One of the smartest things you can do as a copywriter is to eventually get out of the “hours for dollars” trap.
For example…
One of my original mentees (Alec) started out writing emails for $100 a pop for Paleohacks.
Most of these were sales emails…
So he might be promoting a sleep supplement…
Or one of the cookbooks they sold internally.
And everyday he’d write one of these emails for the list, and get paid $100.
So over the course of a month, Alec would make around $3000.
Which is not too shabby for your first copy gig.
Nothing to complain about there…
However, after a few years of this, Alec started to run into a problem.
And that problem was the “hours for dollars” trap.
Basically he was writing 3 emails a day every single day for his multiple clients…
And if he wanted to make more money, the only way he could do it was to write more emails.
Well, there’s a ceiling on that.
Cause there’s only so many hours in the day…
And most copywriters only have a few good hours of productive writing in them.
So if you’re only getting paid for each email you write…
You’re gonna hit a wall at some point.
And you won’t be able to make any more money.
Luckily for Alec, he realized this.
And made a shift in how he worked with clients.
Instead of simply writing emails for his clients…
He started managing his client’s lists.
So he wasn’t just writing the emails that went out each day…
He was also sending them…
And making sure they hit the primary inbox…
And even coming up with promos to do for the list.
So he basically graduated from being an email copywriter…
And leveled-up to being an email list manager.
And as a result…
He was able to make a whole lot more moolah (without requiring more of his time).
So instead of making $100 an email…
He now makes around $6k a month managing one list, PLUS he also gets a % of the revenue that list generates.
So some months he might make $10k…
Others it might be $12k…
That’s 3-4x what he was making before when he was just getting paid $100 an email.
Point being…
When you’re starting out getting paid $50 or $100 to write an email is awesome.
You’re making money…
And getting experience at the same time.
But once you get do that for a year or two, it’s time to “graduate” and move to the next level.
And that next level is leveraging your email skills so you can make money when you’re NOT working.
This is how you triple or quadruple your income.
It’s all about leverage.
And managing an email list for a client is a perfect example of using leverage.
I’ve watched Alec do this…
And I’ve seen other copywriters like Jerrod Harlan, Tanner Henkel, Whitney Pressuto, Mary Bell, Eric Panter, Joey Percia and others do it as well.
So it’s a proven path…
And if you’re serious about doing this…
I suggest looking to Troy Ericson for help.
Troy has been managing email lists for a few years now…
And he was able to take himself from being an “hours for dollars” copywriter to a list manager making $20k+ per month.
And now he’s helping other copywriters to do the same.
He put together a killer list manager certification that teaches you all the ins-and-outs of managing a list.
He shows you how to do everything from tracking to landing in the primary inbox.
And even how to come up with promos for the list you manage.
He literally takes you by the hand and shows you everything you need to know to be a list manager.
Which is why you see the original students that went through Troy’s certification taking over a lot of the email lists in our space.
It’s a needed skill.
And business owners are GLAD to pay for it.
So if getting out of the “hours for dollars” trap appeals to you…
I suggest you check out Troy’s list manager certification right here.
I don’t recommend a lot of things to my list…
But this thing is legit.
And will help you have those $10k, $20k or even $30k months.
I will warn you though…
Getting certified as a list manager through Troy’s program is NOT cheap…
It’s not $20,000 expensive like a mastermind…
But it’s not cheap.
However if you like writing emails…
And you want to get out of the “hours for dollars” trap…
I suggest checking out Troy’s list manager cert here.
It gets my highest recommendation.
– Justin
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