“But the power of science lies in open publication, which, with the rise of the Internet, is no longer constrained by the price of paper.” – Michael Shermer, Born Sep. 8, 1954.
This technological fact of publication has changed the face of advertising, too.
No more paying for printing prep. No more collating. No more folding. No more envelopes. No more stamps. No more extra charge for variations, or color, or resolution.
In the old days of print, a noobie copywriter could write a floppy bomb, blow ten grand worth of paper and ink and postage, and potentially bankrupt a client who only had a tiny budget to play with.
Not anymore.
Today, even a new copywriter/marketer can begin testing themselves against the grinding edge of the market for a few bucks. You can learn on your feet, adjust instantly, and drive more traffic with a click.
And innovations continue there, too. Payment is immediate. No waiting for checks. No opening envelopes. No mailing out books or manuals or discs, either. Delivery can be wholly digital.
You don't even need to get a client to use marketing and copy skills to get paid, because you can become an affiliate of a million things.
And you can probably do it all from your phone.
That's not the future. That's the present. So ask yourself, are you still “learning” and “preparing” to do something business-wise, because that is the way the old-schoolers say it has to be done?
You don't have to. You have my permission and encouragement not to.
You don't have the limitations they did, and to behave as if you do doesn't make you better, it holds you back unnecessarily from the sharpening stone that is the real live market full of consumers.
Get better, faster, and make money while you're learning.
Start tonight. Will you?