Questions About Copywriting
Copywriting is marketing and advertising writing. More broadly, it’s a form of writing that encourages people to take action. Rather than being pushy or salesy, copywriters use their skills to connect people with solutions to their problems.
Head to this post to learn everything you need to know about what it means to be a copywriter >>
A copywriter writes marketing and advertising materials. But it’s not about being salesy or pushy. Copywriters connect people who have a want or a need with the company or organization that has the solution to that want or need.
Copywriters can work on-staff, as contractors, or as freelancers. They can work part-time or full-time. In fact, they can craft exactly the kind of career they’d like, working when, where, and how they like!
How do you prove you can write copy when you haven’t landed a job yet?! In the CCA, we teach you how to write spec ads. Spec ads allow you to show off your skills even if you have zero copywriting experience on your resume.
We also help you avoid one major mistake many copywriters make: designing the spec ads themselves. Here’s why it’s a major no-no, plus why you do not need to pay a designer to do this (and how you can work with a designer instead).
And while your building your portfolio, make sure to avoid these common mistakes:
Actually, copywriters should never charge by the word. (Content writers might, but that’s part of why content is such a churn and burn industry.) One of the hallmarks of good copywriting is being able to make an impact using as few words as possible.
Click here for further insight into why you should never charge by the word for copywriting work >>
Copywriting isn’t the perfect career for everyone. And really, *the* perfect career doesn’t even exist. Not even the one perfect career for YOU.
If you’re asking this question, you might be thinking you have to be SURE it’s “right” or “perfect” in order to get something out of the CCA…and that’s just not the case. If you’re committed to taking action, to taking a chance on yourself, that’s much more than half the battle.
Because if you just follow the steps that we give you, you WILL get something out of it. No matter what; it WILL pay for itself many times over.
Watch this video to see how you can determine if copywriting is right for you. Then, head over to this article to see if you have some of the most common copywriter traits.
The short answer to this is yes.
The longer answer is that there really isn’t that much of a difference between copywriting and SEO copywriting. Any effective copywriter is already an “SEO copywriter.”
You can listen—and subscribe!—to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We also have a podcast player on our website!
However, if you want to leave a review, you have to use the Apple platform. Other platforms do not have a review option.
Questions About Working as a Copywriter
There are many ways to use the copywriting skills you could learn through the CCA. Some of our students tell us they’ve used what they’ve learned to get promotions or new jobs in industries other than copywriting (such as communications and PR). Others are using copywriting as a side hustle to pay for a family vacation. With so many ways to use this skill, it’s hard say exactly how many students have built full-time copywriting careers.
Here’s what we can tell you: the number of students who *wanted* to become a copywriter, followed through on the steps to get there, and have NOT met that goal. That number is zero.
Nope! One of the great things about copywriting is that it’s an entirely merit-based career. Once you learn to write effective copy, you’re judged entirely on the quality of your work. If you can write great copy, people will hire you, regardless of what your background is.
You do need to build a portfolio, but that’s one of the things we teach!
A copywriter writes marketing and advertising materials. But it’s not about being salesy or pushy. Copywriters connect people who have a want or a need with the company or organization that has the solution to that want or need.
Copywriters can work on-staff, as contractors, or as freelancers. They can work part-time or full-time. In fact, they can craft exactly the kind of career they’d like, working when, where, and how they like!
How do you prove you can write copy when you haven’t landed a job yet?! In the CCA, we teach you how to write spec ads. Spec ads allow you to show off your skills even if you have zero copywriting experience on your resume.
We also help you avoid one major mistake many copywriters make: designing the spec ads themselves. Here’s why it’s a major no-no, plus why you do not need to pay a designer to do this (and how you can work with a designer instead).
And while your building your portfolio, make sure to avoid these common mistakes:
This can happen pretty quickly! We’ve set up the course so you can practice as you go. Which means as soon as you start learning, you can start flexing your copywriting muscles.
After the first module, you’re already more knowledgeable than most potential clients. You can start genuinely helping them and benefitting their businesses—and, of course, earning income—as soon as you offer your skills.
Of course, how soon you start earning depends largely on your situation. We’ve had students land their first client in a week! Hear more about how fast you can earn income >>
Short answer: No.
In fact, we don’t even know of any degree-granting institutions that offer a specific copywriting degree!
Copywriting really is a merit-based career. If you can write great copy, people will hire you!
Definitely! One of the best things about copywriting is that you can make your career whatever you want it to be! For those interested in freelancing, you can build a full-time or part-time freelance business, or even a profitable side hustle.
Learn more about the differences between on staff versus freelancing copywriting >>
Read more about secret to sustaining freelance copywriting success >>
Or, watch this video to understand the income potential for freelance copywriters!
It’s your career – so you definitely can! You are, and always will be, in the driver’s seat.
We strongly advise not to choose a niche when you’re first starting out. And we have a couple of reasons for giving that advice. Read on for more detail:
How to Avoid the Copywriting Niche Trap
When to Break the Copywriting Niche Rule
Definitely not! Businesses in your local area need copywriters too. Plus, the internet means the globe is your backyard!
Well, theoretically you could get by with just a mobile phone, but writing copy will be so much easier on a computer. It’s one of the very few things new copywriters need to invest in.
Check out these resources for more on the (very minimal) start-up costs for a copywriting business:
How Much Does it Cost to Set Up a Copywriting Business?
Good news: you do not need to shell out a lot of money to becoming a working copywriter. In fact, there’s only one thing you need to invest in at the beginning of your career: a website to host your portfolio.
Big, small, solopreneurs, non-profits, community groups – every type of company and industry needs copywriters!
Nope!
What’s a certificate for? It just proves you’ve paid money for a course.
With copywriting, the proof is in the pudding: An impressive portfolio that demonstrates that you can write excellent copy. And, of course, that’s exactly what we help you put together! No certificate required.
Watch this video to learn more about why you don’t need a copywriting certificate, certification, or degree.
Nope! The very start of your career is NOT the time to limit your opportunities. Besides, how could you possibly know for sure what you want to do? Instead, you should build a portfolio that shows a depth and breadth of experience so ANY client is confident that you could write well for them.
Click here for more details on why choosing a niche isn’t necessary >>
A ton.
All companies all need good, skilled copywriters, and frankly there aren’t enough copywriters to meet the demand. Consider that there are millions of companies and organizations around the world. 538,000 new businesses are launched every month!
YOU only need 4 or 5 clients each month to make a very comfortable, full-time living. So, yes. There’s a TON of opportunity!
Wondering if the market will be flooded with copywriters? Check out this post >>
It’s a conundrum when you’re first starting out because, you *do* need experience in order to land clients. BUT “experience” doesn’t need to mean that you’ve worked as a copywriter! If you can write great copy, companies will want to work with you even if you’ve never had a client before them.
The key is to demonstrate your copywriting skills. And that’s where spec ads come in. We teach you to write spec ads—basically “fake” ads—that showcase your skill before you’ve been hired by anyone.
Learn how to get work with no experience >>
Absolutely. In fact, that’s how most of our students start—even those who want to do it full time eventually. You can absolutely build a career on the nights and weekends and clients will be perfectly happy to work with you that way. Learn more about building a part-time copywriting career >>
Here are a few student success stories!
Pretty darn quickly!
Of course, how soon you start earning depends largely on your situation. We’ve had students land their first client in a week!
As soon as you start the foundations course and practicing the techniques, you’re already more knowledgeable than most potential clients. You can start genuinely helping them and benefitting their businesses much sooner than you think. And that’s when you’ll begin earning income!
Check out this post for more details!
How Soon Can You Make Money as a Copywriter?
It’s perfectly possible for a copywriter to make six figures once they’re scaled up and working full-time. $45-$50/hr is a reasonable starting rate. Here’s the math:
$50 x 40 hours a week x 50 weeks a year (take a vacation!) = $100,000.
And that’s only your starting rate.
It won’t happen magically, and it won’t happen overnight. But once you build up your client roster and fill your billable time… Six figures is well within reach.
You will need a computer with internet in order to take the course 🙂
But after purchasing the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (CCA), the only other cost you’ll encounter is for your portfolio website. This is typically about $15/month for sites that we recommend like Wix or Squarespace.
Other than that, you won’t need to make any other software purchases to build your copywriting career!
Click here to find out how much it costs to set up your copywriting business >>
In general, we don’t recommend trying to write copy in a language other than your native one—it’s just too hard to master the nuances, even if you’re fluent. (There are also plenty of opportunities to write copy in any language, and the principles we teach apply in any language.) That said, it’s your career and we don’t know you personally. So the best person to make this decision is YOU!
Heck no! You’ll waste time preparing proposals that will likely go unread. And you’ll have to undercut your rates just to compete! Best case, you end up working for much less than you should. Worst case, you end up disappointed and disillusioned (like most do).
Instead, we’ll teach you exactly how to find and land clients who’ll pay you well!
Click here for the real match on job bidding site success >>
Yes, absolutely!
The copywriting principles you’ll learn are the same regardless of location. So the information can be applied in other countries. We have many international students in the CCA. Since everything is self-paced, you create your own schedule and time zones are largely not a factor.
Get more information about CCA for international students >>
You can listen—and subscribe!—to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We also have a podcast player on our website!
However, if you want to leave a review, you have to use the Apple platform. Other platforms do not have a review option.
As a copywriter, you are not going to be responsible for putting your copy into design. Graphic design is a whole career in its own right, so we do not recommend trying to tackle both disciplines at once.
At the same time, it’s not up to you to find a designer for your client. Some projects won’t need one, some clients might already have one, and sometimes your client might ask you for a recommendation. Regardless, it’s never necessary to bring a designer to the table.
In the world of copywriting, you can truly build your career however you want. If you want to be a full-time copywriter, you absolutely can! And if you’d rather work part-time, that’s completely possible. Some of our students work full-time as on-staff copywriters. Others have a primary job and write copy as a side hustle.
The course is self-paced and once you’re up and running you can take on as many clients as is comfortable for you. That’s one of the great things about working for yourself!
Questions About the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy
There are many ways to use the copywriting skills you could learn through the CCA. Some of our students tell us they’ve used what they’ve learned to get promotions or new jobs in industries other than copywriting (such as communications and PR). Others are using copywriting as a side hustle to pay for a family vacation. With so many ways to use this skill, it’s hard say exactly how many students have built full-time copywriting careers.
Here’s what we can tell you: the number of students who *wanted* to become a copywriter, followed through on the steps to get there, and have NOT met that goal. That number is zero.
To us, being “filthy rich” means having a job you love, doing it well, and being paid well for what you do. And that’s exactly what we teach people every day.
But we know our company name doesn’t appeal to everyone. Here’s why we’re not worried about that at all:
The system we teach involves copywriters reaching out to companies—not the other way around. This way, our students remain in complete control of their careers. We’ve learned that it’s so much more effective to go out and find opportunities, instead of waiting passively for companies to come to us!
Here’s some more information on how to find work:
The CCA is nothing if not comprehensive. You’ll learn how the ins and outs of tailoring your copywriting based on who will see it, and where. Here is a very basic list of what we teach:
- The fundamental copywriting techniques and tactics
- How to write for interactive media (emails, banner ads, websites, online content)
- How to write for print media (ads, direct mail, sales letters, corporate pieces)
- How to navigate the creative process from kick-off to creative review
- How to work with a graphic designer
- How to build your experience—and your portfolio
- How to find freelance clients
You will also get automatic (and free!) access to a bonus course called “Write for Specific Mediums.” There you’ll learn to write product descriptions, Facebook ads, for solopreneurs, sales pages, webinars, videos, press releases, sales letters, and marketing funnels.
Absolutely! In fact, mindset and motivation are some of the first things we cover in the course.
The Foundations Course in the CCA starts off with the success mindset, planning for success, tactics for mastery, and how to fight resistance – and win. We know that importance of understanding how you work/learn best and mastering how to stay motivated – so we kick the course off with that content.
To learn more about what is included in the CCA, visit: https://filthyrichwriter.com/training
Coaching calls happen twice every month.
- First Tuesday of the month at 3:00 p.m. Eastern / Noon Pacific / 8:00 p.m. UK
- Third Thursday of the month at 10:30 a.m. Eastern / 7:30 a.m. Pacific / 3:30 p.m. Eastern
We host 2 calls each month:
- 3 PM Eastern on first Tuesday
- 10:30 AM Eastern on the third Thursday
Short answer—yes! The CCA is focused on teaching copywriting AND building a business that you’ll love. We cover everything from landing your very first client, to landing repeat work with your very favorite clients.
Definitely! The academy is jam packed with more than 22 courses covering every conceivable aspect of that very topic!
You’ll learn how to write copy, build your freelance business, land a job as a full-time/part-time employee or contractor, build your portfolio, and SO much more.
Nope! All a certificate proves is that you’ve paid money for a course. You’ll demonstrate your ability to write great copy with your portfolio. And we’ll help you put together an impressive portfolio that means more than any certificate! Hear more on why copywriting certificates are bogus >>
There are a couple options for receiving feedback as you work through the course.
- The quickest way is to post your work in our student-only Facebook group. In addition to our Head Copy Coach and specially trained Student Coaches, the group is filled with students who are learning right alongside you. It’s a great place for receiving advice from people in various stages of their careers.
- Each month our team hosts two coaching calls. You can either watch live, or catch the recording. Prior to the call you may send in specific questions for the team to address. And you can also send in your work for review (spec ads, client work, your portfolio site).
- For extra support, you can purchase a one-on-on Coaching package from inside the CCA.
Between the amazing CCA community and our dedicated team, you have access to a world of help and feedback!
Copywriting isn’t the perfect career for everyone. And really, *the* perfect career doesn’t even exist. Not even the one perfect career for YOU.
If you’re asking this question, you might be thinking you have to be SURE it’s “right” or “perfect” in order to get something out of the CCA…and that’s just not the case. If you’re committed to taking action, to taking a chance on yourself, that’s much more than half the battle.
Because if you just follow the steps that we give you, you WILL get something out of it. No matter what; it WILL pay for itself many times over.
Watch this video to see how you can determine if copywriting is right for you. Then, head over to this article to see if you have some of the most common copywriter traits.
You will need a computer with internet in order to take the course 🙂
But after purchasing the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (CCA), the only other cost you’ll encounter is for your portfolio website. This is typically about $15/month for sites that we recommend like Wix or Squarespace.
Other than that, you won’t need to make any other software purchases to build your copywriting career!
Click here to find out how much it costs to set up your copywriting business >>
The Comprehensive Copywriting Academy is very specifically about copywriting. The CCA will help you learn to write copy and then build your copywriting career as a freelancer, at an ad agency, or on staff as part of an in-house agency team. (See below for more information about what copywriting is.)
The Freelance Success Framework (FSF) covers the fundamentals of being a freelancer. No matter what service you’re offering (graphic design, bookkeeping, social media management, web development, or corporate wellness consulting, etc…) the FSF will help you consistently land clients who need your service. The FSF does not teach you skills related to your service provision. (Check out this page for more on freelancing.)
In short: the CCA teaches copywriting fundamentals with a dive into how to start a copywriting business. The FSF teaches you how to turn a skill you’ve already mastered (copywriting or otherwise) into a successful freelance business.
First, we’re based in real-world copywriting work and experience. As you’ve probably seen, there are a lot of courses out there focused on “online sales letters” and other things no one really does anymore. You’ll never land a job or some freelance work with an ad agency with a portfolio full of online sales letters. 🙂
Other courses also tend to make a lot of lofty promises. “Make six figures working from home in your pajamas in your first year!” We’re calling BS on that. It’s perfectly possible to make six figures, but it’s just not likely to happen in your first year. If it sounds too good to be true…it is.
Many of our students spent a lot of money on these courses and got discouraged. They sought out the real training other programs didn’t give them, found us, and are now thriving in their copywriting careers.
Another thing that sets us apart is that the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy is truly comprehensive. We cover all things copywriting: fundamentals, advanced tactics, and skill development. And we also teach you how to build a portfolio, how to land your first clients, how to parlay those into bigger and better paying clients, how to land ad agency work, and so much more.
Finally, we offer a high level of support. All of our students get (FREE) monthly access to expert Copy Coaches via our Coaching Calls, plus additional support in our private, students-only Facebook group.
We’ve designed the CCA to be entirely self-paced. You *could* sit down and watch the all of the Foundations modules for 8 hours a day. In which case, you could probably get through them in a few days.
But we recommend that you take whatever time you need to learn, practice, and master copywriting tactics. Plus, learning to write copy is *not* just about watching the videos. The course contains Action Sheets designed to help you practice your new skills, and a student-only Facebook group to offer feedback and support your learning.
We’ve also made it self-paced sine, well, sometimes life gets in the ay. If a family vacation comes up or somebody gets sick or something else takes over your schedule, you can take that time and come back to the CCA when you’re ready.
Need to make income fast? We have a suggested course order that helps you focus on the exact steps you need to take to learn and practice copywriting and start pitching small business clients. Many CCA students follow this course order and revisit bonus courses on writing for a specific medium (e.g. webinars or sales pages) only once they land the project. The most successful copywriters are continuously learning and honing their craft!
You *could* sit down and watch the all of the Foundations modules for 8 hours a day. In which case, you could probably get through them in a few days. (That’s not including over 22 bonus courses, of course.)
But that’s not necessarily the best way to actually retain the information and learn the skills involved in copywriting. Plus, learning to write copy is *not* just about watching the videos.
The course contains Action Sheets designed to help you practice your new skills, and a student-only Facebook group to offer feedback and support your learning.
We recommend that you take whatever time you need to learn, practice, and master copywriting tactics. The most successful copywriters are always learning and honing their craft!
Need to make income fast? We have a suggested course order that helps you focus on the exact steps you need to take to learn and practice copywriting and start pitching small business clients. Many CCA students follow this course order and revisit bonus courses on writing for a specific medium (e.g. webinars or sales pages) only once they land the project!
Our Free Video Training is a great place to start! It’s packed full of useful information about copywriting to help decide if this is the right step for you. Here is the link: https://filthyrichwriter.com/free-video-training
Yes, absolutely!
The copywriting principles you’ll learn are the same regardless of location. So the information can be applied in other countries. We have many international students in the CCA. Since everything is self-paced, you create your own schedule and time zones are largely not a factor.
Get more information about CCA for international students >>
This is a really tough question to answer. Not only are there so many definitions of “successful,” we’ve taught over 6,000 students over the last decade! We haven’t yet done a comprehensive study, but you might find this helpful:
First of all, most of our team members don’t teach *instead* of writing copy—we teach *and* write. We truly enjoy working with clients and producing great copy. And we also love helping others learn the art of copywriting and helping them build their businesses!
Here’s a longer explanation if you’d like to read it:
Last Updated on September 13, 2022