The #1 habit that boosted my skill and confidence as an email copywriter

When I first got started in email copywriting, I wasn’t super confident in my abilities.

I had worked for a year as a full-time generalist copywriter for a Silicon Valley tech startup, writing every kind of copy under the sun.

And I had done a bunch of one-off projects with other clients.

But despite all that, I still wasn’t 100% confident in my email copywriting chops.

I looked at the big “email gurus” who wrote daily emails to their list, and I wasn’t entirely sure if I could do what they did.

Because I had never actually DONE it. So there was always some lingering self-doubt in the back of my mind.

I desperately wanted to gain experience, and overcome this self-doubt…

But I didn’t have a list or a client with a list…

So in December 2020, I challenged myself to write and publish a post on Facebook every single day.

It wasn’t easy at first, and I was TERRIFIED to put myself out there.

But after a while, I started to notice a “mental shift” happening inside me…

I started to hit my stride…

And by practicing CONSISTENTLY every single day, my skill leveled up far faster than it ever had before.

Occasionally, I’d get an awesome comment on one of my posts from someone who enjoyed it.

Which gave me a little bit of social proof and validation… and it felt amazing.

And over time, I started to gain confidence in my email copywriting chops.

I proved to myself that I could actually DO this.

Then, after a few months, I started my own email list…

And I began to publish the same content to both my email list and my Facebook timeline.

And even though I only had a few people on my list, I was able to gain experience with managing an email list.

Even though it was MY list… and even though it was the tiniest list imaginable…

It was still a list, and I was still managing it.

So I learned how to use an email service provider to send broadcast emails every day.

So when I applied for my first email list management gig in October of 2021, and the client asked me if I had any prior experience…

I was able to honestly and confidently say, “Yes.” And I landed an ongoing retainer client that I still have today.

(Then I landed a couple more clients and hit my first $10k+ months four months after I landed my first list management client.)

But it never would have happened if I hadn’t practiced writing my OWN emails… and managing my OWN list.

So if I were just getting started today, the very first thing I would do is start my own email list and start writing my own daily emails.

Because it’s the number-one thing that gave me the skill and confidence I needed to land my first email list management retainer clients.

And it positioned me as an authority over all the other email copywriters who DIDN’T have an email list of their own.

(I even used this as a selling point when talking to clients. Having my own email list was a MAJOR credibility booster, since it showed that I practice what I preach.)

My only regret is that I didn’t start my own email list far SOONER…

Because if I had done it from the very start of my copywriting career, it would have saved me 4 YEARS of struggle, and I’d be MUCH further ahead today.

That’s what I’d do, anyway. And that’s the advice I wish someone had given me when I first got started. But you do you :)

Beau D. Schultz