and how to be enthusiastic about the next project.