How does one get started in Copywriting?

[mnymkr]

My friend Jeff is a wonderful writer and often does stuff for our colleagues like editing papers or writing cover letters. I told him he might try this market. Am I leading him the wrong way? Whats the best way for him to start? How much should he charge? Any information would be very helpful.

[Tyler Banfield]

If he's a good writer, send his e-mail addresss to me via a PM (I'm currently hiring quality writers, and I've only found a few on DP that meet my standards)

[mnymkr]

I am PMing you. I have a few that I use. One is mostly copyedit. The other is a publisher but if you want a quality research no plagerism guy Jeff is your man. Thanks!

[Tyler Banfield]

No problem, I am always looking for quality and reliable writers

[Tyler Banfield]

Well, I sent Jeff his first assignments this morning

You were very right, after looking at his samples, he seems like an excellent writer

Thanks for the recommendation!

[marketjunction]

It's something to look into. Editing letters is a long way from copywriting. One of the fundamentals of any solid copywriter is marketing ability. If the writer does not know marketing fairly well, he or she won't make a good copywriter.

He should begin by reading the work of other great copywriters to get a feel. Taking formal classes at college are a big help, as well as reading books on the subject. Like any craft, writing takes practice. Once you have a solid foundation, get to work.

As to charging, that really depends on his ability. I can tell you that it's possible to make a couple hundred dollars for an hour of work, but it's also possible to make nothing.