Not that you should care…

But I no longer have a copywriting apprentice.

Due to reasons I won’t bore you with, I decided she will no longer be my apprentice. (And no, I’m not looking for another one, so don’t be a dumb ass and ask after I just said I’m not looking for one.)

But, I occasionally still help her out.

Sometimes give her advice.

And, steer her away from the pitfalls.

(And, can you believe it, she listens better now that she did when she was my apprentice… dames…)

Anyway, here’s the point:

Recently, I looked at a headline she wrote.

It was pretty good, too, and would get the job done.

But, I knew it could be better. So, I quickly batted out a new headline and sub-headline and emailed it back to her.

Her response?

“you ass. you did it again. No matter how good I think I am getting at this…. you always show me up by multipliers.”

My retort?

“You don’t have to beat me. You just have to try and keep up…”

And that’s the lesson my dear little fledgling:

A lot of times you could be studying something written by someone with much more experience (and talent) than you, and get discouraged.

Like maybe you’re not good enough for this business.

Or that you’re inferior.

Or any kind of self-defeating thinking.

Don’t.

Everyone starts somewhere.

Even the great Gary Bencivenga (universally considered the world’s greatest living copywriter) said he sucked out loud (not his exact words, but you catch my drift) for the first 10 years of his career.

Ten years!

And that’s the best of the best.

So fret not if you’re struggling at this.

Work on it every day… don’t be afraid to make mistakes… and realize that, even if you do suck, if you know your market and have a hot, responsive list… you can write “C” (even “D”) level copy and still make out like a bandit.

BTW…

If you want to hire my former apprentice let me know.

But, a word of warning:

She doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

She’s not going to work for a percentage of your business or JV with you or anything like that — cash only, Toots.

And, she’s busy.

She’s not cheap, either.

(Full disclosure: I get a finders fee. But I am not apprenticing her, so don’t hire her thinking you’re getting a package deal like before. I will give her some advice or guidance or whatever if I’m in a generous mood, but 99% of it is her.)

Anyway, reply back if you’re interested.

I’m going to “screen” people.

So send as much detail about your project as you can.

(I’m quick to delete on the first sign of bullcrap.)

That’s it for today.

Word up.

Ben Settle