In school, I sat up front and answered all the questions –even when no one asked. I slept through classes and still scored A’s.
Yes, I was the Hermione Granger-type, annoyingly smart.
For the last seven years, however, I’ve been working earnestly to erase everything I learned. Here’s why…
In the real world, my big, fat brain just got me in trouble all the time. And as a freelance copywriter in business for myself, it would be the death of me.
Academic-types suck at business and die penniless for many reasons, but these are the worse…
- They can’t help but correct people when they blurt out wrong information.
- Their patience thins easily around people “dumber” than them. (Instead of helping them and getting paid well for it).
- They get lost in theory and research, and never actually DO anything.
- They always manage to come up with great excuses for #3.
I’m not completely “fixed” yet. Those “smart people traps” still hurt me every once in a while… but at least I’ve denounced them.
So what does this mean for your copywriting career?
Good question.
Since getting a real job in the corporate world and working with thousands of people, I realized something…
- You don’t have to be smart to get sucked into these “smart people traps.” In fact, many people suffer from them!
- You can lose patience with your prospective copywriting clients when they don’t “get” direct response copywriting.
- You can drown in research for your sales letter and never sit down to write it. (There’s always that one elusive sales copy nugget out there…)
- You can make up Mission Impossible scenarios on why you’re not promoting your copywriting skills enough or asking for the fees you deserve.
Do whatever you can to break out of these “smart people traps” immediately.
Your wallet will thank you for it.