Land Your First Client With These Copywriting Tips for Beginners

Staring at his inbox for the 20th time, Alex sighed and tossed his phone away. These things don’t work, I’d rather look for something else to do rather than continue with this copywriting thing, he said.

Like Alex, I believe you’re already on the verge of tossing copywriting away because the copywriting tips you’ve been told will land you a client do not work out.

You’ve been on this copywriting thing for a year now
You’ve sent 100 cold emails per day.
You’ve also carried out cold outreach on LinkedIn and all ended up with zero results.

Well, I understand your frustration and I know you’ve worked hard, there are bills to pay, you want to travel the world and you want to work right from your laptop on a beach and copywriting will help you achieve these things.

Copywriting is a science of persuasion and it’s only those who read science that can turn out successful but is this true? Nah it’s not copywriting is a science that has persuasion as its mechanism.

Though this is not the definition that the gurus will give I believe you understand where am coming from.

Your question is…

What are these copywriting tips I’ve for you to help you land your first, second, and third clients as the case may and are they different from the copywriting tips you’ve been told before?

My answer is
Simple, I’m going to be sharing profound copywriting tips I learned from 2 copy chiefs Lana and Ning Li, and these tips are a no-brainer. Remember if I reveal them to you make sure you promise me that you’ll use them.

Copywriting tips 1 – As shared by Lana Sova

1. The principle of helping and chit-chatting– My surf coach’s name is Julian. And you probably don’t give a damn about his name. But what you will give a damn about is his sneaky 20 min strategy to get clients I’m about to share with you.
You see, in Costa Rica, life is simple.

So as running a business. Most of the businesses rely heavily on word of mouth.
They know this strategy well, and they use it. Julian is no exception. Except the way he does it is exceptional.
See, Julian offers surf sessions every day.

Each session runs for 2 hrs. Depending on the week, we either have one or two high tides a day.
This means that at any given week, Julian is at the beach and in the ocean for 2-5 hours a day.

Each time Julian is at the beach, he says hi and chit-chat with at least 6-7 people before going into the water with his student.
When he’s in the water, he always makes sure to help someone out…
..Be it a quick technique tip
..Or it is a little push into the wave…
..Or an answer to a question…

No matter what it is Julian is the only coach who is out there helping his students AND the people around him.
..He helps both beginners and advanced surfers.

And when he’s out of the water, he says hi and chats with even more people.
This means he’s in constant touch with at least 20 people every single day.

And because of this, Julian is constantly booked.

He never has to go out there and hunt for clients. The only thing he does is teach students how to hunt for epic waves.
And the best part?

Julian’s approach doesn’t look, smell, or sound salesy or pushy at all.

Every single connection is as genuine as it can be. His students love him. Random strangers love chatting with him and constantly refer him to students.

And the thing is
Anyone can adopt Julian’s strategy to get more clients.

This includes you.
Because you might not be out and about chatting with people on the streets

But you have access to the internet. And you have access to social media.

Social media was meant to be a SOCIAL aspect of our lives. So, go out there and connect with people.

Just connecting with five people a day for 5 min a day is more than you need. Don’t be weird. Don’t jump at people’s throats and sell them your services.

Be a human.
Be interested in other people’s lives and be interesting.

Copywriting Tips 2 As shared by Ning Li

2. The power of vehicle + benefit – Your Copywriting Lead SUCKS (probably) – Fix It By Using A Powerful Vehicle + Benefit Statement Instead…

The most powerful way to start your copy is with a unique, compelling Vehicle + Benefit Statement
Yet most copywriters have NO CLUE how to write one.

For example
Do you start your copy like THIS with a bunch of questions in a row asking your reader if they experience XYZ problem?
Do they experience this or that problem?
Do they feel like this?

Do you just write “problem, problem, problem I have a fix for you?”
If so, congratulations – your lead sucks.
When copywriters don’t know what to write, they default to describing the pain points of their readers.

It’s lazy writing.
It’s not compelling or unique.
And today, I’m going to show you how to instead write powerful VEHICLE + BENEFIT statements that grab your reader by the (eye)balls
Capture their attention and fire up their imagination

And make them read through your copy.

First

The benefit.
Make me a BIG, bold claim RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING of your copy
Remember the fundamentals

What’s the purpose of the first line of copy your prospect reads?
To get them to read the second line.

What’s the purpose of the second line?
To get them to read the third line.
On and on
All the way down to the call to action.

I’m talking about the subject line of your email (the first few words your prospect reads)…
Your – HEADLINE…

And the very first few lines of your copy.
CAPTURE your reader there – don’t just lackadaisically throw a few random words in there and assume they’ll read.

When you write your benefit, ask yourself:

Is it a BIG claim?
Is it SPECIFIC (includes numbers, time frame, etc.)?
Is it what your prospect actually WANTS?
It is the MAIN BENEFIT that this product delivers?

Does it sound easy, fast, and convenient?
Once you get your benefit nailed down

Work on your VEHICLE.
The vehicle is the one THING that delivers your benefit to the reader.
This is the BIGGEST PIECE I see lacking in everybody’s copy.

The whole point of your piece of copy is to connect benefit to vehicle, over and over again.

For example
If you’re doing a weight loss promo
I need them to FOCUS ON and VISUALIZE the thing that will help them lose weight.

Maybe it’s an Orange drink.
A purple banana.
A fruit from Madagascar.
A 4-minute “ab-blaster” workout.
I spend a significant amount of time thinking about how to characterize the vehicle – as should you.

When you’re working on it, ask yourself:
When should I keep the vehicle vague (and then reveal more specifics further down in the copy)… and when should I tease a specific vehicle high up in the copy?

Is my vehicle UNIQUE?
Is my vehicle NEW (something they haven’t heard before)?
Is my vehicle VISUAL (they can picture it)?
Is my vehicle SPECIFIC?

Once you figure out how to characterize that one THING that will deliver the benefit to your reader, you want to CONNECT VEHICLE TO BENEFIT in your copy over and over again.

Instead of writing: “You’ll get 6-pack abs”…
Write: “Thanks to this 4-minute yoga routine, you’ll get 6-pack abs.”

Instead of writing: “You’ll drive the golf ball 50 more yards”…
Write: “With this 3-step rotation trick, you’ll drive the golf ball 50 more yards.”

Instead of writing: “More women will fall in love with you than ever before”…
Write: “Say this 7-word sentence and more women will fall in love with you than ever before.”

This gets your reader to visualize, picture, and WANT the vehicle more and more

So they keep reading to find out what the heck it is

Or they CLICK to satisfy their curiosity.

Consider this a public service announcement.

Start FIXING your leads now.

And the next time you show your copy
You’ll knock their socks off (and maybe land a gig or two out of nowhere).

If you truly want to make a career out of this, here are some additional copywriting tips:

1. Write every day.

The more you write, the better you are. I’ve written more than 500,000 words in my career. If you want to get good at basketball, you have to shoot the basketball over and over again. If you want to get good at copywriting, you have to write every day.

2. Get feedback on your copy.

Get someone more experienced than you – with a proven track record – to give you feedback on your copy. Even better – test your copy on real-world traffic to see what works and what doesn’t.

Repeat this as many times as possible, as fast as possible.

This determines how good you get at this skill, which determines how much you’ll earn and what kind of clients you can attract.

3. Do therapy.

Become aware of your mindset blocks – and how your childhood affects your emotional and thinking patterns. If you can’t do therapy, learn about inner child healing, plant medicine, and spirituality. It will not only help you progress on your journey faster, but it will help you enjoy your success.

4. Give value.

If you can give value and do useful things for others (especially other people who are successful and RICH), you will go far in this industry. At the end of the day, business is all about humans and relationships, and how you manage them.

Follow these copywriting tips, and you will go far. I hope that helps you find your Dharma and progress along your copywriting journey, if that’s what the universe has in store for you and if that’s what brings you joy.

Considering going into Upwork, then discover what an Upwork copywriter earning 4 figures said about Upwork copywriting here