A copywriting certification program can set you up for total failure as a freelance copywriter.

Here’s how to skip "certification", which means you avoid spending $5,000+ for a copywriting course, and spend months cold emailing and failing. Instead, you can start earning $50 to $100 in 6 days.

“Do I need a copywriting certification?” This is a common question for people looking to start a copywriting side-hustle or even to make a full-time professional change. Here's why: 

Maybe you know copywriters can earn very good money -- from $50 to $100 per hour even just starting out. (Never price yourself less than $40 per hour, even as a total newbie.) 

Maybe you're just starting out and you've run across copywriting gurus who mention "copywriting certification" in a positive way. Someone like Sarah Turner, for example. 

Sarah Turner is a well-established, excellent copywriting teacher -- but her course Write Your Way to Freedom is reputed to cost over $5,000. I haven't seen the receipts, but that is what is reported by Reddit users.

She says a "copywriting certification" (and positions her course as "certified")  can help kick-start your career if you're new. And can help established copywriters set themselves apart. 

She also maintains that it can enhance your credibility with potential clients, and can help you grow your copywriting career and income.

I disagree with her on these points (I explain why below).  Also, I think that her talk of the advantages of "certification" is designed to create some doubt in you, the potential customer. Doubt which she can then offer to erase selling you a "certified" course that is rumored to cost $5,000+. 

Spoiler alert: There is no widely accepted governing body of "copywriting" that accredits or certifies courses in any way. 

I recently read Sarah Turner's blog article "Elevating Your Freelance Career: Is a Copywriting Certification Important?"

I was shocked at her advice.

Not surprised, but shocked. I'm sometimes shocked by advice from legit copywriting gurus offering huge courses for thousands of dollars. 

She writes: "A copywriting certification program can set you up for success as a freelance copywriter. Here’s how to choose the right one." 

That's wrong advice. It's wrong especially for new copywriters. It's also wrong for experienced copywriters. 

Here's the truth: You never need a copywriting certification before you can make $50 to $100 per hour as a copywriter. 

Another truth: a copywriting "certification" won't even help you. It won't help you get more gigs, more clients, or more money. The market doesn't work that way. 

Any copywriting client cares about only two things when a copywriter applies to a gig:

1. Can you do the writing work they need done? (This is proven by portfolio pieces, not by any "certification".) 

2. Are you a decent person, with decent communication skills and response times, someone they'd enjoy working with?

That's truly all they care about.

In all my years as a highly successful freelance copywriter, I've never been asked about any "certification".

It's just not something that is ever imagined except by new copywriters, or by people considering diving into this very lucrative and low-entry-barrier freelance profession. 

Or, of course, by gurus selling VERY expensive courses with a "certification" thrown in to further tempt naive would-be students, who don't yet know that they don't need an uber expensive copywriting course to start earning $50 to $100 right away. (I've heard, although I've never seen the receipts, that Sarah Turner's course costs several thousand dollars.) 

Here are the real-talk, honest answers to each of the "benefits" Sarah Turner attaches to a copywriting "certification". 

1. Sarah Turner says a "copywriting certification" will Enhance Your Credibility.

She says "A copywriting certification is a clear sign of your dedication and ongoing commitment to mastering your craft." 

Real talk: Only your portfolio matters. (Your portfolio, in my proven system, can be as small as just one sample of writing for any given gig, because no client wants to look at a huge portfolio -- they just want to see something that shows them you can do the work they need to have done right now.)   

2. Sarah Turner says a "copywriting certification" will Build Your Network.

She says, "Some copywriting certification courses offer a community aspect that allows you to connect with fellow writers. This opens doors to mentorship, idea sharing, and even new projects. Many students within Write Your Way to Freedom find referral partners and even long-term friends inside our community."

Real talk: You don't need a "certification" program costing thousands of dollars in order to connect with fellow writers. Think about it: We are right here on the Internet. You can email. You can connect on social media. You can connect in the marketplaces such as UpWork which make that super easy as well. 

3. She says a "certification" can Increase Your Earning Potential.

She writes, "Being certified often means that you’ve enhanced your skills, results, and professionalism. Clients take note of that. So, developing these traits often translates into the ability to charge higher rates."

Real talk: Certification means no such thing, to anyone evaluating a copywriter. Only enhancing skills, results and professionalism means that you've enhanced them. Clients don't see a "certification" mentioned in your cover letter and think, "They must have good skills and professionalism!"  No way. To evaluate your skills and professionalism they look at 1) The portfolio piece(s) you sent, and 2) Your actual interactions and communication with them. 

4. She says a "certification" can lead to Expanded Job Opportunities.

She writes: "A certification can open doors to more lucrative and diverse writing assignments. When you become  Write Your Way to Freedom Certified, you’re added to a list of vetted copywriters where potential clients can actively search for you!"

Real-talk: Without statistics on how many potential clients search for copywriters in whatever directory Sarah maintains, this is an non-tempting promise at best. On freelance marketplaces such as UpWork (where I've made up to $15K in a month, and which has loads of high-paying huge clients), potential clients can search for you. And more to the point, you search for them and their gigs. Current gigs. Red-hot high-paying gigs that need the work done NOW. You can find all the high-paying work you need at UpWork. It's a river of excellent opportunities continually flowing, daily. 

5. Sarah Turner says a "certification" program can Continually Develop Your Skills.

She writes, "Some certification programs offer ongoing training and workshops. This continuous learning keeps your skills sharp and relevant, which helps you adapt to changes in the market demands and diverse client needs."

Real talk: It can be important to continually learn new skills, or stay up to date with current copywriting trends, what's working, etc.  (But a better strategy is to make great money year after year doing one specialized thing in copywriting. No one does extremely well in copywriting by knowing everything. You make great money in copywriting by doing one or two things well and reliably.)

Staying "up to date"  doesn't require an expensive "certification" program. Here's why: the Internet exists. All you have to do is follow industry leaders' blogs and books. Plus, that's a better strategy than depending on a single guru or "certification" program to keep you up to date on industry evolutions.

Sarah Turner's Write Your Way to Freedom course vs. my Side-Gig Copywriter in 6 Days

Sarah Turner offers a very thorough, in-depth course, with lots of bells and whistles. And it works for some students.

But you reportedly need to have thousands of dollars to spend on it!

There are other huge costs to Sarah Turner's "Write Your Way to Freedom" copywriting course

For one thing, the TIME COSTS involved. In a YouTube video of Sarah's, a student of hers said she landed a gig one month after beginning the program. Sarah remarked, "That's fast!" (LINK TO THE YOUTUBE MOMENT).

I think it's a bit slow! Using my system in my course "Side-Gig Copywriter in 6 Days," you can legit land a gig paying $50 to $100 an hour in days, not months.

Sarah teaches the old ways of finding clients.

Sarah, based on a lot of my reading of her blog and watching of her videos, teaches her students to use cold email and networking in order to find clients. This can work, but it works slowly. Very slowly. Here's why: When you're cold emailing, it's unlikely that many of the potential clients you are cold emailing are looking for a new writer. It's also not hugely likely that they'll even open a cold email.

Think about it -- your own work email inbox -- it's damn full and overwhelming, isn't it? How likely are you to open an email from some rando who wants to sell you copywriting that you either don't currently need or which is already being taken care of by you, your staff, or the copywriter you already know? 

Very unlikely, is my opinion. 

Cold emailing can work, but it works VERY slowly, because the numbers of cold emails you must send out are probably in the hundreds before you actually find a good client. 

I teach the new, better, faster, more lucrative way to find copywriting clients.

In my course, "Side-Gig Copywriter in 6 Days," I teach you to learn a copywriting formula or two (from many to choose from in the course) in about one day. 

Then I teach you how to use the legit marketplaces including UpWork or Fiverr, etc., to apply to the thousands of gigs appearing there daily from well-paying, established companies who need copywriting right now .

The difference between Sarah's method of finding clients and mine is the difference between emailing people randomly to see if you two have chemistry, vs. getting on a dating app. (But even better, the difference between dating apps and UpWork is that UpWork has almost zero fake clients, as they have systems in place to make sure any potential client is legit, verified, with skin in the game.) 

Before you buy Sarah Turner's big expensive comprehensive program/course, "Write Your Way to Freedom," you owe it to yourself to look at my quick-start course, "Side-Gig Copywriter in 6 Days". 

Start here to learn about my course, "Side-Gig Copywriter in 6 Days." Use the Contact Me form to ask me any questions you have about copywriting, finding gigs, the course, etc.