your writing practice

Here are 3 things you should try … [The Writer’ s Life]( November 18, 2022 "Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice." – Anton Chekhov Happy Friday, {NAME}! Do you have a daily writing practice? I'll admit, it took me a while to build one … But it's been a game changer when it comes to my writing speed and ability to generate new ideas. There's no "right way" … it's really whatever works best for you, whether that's a certain amount of writing time, or a set number of words … Although I will say that writing at the same time, every day, helps me stay consistent. Oh, AND not judging what you write. (That comes later when you're editing!) But what to write? Today, our Senior Copy Chief, Sandy Franks gives you three ideas … One that forces you to learn while you write … One that sets you up to also [make money from your daily writing practice]( … And one that can land you clients (three great extra bonuses!). As you'll see in her essay below, daily writing is what takes a good writer to great. So, make it a priority, and get a practice in place. You'll see improvement rather fast, and you'll find it WAY easier to write. Over to you Sandy! Hope you have a nice weekend, [Rebecca Matter’ s signature] Rebecca --------------------------------------------------------------- When Eldrick Tont Woods, also known as Tiger, hit the golf circuit in the late 1990's most people assumed he was a natural-born talent. After all, at just 22 years old, Tiger won the Masters Tournament, one of golf's most prestigious events. He then went on to win the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. The same thing could be said about other star athletes such as gymnast Simone Biles, who seemed to defy gravity with her larger-than-life triple-double flips, and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, with a whopping 23 medals to his name. But is their success because of a special gene for golfing, gymnastics, or swimming? Experts have studied this same question for years and the collective answer is no. Florida State University psychologist Anders Ericsson and science writer Robert Pool wrote about their findings in the book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise ... The two agree that the idea of genetic factors — or innate talent — is a myth. So then what makes someone rise to the top of their profession? It comes down to practice, practice, and practice. Or as John Adams first wrote in his 4-part diary, Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, practice makes perfect. And the earlier you practice your craft, the better you become at it. That's what makes it seem as if someone is a natural-born talent. Tiger's dad taught him how to swing a golf club at a very early age. In fact, at the age of two, he was showing off his swing on national television. With his father's guidance, Tiger practiced every day. When it was time to make his debut as a professional, he was more than ready. The same is true with writing. You become a great writer by writing regularly … daily in fact. In our industry, the A-list copywriters like Clayton Makepeace, Mike Palmer, Marcella Allison, and Jedd Canty weren't overnight successes. By this I mean, they didn't wake up one day, decide to write a sales letter, and the next day it broke records for their clients. And they don't possess a special writing gene. Nope, instead they were constantly learning and constantly writing. That is the only way to become a better writer. You must practice your craft. It's not enough to land a client, take on the project, and get paid. Don't get me wrong — it's an accomplishment for sure. But since we're talking about writing regularly, what happens when that project is complete? The writing stops until your next gig comes along. That downtime means you aren't writing. And if you're not writing, then you're not practicing your craft. So today, I'm going to share a few tips on how you can go about upping your writing skills by practicing. Practice method #1: Re-write copy you collect in your niche. By now you know the importance of keeping a swipe file. As a refresher, a swipe file is your personal collection of sales letters and content pieces from companies within your niche. Each day, take one of those pieces and re-write them. You can do it by hand or on the computer. What this does is help you see the flow of copy, understand transitions, and pick up on tone. And when you do this concentrated effort within your niche, you're getting more and more familiar with how clients speak to customers. When it's time to write for them, you're not wasting any time learning how they communicate. You've already nailed it. Practice method #2: [Write your own blog posts.]( When you commit to starting your own blog, you automatically have the opportunity to write every day. This is what keeps a blog fresh, and readers interested. With a blog you're able to write on subjects you're passionate about, which is also beneficial because it makes the writing process feel effortless. But there's another benefit to learning to write a blog. Clients need blogs because they're valuable resources to customers. And they actually make money for companies too. Lots of it. Kathryn Aragon, founder of Jcurve Agency, spent two weeks pouring over the analytics of content her company produced for clients over the past few years. She looked at keywords, along with the web traffic the blog brought in, and the sales that were directly correlated to the blogs. She found one blog post could be worth at least $25,000. If you can perfect your ability to write blog posts (and you will with [AWAI's training program](), you could be earning some incredible income. And what's the best way to become perfect? Yes … by practicing. Practice method #3: Write posts on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has been growing like crazy over the past few years. Right now, there are 57 million organizations on the platform. You can narrow that number down to clients within your niche. And you can also join groups that are related to your niche. Then it's simply a matter of posting something interesting. In fact, it only takes a few clicks of your mouse to create a post. If you make it a habit to post daily, you'll find that people will start to notice your posts. And one of those people could be your ideal client. Talk about the ultimate payoff! So when you're not writing for clients, be writing for yourself. Because going from good to great all comes down to practice. Keep learning and writing, Sandy Franks Senior Copy Chief, AWAI FLASH SALE: Test Drive AWAI's Copywriting Program for $29 [ATD Product Spread] If you've ever been curious about copywriting, TODAY is your chance to test-drive our flagship program The AWAI Method™ for Becoming a Skilled, In-Demand Copywriter for just $29. When you master persuasive writing with our industry-leading training, you'll be in big demand in this 3.5 trillion-dollar industry. You can make a good living, choose your own hours, and work from anywhere in the world. [But hurry, this test-drive offer ends tonight!]( What's Hot at AWAI … 💰 What's one of the EASIEST writing projects and quickest ways to get paid?! [Click here to find out!]( 😎 Curious about how to make your first $1k as a writer? [Watch this!]( 🚀 [This writing specialty brings freelance stability plus income rocket fuel](. 🤩 [Austin marketing manager exceeds corporate income with copywriting.]( Finding creative inspiration … in B2B!?! Yes … [Barefoot Writer Living the Writer's Life Craig Grossman] When you think of B2B, creativity isn't the first word that pops into your mind … But for Craig, who uses writing as his creative outlet, he's found a way to marry his experience of B2B sales and the inspiration he receives from helping small businesses to create his perfect version of the writer's life. [Read more here.]( Have your own story to share? Email us at mysuccess@awai.com, or [post it over in the Facebook group](, so we can celebrate your win too! Your ALL-ACCESS Key — Just $1! Get instant access to this exclusive B2B writing community and ALL their private resources, including … All the success roadmaps … All the writing templates … All the articles … All the how-to videos … All 150+ training webinars … The Forum, the Job Board, the tutorials, the tools … And much more! [Go Here for More Details]( Free Training Video: Get PAID to Write About WINE! There has never been a better time to become a writer for the wine market … No matter what your background experience is … How much or how little writing you've done before … Or what your goals as a writer are … You CAN earn great money sipping and writing for the wine market. Find out how — including how you can get started in as little as four weeks — all in this FREE video training from Katie Yeakle, CEO of AWAI. 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