Copywriting products

I have a very determined cat who apparently wants to be a copywriter. I can't keep him off my keyboard.

Anyway, a friendly word on copywriting products.

If you've already started making money as a copywriter, the products I've written about here in this blog and in my weekly newsletter can be very helpful.

If you're just starting out, however, the single most important thing you can do is finish the AWAI copywriting course. That is all you need to get started.

After that, I would recommend the Freelance Writing Success in a Box. I know the "business in a box" idea is kinda hokey, but this is a good one. It guides you through setting up your home office, different business structures, contracts, promoting yourself, getting clients, and lots of stuff you will need to know. It gives you the basics for running a freelance business. Eventually you will want more in-depth information, but it is a great starting point.

Once you have your business set up and you're making money, I'd look into Internet writing courses, either AWAI's or Yanik's or both. No matter what your specialization is, alternative health, finance, or whatever, the majority of your promotions will start on the web before going into the mail. So knowing how to write for the Internet is key.

Possibly the most important thing you'll learn to do is a keyword search. To hit two birds with one stone, the program you should use to build you self-promotion website will also allow you to do keyword searches for all of your writing. It's called SiteBuildIt, which I wrote about a few days ago.

It's important to take all of this one step at a time. Buying products, going to conferences, etc. is all great stuff. But if you're not already in the practice of writing -- by taking a hands-on course like Michael Masterson's AWAI course -- you may very well be wasting time and money that should instead be spent on learning the basics and getting yourself out there.

One thing at a time, right? Have a great weekend.