It sounds like that author was a wise man! We absolutely agree that copywriting can be a wonderful career (or side hustle).

Hi Britta,

That’s a great question, and one that we get a lot. We don’t generally recommend trying to write in languages other than your native language. There are so many nuances, idiosyncrasies, and constantly evolving slang terms in each language that even some native speakers have a hard time keeping up.

You’re in charge of your own career and if you feel that you utterly and completely mastered another language then we’ll leave it to you to decide, but just please note that you’ve been warned. 🙂

I also wouldn’t discount writing copy in your native language/country. Every organization and company needs good messaging, not just the English-speaking ones. 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Love your post! Thank you for sharing so many tips and insights.

I recognize myself in a lot of the traits you mention, so that’s a good start.
I have a background in language arts and communication, but I am not a native English speaker. Would that be a problem to find work copywriting in English?

Thanks for your feedback.
Britta

Hi Amy,

You absolutely don’t have to live in the US to be a successful copywriter – we have students from all over the world! Here’s a page we put together to help answer questions you may have: https://filthyrichwriter.lpages.co/international-faq/

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi Rose,

A copywriting career is really just about the writing, though it can involve collaborating with designers to create pieces. (But not designing yourself.) If someone has both skill sets they could market themselves that way, but it’s not many people that truly excel at both writing and design – people tend to be either more visual or more verbal. 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi Kevin,

Well, you can’t really simplify copy’s effectiveness into a formula, unfortunately. For example, some copy might be designed to change or influence an opinion about a company (on an About Page or in a branding ad) so conversion and profit wouldn’t directly, and some copy is used to encourage people to take an action that you can’t *directly* tie profit to, like signing up for a newsletter or attending a free event. Also, the industry standards for conversion are different depending on which kind of conversion you’re talking about and the audience – for example, making a purchase from an email funnel is *generally* going to be around 2% but that also depends on the warmth of the audience. Email open rates will vary greatly depending on which email it is in the a funnel (welcome email open rates are especially high) and what the content of the funnel is (as conveyed by the subject line).

So, long story short the metrics for effectiveness/”success” are going to vary from project to project. Does that make sense?

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

If one uses, as a formula for copwriting success: Ad Copy Success = % conversion + % profit

what numbers would you fill in and why?