Last year, a friend of mine wanted to become a professional copywriter.
I gave her a list of 5 books and told her to study and apply, even if it meant doing some free work.
Last week she told me that she never got the books, but instead she paid 4.997€ for a high-ticket video course that teaches less than half of what she could find in 100€ of books.
You don’t need the next high-ticket “video course”.
Courses feel more impressive and structured than books.
In reality, watching videos is an inefficient method of learning. Watching a video makes you passive. Reading a book forces you to actively think. And, the more you read, the faster you are at skimming through the pages to find exactly the information you need.
On the other hand, skimming through 20+ hours of video course can be extremely tedious and inefficient.
Practice is still essential.
Reading is not enough.
You have to take notes about what you read. And you have to put into practice everything you learn. Otherwise, it won’t stick.
Doing free work for others is an amazing strategy for aspiring copywriters: you get real-world experience under your belt, and it will get you way more paying clients than you imagine.
Books are more valuable in every way.
Right now, in front of me is the new edition of MJ DeMarco’s “The Millionaire Fastlane.”
It’s a 22.95-dollar book. It’s 318 pages long, which makes for approximately 8 hours of video course (if you only read the book and don’t add hours of fillers like you see in most online courses). You know how much it costs to take a course that says exactly the same things you find in a book?
Plus, a book is easily accessible, so you can get to it whenever you need a refresher.