The Best Thing I Ever Did as a Creative Writer Was ‘Sell Out’

There’s this idea out there that “money is the root of all evil.” I’m not saying that isn’t true, but when I was an up-and-coming writer, I sure as heck didn’t want to live out the remainder of my many days (fingers crossed) having to cut coupons from the Sunday morning paper every weekend.

So, what did I do? Well, in the eyes of those artsy-fartsy professional writers, I did the unthinkable: I sold out. Yup, I put aside my dream of becoming a sportswriter and focused wholeheartedly on copywriting. 

While this might be seen as sad for some, looking back on the decision, it was the right move and, most importantly, I couldn’t be happier. How can this be, you ask? Keep reading …

Cold Hard Cash

As previously mentioned, money is important—at least I think it is. Listen, I’m not the kind of guy who craves shiny new toys all the time, but I do want to live comfortably. Is that such a crime? 

While there are a handful of sportswriters and novelists who live rather lavishly off of their editorial production, I’m not smart enough, handsome enough or skilled enough with the ol’ laptop to make this happen.

Yes, I chose the safer route and went with copywriting, but I have zero debt and have never lived paycheck to paycheck. Not too bad, eh?

Complete and Total Professional Happiness

In college, my buddies were always freaking out about what they were going to do with their lives. You’d always hear things like, “It’s just that I’m not passionate about anything.” Or maybe something more along the lines of, “There aren’t any majors out there that really catch my attention.” 

For starters, choosing a field of study should’t be treated as if you’re battling over whether or not it’s time to pull the plug on grandma—it’s just school.

Secondly, if you’re willing to modify ever so slightly what you wanted to do as a naive college student, the core of your passions can very much be present in the professional sphere. 

This is what happened with me and writing, anyway. I love to write. I love sports. As a copywriter, depending on the project, I’ve actually been able to focus on both passions at the same time.

I’ve Learned to Love Utilitarian Writing

I’ve always loved writing, and now I spend basically every hour of every day doing just that. While it’s true that the production of sales letters, email marketing campaigns and generic web copy might not be the sexiest projects on the planet, I’ve learned to enjoy doing all of them. 

The best part of it all is that this newfound passion of mine shows in my work. Clients can see this and, as luck would have it, they come back time and time again for repeat services.

Peace of Mind

There’s a certain tranquility that comes from knowing you’re spending a ridiculous amount of time doing exactly what you want to do. Sure, I’m not interviewing Kevin Durant after a game-winning triple, but I’ve got a pretty sweet gig. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade this peace of mind for anything.

Alright, what about you? Has your writing career turned out like you thought it would? If it has, congratulations! If it hasn’t, how have you adapted to maintain professional satisfaction? As always, head on down to the comments section to share your thoughts on the matter.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

Why Regular People Absolutely Loathe Writing

I realize that I can’t speak for everyone, but let’s be honest here—few are the people that truly love writing. Sure, many are those who claim to enjoy writing in their free time, but that “passion” often seems like its little more than a hipster-induced craze. 

When it comes time to actually sit down and start typing away, there are simply more appealing things to do. 

More often than not, at least from what I’ve both seen and heard, writing is viewed as a type of activity most comparable to having one’s shins hit repeatedly with a wiffle ball bat. How can this be? 

Well, as far as I’m concerned, there are a few reasons for such a lack of editorial enthusiasm in the good ol’ United States:

Writing Calls for Concentration

I’m a younger guy, so I totally get how difficult it can be to focus for long periods of time. 

While both my parents and grandparents apparently spent the entirety of their youth building character, us millennials are more accustomed to spending our free time on any one of our personal electronic devices. 

Needless to say, with so much entertainment at our fingertips, it can be hard to focus on what most would consider run-of-the-mill entertainment outlets. As such, concentration suffers and the desire to write is almost completely destroyed.

Writing Requires Research

No, BuzzFeed lists and Tumblr posts don’t count as real “research.” At the same time, however, I’m not talking about the old-school research that was required to throw together a few term papers in high school or college. 

Ya know, with like Wikipedia and stuff? 

Conversely, research with the intent to write (not a crime) is substantially more arduous and involves hunting for the most minute of details so as to ensure that any editorial production stands out as a unique creation. Simply put, the tediousness of it all turns many people off.

Writing Demands Thought

Remember when old writing professors would talk about the value of creating an outline before starting in on an assignment? Yes, this was annoying as heck, but there was a method to their madness.

Though the content found on this blog would certainly beg to differ, for persuasive writing to be as influential as possible, each individual reader must be taken into consideration. 

For this reason, the layout of an argument is of the utmost importance. To make this happen, a great deal of painstaking thought is necessary.

What do you think—am I correct in my assessment of the state of writing? Do people really try and avoid writing at all costs, or is this something I’m blowing out of proportion? If willing, take a moment or two to express your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

The Numbers Behind Making 100K as a Freelancer In a Year

Boy, how sweet would this be, right? Well, to be completely honest with you, it’s not all that far outside the realm of possibility. In fact, it’s not outside of it at all—it’s totally doable. 

Many copywriters—regardless of experience, mind you—are able to bring in well over $100,000 in any given year. Yes, they’re hardworking writers, but many of them are only as skilled, if not less skilled, as you and me.

Make Earning Money a Focus

So, what sort of black magic are all top-tier copywriters working with that you’re missing out on? Well, for starters, they understand the concrete numbers behind making $100,000 an annual occurrence. 

If you’re going to pull this kind of coin on a regular basis, the first thing you need to do is make money a real focus. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that your wife and children need to wander the streets both naked and afraid while you trap yourself in your home office, slaving away at project after project. But, you will need to understand the numeric stepping stones that lead to making awesome money.

The Numbers

For starters, don’t focus on the totality of the year; instead, look at what sum of cash is to be made each and every day. Assuming you work 8-hour days, 5 days a week for 50 weeks, this means you’ll have to nab roughly $400 a day.

Seems fairly doable, right?

Basic math provides more detail: if $400 are to be made each week, by the end of said week, you’ll need to have brought in $2,000.

Save yourself the headache—that’s 9,000 bones come the end of the month. Simply put, to ensure this happens, dedicate your time only to the kinds of projects that pay the most money.

Proofreading and article generation are great projects, but you’ll need to focus on ghostwriting e-books, fundraising letters, speeches, annual reports and web copy if you’re to ensure this comes about.

Lastly, remember that you’re not going to make $400 every day. The work of a freelance copywriter is sporadic and involves activities other than writing. 

Realistically, maybe you’ll need to take a day or two to promote yourself and do a bit of digital marketing.

You’re the One In Charge

Just remember the specifics of what needs to take place on a more micro scale and hold yourself accountable. If you spend two days networking and bringing new projects onboard, that third day, your earnings should total $1,200. 

Conduct every work-related activity with this in mind. Though more money can always be made, time is your most precious commodity and can’t be taken for granted.

Alright, I’ve presented my findings—what do you think? With the numbers in place, is it really possible for mediocre copywriters to bring in six figures in one calendar year? Voice your take on the matter in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

Why Freelance Copywriters Must Rid Themselves of the ‘Poverty Mentality’

I’m sick of copywriters working under the “poverty mentality.” You’re a writer, you know that right? Like, the skill you’ve taken years to develop isn’t an easy one. 

If you think about it, there are skills that require substantially less time and effort to master, but still bring in disgusting amounts of money.

Plenty of Opportunity Out There

In fact, while I was in college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, there was a young man from Ghana who’d joined the football team after having been spotted by the head coach at track practice one day. 

His name was Ezekiel Ansah and after only two years of playing defensive end for BYU, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.

Clearly, Ansah’s innate athleticism played a role in this fortunate turn of events, but the point that I’m making here is that little learned skill was needed to transform him from a scrub to a star. 

As a defense end, he gets the quarterback. Yeah, there’s more to it than that, but not much.

More Evidence

You’re probably thinking the following: “Lucas, makes sense, but that’s an outlying incident. Generally speaking, people don’t pay real money for easy-to-obtain skill sets.”

Really? Well, were you aware that a doorman in New York city earns on average about $30,000 a year by simply opening the door for other people? 

Not too much difficulty there, right? Yet, innumerable are the freelance copywriters who are making similar annual salaries.

The point I’m making is this—if there are employers out there who are willing to pay for skills that don’t demand much in the ways of much raw ability, the vast majority of them certainly will. 

It’s illogical to think otherwise.

Take a Stand; the Work Will Still Come

Writing is hard, so stop accepting work that’s beneath you and demand more from those who desperately need your services.

Now, with that in mind, it’s your job to always produce top-tier work so as to command higher wages, but if you can consistently do that, there’s no reason for why you can’t make anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 a year as a freelance copywriter.

I’m not one of those guys who’s always looking to revolt against “The Man” or anything like that, but this gets to the point where it’s sad sometimes. 

There are many individuals, businesses and organizations out there whose top priority is not to simply find the cheapest editorial option; moreover, they’re looking for quality, lots of it and are willing to slap some real money on the table for it. 

Find them. Work with them. Get paid. Stop eating off the McDonald’s Dollar Menu.

However, as copywriters, until we stop with the constant pity party and make it a point to seek out and astound the best, most reputable of clients, most of us are going to be unhappy with our bank statements. 

Keep at it and earn what you deserve.

Newer copywriters—what’s your experience with wages been like thus far? On the flip side of things, experienced copywriters—how were you able to overcome the aforementioned “poverty mentality” while still continuously earning real money? 

Take a moment or two to share your knowledge in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.