7 Reasons Why New Copywriters Should Start With Catalog Copywriting

One of the fastest and easiest ways to break into freelance copywriting is with catalog copywriting.

Besides the speed and ease in which you can enter it, here are seven other reasons to consider becoming a freelance catalog copywriter:

1. Get paid fast

When you write long form sales letters or ads, it can take weeks -- even months -- to complete a job. And, in most cases, you only get paid a percentage of your fee up front and must wait until you're done (and your client has accepted your piece) to get the rest.

With catalog copywriting it only takes a few days to finish your work and get paid. This frees up your cash flow and lets you move to your next project without having to wait months to get your full fee.

2. No crazy deadlines

Yes, catalogers will give you deadlines.

And sometimes, they may be tight.

But mostly the work is very quick and the deadlines reasonable.

With traditional sales letters, on the other hand, you often must contend with crushing deadlines (especially "rush jobs") that eat up your every waking thought.

Plus, since the copy is longer, you must spend more time editing it -- which often takes almost as much time and energy as writing the ad itself.

3. Quickly hones your copywriting skills

Catalog copy is, word for word, the best kind of copywriting.

There is no room for "slop" or unneeded words. Every word, letter and punctuation mark must earn its place. And it forces you to hit your reader's "hot buttons" in just a few sentences.

Frankly, after doing just a handful of catalog jobs, you'll likely know more about selling with words than many veteran copywriters.

4. Frees your time

As many veteran copywriters know, the real money in copywriting is not writing for clients -- it's writing for yourself.

In fact, when you write copy for your own products, your income will soar almost automatically.

The great thing about catalog copywriting is that it frees up more of your time to write for your own projects than traditional copywriting does.

Instead of facing looming deadlines that consume several hours at a time, you can hammer out a few copy blocks per day and then get to work on your own projects -- where your long term payoff is.

5. Full or part time

The beauty of catalog copywriting is you can do it full or part time. And as you'll see later in this article, there is a HUGE demand for your services. Not only as a freelancer, but as a paid employee.

This gives you an enormous amount of freedom to plan your schedule and your life the way you want to. Whether you want a safe, secure job or a freelance lifestyle -- the choice is yours when you're a catalog copywriter.

6. No finger pointing

In traditional copywriting -- and even though the copy is only a small part of the overall marketing process -- if your sales letter bombs, you will likely get much of the blame.

This can reflect poorly on you (even if the reason the copy failed is due to a flawed marketing plan) and may hurt your chances of getting work from other clients.

With catalog copywriting, nobody is going to point to you if the catalog bombs. There are just too many other elements outside of your control, and nobody is going to blame the copywriter.

7. Virtually recession proof

The catalog industry did $145 billion in sales last year.

By 2010 it will do at least $200 billion.

Because of this exploding demand for catalogs, there is an insatiable need for people who can write copy -- both newbie writers and seasoned pros.

Even companies with large in-house writers are outsourcing their work -- usually for attractive fees -- and this trend will continue far into the future.

There are no guarantees, of course.

But if you can write at least average copy now, there's a good chance you will never want for more work -- even during down economies.