4 days ago I posted something on social media:

And I had a ton of responses: Many people confused. Asking what they’re supposed to do. Many people upset and offended.

Here’s the thing - I don’t care if you’re offended. I care that you make money as a copywriter and build the life of your dreams. My mission is to help 1 million people make a full time income with freelance copywriting.

But, due to the number of questions asking how to overcome this…

I wanted to make a quick guide to break down the 6 most common reasons you’re still stuck under $1,000/month as a copywriter…

Even if you’ve been learning for 3-6 months.

Ready to finally land some clients as a copywriter?

Let’s begin.

Mistake #1: You’re Not Writing Copy Enough

10 mins/day isn’t enough. 1 hour every 3 days isn’t enough.

You need to do 1 hour every single day minimum.

Back in 2019…

I wrote for 1-3 hours a day as a beginner copywriter.

Woke up before my 12 hour day job to write copy.

Often wrote after work too.

Power writing sessions in the morning, hand copying sales letters/ads, and practicing specialized copy after work.

I was getting in about 1,000+ words/day every day.

Mistake #2: You’re Not Improving Your Copy

Power writing sessions only gets you so far.

Yes you need to do this to build your general writing muscle.

But eventually, you need to make sure your copy converts. This is only possible by studying high-performing copy, reading books, going through courses… and getting a coach to give you feedback on your copy (so they can just tell you your weak spots and exactly how to improve).

I invested $5,000 into my copywriting education in the first year. I bought every copy book and course I could get my hands on. And I learned daily. Read books, listened to podcasts, audiobooks, courses on the way to and from work, and studied after work.

And that led to me landing a client in 6 weeks, quitting my job in 3 months, hitting $9,000/month by month 12. And $10-$15k/month since.

I would have gotten coaching or joined a community back in 2019 when I started, but that wasn’t really a big thing at the time or super accessible. Now, it’s easier than ever to get extra support to improve your copy.

Mistake #3: You’re Not Outreaching the Right Way in 2026

Stop sending generic copy paste outreaches.

You need to put some thought into your outreach messages.

Give free copy audits and copy samples up front. 

Take an hour for each prospect you pitch. Make it actually good. If not, you’re wasting your time.

If they can take what you said in your audit/copy sample and implement themselves (and get results), it’s good enough.

If it wouldn’t get them better results? Make it better.

I was stuck at under $1,000/month for the first 6 months because I was sending generic outreaches with some proof. I was outreaching a lot. High volume. But it wasn’t personalized or helpful.

The moment I started sending sniper bomb audits/samples, I went grew to $5,000/month, then $7,000 the next month, and it just kept growing.

Mistake #4: You’re All Over the Place As a Copywriter

Don’t be the everything guy.

Amazon didn’t start as the “everything store.”

They started as a book store. The same is true for you if you want to make money with this thing.

You’re all over the place with your niche and specialty. Stop pitching everyone with every type of copy. You’re making it harder on yourself.

Instead, pick one niche (who you outreach to) and one copy specialty (the type of copy you write - like ads, emails, or sales pages).

After you get 1-3 clients and case studies of results, do whatever you want. Keep going, pivot, or broaden your niche. It’s way easier to gain initial traction in one tight lane.

Mistake #5: You’re Targeting the Wrong People

You could be a great copywriter.

You could be doing the best outreach strategy.

But…

None of that matters if you’re going after broke prospects.

You need to stop pitching everyone with a pulse.

You need to actually outreach to rich business owners. Aim for businesses making at least $50-$100k/month already. That way there’s enough of the pie available for you so you can easily land a $2-5k/month retainer.

It’s REALLY tough to convince someone making $5k/month to pay you $2k/month. They aren’t going to give you 40% of their revenue.

But… a brand doing $50-$100k has no problem paying you 2-4% of their rev to grow their business.

Look for signs a prospect is making that kind of revenue like followers, a clear offer, social proof, and if they’re running active ads.

At the 6 month mark as a copywriter… not only did I start sending free audits/samples.

I also stopped focusing on broke prospects and instead started becoming more intentional in who I reached out to.

I put myself in environments where I’d run into business owners (both physically where I lived - Chiang Mai Thailand which is a digital nomad/online business owner hub), and online - to get around guys with money.

And it paid off. I 5Xd my income in one month $1k-$5k and then hit $7k, $9k, $10k, $15k, etc.

I didn’t 10x my copy skills. I just targeted guys with 10x the money. And used those same skills to make way more money.

Mistake #6: You’re Not Outreaching Enough

You could be a great copywriter. Doing the best outreach strategy. Targeting rich business owners.

But at the end of the day, if you don’t pitch clients, you won’t land clients.

And that means no $10k months, let alone $1k.

10 minutes of outreach a day isn’t enough. 30 minutes a day isn’t enough. You should be doing 1 hour per day.

I teach a low volume, high value outreach method - the “Sniper bomb.”

That’s getting most of my students a paid client within 30 days with one outreach per day.

This system requires very few outreaches to get a client - typically 1/30. It’s the fastest, most efficient outreach strategy I’ve seen over the years (after earning over $700,000, landing dozens of clients along the way, and what I’m seeing work best with my nearly 800 copywriting students).

But…

If you only send 3 outreaches a month, even this strategy will take you 10 months to get there.

There are people sending 100-200 outreaches a day with much worse copy skills than you who are making more money than you… simply because they’re doing more volume.

Don’t think this is going to come easy. It won’t.

Don’t think you’re going to land a client on your first outreach (though it sometimes happens, it’s rare).

Don’t think it’s going to be a cakewalk to land a $2,000-$5,000/month retainer.

Everything in life will require more effort and more volume than you think. I promise you that.

But, the payoff will be incredible.

When you tighten up your copy, practice daily, outreach the right way, find business owners with money, and consistently outreach, you can’t lose.

All it takes is 2-5 clients paying you $2,000-$5,000/month and you’re making $10k/month.

So go fix your strategy, follow these tips, and build the business and life of your dreams.

Brandon “skip over my mistakes” Storey

P.S. Reply to this email with “February” if you’re interested in getting personally coached by me in my paid program.

One spot left. Doors close this weekend.