A while back, I wrote a blog post recommending three attributes to look out for in a potential employee or contractor for your organization. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many smart, successful business owners and marketing executives who followed my advice and grew their business year after year.
The attributes that I talked about were:
- Product knowledge
- Copywriting
- Consulting
- Research/Analysis
- Communication skills
- Management experience
- Growth mindset
- Passion
One of the questions I get asked the most is,”How big should my copywriting portfolio be? Should I have a lot of experience or should I just start my own business? Can I have a mix of both? What’s the best way to go about it?”
The answer to all of these questions is YES, you can have all of these things and more. But, it’s going to take a while to get there.
Here’s the thing: there’s no exact formula for how much copywriting experience you need to have before you can consider yourself an expert. That’s because there’s no exact formula for determining your proficiency when it comes to copywriting. It’s a matter of finding your level of expertise and then expanding from there.
How much copywriting experience do you need to have?
To figure out how much copywriting experience you need to have, you need to ask yourself, “How skilled am I in copywriting?”
If you’re unsure of how to answer this question, you can take a mini copywriting assessment to find out how much experience you need. There are four questions on the assessment, each of which is worth 10 points. You’ll get a report at the end that will tell you how you scored and what your level of expertise is in copywriting. Score yourself highly if you receive a 7 or 8 in any of the four categories.
How experienced should I be in copywriting?
Having experience doesn’t only mean that you’ve produced content for some of your notable clients. It also means that you’ve produced content for some of the most notable brands in the world. For example, Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and many more.
If you can produce compelling copy for major brands, you can bet that your customers will buy what you’re selling without any trouble at all. The key thing to keep in mind here is that the more you can produce, the more you can offer, the more clients you can attract, and the more opportunities you can uncover.
Am I ready to take on my own copywriting project?
Once you’ve determined how much experience you need, you can move on to determining how much you can handle. That is, how busy should you be right now? How much time can you spend on a project, on a daily basis?
If you’re confident that you can devote at least three to four hours per day to a project, you can take on your own copywriting project. The key thing to keep in mind here is that the more you can handle, the more you can produce and the more opportunities you can uncover. On the other hand, if you’re not sure you can handle much more than four hours per day, it may not be the best time to take on a copywriting project. In that case, you’ll need to either look for someone who can help you out or you’ll have to pick up some freelance work while you build up your experience. It’s all about finding the sweet spot that allows you to work efficiently without overstretching yourself.
Is my portfolio enough?
Finally, you can determine how much experience you need by looking at your overall portfolio. Simply put, is it enough?
If you’ve got a lot of experience under your belt and you’ve produced compelling content for some of the biggest brands around, you can rest assured that your portfolio is going to be enough to get you going. Just keep in mind that you’re going to have to prove yourself over and over again as you continue to grow your business. Always be ready to provide additional evidence of your skillset as necessary. Proving yourself over and over again is never easy, but it’s an essential part of the process.
As you can see, there’s no exact formula for how much experience you need to have in copywriting. The best thing to do is to follow the steps I’ve provided you here and you’ll find yourself writing compelling copy in no time. And when you do, you’ll be able to rest assured that your experience is going to serve you well.