How To Find a Copywriting Mentor

Everyone starts at zero (yes, including me). I literally spent months there. It wasn't until I found a great mentor that I finally got out of the mud.

At some point, if you want to start your own copywriting business (and make good money), you can’t do it alone. 

You don't have to do what I did, though. I spent months talking to business owners and pitching into oblivion.

I'll spare you that time. In this 10-minute article, I'll teach you exactly how to find copywriting mentorship.

When you’re looking for a mentor, don’t do this…

Let's get this off the table straight away:

Your mentor's life is not automatically better with you in it. But your life is dramatically better with them in it.

That's the most important thing to remember.

• Write it down.
• Say it in the mirror three times.
• Whatever you need to do to get it through your head.

They didn't wake up this morning thinking about which new copywriters they could help out. So, you can't approach them with the mindset of "What can they do for me?" You need to think about what you can offer them.

That means you can't straight up ask them to mentor you. And you can't just ask for tips or information.

Here are my four DON'Ts when it comes to reaching potential mentors:

Don't go for someone out of your league.

Charles Miller is a great writer and online business owner. Arguably one of the best today. Two or three years ago, he was a small-time creator who would have been a great mentorship prospect.

But when you look at his Twitter profile...

What on God's green Earth would you do for him?

• His creative is rock-solid.
• He's got a massive email list that's performing well.
• All his tweets get tons of engagement.
• All of his other companies have great content, too.

He's got a wealth of knowledge and experience, that's for sure. But you'll have a hard time figuring out what you can bring to the table for him. And he has 1M+ followers across all his socials. You simply won't reach him.

Ideally, your mentor is someone a few steps ahead of you. If they're near the same age as you, that's even better.

• They were recently in your shoes, so they vividly remember what it's like to be a beginner.
• They've successfully built their own copywriting business, so they know what works and what doesn't.
• They're still building their career, so they probably don't have an arsenal of skilled copywriters at their fingertips yet (or the budget for them).
• You can relate to them a lot more because you're ultimately doing similar work.
• You'll make a bigger impact on their life (and business).

In the best-case scenario, you'll start to partner on projects and grow together in the world of online business.

Don't ask. Just give.

Finding a mentor is nothing like finding copywriting clients.

A client relationship is transactional. You're providing a service they need, and they pay you.

A mentor gives you their time, energy, and knowledge because:

• They like you.
• They believe in you.
• They want to see you grow.

That means you need to earn their respect before you can even think about asking them to mentor you. And the only way to do that is by taking action.

When you offer to do anything someone needs in exchange for working alongside them, it's now costing them time to find a way for you to give them value.

Instead, find something they can use right now and give it to them. This could be a new funnel for a project they announced on Twitter. Or a landing page for one of their webinars.

Don't expect anything in return.

The whole premise of 'giving first' is that you're not offering to give first. You're giving first, period.

After you give them something valuable for several weeks or months, the fact that you took initiative will make them see you as someone worth investing in.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

Everyone gets rejected and ignored. Everyone gets impostor syndrome. That's part of the game.

If you want a copywriting mentor, you need to be willing to send those scary DMs, do the work even if you don't think you have much to offer, and be vulnerable.

Over time, your confidence will build. But, for now, you'll just need to get out of your comfort zone.

Where I found mentors

As a college student, I was scrolling Twitter and decided to pull the trigger on a $40 eBook that taught you how to grow a brand. I was skeptical, but took the leap anyways because I had some extra money and a few hundred followers.

I created an anonymous Twitter account called @PilosophyofFit. It was a hybrid between fitness, philosophy, and motivation. The account barely grew, and I still cringe at it to this day.

What happened when I started treating a Twitter account like an actual business, though, was that I actually started learning about business.

I discovered "money Twitter" — the enclave of Twitter focused on building online businesses, creating digital income streams, and investing.

I came across a $6,000 course from a then-emerging Twitter creator — Dan Koe. At the time, I only had $8,000 to my name. But, through his course, I met him and several other now-big-name Twitter money makers. 

I began to network within this community and share information. As they grew their respective brands, some of the momentum transferred to me (with hard work, of course).

Other places to find copywriting mentors:

Below, I've listed the seven best places to find copywriting mentors, depending on the type of copywriting you're involved in.

Twitter

Twitter is where I found my mentor (and copywriting niche, for that matter). There are a few reasons I always say it's the best:

• It's casual. People talk about their interests and lives, so you get a feel for who they are. On the platform, people engage like they're humans.
• Young entrepreneurs use it. If you're a ghostwriter or direct response copywriter, your entire audience is on there.
• You can use it to build your own personal brand. While you're on Twitter, you might as well post. And once you do that...
• You'll make other meaningful connections. The possibilities are endless on a social media app where everyone's in it together. You'd be surprised how close you are to meeting life-changing people, even as a beginner freelance copywriter.

To find a mentor on Twitter, getting the ball rolling is as simple as following tons of people in your niche and engaging their content. Follow along the copywriting journey and get to know them.

If you want to write for larger companies (e.g., in the B2B SaaS or ecommerce space), you might not find your mentor on Twitter. The same goes for anyone trying to break into the PR/byline side of copywriting.

For anything corporate-y, I'd suggest looking elsewhere (though I wouldn't rule it out).

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the other platform to build your personal brand as a freelance copywriter. Like Twitter, there are tons of active professionals on the platform.

The big difference between LinkedIn and Twitter is you'll find more "corporate" people on LinkedIn. This means more B2B copywriting opportunities, with clients paying for larger projects.

Look for active content creators in your niche. Follow them, comment on their posts with useful, engaging opinions, and start to build a connection. As an added bonus, you can use their content to refine your copywriting skills.

And, like you would with Twitter, create your own content, too.

Facebook groups

Like the two platforms above, Facebook groups have a community attached to them. There are Facebook groups for everything (I like The Copywriter Club).

Just like you would with LinkedIn or Twitter:

• Focus on building human connections.
• Use your Facebook group to join private Discord servers and other communities.
• Add value wherever you can.
• Find a few members you vibe with and start to write copy for them.

I haven't used them much myself because I was more focused on Twitter. But if you're already using FB regularly, this is the perfect option.

Google

Google is a solid place to find help if you're willing to pay for a copywriting mentorship program.

You can't just type "copywriting mentor" into Google and browse people the way you would look at social media profiles. But you can look for a copywriting coach.

See? There are tons.

All you have to do is read through their websites, find out if you're working in the same niche, see if their style matches yours, and reach out to them.

Keep in mind taking a shortcut and paying for a mentor will cost you a pretty penny.

This one, for example, costs anywhere from $7,000 to $33,000.

Agencies

Digital marketing agency owners are some of the best people to work with as mentors because they're always looking for good writers. Even if they're not hiring on the spot, you can have a conversation about what kind of help they'd need right now.

As an added benefit, capturing their attention is a little bit easier than trying to offer value without knowing what someone needs.

Landing an agency owner as a mentor is a simple process:

1. Land them as a client or work for free.
2. Develop a personal connection with them.
3. If you're compatible, start communicating with each other.
4. Over time, expand on the relationship. Ask for advice, offer to do more work, find ways to bring value wherever you can.

To find these people, head to LinkedIn or Twitter and look for content creators with their agency's handle or website link in their bio.

For example:

Twitter's keyword search makes it easier to use than LinkedIn for this purpose. Type "digital marketing agency owner" and go down the rabbit hole.

Conferences

Attending a copywriting conference will put you in the same room as some of the most successful copywriters in the world.

Do some research and you'll find a few conferences within a reasonable distance to you. Try to look for ones that aren't too big (1,000+ people can be overwhelming) and short enough that it doesn't take up your entire week

I will preface this by saying conferences are expensive, so you'll want to be headed in the right direction already. As a beginner with no clients or business, you won't find much to talk to others about.

Copywriting courses

Nobody talks about courses as mentorship opportunities, but they're actually the best ways to learn critical information, skip a few stages, and add a highly accomplished professional to your rolodex.

When I had just $8,000 left in my bank account, I spent $6,000 of it on a coaching program.

It was a scary move, but here's why I did it:

• They had an active social media presence (and followed him for months before buying).
• I read through every word of his website and looked for case studies. I wanted to see how he helped others.
• The mentorship program was catered to my exact situation: a beginner who wants to make money writing on social media.

Once you invest thousands into a course or coaching offer, you have that person's attention. They're in your corner. An investment of a few thousand dollars turned me into a successful copywriter in under a year.

Most copywriting mentors are all over the internet. I'm right here. You can apply to join my Growth Ghosts cohort, where I'll show you the ropes. If we're a good fit for each other and you're accepted, I will be your copywriting mentor.