How Long Does it Take to Learn Copywriting? (Make Money ASAP)

 

If you dream of becoming a copywriter, I’ve got exciting news for you…

Copywriting is one of the fastest careers to break into in 2023.

You can realistically learn the basics within a few short months.

After:

You can potentially start writing for paying clients RIGHT AWAY.

Unlike traditional jobs, there are no set-in-stone restrictions to how fast you can start writing for clients or how much you can earn.

3 reasons why:

1. You do not need a college degree
2. You do not have to climb a corporate ladder
3. You are the captain of your own ship

This last point is muy importante.

Your success as a copywriter is 100% dependent on you.

And only you.

However, to help you break into this wonderful career as quickly as possible, I’m going to reveal what I personally did to become a copywriter (and get dozens of clients) within a few short months.

If you follow my advice, you too can become a copywriter very fast and get paid handsomely for it.

I believe this is the single best way for any aspiring copywriter to break into copywriting with gorilla force (as you’ll soon see why).

Enough chit-chat, let’s get started…

 

How Long Does It Take to Learn Copywriting?

It depends…

For example…

In 2019, a year after I graduated college, I decided I wanted to give copywriting a shot.

I had an extremely hard time learning the basics and had no luck getting clients.

Unfortunately…

I quit cold turkey after 1 year of trying desperately to break in.

Then, when Covid lockdowns hit in 2020, I leaped back into the copywriting arena.

This time…

I took off like a Space X Rocket.

I learned the copywriting basics in 3 months…

Then…

I went HARD with getting clients.

Within the next 3 months, I had over 50 paying clients in my front pocket.

Before my 12-month mark, I secured over 100+ freelance gigs, worked with a marketing agency as their junior copywriter and shnagged a senior copywriting position at a real estate investing company.

Why were my results in 2019 vs 2020 so different?

It had to do with my copywriting education.

This rapid-fire experience and early success would have never been possible If I had not taken 3 months to learn copywriting… the right way.

 

What Skills Do You Need to be a Good Copywriter?

 

Believe it or not, you do not need to be artistic, creative or even a decent writer to write copy.

You really only need ONE skill.

Salesmanship.

Copywriting is simply salesmanship multiplied (instead of selling face to face, you’re selling to hundreds/thousands at a time).

By reading the 10 books I’m about to share with you, you will quickly learn the basics of salesmanship and how to apply it to your writing. Plus, you will learn how to write interesting, engaging and persuasive copy.

 

How Can You Teach Yourself Copywriting?

Most copywriters are self-taught.

At least, the successful ones are.

This may be contrary to what you’ve heard, but it needs to be said.

Stay FAAAAR away from colleges or any online program with certificates claiming to “teach” copywriting.

No school will teach you how to write effective copy.

Why?

Same reason why you want to avoid reading blog posts, YouTube videos, and social media.

You want to learn from the best copywriters who have been writing for their entire careers and have made a fortune through products sold via their copy.

99.99999% of teachers at schools are NOT writing “million-dollar” copy.

They are probably not writing any copy for clients at all.

They are pure theorists.

Spouting cotton-candy fluff from their ivory tower thrones.

Instead, learn from the OGs of copywriting.

You will get the best copywriting education from reading and studying the 10 books mentioned above.

This is the quickest way to teach yourself copywriting and the safest way to ensure your success.

 

Is Copywriting Hard to Learn?

 

It was hard as rocks for me to learn copywriting in 2019.

I was extremely confused and lost in an ocean of stinky seaweed information.

I scrapped together bits and pieces from blog posts, YouTube videos, online forums and any social media platform I could get my hands on.

This made it worse…

Much worse…

All this information did was send me down a deep dark rabbit hole.

I experienced extreme information overload and analysis paralysis.

However, the second time I tried learning copywriting it was a piece of velvet cake.

Why?

Because I only read 10 books.

However, these 10 books were not written by any “modern” copywriters on the internet.

They were from some of the greatest copywriters who have ever lived.

If you learn the proven copywriting fundamentals from the godfathers in this industry, who have paved the way to riches, it is very straightforward and pleasant to learn copywriting.

Which brings me to my next point…

 

How to Learn Copywriting in 3 Months and Get Dozens of Jobs Right After

I’m going to be brutally transparent with you.

I’m going to share the exact steps I took to learn copywriting and break into this field faster than a lightning bolt.

Here goes…

The importance of learning the basics

I recommend all aspiring and beginner copywriters learn the direct response copywriting basics.

You need to learn the principles, the fundamentals, the basics of copywriting to get a really good foundation of your knowledge of what successful copy is and also what it's not.

Learn from the top copywriters in the history of this industry who have paved the way in this field and who have proven their success through the money they've made with their copy (through products sold).

This is the most important step when starting out because this is going to lay the groundwork for everything else you do in your copywriting career.

If you get a good education on the principles and fundamentals of what makes successful copy, you'll be building your career off on the right foot and this will help you with everything you do later on.

You can think of it like building a house.

You're laying the foundation.

If you mess up the foundation, the house is going to crumble.

It's the same with your career.

You need to learn what makes good copy and to really understand the fundamentals and the laws of copywriting, salesmanship, marketing, and human psychology, at a DEEP level, which these 10 books are going to cover in full detail.

So many copywriters struggle because they skip this do-or-die first step.

They never truly learn the fundamentals of copywriting.

This curses them from the beginning and almost guarantees low-paying gigs, mediocre writing and mountain-high obstacles throughout their entire (short) careers.

All of which COULD be avoided IF they learned the basics BEFORE trying to get clients.

 

The Top 10 Books to Read

The main reason I was able to break into copywriting so fast and secure so many clients right off the bat is that I felt confident in my copywriting skills.

I was confident that I could provide extreme value to my clients.

This was only possible because of the knowledge and wisdom I learned from these 10 books.

They are all written by top copywriters who have had a tremendous impact in this field.

Here they are:

1. The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert

2. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman

3. How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab

4. Scientific Advertising By Claude Hopkins

5. The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy

6. Ogilvy on Advertising By David Ogilvy

7. Tested Advertising Methods By John Caples

8. Cashvertising By Drew Eric Whitman

9. The Copywriter’s Handbook By Bob Bly

10. Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel By John Carlton

Within the first 3 months of my copywriting education, I read these books twice.

The first time, I just read for enjoyment.

The second time, I took very detailed summaries (which I give away to Copy Kings members as a juicy bonus for subscribing).

In addition to reading these 10 books (twice), I practiced my copywriting skills.

Top Copy Practice Exercises to Quickly Write Like a Pro

Along with learning the basics, you also want to practice what you are learning.

This will help you understand how to write successful copy at a deeper level.

There were 3 main copywriting exercises I practiced, each day, to quickly build my skills.

1. Read, analyze and handwrite successful ads

I learned this “technique” from Gary Halbert.

He recommended reading successful ads out loud, writing them out by hand and analyzing them.

Break them down, line by line, and figure out what made them so successful.

Why did they use this particular word? What psychology and emotional triggers are at play? What are the core benefits? Etc.

By doing this, you will quickly gain a very deep understanding of the selling process through the written word.

To learn more about how to do this, read this blog post.

I cover these 3 copywriting practice exercises in full detail.

2. Feature, Benefit, Ultimate Benefit

Benefits are one of the most important elements of copywriting.

To become a successful copywriter, you must be a genie at writing mouthwatering benefits.

This copywriting practice exercise helps you become a pro at turning boring features into irresistible benefits that open wallets.

I cover how to do this in this blog post.

However, here’s the short version:

1. Find a product on Amazon you want to write about.
2. Copy and paste 3-5 features of this product into an Excel spreadsheet.
3. Write benefits per feature
4. Then put your benefits under the “so what” microscope. Meaning: What does this benefit DO for your reader? What’s the ultimate benefit?

3. 4 Us headline practice

This is where you turn dull headlines into attention-grabbing headlines by using the 4 Us headline technique.

The 4 U’s headline formula:

Ultra-specific – specifics are more believable and interesting.

Unique – what’s unique grabs our attention. This is why clickbait articles get read, even though we KNOW they are going to disappoint us. (don’t clickbait your readers but you can write unique headlines as long as you pay it off early in your copy).

Urgent – urgency makes us take ACTION NOW (and read from headline to CTA).

Useful – the biggest benefits of your client’s product or service.

I applied this headline formula to existing headlines online.

Open your internet browser.

Now, look at the online articles below, like this:

Choose some headlines you want to improve upon.

Write a new headline for each U.

 

Your 2-Step Gameplan for Learning Copywriting in 3 Months or Less

If you’re serious about becoming a copywriter, you must learn the basics.

Here is a quick game plan to follow over the next few months as you learn this life-changing skill.

1. Read 25+ pages, each day, from the above 10 books.

2. Practice the 3 copywriting practice exercises (mentioned above).

• Read, analyze, handwrite ads – strive for 1 ad per day (can break up if it is a long ad). This will take you around 30 minutes per day.
• Features/benefits exercise – one product on Amazon per day. Write for 3-5 features. This will take around 10 minutes
• 4 Us headline practice – 1 headline per day. This will take 5-10 minutes.

Total time per day:

Copy practice exercises = 50 minutes

20+ pages = 1hr

Around 2 hours per day.

If you devote at least 2 hours to learning copywriting, you can easily pick up this skill over the next for months.

The more time you spend, the faster you’ll learn.

After you’ve completed these 10 books (twice, notes second time), you’ll be more than ready to start getting clients.

Once you’re ready to start reaching out to clients, read this blog post.

 

Conclusion

“How long does it take to learn copywriting?”

3 months from now, you can realistically feel confident in your skills and provide real value to your clients.

Be careful:

This is the most important step in your copywriting career.

If you mess this up, you could waste years (like I did) and lots of money.

Follow the golden tips I’ve laid out for you in this post and run all the way to the bank with them.

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