A newbie copywriter asks something fierce:
My goal is to be able to approach a client (cold email, call, etc) and tell them I can make them more money with my words, and follow through.
My idea is since I’m 100% unproven, they’ll be more willing to give up some of the profits than drop thousands up front. So I’m going to sell my services for a low (or no) upfront fee, but request a percentage when they make money.
I need money and I’m tired of waiting. I don’t want to be a copywriter, I’m going to be a copywriter. So there’s my plan.
Are companies generally willing to agree to this?
Am I out of my mind?
Should I go back in the basement for a few years and come out when I’m “better” or go for it?
This was in an online forum and a bunch of people responded, rightly asking, “What do you want to hear? No? You can’t do it?”
The original newbie even admitted he might have been seeking “negative validation.”
I have no idea whether this guy can or cannot succeed in getting client work. I don’t know him. And even if I did, I couldn’t say whether he will succeed. Like Mike Tyson used to say, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
But there is something else I would point out.
A lot of newbie copywriters seem to have guilt about being new and inexperienced. And so they offer to work for a share of the profits, instead of asking for a fee.
They can certainly try it.
All I can say is that’s not how I did it when I was a newbie…
And that’s not what I would do now if I were starting out all over again.
The reason why is simple. I think the odds are against any respectable or successful business spending the time or the effort to actually run copy that is coming from a guilt-ridden newbie. Especially copy that they didn’t pay for and probably don’t need.
And as for any non-respectable or unsuccessful business — well, why would you want to work with them, even if you’re a newbie?
That’s not to say that a profit-sharing, no-risk deal between a copywriter and a business is out of the question. In fact, that’s the offer I’ve been making over the past few days to a select few of my current and past clients.
I’ll have more to say about this offer in the future. For now, if you want to know about another no-risk deal that could wind up making you some profits, check out the following: