My first copywriting client wasn't a copywriting client

On February 16, 2019, it happened.

I was six weeks into my copywriting journey.

A brand new copywriter.

And I was working hard at building my business up.

After my application to Upwork was rejected several times…

I was a bit discouraged.

But I kept pressing on, and decided to give Fiverr’s platform a shot.

And it worked.

After not even knowing what the word “copywriting” was 6 weeks before…

I had secured my first client.

For $15 (technically $30 because he bought two pieces of copy).

Sure, it wasn’t much (but I was happy to get anything at this point).

But here’s the thing…

What many people don’t know is this wasn’t actually a copywriting client.

It was a blog post client.

I wasn’t writing direct response copy.

I was writing content.

In fact, despite training myself up as a direct response copywriter from the start…

I specialized into content first — as an SEO blog post writer.

And that’s the bulk of what I did for the first 6 months as a copywriter.

But…

I didn’t stay there.

Around the 6 month mark, I started learning email copy.

By month 7 I got my first email client — a $1,100 welcome email series.

By month 8 I got my second email client — a $7,000 welcome email series.

And things just started to snowball from there.

People always ask me…

“Why didn’t you just write sales pages or email copy or ads from day one?”

“You weren’t a copywriter!”

“Why did you write blogs? That’s content, not copy!” (as if I was committing crimes against humanity).

Want to know the answer?

Because I wanted to.

I liked writing blog posts. It was (and still is) enjoyable for me.

In fact, I still write blog posts for some of my copy clients, like beehiiv.

So why did I start learning email copy at the 6 month mark?

Because I wanted to.

I recommend taking the same approach when it comes to picking your copy specialty.

(Don’t be a generalist who can “write anything for anyone”)

You need to specialize and get good at ONE core type of copy.

But picking the right specialty isn’t an easy choice.

You’ve got:

• Ads

• Blogs

• Emails

• Web copy

• Sales pages

• Lead Magnets

• Social ghostwriting

And many, many more.

How do you choose?

Just start experimenting.

For me, I thought I was going to be the next Gary Halbert — a master sales letter writer.

But, I quickly realized sales pages weren’t my favorite.

So…

I wrote some blog posts. And I liked it. So I dove in. And wrote a blog post every single day for the first 6 months (hint hint: there’s a lesson there).

Then when I dove into email, I wrote one every day (hint hint).

If you’re stuck on your copy specialty, then test out a new style of copy this week.

One you haven’t tried yet.

Look at swipe files. Optimize them. Rewrite them. And get your reps in.

You might just find your thing before you know it.

Then, once you find your specialty, get your reps in with it, own it, and you’ll be well on your way to making your first $1,000 month and beyond.

-Brandon “I like emails and blogs” Storey

P.S. Watch this vid if you want help finding your specialty (including my 3 favorites in 2025).