When I tell people I’m a copywriter one of the first questions they ask me is “what university did you go to?” And then I confess that I never went to university.

(Although, I have lectured at the University Of Southern California, but that’s another story!) It all began in my first year of primary school, when I struggled to read or write the alphabet. I was sent home to my father, who patiently taught me my A, B, C’s from our living room floor.

After a series of tests, I was diagnosed with having a learning disability. School was never easy for me.

So after graduating from High School and barely passing my final exams, the last thing I wanted to do was attend University for more “studying”.

I went straight into the workforce. I worked as a fruit shop attendant, supermarket shelf packer, restaurant dishwasher and telemarketer, before eventually landing a job in sales.

One night, working in the sales office, I started to peruse the bookshelf and discovered several books on copywriting.

I absolutely loved the idea of “salesmanship in print” and literally devoured every book I could find on copywriting.

From Robert Cialdini’s Influence Psychology of Persuasion to Joseph Sugarman’s Triggers – learning from the masters of advertising became my passion.

I started to apply what I learnt in my sales job, writing direct mail letters to attract people to our seminars.

And when people started responding to my ads, I was over the moon! I realized I could write copy that sells.

As my copywriting skills grew, friends and colleagues began asking me to write for them. And in 2004, I left my sales job and became a full-time copywriter, and I’ve never looked back.

One of the best ways to land your first few copywriting jobs is to attend and network at business and marketing seminars.

Business owners are your prospects. And at some seminars, you have the potential to meet hundreds of prospective clients in a single weekend.

Before going to any event do a bit of research and find out who will be speaking. Learn as much as you can about each speaker (read their website, blog posts, bio, etc). This research will prove invaluable later, when you make conversation with them.

That’s right, you will be introducing yourself to the experts at the event! This might sound daunting to you, but believe me, it’s worth doing. Especially if an expert decides to hire you as their copywriter, and sends you a steady stream of work for a full year. What’s more, they have the power to recommend you other big-name experts too.

I have followed this simple strategy at many weekend seminars and have picked up enough high-paying clients to last me a whole year. It’s just one of the strategies I rely on to attract copywriting clients.

I have been hired by some of the Internets top entrepreneurs, motivational speakers, best-selling authors and business owners to write copy for their businesses.

Over the years I’ve been invited to speak at business conferences, industry events and seminars around Australia, Thailand, New Zealand and even the USA.

I’ve deliver keynote presentations on the topics of copywriting, marketing and online business. At these events, I’m often surprised at the quality of speakers, information shared and the price delegates are willing to pay to attend.

At one private mastermind event, attendees paid $12,000 to be there. At another weekend seminar, over 300 people spent $2,300 each to attend. It might sound like a lot of money (and it is!) but for those who actually implement the proven strategies they learn at these events, they stand to make great ROI (Return on Investment)

For most people, public speaking is one of the most nerve racking and stressful experiences life has to offer (and it certainly was for me!). But like anything, over time, you get used to it. Nowadays I’m fairly comfortable on stage, and even enjoy the experience of sharing thought-provoking ideas with an audience.

Public speaking is a great way to boost your profile and attract more copywriting clients. It can also be a very rewarding and thrilling experience, where you can inspire real change in people’s lives.

If you’re a creative person who enjoys writing (or if you’ve always wanted to write, but never found the time), then becoming a freelance copywriter could be the ideal profession for you.

Here are some of the perks you can expect from working as a self-employed freelance copywriter.

Ready to start your own copywriting business? If yes, then enter your details below to get instant access to my free training videos on how to get started in the copywriting business