University Didn’t Teach Me How to Write Copy — How I Became a Freelance Copywriter
“Go to university so you can get a great education, a high-paying job, and open up so many doors of opportunity,” said everyone I know.
Here’s what happened:
I got accepted into a Professional Writing and Communications program where I learned about technical writing, journalistic writing, and scientific writing, and I even had the experience of writing and publishing a book.
After graduation, I applied to all of the marketing, advertising and communication companies I could find. I think at one point, I exhausted all of my local options and started to apply to companies in the U.S.
Then…nothing.
I had interview after interview. I did well, even made it to the third round of interviews with one and boom — diddly squat.
I cried more times than I’d like to admit. I spent hours upon hours staring at the blue light on my laptop every day, desperately trying to find work in my field. It seemed like it would never happen.
So, I did what any 22-year-old would do who kept getting turned down. I started freelance writing.
I took on crappy cheap jobs on Fiverr for months, and while I wrote blog posts for the most ridiculous topics, I also found something called copywriting.
Copywriting — writing meant to sell.
“Damn,” I thought to myself, “that sounds pretty snazzy.” The more I read up about it, the people who were successful at it, how much potential money you could potentially make, and all the creative freedom you had gave me goosebumps.
This is it. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. But the university didn’t teach me how to write copy. I learned how to write everything but copy.
I poured thousands of dollars into online courses, books, and mentors to learn the craft and build my online presence.
I spent months and months learning and applying my knowledge and eventually created Copy by Kristen.
Finally — I could put my skills and knowledge out there for the world and start doing work I actually enjoyed (and get paid whatever I wanted).
It was the best decision I ever made. I have a flexible schedule and amazing clients, and I hit my financial goals within two years of starting.
School, realistically, doesn’t teach us about the real world. It doesn’t teach us how to leverage our skills to land high-paying jobs, it doesn’t teach how to start and grow a business, it doesn’t teach us how to handle penny pinchers who become picky clients, it doesn’t teach us how to build a personal brand; it doesn’t teach us how to emotionally deal with the stresses of life…
I could go on and on. I ultimately found something I’m passionate about, created something for myself and did what I enjoy every day while getting a paycheck.
Do I wish school told me about this sooner? Yes. I would have 100% started freelancing right out of high school and probably would be a few years ahead, experience-wise and financially, than where I am today.
University wasn’t entirely a waste of time. I learned how to publish a book, I learned how to deal with people who wanted credit but didn’t do any of the work on group projects, and how to speak up and ask questions. I learned that if I didn’t ask, the answer was always “no,” I learned to stand up for myself and so much more….
But it still didn’t teach me how to start my copywriting business or encourage uncapped income.
