What Does a First Copywriting Client Look Like?

You want to start copywriting, but you don’t know how it works. No worries, I’m here to walk you through it. Here’s what nobody tells you about your first copywriting client: landing that first client can feel a lot like accidentally falling into a swimming pool … fully clothed, startled, and trying to act like you meant to do that.

At least, that’s how it felt for me. Here’s what to expect when you’re trying to land your first copywriting client.

Where do you find your first copywriting client?

Your first client will probably come from your existing professional or social circle. Full stop. You’ve got a built-in element of trust with people who know you.

Here’s what it looked like for me: I was having coffee with an old friend and told her I wanted to start freelancing. I was working as a reporter at a local newspaper, making no money, and there were rumors the paper was for sale and would be shuttered. I was saying it mainly because I was worried I’d be out of a job soon.

She said she knew a web developer who was always looking for reliable writers and offered to make an introduction. I gladly accepted. I had a vague knowledge of blog writing and SEO, so I brushed up on web writing while waiting for the guy to respond.

A few emails later, I found myself having lunch with that web developer talking about his latest project: a website redesign for a manufacturing company. He needed a copywriter to rework the old copy. The client also wanted someone to rewrite their sales materials. I found myself picking at a salad with this stranger, nodding along, trying to project confidence while quietly making a note of everything I didn’t know about manufacturing. Or writing sales copy.

But hey, he needed copy aimed at the general public. I knew how to write for a general audience, and I could interview subject matter experts and break down technical information. Anything I didn’t already know, I could figure out. I did that every day at the newspaper.

I said I’d love to do the job, and we talked about the client’s budget. It wasn’t a huge project, but it was a solid month of work. I could do it on my down-time. It was a win-win.

You already know more than you realize.

At first, it was scary to step into this new world. I tried to think of it like interviewing sources for an article. You don’t need to have all the answers, you only need to ask the right questions of the right people.

I spent two days at the facility talking to people who designed and made widgets, and I learned as much as I could about their products and processes. Who were their customers? What problems did they solve? I was halfway through the first draft when I realized: hey, I already knew how to do most of this.

I still had to learn copywriting mechanics like optimizing headlines and CTAs and conversion frameworks. (And here are the exact copywriting books I used.) But the foundational work of writing good copy? I’d been doing that for years under a different job title.

Even if you’re not trained in journalism, most writers are curious people. It’s natural to interview people and ask questions until you understand their world. We also tend to be good at simply explaining things. Our job as writers is to translate complex information into language any non-expert can follow. We do that in any form of communication.

With copywriting, we’re writing to a specific reader (a target customer) instead of a vague general audience. We’re explaining something that makes their jobs or lives easier. You probably already do this without thinking about it.

It doesn’t take a writing degree. It only takes thinking skills and the ability to clearly explain information.

If you’ve been writing professionally in any context, whether it’s journalism, video content, communications, internal docs, anything — you’re further along as a copywriter than you think.

What copywriting skills do you need to learn?

With that said, I had to learn a few things about copywriting before turning in that first draft.

Copywriting has its own logic. It’s not like writing a novel or writing a news article. Your reader isn’t there to be entertained (although it helps to be entertaining). The reader is there because they have a problem, and you have a solution. You’re guiding them through their decision-making process.

Every sentence you write is subtly moving them toward a decision. What does that mean in practice?

• Your job is to explain and persuade. Not in a manipulative way. In a way that genuinely presents a solution to their problem.
• Your reader wants a solution. They want to feel better, look better, find the perfect widget … copywriting helps them understand more about your solution and why it might work for them.

I leaned on books to learn persuasive writing. (Here’s that list of copywriting books again.) The fundamentals aren’t hard to learn. It just takes a little time to absorb and apply them to your writing. I learned on the job, and you can, too.

The first draft I turned in was fine. Not great, but serviceable. The client gave me feedback, and I revised. It got better. He approved it. And my first copywriting project wrapped.

Once you have one project down, the process gets easier and your drafts get better. I ended up working with that web developer for three years.

Your first project will probably feel a little messy, because most first attempts are messy. But keep your cool and remember you can figure it out as you go. Nothing is a disaster, even if your first couple of attempts aren’t as polished as you imagined in your head before you started. Just like me, you’ll figure it out as you go along.

That’s exactly how any new skill works.

What does your first copywriting job look like?

Here are a few things I tell everyone when they’re starting out:

1. Your first client rarely comes from a cold pitch. Mine came through a personal connection, and yours probably will, too. It will probably be someone who knows someone who needs a thing written. Your network knows you can write. You just need to let them know you’re available for hire. That’s a short conversation you can have with anyone.
2. You don’t need a full writing portfolio to get the first job. You need to understand the client’s problem well enough to convince them you can solve it. Ask good questions. Take good notes. Show up like a professional. Have a couple of general writing samples available if they ask. Your portfolio will develop as you land more projects.
3. Imposter syndrome is real, but it shouldn’t stop you. It quiets down once you’re actually doing the work. Doing the work is the cure for feeling scared or unsure of yourself.
4. Structured frameworks help more than raw talent. This one surprised me. Being a professional writer has less to do with being a talented “creative” and more to do with having a system for thinking through copy. Who’s the reader, what do they want, what’s standing in the way, what’s the ask? Knowing how to answer those questions is the most useful skill you can build. Strong writing serves that framework. Not the other way around.

What comes after that first gig?

That first project will eventually lead to another. Then referrals. If you consistently deliver professional, polished copy, then you’ll build a pipeline that creates a business. Continue learning. Continue growing. Deliver professional work. And you’ll have a steady stream of work in no time.

I’m not going to tell you the path is linear or easy. It took me years to figure it out. But I will tell you that the version of me at that first meeting — nervous, underprepared, making it up as I went along — was actually more ready than I realized at the time.

You probably are, too.

If you want a more structured path into copywriting, check out Byline to Bottom Line, my quick-start guide for journalists to break into copywriting. Even if you’re not a journalist, it walks you through how to frame your skills and includes templates for reaching out to your first copywriting clients. It’s built for writers who have the instincts, but need a system to get started.

Learn more about Byline to Bottom Line