4 biggest copywriting mistakes (and how to AVOID them)

Learning is counterintuitive.

In the beginning, the fastest way to level up is not to focus on “getting better”...

It’s to avoid making common mistakes.

And copywriting is no different.

Today, I’m revealing the 4 biggest mistakes I made in my career so you can avoid them.

These kept me spinning my wheels for much longer that necessary.

Let’s dive in.

Read time: 3 minutes and 38 seconds

Together with The Curiosity Chronicle

Discover the step-by-step frameworks & mental models behind health, wealth, and success

They say success leaves clues.

Good news is, you don’t have to put on your best Sherlock Holmes outfit to go find them, because The Curiosity Chronicle does it for you.

In his free newsletter, entrepreneur and investor Sahil Bloom breaks down frameworks, mental models, and step-by-step playbooks for high-performance in all areas of life twice a week.

So if you’re serious about upleveling your health, wealth, relationships, and business…

Join 325,000+ high-performers and subscribe for free today.

MISTAKE #1: Writing everything from scratch

In the beginning, I thought being a copywriter meant I had to write everything fresh.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Newbies try to reinvent the wheel.

Pros take proven frameworks and put a fresh spin on them.

How to avoid it:

• Study the underlying structure of high-converting copy

• Collect proven templates

• Build a swipe file

You’ve gotta learn the rules before you can break them.

MISTAKE #2: Ideating & writing in the same session

I struggled with writer’s block early on in my career because I would sit down to write before I had an idea.

Spoiler alert:

Staring at a blank page scares away new ideas.

How to avoid it:

• Schedule time for ideation each week

• Write down ideas as soon as they come to you

• Use topics & angles to frame your content

Don’t sit down to write until you have the idea.

MISTAKE #3: Learning from too many people

There’s an embarrassment of riches out there when it comes to copywriting teachers.

I’ve learned from a lot of them over the course of my career.

But you don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen.

It’s confusing and counterproductive.

How to avoid it:

• Pick 1-2 people to learn from

• Binge their products & content

• Spend 3-6 months implementing before you move on

Everything can work if you work it.

MISTAKE #4: Not finding mentors early on

Everyone sucks at the beginning.

But if you’re not getting regular feedback from a pro, you’ll keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

I had two mentors that were instrumental in my copywriting career.

One was the CEO of a supplement company I worked for.

The other was an Agora-trained copywriter whose program I bought & coaching I actively sought out.

How to avoid it:

• Join a copywriting community

• Seek out programs with a coaching component

• Consider working in-house (if you’re a freelancer)

Lone wolves rarely make it to the top.

Putting it All Together

Avoid these 4 copywriting mistakes to uplevel your skills ASAP:

• Writing everything from scratch

• Ideating & writing in the same session

• Learning from too many people

• Not finding mentors early on

Focus on mastering the fundamentals first.

You don’t need to be a creative genius to consistently write copy that converts.

That’s it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next week.

Jim Hamilton