Each time I open the Weekend Launch Party I get the same questions:
"Is this for freelance copywriters? Should a freelancer try to start a newsletter?"
My answer is: I don’t think you can afford NOT to start building a list and newsletter as a freelancer these days.
Starting a newsletter will be the best thing you do for your career, especially now, in 2024.
I’ll give it to you straight: The market for hiring copywriters isn’t as hot as it was just a couple years ago. In 2024, now more than ever, you need a way to get clients coming to you.
Social proof and connections are hyper important. It just takes one subscriber finding their way to your newsletter… and one bit of solid content or insight in your newsletter… to "luck" your way into a paid gig.
Here’s a quick depressing story with a happy ending to cement my point:
A lot of people don’t know this but I launched the CopyHour email list and newsletter when I was in a really dark period of my life.
My grandpa had died.
My best friend’s 21-year old brother died in a tragic car accident on Thanksgiving morning.
My wife’s dad died suddenly of cancer.
I contracted Lyme disease & West Nile at the same time.
Believe it or not, I can go on about that period of time.
The cherry on top was that six months prior my friend and business partner started stealing money from our bank account so I quit.
Luckily, I had some connections through the publishing business we’d started building so I was able to take on some clients to do their online marketing.
That’s what led me to copywriting and the handwriting method.
I was getting some client work but I wasn’t exactly "crushing it" at the time.
But then, something wild started happening after I launched CopyHour.
Opportunities started getting thrown at me left and right.
I remember getting asked by a fellow copywriter back then how to get clients.
My advice then was the same as now. I told him to launch to start a newsletter.
You’re instantly seen in a different light.
You look like an expert from the outside even though you’re NOT playing an expert on the inside (in your emails to your newsletter).
Having a newsletter, if you set it up right and don’t set it up as just a diary, can be a game-changer.
Again, it just takes one random connection to get plugged into a network that generates opportunities and cash.
And heck, even if it isn’t game-changing for getting clients, it’s great practice for writing emails and getting the market’s feedback on your writing.
You can always send more or less emails to your newsletter as well — if for example you get a client and start getting paid a lot more to write for them.
Head over to the sales page for the Weekend Launch Party to learn how to:
>>> Launch a profitable newsletter THIS weekend
Cheers!
– Derek