Competitive copywriters have an edge.
And while I’m sure there’s an exception to the rule out there, by and large, the best writers out there are highly competitive.
They don’t just want to beat the competition. They want to CRUSH the competition. They want to make them curl up in a little ball and cry out, “I’ll never go up against April ever again!”
Yes, I’m a competitive copywriter.
One example: Just yesterday I found out that another writer was hired to beat my current control. And I felt this rush of adrenaline. “Hell no,” I thought. I’m fired up.
And my competitiveness doesn’t just come out with copywriting. In fact, just the word “contest” or “competition” is a huge trigger for me.
Here’s an example of what I mean…
There was a Dr. Seuss door decorating activity at my daughter’s school. The room mom (me) was supposed to lead the project. I remember hearing about it and thinking, “Oh, that’s fun.”
Then I found out it was a competition. Oh man. Why did they have to use the “C” word?
So my Dr. Seuss door design grew to include 3-D elements, child participation (the large flower is paper cutouts of each child’s hand), and a charitable donation to a foster care nonprofit, in keeping with the theme.
When you pressed Horton’s flower, you’d hear “We are here!” — in Spanish, because it’s a Spanish immersion school.
I basically lost my mind because someone put me in a contest.
And the contest prize? Who even cares?! It was about the GLORY. And crushing the competition so bad that they just phone it in every year hereafter…
…you know, at my 2-year-old’s preschool.
So if you can relate — even just a little — here are 7 reasons you have a BIG advantage as a competitive copywriter:
- You do everything you can to reach your goals. If other people can do it, so can you.
- You never stop striving to do better and be better. In many ways, you’re your own biggest competitor.
- Competitive people are usually the most creative. And mainly because you hate the idea of losing so much that you’ll come up with the craziest, most out-of-the-box ideas to win.
- Though sometimes you get out of hand (cough–Seuss door–cough), competitive people tend to be happier in life. You feel satisfied by how much you’ve achieved. (The trick here is also learning how to move on quickly from failure.)
- You’re willing to do the work. You’ll slug through the difficult sales letter or the crazy launch because you know things will be better once you get to the other side.
- You have a larger comfort zone than other people. You’re willing to take risks the average person wouldn’t take.
- You have a positive outlook and a drive to live life to the fullest. When the chips are down, you only hustle harder.
I used to downplay my competitive spirit, because I thought it “wasn’t nice.” But then I realized: You can be nice and still go after what you want in life. You can hate to lose and still be gracious about it when you do. Being competitive doesn’t automatically make you a jerk.
And when it comes to copywriting, competitiveness is an asset.
After all, someone’s gunning for my control right now, and I’m not going to take that lying down.
Speaking of controls, there are just a few days left to apply for a spot in Control Freaks, my 12-week intensive designed specifically for copywriters who want to up their game … and even want to beat controls and earn royalties. We’ll also be looking at markets that are doing well right now, in this crazy, COVID-19 world.
Just do it soon! I’m closing it on Sunday so I can give my focus to the Control Freaks who are already raring to go.
(And yes, my Seuss door won. Though it was a tie for first place, which only means I’m coming back harder next year!)