One of the biggest mistakes freelancers make is making the wrong people happy.
Countless times, I get asked questions about whether or not copy is “good” or a particular approach is “best”.
But my opinion doesn’t matter… and neither does yours.
Let’s wind the clock back to the innocent year of 1997.
The moment my stomach dropped to my shoes
I was hanging out at my cousin’s house, and I overheard my aunts and uncles discussing my parents’ pending 25th wedding anniversary.
They wanted to do something fun and special, and they settled on a shivaree.
To the uninitiated, a shivaree is an old tradition to celebrate a marriage where a group marches up to someone’s house, makes a ruckus, and trashes the place.
It’s part celebration, part prank.
My mom’s family wasn’t interested in the trashing part of the tradition, but they liked surprising my parents with a big, obnoxious celebration.
I thought it sounded like fun.
Then my aunt continued.
“We’ll throw a mock wedding in their backyard! Tom will be Pat, and…”
Tom will be Pat?!?
At 12 years old, I was about to be told to wear a wedding dress in front of my entire family.
Now, looking back, this was just harmless fun. It wasn’t a big deal. I don’t mind talking about it now.
But back then?
Terrified.
I embarrassed easily. I wanted nothing more than for everyone to forget about the idea.
They didn’t.
Jump to September 2nd, 1997. I’m in the basement in my brother’s bedroom, secretly squeezing into my mother’s wedding dress from 1972. My brother put on a tux and a cowboy hat, and the game was on.
Inside, I wanted to run away screaming.
But…
The reminder of WHY I was doing it
The eruption of laughter from my parents still rings in my head as my brother and I stepped out onto the back porch dressed as them from 25 years prior.
My uncle officiated a pretend wedding.
Video was recorded. Pictures were taken.
My parents loved it.
Watching the video back, I can see very clearly my embarrassment all over my face.
But this party wasn’t about me.
It was for my parents.
What mattered is if they enjoyed it.
Nobody was doing this to embarrass me or mock me. They did it for innocent fun. If anything, we were poking fun at my parents.
I wish I had more fun in that moment.
Regardless, it didn’t matter. It was a memory that everyone holds on to this day.
Now, what in the world does this story have to do with being a freelance writer?!?
The only feedback that matters
Too often, I see writers trying to get everything right in a vacuum.
- The right niche
- The right headline
- The right outreach message
- The right offer
- The right copy voice
But the only way to get these things right is by getting them in front of the audience we’re trying to attract.
For outreach, that means testing out messaging and subject lines and seeing if clients are biting.
For copy, that means putting your draft in front of the client and seeing if they like it or not.
I can give feedback on these things all day – and I do – but ultimately, we reach a point where you have to put it in front of the audience and see what happens next.
Sink or swim.
THAT feedback is going to get you where you want to go faster.
Lay the groundwork for your copywriting business in just one week of work. In this free guide, I hand you all the basics to get you started fast. No catch – just the cheat sheet.
Want a profitable, sustainable copywriting career? Tap into my 15+ years of copywriting experience and build a $3,000-$10,000/month income.