How To Become A Copywriter With NO Experience

Summary

Alex Cattoni addresses a beginner copywriter’s catch-22: it can be hard to get clients without a portfolio and hard to build a portfolio without clients. Her central message is that you can demonstrate useful skills and create portfolio samples before you’ve been paid for copywriting.

Five ways to build a portfolio with no experience

1. Take stock of your experience and skills

   • Copywriting involves more than writing; research, idea development, planning, and strategy are important too.
   • Look for relevant examples from past jobs, education, or personal projects, such as reports, articles, memos, presentations, or work in social media and project management.
   • Include work that demonstrates research, clear communication, and the ability to organize ideas—even if it wasn’t created specifically as copywriting.
   • Be prepared to explain how those skills apply to the work you want to do.

2. Take a practical copywriting program

   • Choose training that has you write actual copy, rather than only teaching techniques or templates.
   • Use the resulting samples to show your abilities, even if they were created as coursework rather than for a paying client.
   • Clearly label the work as program or practice work; don’t imply it was paid client work.

3. Rewrite or critique existing copy

   • Offer a prospective client a concise, useful review—for example, a few suggestions for improving their homepage.
   • You can follow the critique with an offer to help rewrite the copy.
   • Taking initiative can get your work noticed, and a resulting project may become portfolio experience.
   • If you rewrite an existing piece, identify it as a rewrite and don’t claim full credit for the original.

4. Start a public blog

   • A blog can showcase your writing style, tone, and delivery, even if its subject isn’t directly related to the copywriting work you’re pursuing.
   • Blog posts can also demonstrate fundamentals such as writing engaging hooks and headlines.
   • Treat it as evidence of your writing ability, not necessarily as a substitute for experience in a particular specialty.

5. Customize your portfolio for each opportunity

   • Select samples that fit the company, industry, and role rather than sending the same portfolio to everyone.
   • Include a personal note or cover letter explaining why you’re interested in the brand, what you offer, and why you chose those samples.
   • Add relevant highlights or lessons learned from the work.
   • Keep the portfolio simple and easy to access. Cattoni recommends sharing it through a service such as Dropbox or Google Drive, with access enabled in advance, rather than sending many attachments.
   • Be honest about your experience and the origin of each sample. Some clients are open to newer writers who can grow and adapt to a brand’s voice.

Cattoni’s overall lesson is that a portfolio should demonstrate what you can do, not just what you’ve already been paid to do. Relevant skills, practice work, thoughtful initiative, and clear presentation can all help a beginner show their value.

Speakers and sources featured

• Alex Cattoni — presenter and narrator.
• Zach Browman — referenced by Cattoni as a copywriter who recommended sending brief reviews to prospective clients; he is not heard speaking in the subtitles.
• Unnamed Copy Posse team members and applicants — mentioned in Cattoni’s hiring anecdotes; not identified as speakers.