AWAI celebrates 20 years of writing opportunities

[The Writer’ s Life]( March 27, 2017 Hi {NAME}, Will Newman Do you remember what your life or rather your writing life was like 20 years ago? The reason I ask is this month marks AWAI's 20th Anniversary. A company that started out with a simple idea, to teach copywriting to aspiring writers, has evolved into the premier company that helps ordinary folks achieve their writing dreams and goals. The untold writing opportunities created by AWAI has certainly shaped my writing career. My life 20 years ago hit a significant turning point. One that propelled me into a copywriting career that has been fulfilling both financially and personally. 1997 was the year Linda and I packed up a U-Haul trailer and moved five hours north to the rural mountain community I now call home. It was insane for me to do that. I was just starting out in copywriting, and truth be told, I wasn't doing very well. But I had faith and Linda's support. I won't go through some of my early struggles. I was very lucky, however, to be working with Jenny Thompson at Agora, mostly writing inserts. Jenny was a great Copy Chief for me. The biggest favor she did for me was telling me about a company "just starting out in Florida." The company's purpose: Train copywriters in strategies and secrets that had propelled Agora to its dominance in the publishing field. I guess Jenny saw potential in me … as well as a deep need for improvement. By passing my name onto this infant company, she changed my life. I didn't even know their name. But several months later, not long after we'd moved up here, an unassuming brown box arrived with a Florida return address. I opened the box. In it were a big pile of loose leaf lessons — the very first version of [The Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting](. I thumbed through the pages. The lessons looked good. But, as I've related to you before, I did what many AWAI members do. I let those lessons sit unread. And I let them sit far too long. At that point, I was on the verge of giving up on copywriting. But my biggest cheerleader — Linda — encouraged me to push on, even though I'd taken a "second job" that was really my main source of meager income. She also encouraged me to take another look at the stuff in the brown box sitting on our living room floor. When I did, I no longer thought the lessons looked "good." They were phenomenal. The Accelerated Program changed my life. All because 20 years ago, a small group in Florida decided to train potential copywriters to become successful copywriters. My life wasn't the only thing that's changed. Over the last 20 years, copywriting has changed in ways I could never have imagined. The writing opportunities have grown exponentially. Few people writing copy in those days had any idea how much it would change. When I began copywriting, most opportunities for writers like me were to write things coming through the mail. In those days, savvy direct marketers used a number of very attractive formats to capture their prospects' interest and attention. The standard form, the #10 envelope promotion, is what you see in your mail today most of the time. Variations included different sized envelopes, different colored envelopes, live stamps, and other similar options. But people would often find an envelope in their mailbox from a direct marketer and there wasn't enough to get them to open it. So, direct marketers experimented with magalogs. A magalog looks like a large magazine complete with pictures, charts, graphs, callouts, and other elements to pull the prospect in. These magalogs are still used today. A variation on the magalog was to take the sales content of the #10 letter and turn it into a pocketbook — called a book-a-log. While not colorful like magalogs, book-a-logs' greatest drawing point is the recipient feels he's getting something of real value, something you might find at Barnes & Noble. But then the Internet exploded. Back in 1997, the Internet wasn't quite in its infancy … it was more like a toddler. Only 18% of U.S. households had Internet compared to 88.5% today. There were just under 1,700,000 websites worldwide. Today, 1 billion. The Internet truly changed the face of copywriting in ways few people could have imagined. And AWAI evolved along with those changes. So, in addition to #10 promos, magalogs, and book-a-logs, huge writing opportunities exist for print and the Web. You can now write emails, web copy, VSLs, white papers, email newsletters, social media posts … the opportunities for you to achieve the writer's life are endless. All thanks to the incredible growth of a small group that started out 20 years ago in Florida. Thank you, AWAI, for my success … and for the success of so many other writers. Please comment [here]( and give us your thoughts about the writer's life during this celebration of AWAI's 20th Anniversary. Yours for a successful copywriting career, [Signed] Will Newman P.S. As you can see, the industry has evolved over the years. Thanks to technology, the ways consumers interact with companies are constantly changing. This means being in the know is more important than ever. Thank goodness AWAI sees these changes and trends and stays on top of them. They've taken their collective years of know-how and put it all in one convenient place where you get 24/7 access to it all. As an Infinity member, if you are ever in a pinch and need to know how to write a particular type of project from web pages to white papers, it's at your fingertips. Not sure about the finer points of writing agreements, no worries. Just look through the dozen of business templates available to you through your Infinity membership. Literally, there isn't a single thing you need to advance your career that isn't housed in the Infinity Program. No wonder it's become one of AWAI's most coveted programs. Right now, membership is open to new members. But it's limited. So if you want in, you'll need to act quickly. [You can go here to get all the details.]( P.P.S. Join us tomorrow as Katie Yeakle, Co-Founder and Executive Director of AWAI shares more with us about AWAI's 20-year journey of helping writers from all backgrounds tap their true writing potential and live life on their terms. THE COUNTDOWN HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED Since February 22, 2017, people all over the world have been peeking in on April, the giraffe ready to give birth any time now. By the time you read this, chances are she will have delivered the 150-pound, 6-foot bundle of joy. Zookeepers at the Animal Adventure Park in New York set up a real time Giraffe Cam allowing viewers to see how mom and baby are doing. Little did April, who is 15 years old, know she would become an Internet sensation. This will be her 4th calf. Baby giraffes take up to 15 months before being born. Daddy Oliver is 5 years old. This will be his first time being a Dad. There's another BIG countdown taking place to an event that could literally change the course of your writing career. Today, we start the official countdown to AWAI's FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp and Job Fair. In 211 days from now, we'll open the doors to an event that for almost two decades has captivated an entire industry. The FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp and Job Fair is where you learn firsthand from industry experts … even meet them in person. It's also the place you can launch your copywriting career by submitting Spec Assignments to marketers and companies looking to hire. AWAI member Jon Stoltzfus is a perfect example. The first time he attended Bootcamp was in 2014. He shook hands with marketers, handed in writing samples. Fast-forward to today and he's become part of financial publishing firm, Dent Research's copywriting team. His first promotion for them brought in $2 million in sales. He credits his success to attending Bootcamp. If you've never attended Bootcamp before, this is the year to do so. Each week in The Writer's Life, as we countdown to October 18, 2017, we'll bring you Bootcamp updates, insights, and tips to ensure your copywriting career moves forward faster than April delivers her baby. If you want to secure your spot now (seats sell out fast) [you can do so by going here](. *** What We're Recommending this Week *** Enroll in AWAI's Infinity Program Pay one low price and have "anytime access" to any book, program, or resource AWAI offers – both now and anytime in the future with AWAI's Infinity membership. If you're serious about a career in copywriting or direct response, having access to every resource AWAI offers will not only make you a stronger writer – but it will make sure you're prepared for any copywriting opportunity that comes your way. [Learn more about the Infinity membership here.]( Join the Professional Writers' Alliance for only $29 PWA is a professional organization dedicated to helping writers improve their skills, network and find exciting projects. Along with a long list of member benefits that include thousands of dollars worth of professional content, learning events, paid projects, premium writing tools and more … all dues can be applied dollar for dollar toward AWAI's programs and events. [Register by March 31st to lock in the special rate!]( Launch Your Writer's Life in a Single Day Beginning April 7th, business-building expert Joshua Boswell will be traveling around the North America to help you launch your freelance business. In just one day, you'll have the tools, templates, formulas and confidence to grow your business, land high-paying clients and live the writer's life you've imagined. [Register by April 7th and save $200 off of your registration!]( Free Call: A look Inside the Info-Marketing Industry Million-dollar Copywriter Dan Kennedy takes you inside the hidden information marketing industry and reveals a pathway to well-paying clients with an abundance of assignments available immediately. If you're looking for a surefire way to enter one of the world's most exciting, profitable and in-demand writing niches, you'll want to be part of this first-time webinar with Dan Kennedy! [Grab Your Spot Today!]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2017 American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Inc. 101 SE 6th Avenue, Suite A Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561) 278-5557 or (866) 879-2924 Ensure your subscription delivery. AWAI Whitelisting info available [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this newsletter as {EMAIL}. To unsubscribe from any future issues of The Writer's Life, please click here: [Unsubscribe from The Writer's Life](. To unsubscribe from all AWAI broadcasts click here. [I want to permanently unsubscribe from all AWAI emails](.