How To Become A Copywriter With NO Experience

Summary

In this video, Alex addresses the common dilemma faced by aspiring copywriters: how to build a portfolio without prior experience. Alex offers five practical tips to overcome this challenge, including conducting an experience and skills round-up, joining a practical copywriting program, rewriting or critiquing existing copy, starting a blog, and customizing your portfolio for each client. The video is a valuable resource for those looking to break into the copywriting industry and build a strong portfolio from scratch.

Takeaways

• 🔄 **Experience & Skills Round-Up**: Recognize and leverage your existing skills and experiences that can be related to copywriting, even if they're not directly copywriting roles.
• 🎓 **Join a Practical Copywriting Program**: Enroll in courses that provide hands-on experience and allow you to create copywriting samples to add to your portfolio.
• 📝 **Rewrite or Critique Existing Copy**: Offer to rewrite or critique existing copy for potential clients as a way to showcase your skills and gain experience.
• 💼 **Start A Blog**: Create a blog to demonstrate your writing abilities, even if it's not directly related to copywriting, as it can still highlight key copywriting fundamentals.
• 💡 **Customize Your Portfolio**: Personalize your portfolio for each client, ensuring it's relevant to their industry and includes a personal note explaining your interest in their brand.
• 📧 **Keep It Clean and Simple**: Use accessible formats like Dropbox or Google Drive for sharing your portfolio and ensure it's easy for potential clients to access.
• 🌟 **Highlight Unique Value**: In your portfolio, emphasize what makes you unique and why you're excited about the brand, showcasing your understanding and passion.
• 📈 **Showcase Learning and Growth**: Include highlights or lessons learned from your experiences to demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement.
• 📝 **Be Honest About Your Experience**: Be transparent about your current skill level and experience; many clients value the potential for growth in new writers.
• 🔗 **Use Online Platforms**: Utilize online platforms to share your portfolio and make it easily accessible to potential clients without overwhelming them with attachments.

Q & A

What is the main challenge freelancers face when starting out in copywriting?

The main challenge is the catch-22 of not having a portfolio to showcase to potential clients, and not being able to get clients without a portfolio.

What is the first tip Alex suggests for building a copywriting portfolio without experience?

The first tip is to do an experience and skills round-up, which involves recognizing and leveraging any related skills and experiences that can be added to a portfolio.

Why is it important to consider non-copywriting experiences when building a portfolio?

Non-copywriting experiences can showcase related skills such as research, ideation, and communication, which are crucial in copywriting and can demonstrate one's ability to potential clients.

What is the role of a practical copywriting program in portfolio building?

A practical copywriting program helps in writing actual copy that can be used as portfolio samples, even if they are not from paid work, by providing techniques, templates, and opportunities to practice.

How can offering free copy editing or critique to companies help in building a portfolio?

Offering free copy editing or critique can get the attention of potential clients and lead to paid work, which can then be added to the portfolio as experience.

What is the significance of starting a blog in a copywriter's portfolio building process?

Starting a blog is significant as it allows showcasing writing abilities, understanding of hooks and headlines, and can serve as a reliable writing reference even for non-content writing roles.

Why is it important to customize a portfolio when sending it to potential clients?

Customizing a portfolio ensures that the content is relevant to the client's industry and company, which increases the chances of making a positive impression and getting hired.

What should be included in a cover letter when sending a portfolio to a potential client?

A cover letter should include a personal note expressing excitement about the brand, what makes the applicant unique, why certain pieces were chosen for the portfolio, and highlights or lessons learned from the experience.

How should a copywriter share their portfolio with potential clients?

A copywriter should share their portfolio using accessible formats like Dropbox or Google Drive, ensuring it's easy for clients to access, open, and download without multiple attachments in an email.

What is the final piece of advice Alex gives regarding honesty when building a copywriting portfolio?

Alex advises to be honest about one's abilities and experience, as many clients are looking for fresh writers who can grow with the company and adapt their writing to fit the brand voice.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Building a Copywriting Portfolio from Scratch

Alex addresses the common challenge faced by aspiring copywriters: the need for a portfolio to get clients, yet the inability to build a portfolio without client experience. Alex assures viewers that there are ways to overcome this catch-22 and shares five tips for building a portfolio with zero experience. The video also promotes Alex's YouTube channel, which offers copywriting and marketing tutorials based on Alex's 8+ years of industry experience. Tip #1 encourages viewers to assess their existing skills and experiences that can contribute to a copywriting portfolio, emphasizing that copywriting involves more than just writing, such as research and strategy.

05:04

📚 Practical Tips for Aspiring Copywriters

The second paragraph continues with more of Alex's tips for building a copywriting portfolio. Tip #2 suggests joining a practical copywriting program to gain experience and create portfolio assets. Tip #3 advises offering free copy editing or critique to potential clients as a way to showcase expertise and gain experience. Tip #4 recommends starting a blog to demonstrate writing abilities, even if not directly related to copywriting. Finally, Tip #5 stresses the importance of customizing the portfolio for each client, including a personal note and cover letter, and maintaining honesty about one's experience and abilities. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to keep the portfolio format clean and accessible, and to be genuine about one's skills and experience.

Keywords

💡Freelancing

Freelancing refers to the act of working independently rather than being employed by a company. It often involves taking on various short-term contracts or projects. In the video, the concept of freelancing is central as it discusses the challenges and strategies for building a portfolio in the context of copywriting freelancing, where one needs to showcase their work to potential clients without prior professional experience.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of an individual's work that showcases their skills and experience in a particular field. In the video, the portfolio is emphasized as a critical tool for freelance copywriters to demonstrate their abilities to potential clients, even in the absence of formal experience.

💡Copywriting

Copywriting is the art of writing promotional content for advertising and marketing purposes. It involves creating persuasive text to entice consumers to take action. The video's theme revolves around copywriting, offering tips on how to build a portfolio in this specific field without prior paid experience.

💡Experience & Skills Round-Up

This term from the video refers to the process of identifying and compiling any relevant experiences and skills one might have that could be applicable to copywriting, even if not directly related. It's about recognizing the transferable skills from various past experiences that can be leveraged to build a portfolio.

💡Practical Copywriting Program

A practical copywriting program is an educational course or training that focuses on the application of copywriting skills through real-world projects. The video suggests joining such a program as a way to gain practical experience and create portfolio pieces, even if they are not from paid client work.

💡Rewrite or Critique Existing Copy

This concept in the video suggests offering to rewrite or critique existing marketing materials for free as a way to demonstrate one's copywriting skills and potentially attract clients. It's a proactive approach to gain experience and build a portfolio by improving upon real-world copy.

💡Blog

A blog, as mentioned in the video, is a type of website for regularly publishing personal, professional, or hobby-related content. It's suggested as a platform for aspiring copywriters to practice and display their writing abilities, which can then be included in their portfolio to showcase their style and tone.

💡Personalization

Personalization in the context of the video refers to tailoring one's portfolio to match the specific interests and needs of the client they are targeting. It involves curating content and adding personalized notes to show relevance and enthusiasm for the potential client's brand.

💡Honesty

Honesty is emphasized in the video as a key principle when building a portfolio and interacting with potential clients. It involves being truthful about the origins of the work in one's portfolio and not exaggerating one's abilities or experience, which can help in building trust with clients.

💡Copy Posse Launch Pad

The Copy Posse Launch Pad is a specific program mentioned in the video, designed to provide training in high-converting copywriting skills. It's an example of a practical copywriting program that can help beginners build their portfolio from scratch by learning and applying copywriting techniques.

Highlights

The biggest freelancing catch-22 is how to build a portfolio without clients and get clients without a portfolio.

There are 5 tips for building a portfolio with zero experience.

Underestimate your existing experience and skills; copywriting involves more than just writing.

Researching, ideating, conceptualizing, and strategizing are crucial parts of copywriting.

Even if you're young, consider any writing you've done as valuable for your portfolio.

Include writing from previous jobs or education that required writing, such as reports or memos.

Joining a practical copywriting program can provide assets for your portfolio.

Great copywriting courses help you write copy that can be added to your portfolio.

Rewrite or critique existing copy to showcase your skills and potentially get hired.

Offering free copy editing or critiquing can get the attention of potential clients.

Starting a blog is a great way to showcase your writing abilities, even if not a content writer.

A blog can demonstrate understanding of copywriting fundamentals like hooks and headlines.

Customize your portfolio for each client you're sending it to, making it relevant to their industry.

Include a personal note and cover letter explaining why you're excited about their brand.

Keep your portfolio clean and simple, using platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive for sharing.

Be honest about your experience and abilities; some clients prefer green writers.

The video provides assurance that you can provide value even without official copywriting experience.

Transcripts

Ah, yes.

Probably the biggest freelancing catch-22 of them all.

How do you build a portfolio if you don’t have clients...

And how do you get clients if you don’t have a portfolio?

Trust me, there is a way.

5 in fact!

So keep watching to learn my 5 tips for building a portfolio with ZERO experience.

Hey guys, what’s up! It’s Alex.

And this week, I’m addressing one of the most frequently asked questions I get.

Alex, how do I build my copywriting portfolio if I don’t have any experience?

Well, I’m here to assure you there is a way, you are NOT stuck, and I have real life

stories to prove it!

And if you want more strategies and starter kits from the world of copywriting and marketing,

you know what to do — hit that subscribe button below to join the copy posse here on

YouTube!

Every single week I share a new copywriting or marketing tutorial based on my own 8+ year

journey of diving into this lucrative, creative, and innovative industry...

And building a successful copywriting business of my own.

So let’s get into this week’s how-to — here are my five tips for building a copywriting

portfolio even if you’ve never been paid to do any copywriting!

Tip #1.

Do An Experience & Skills Round-Up

A lot of the time, people tend to underestimate the experience they already have in the books,

and don’t realize that copywriting is not just writing!

In fact, I would say that 50% of the actual work happens BEFORE copy ever gets written.

It’s the researching, the ideating, the conceptualizing, and the strategizing that

happens long before you put a pen to paper, or fingers to keys.

And even if you’re young and have little job experience, you weren’t born yesterday!

I mean if you were, you’d basically be like a baby genius cuz you’d be watching this

and understanding what I’m saying….

Anyway, so if you’ve ever written a report or contributed to an online newspaper or publication.

Or, if you used to write memos or briefs or presentation decks in your previous job.

Or, if you used to work in a related role such as a social media or project management

where writing was required.

These are all related skills that you can add to your portfolio!

In fact, I recently hired someone to join my copy posse team whose background was in

research.

She had zero copywriting experience but she had a passion to learn and her previous work

showcased her ability to research, framework ideas and effectively communicate, which became

one of the main reasons I said yes and hired her!

So yes, carry as much forward from your previous work experience or education as you can.

Even if they’re not specifically related to copywriting!

Okay Tip #2.

Join A Practical Copywriting Program

Great copywriting courses don’t just teach you the right techniques and show you the

best templates — they actually help you WRITE copy so that you can walk away with

key assets and samples that you can then add to your portfolio…

Even if it’s not something you were paid to do.

Of course, you’ll want to always be clear in your portfolio that those writing assets

were from a program (and not from a paid client) but trust me…

The main thing your potential clients care about is your ability to hook, connect, engage,

and compel them with your copy.

At the end of the day, they need you to be the voice and the messenger for their brand.

So if you come forward with an amazing portfolio full of copywriting pieces that showcase your

ability, it really doesn’t matter where they come from.

You’re in like sin.

And, if you’re ready to commit to igniting your copywriting business this year and get

some serious practical training under your belt so you can confidently put yourself out

there…

I’m here to help.

My Copy Posse Launch Pad program is designed to give you all the high-converting copywriting

skills you need to scale your business and build your portfolio from scratch!

So you can click the link in the description to learn more about that.

Alright moving right along to tip #3.

Rewrite or Critique Existing Copy

Guys there is absolutely no harm in reaching out to companies that are hiring (or are potentially

hiring) to offer some free copy editing or critiquing as a way to get their attention

and lead with value.

In my recent webinar with copywriter Zach Browman, he too advised that new copywriters

send quick reviews to potential clients so that they can get a preview of your work and

expertise.

It can just be a quick email with say 3 tips on how they can improve their homepage copy,

and then of course offer to help them re-write it!

The worse they could say is no thanks.

But, if they accept your offer and decide to hire you, then that’s great — that’s

experience you can add to your portfolio!

Many companies looking to hire copywriters will ask you to complete copywriting tests

or samples as part of the recruitment process anyway.

So why not beat them to it and get it done in advance?

One of the copywriters on my team now got hired by one of the top personal growth companies

in the world by sending her version of one of their best performing sales pages, without

being asked.

It was a daring initiative on her part because she was new to copywriting and it did take

some time, but the point is…

She got their attention, and they hired her on the spot!

The rule of thumb here guys though is to remain honest about your work.

If you’re adding in a copy piece to your portfolio that you decided to rewrite, do

NOT take full credit.

Be clear that it was for a “rewrite” of an existing piece.

Alright onto, tip #4.

Start A Blog

Even if you’re not looking to be a content writer, a public blog is a great way to showcase

your writing abilities.

Blog writing, no matter the format, the style or the topic you want to write about, still

showcases an understanding of some of the key fundamentals of copywriting such as hooks

and headlines.

So it can still be used as a reliable writing reference!

In fact, when hiring a social media manager a few weeks ago, I interviewed a few different

applicants, some with social media experience and some without.

The girl I ended up hiring actually had ZERO social media experience, but she caught my

attention because she included a link to her personal blog in her application.

Although the blog content had nothing to do with the role she applied for, I was able

to gauge her writing style, her tone, and her delivery, which was a huge plus because

writing social media captions and supporting the content team would be a huge part of her

role.

I knew her flair for words and her passion for writing was far more important than having

a specific experience that I could easily train for.

Okay lastly, tip #5...

Customize Your Portfolio

Once you have your writing materials all packaged up and ready to send out to the world — here’s

a very important tip that I give even to the most experienced copywriters: personalize

your portfolio to the client you’re sending it to.

Don’t just blanket blast it out to everyone.

Getting clients is NOT a one-size-fits-all approach.

You must curate the content so that it’s relevant to the industry and the company you’re

hoping to get in the door with.

So include a personal note and a cover letter that shares why you’re excited about their

brand and what’s unique about you and what you offer.

Share why you chose the pieces that you featured in your portfolio, and include some highlights

or lessons that you learned from the experience.

And last but not least guys, keep it clean and simple.

Send your portfolio in a format that’s easy for them to access, open and download.

And whatever you do do not send an email with a tonne of attachments.

I usually use Dropbox or Google Drive to share my portfolio, and always make sure you give

access first so they don’t have to request it!

And, no matter what as I said before, BE HONEST ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE AT.

Don’t embellish your ability or your experience.

A lot of clients are looking for green writers.

Because fresh writers have the potential to grow with the company and shape their writing

to fit the brand voice.

So just keep it real homies.

I hope this video gave you some assurance that you have and can provide value even if

you don’t have official copywriting experience just yet.

If you want to find out more about the 101s of copywriting — check out my video on How

To Become A Freelance Copywriter & Get Your First Client.

You can watch that right here.

And as always guys, thank you so much for watching and subscribing.

I will see you in my next video.

Until then, I’m Alex, Ciao for now!