My email from yesterday about my first copywriting mentee (Tanner) sparked a lot of questions from people who wanted to know the exact steps Tanner followed to become a successful copywriter.
So I’m gonna break that down for you today.
I will warn you though…
The path Tanner took was not easy.
It involved a lot of work on his part…
And a lot of sacrifice…
But I think his story will inspire a few people…
Why?
Cause when I first met him back in 2017, he was stuck in a shitty retail job at Abercrombie & Fitch.
So his days were spent folding clothes and making sure teenagers weren’t having sex in the dressing rooms.
So not exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life…
But it paid the bills…
So he kept showing up every day…
However, being the ambitious guy that Tanner is, he wanted more…
He was determined to find a skill or a business that would let him travel, make money and have more control over his schedule.
He was sick of living of working for someone else.
He wanted to do his own thing…
So I told him copywriting might be a good fit.
At the time, Tanner didn’t have the faintest idea of what copywriting was.
But I told him if he was serious about learning it, I’d help coach him and get him started.
And honestly when I made this offer to him…
I didn’t really think it would amount to anything.
Cause I had offered to help other friends and relatives to lear copy before, and everytime I did it, it never went anywhere.
They’d get all excited at the idea of writing copy…
But once it came time to do the actual work, their interest would wane…
And within two weeks they’d be over it.
I can’t even count how many times I saw this happen.
So when Tanner said he was interested in learning copy, I just assumed the same thing would happen.
But to his credit, that wasn’t the case.
Cause right from the start, he took it seriously.
I put him on a strict regimen of writing 2-3 emails every single day (even on the weekends).
The idea behind this was to get him a lot of reps.
Getting good at anything – whether it’s copywriting, shooting foul shots or learning guitar – is all about reps.
So in order to get Tanner a bunch of reps, I’d give him a sales page for a health offer and tell him to write three emails about it.
He’d spend a few hours writing those emails…
And then I’d give him feedback on the emails.
We did this everyday.
He wasn’t allowed to miss a day.
Didn’t matter if he was sick…
Or if he had a hot date that night…
He had to write his emails.
And we repeated this process week after week, and month after month until he got good enough that he didn’t need my help anymore.
I can tell you from experience, 95% of people would not be able to follow the regimen I put Tanner on.
They would follow it for a week…
Or a few weeks…
But they wouldn’t be able to write 3 emails a day (and not miss a day) for months on end.
That takes a lot of consistency…
And a lot of sacrifice…
And most people simply aren’t willing to do that.
But Tanner was willing…
And it’s a huge reason why he was able to go from folding clothes at Abercrombie to making 6-figures as a copywriter in less than a year.
It’s also why why he’s been able to land big-name clients like Natural Health Sherpa, VShred and Performance Golf.
And why he’s pulling in over $300k a year as a copywriter today.
Obviously Tanner had a big advantage with me coaching him…
But I’ve coached a lot of people over the last few years who never came close to replicating Tanner’s success.
So in my opinion, the real reason he was able to get so good at copy wasn’t the coaching…
It was his consistency.
I know that’s not a “sexy” answer.
And it’s not an answer most people want to hear.
But if you’re serious about getting good at copy…
You need to be consistent.
You can’t just write when you feel like it.
You have to do it every day (especially in the beginning when you’re first learning).
That’s the key.
So my advice?
Learn from the path that Tanner took.
And be consistent (day-in and day out).
That’s what it takes to get good at something…
And copy is no different.
Hope this was helpful…
Enjoy your Saturday.
– Justin
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