I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Sean D’Souza and his www.psychotactics.com web site, but I’ve been a long time subscriber to his newsletter and blog, and have even purchased how-to products from him. Sean provides very useful business and marketing information in a format that’s pretty entertaining to read.

Anyway, I recently received an invitation from Sean to get one of his workshops for free. Sean’s giving away a workshop he sells for $2500 to a limited number of people. It’s called the Brain Alchemy Masterclass and explains why structure – not marketing – is critical to growing your business.

A free giveaway like this would normally have a catch of some sort (like a forced opt-in membership site that you have to cancel within 30 days to avoid future charges), but this one doesn’t. Unless you count opting into Sean’s e-mail list a “catch” – which I don’t.

Get on the Download Waiting List

I’ve signed up on the waiting list to get the Brain Alchemy Masterclass (he explains why there is a waiting list on his landing page). But, since I haven’t received my copy yet I can’t post a review. Based on Sean’s other downloadable products, however, I expect this to be quite useful – especially since it’s FREE. 

I have no idea how many people will get to opt-in to the waiting list for this free download. But if you’re at all interested, hop on over to Sean’s site and check it out before this opportunity closes: www.psychotactics.com/free-goodies.

Copywriter Confession: There’s absolutely nothing in it for me if you click the links above and register to get Sean’s free workshop. They aren’t affiliate links or anything like that. I’m just sharing this opportunity with my readers because it has value.

Before I launched my freelance copywriting business, I spent three full months planning my escape from corporate America. (Four months if you count the month I spent over-thinking whether I should quit my day job . . . or not.) 

I read Peter Bowerman’s The Well-Fed Writer cover-to-cover. Twice. I built my web-based writing portfolio. I converted our rarely-used formal living room into an office. And I planned my business implementation strategy. 

My early efforts paid off. Within 90 days of starting my business, I had replaced my full time income. 

Whether you want to start a B2B copywriting business or another type of freelance writing business, there are several questions to ask yourself before quitting your day job. 

Here are my top seven: 

1.  Do you have the writing skills and talent to produce marketable content in your field?  

Reality Check: I wrote a lot of marketing copy for my day job. And it was good stuff. I was confident that other companies would agree. Can you say the same for your writing?

If not, spend time acquiring the right experience before quitting your day job. Take some writing classes. Offer your writing services for free to a non-profit organization or a friend with a small business. Hire a writing mentor. Do whatever it takes to gain the writing skills and talent to compete in your market. 

2.  Do you have the cash reserves to replace your day job income for at least four to six months? 

Reality Check: If you and your family rely on your day job paycheck to pay the bills, you MUST have at least four to six months of income stashed in a savings account. It takes time to build a clientele and project backlog so you will need to supplement your freelance income for the first several months – maybe longer. 

I ended up cashing out a small 401K account to create my cash reserves, although I wouldn’t recommend doing that if you have another savings source. But for me, this was the only choice. (Sidenote: since the recent stock market crash would have killed my account value anyway, I don’t have any regrets for putting that money toward building a business.) 

3.  Do you have the full support of your immediate family? 

Reality Check: Starting a freelance writing business is risky. There’s the real possibility that you’ll burn up your savings without getting your business off the ground. (There’s also the real possibility that you’ll be wildly successful and much, much happier as a self-employed business owner.) It is important that your immediate family, meaning your spouse or significant other who also provides an income to support your family, understands this and supports you anyway. 

I honestly believe that having the support of my family is one of the major reasons for my success. When things didn’t go quite the way I wanted, I had an entire team cheering me on. Without that support, it would have been easy to give up. 

4.  Are you prepared to burn your current employment bridge? 

Reality Check: When I quit my day job, I naively expected my current employer to be my first and best client. After all, I knew their business inside and out and they knew I produced quality content. They gave me one project before realizing that I was also seeking work from their competitors. And that was the end of the relationship. 

My market niche is very focused and very competitive. I work with several companies that sell similar software to the same group of prospects. My current clients accept that; my old employer didn’t. Whether you will be working as a freelance writer in your company’s niche or a different market, it’s important to understand that, when you quit your day job, you may be severing that tie forever. If this does happen, will you be okay with that?

5.  Have you planned your business marketing strategy? 

Reality Check: By the last day of your current job, you should have a complete marketing plan in place for quickly getting your business off the ground. As I mentioned earlier, you should have your office set up, your web site built and your online writing portfolio in place. You should also have a list of prospects to contact and your sales pitch ready. In addition, you might want to get your business bank account established and research any business license requirements in your area. Having all of these things in place before you actually launch your business will save valuable time (and money) once you become an official business owner. 

6.  Do you have the self-discipline to be self-employed? 

Reality Check: Working for yourself from home isn’t always easy. Many potential distractions will tempt you to work less and play more, or spend your most productive time doing laundry or running errands. If you want to succeed as a full time freelance writer, you need to commit a set number of hours each day to your work. And the more hours you commit to your start-up business, the greater your chances of success. 

Friends, family and even acquaintances often mistake my work-from-home lifestyle for a stay-at-home mom existence, so it’s a constant battle to set boundaries around day time commitments. Even my own kids expect me to do things for them during my designated workday. Do you have the self-discipline to make your work a priority when a million other things are vying for your time?  

7.  Can you handle the stress of self-employment?

Reality Check: Self-employment is stressful. Some months I’m buried in work and other months I run short. Deadlines constantly nip at my heels and threaten to crush my creativity. If I’m too sick to work, I don’t get paid. Same thing when I take a vacation. The constant stress associated with full time freelance writing isn’t for everyone. But if you’re like me, and overwhelmingly prefer this stress to a “real” job, start planning your escape today!

Congratulations to Valerie Schaeffer for winning the copy of Words that Stick! (Check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize.)

Copywriter Confession: This announcement is a few days late due to a big project deadline and a family illness. Such is the life of a full time working mom. Priorities change often, sometimes hour to hour. You learn to roll with it. (Most of the time.)

 “I’m a freelance writer, but I don’t know anything about copywriting.”  

I recently had a conversation with a down-sized corporate administrative assistant who was trying her hand at freelance writing. She told me that, although she was a freelance writer, she didn’t know anything about copywriting. (I take that back. She did know one thing about copywriting: it paid a LOT better than her current assignments.)

That’s when I showed her how her odd freelance writing jobs and personal communications experience had given her the tools she needs to enter the more financially lucrative world of B2B or even B2C copywriting. She just needed the vision to tweak her talent to fit the corporate mindset. 

From Freelance Writer to Marketing Copywriter 

To illustrate how different types of freelance writing translate into copywriting, here are five ways your experience can pay off in the corporate world: 

1. If you write print magazine articles, then you have the experience to be a corporate ghostwriter of trade magazine articles and advertorials.  
2. If you write fictional short stories, you have the experience to write case studies (truthful storytelling with liberal customer quotes and a marketing twist). 
3. If you write content for article marketing purposes, you have the experience to write content for a corporate blog, internal employee newsletter or external client newsletter. 
4. If you write technical documents or manuals, you have the experience to write marketing white papers.  
5. If you have social media expertise, you have the experience to set up and manage a company’s Facebook page and Twitter account.

Before making the leap from freelance writer to copywriter, you might want to study the type of content that relates to your experience. A wide variety of case studies, trade magazines, white papers and newsletters can easily be found with a quick Google search. 

Copywriter Confession: Years ago I used to write 750 word feature articles for Better Nutrition magazine. My ego loved getting a byline, but the pay was really low. Ghostwriting 750 word articles for construction trade magazines may not be as inspiring as natural health, but the pay is a whole lot higher!

It’s the first Freebie Friday give-away! 

I’m giving away a copy of Rix Quinn’s fantastic book, Words That Stick: A Guide to Short Writing with Big Impact. 

Whether you’re a budding freelance writer or a seasoned professional copywriter, Words that Stick is a great little resource to have within reach – especially if you’re like me and struggle with writing “shorts” that capture the reader’s attention in the first few seconds. (I’ll take a 1,000 word case study over a 250 press release any day – brevity is not my strong point.) 

Why Am I Giving this Book Away? 

It’s a bribe. 

I recently launched Copywriter Confessions to help other writers achieve success in the world of freelance B2B marketing copywriting. But I’m not sure what you want to know. 

Google Analytics tells me that visitors are trickling in. But at the time of this writing, only one person has left a comment.

(Special thanks to Maryan Pelland over at OnText for leaving me very useful feedback on my 10 Tips post. Maryan’s site offers great nuts-and-bolts advice and various resources to help writers earn a living from their craft.)

So I’ve decided to launch my first Freebie Friday give-away contest to bribe you to leave a comment – and get the conversation going! 

Entering to Win is Easy 

To enter the drawing to win Words that Stick, simply leave a comment below that includes one question you would like me to answer about copywriting in general or about starting/growing your own copywriting business. That’s it! 

The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 5:00pm PDT. (I’ll announce the winner in a new post the following day.)