Former Musician Hits the High Note and Finds Freedom as a Copywriter

Former Musician Hits the High Note and Finds Freedom as a Copywriter

Jim W. spent 31 years in a fulfilling career as a professional musician, both as a singer and drummer. He would spend his weekends traveling from one local town to the next, running into the wee hours while performing on stage for large crowds. Although he loved certain aspects of this lifestyle, the late nights and touring were becoming too much to handle.

Aside from being a musician, Jim had a background in technology and taught part-time at the local community college. He enjoyed teaching and wanted to find a way to supplement his part-time income without sacrificing his nights and weekends on stage.

After he got married and kids entered the picture, Jim’s situation became more dire and he knew he wanted to retire from the musician lifestyle. “Being on stage and playing in front of thousands of people is fun but loading gear into a truck at 3 AM and getting home at 5 – not so fun.”

Singing a New Tune as a Web Writer

In his search for alternate careers, writing came up. It was always something he’d had an interest in, and as a college teacher he was certainly no stranger to it – but could he really make money from it? He would never have considered it to be a viable career option until he discovered American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI). “The way that AWAI helped… is to allow me to see that this is actually real and achievable, and there's plenty of other people doing it. And there's no reason for me not to be one of those people.”

Discovering the path to starting a lucrative career in writing through AWAI was the nudge that Jim needed. He started by taking a program they offered called How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites, taught by Nick Usborne. Being naturally inclined towards all things tech and web-related, the idea of getting paid to build websites appealed to him.

He also became a member of the Wealthy Web Writer and started to regularly attend the monthly calls on the site hosted by Heather Robson. She always ended her call encouraging members to send emails with proposals and pitches. In the beginning, Jim suffered from “imposter syndrome” and second-guessed himself. “I would write the email, and my finger would hover over the send button… and then I would chicken out and not send it.”

As he continued to tune into the calls, he eventually gathered the courage to send his first email with a proposal. To his delight, Heather responded positively! This courageous move led to her publishing his work and was the start of a rewarding venture as a reality blogger on the site for several years.

When a friend approached Jim looking for someone to help him with social media management, he used the knowledge he had gained from taking AWAI courses to offer his own services, and ended up working for him for over 2 years. “I got 27-30x the value of the course … It actually gave me the knowledge that I needed and the confidence that I needed to say, yes, I can do this now… without AWAI, I might not have gotten to that point.”

Success Takes Center Stage at the Copywriting Event of the Year

Although he was now for all intents and purposes working as a copywriter, it wasn’t until Jim decided to attend AWAI’s FastTrack to Success Bootcamp and Job Fair that he truly started to kick off his career. There, he found himself surrounded by people who genuinely wanted to help him succeed. He met copywriters of all skill levels, from newbies to experts. He felt comforted knowing that there were others there that felt like him, and that they were in it together. He has since made sure to attend every Bootcamp possible in the last seven years.

At Bootcamp, he was able to network with other like-minded writers and marketers while finding new opportunities to refine his craft, including working with AWAI’s president, Rebecca Matter. “I actually came full circle back… and I worked with Rebecca teaching part of the “Build Your Freelance Website in Four Days” program. Since then, I’ve become more involved with the program and have done additional videos and work for the digital copywriting program.”

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Without a doubt, the greatest benefit of being a copywriter for Jim is that it has given him freedom to do what he loves. He recalls a time when he was participating in an adult softball league and overheard a large group of people complaining about just how much they hated their jobs. In a world where so many people are stuck in jobs that make them miserable, “it made me really appreciate and enjoy being able to do something that I love.”

Now Jim can work from his home office or even at the school where he teaches, in between classes. He can spend time with his kids and family. He can visit his parents who live a few minutes by the lake nearby. And when the mood strikes on some lovely afternoon, instead of being stuck in an office, he can take the sailboat out for a cruise.

“I have the freedom and flexibility of not being tied to a job or having to worry about the economy killing my job. Combine that with being able to do what I want, when I want, within reason – to me, that is success.”

Jim’s Tips for Copywriters

- It’s never too late to start - “The best time to plant an Oak tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today. I came back to writing in my thirties or forties. So it's never too late to do what you want to do.”

- Don’t worry about finding a niche in the beginning – “Don’t obsess over finding a niche to the point of never starting anything. You may not know what niche you want to get into, so it’s fine to try different things. Just start.”

- Step out of your comfort zone – Jim knew that starting any new venture would have its ups and downs, but in order to succeed he had to step out of his comfort zone and put aside his fears. “Celebrate the successes… and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Trust in what you’re doing.”

Ready to discover what success could look like for you?

Click here to learn about the program that helped jumpstart Jim’s writing career, the FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp and Job Fair.