The “Client Cloner” Strategy: How to Turn ANY Copywriting Job Into 2 Jobs Almost Overnight
Connections — and knowing how to leverage them — can be one of the most powerful tools you ever use to get more clients.
Here’s how it started for me …
On a random spring day 8 years ago, a friend asked me if I’d be interested in a marketing job for a small startup in town.
At the time, I was selling online courses … but wasn’t making a ton of money. So I jumped at the opportunity to learn and grow.
Turns out my friend’s brother owned the business.
I had an interview, it went well, and they ended up hiring me as their Director of Marketing (though I was very underqualified at the time).
Now … you might be thinking:
“OOOh WoW! What A sToRy! I’Ve NeVer hEarD of JOB iNTeRviEWS BEfoRe!”
If that’s the case, let me be clear about one thing.
Interviewing strategies are NOT what I’m going to reveal to you in this post.
Instead, this post is dedicated to potentially gaining new work without always having to go the “traditional” job interview route.
How?
Through the power of connections — just like the connection my friend made for me, helping me get my very first marketing job all those years ago.
Not so sure?
Think it’s a scam?
Want to shove my bald head into a toilet bowl and give me a swirly?
I don’t blame you.
But I do understand that you may need some extra persuading, since you’ve probably never heard of me before.
Onto the proof then.
The "Client Cloner strategy has helped me …
👉 Land one of my first solo copywriting jobs with the “workplace” competitor to Skill Share:
👉 It then helped me turn that job into a connection with well-known email copywriter Chase Dimond. (I did not end up working with him, but the connection was made.)
👉 It helped me get my freelance job at the Hustle, where I became their “go to” freelance ad writer.
👉 And it even helped me land the role that I have now, where I’ve worked my way up to big, bad Senior Copywriter.
Now … Before I explain the strategy behind Client Cloner, I want to explain what makes it so powerful.
There are 2 pieces.
See, the big “secret” about getting copywriting jobs — in-house or freelance — is that a good chunk of them are NOT advertised online.
And even when they ARE advertised, they aren’t advertised well … and the competition can be fierce.
242 applicants for Bad Robot Games … how could you ever compete!?
The way I see it, if you want to potentially make it much easier to get more jobs as a copywriter, you need to provide two very specific types of proof for yourself:
1. Social Proof
2. Skill Proof
The Client Cloner strategy combines these two types of proof into a sort of “perpetual loop” that leverages your connections with existing clients … to help you get more clients … to leverage those clients … to get more clients … etc.
You get the idea.
And though I make no guarantees about your own results with this strategy, it could be almost like an endless flow of copywriting work if you use it well.
Now … three caveats before I tell you how it works. (Then I promise I’ll stop teasing.)
Drawback #1
Having clients already is going to make this strategy much easier for you.
If you don’t have any clients right now, you will need to do a little leg work in the form of cold emailing, LinkedIn prospecting, or another strategy of your choice.
This is not a post about getting your first client, but I do providing a starting point down below when I talk about the strategy.
Drawback #2
This “system” is a look back on the things that have worked for me — either as a whole or in pieces — to help me build my copywriting career.
Although I provide this as a “circular” system, I mostly used them in pieces … and I believe each of these pieces represents valuable standalone strategies you should always be using anyway.
Adopting this strategy has allowed me to earn a solid full-time income through freelance and in-house roles over the last few years.
Drawback #3
This is the most important one in my opinion.
You have to be at least a halfway decent copywriter for this to work.
Lucky for you, one of the BEST ways to get better at copywriting is by watching how other, more successful copywriters write.
Okay, enough teasing already! How does the Client Cloner strategy work?
Here’s how to use the “Client Cloner” strategy to turn any copywriting job into 2 copywriting jobs almost overnight:
CONNECT
If you don’t yet have clients, you need to generate interest in your services by connecting with other business owners.
There are a lot of ways you can do this.
For me, there were two primary ways I generated interest in my services as a copywriter in the beginning …
YMMV, but the main idea I want to communicate is that just getting in front of another business owner is the most important thing.
And I don’t necessarily mean pitching your services.
You may have to “shoot a lot of shots,” but my main methods were the following:
A) Cold emailing prospects
I found emails through one of those email scraper services — hunter.io, I think — because at the time, they had a deal where you could get 100 emails for free or something.
I cold emailed around 100 addresses in the course of a month, got a handful of leads, and closed one deal:
FWIW, this is what my initial cold email outreach structure was. I haven’t had to cold email in years, but looking back, I can’t say this was the absolute best approach.
I do like that it was clear about what I wanted … but it’s also very aggressive. If I were to do it again, I’d just connect with business owners/decision makers via email with a less aggressive pitch.
Probably something along the lines of “Hey, I’m a copywriter, I’ve done work with XYZ, I specialize in emails and ads, and here’s my portfolio/project I’ve done. I would love to work with you if you have any copy needs.”
B) Connecting with people on LinkedIn
The other way I generated interest was connecting with business owners on LinkedIn.
Not in a spammy way, and I was very strategic about it … typically connecting only if they viewed my profile, which was optimized to show up in search results for “copywriter.”
I then messaged them once they accepted my connection.
IMPORTANT: If you do this like I did, I would message them with a non-pitch related message.
Usually, I just asked them how they were doing. This is how I got the freelance job at the Hustle, as well as my current job.
The key, in my mind, was not pitching any sort of service to people I connected with on LinkedIn.
C) Apply for Jobs
Okay, I know I said this post wasn’t about interviewing. But I want to throw this in here because I did actually do this to get one of my jobs.
Since I primarily work as an in-house copywriter, one of the main ways I find work and roles is by applying for jobs.
Usually, I use job boards and Google Jobs to search for these roles.
But how you find these jobs is not that important.
What’s more important, in my mind is what you do once you get in front of a hiring manager.
3. Work
You need to do good work, of course. But you also need to be good to work with.
Exceed deadlines. Do extra work for your client (within reason). Provide revisions and make them happy. Communicate thoroughly throughout the process.
Adopt a “project manager” mindset to get things done. Be likable. Joke and have fun. Send memes. Show your personality. Help your coworkers get accomplish their goals (this one can be weirdly powerful).
And above all, write good copy.
You should consistently be getting feedback like this:
Here’s why this is important.
Full disclosure, I had no idea that this happened until just this year, when my previous manager at my current job told me that MY freelance manager — from when I was at the Hustle — had actually interviewed for the role I have now at Launch Potato/FinanceBuzz.
He wasn’t interested in the role after the first interview. Obviously, they asked if he knew anyone …
And guess who he recommended?
That’s right … ME!
This is the power of the Client Cloner in action. But it was only possible because I did great work and I was a pleasure to work with at the Hustle.
3. DELIVER
Deliver what I call a “training manual” in video format whenever you produce your first project for a client, or any big projects.
Remember those two pieces of “proof” I talked about earlier? Here’s where they come into play.
This is probably the most important tactical pieces of this process. Doing this recording allows you to show other clients what you work on and demonstrate your expertise … aka … “skill proof.”
To get a sense of what I mean by “training manual,” the TLDR is that it’s a video where you walk your client through the copy you wrote for them. It typically takes between 10-30 minutes.
In the video, you explain the choices you made, why they are beneficial, and how they will help convert more visitors or otherwise meet your clients stated goal.
Here is a training manual I created for the workplace competitor to SkillShare called SkillSuccess:
To watch the video click here.
Another option is to include comments in every single piece of your copy, something I STILL do to this day. I’ll often do this in conjunction with a training manual video.
Now here’s the key: As you create these “training manual” videos, store each one away in a safe place. I have used Loom in the past to record my training manuals.
Clients and employers LOVE when you can show them this stuff.
I’ve had many clients explicitly ask for this during the job interview or hiring process.
They love to see that you know your stuff — aka “skill proof” — and being able to provide it to them from the get go.
4. ASK
Once you deliver your copy, ask for referrals and an intro.
Most business owners who hire copywriters potentially know other business owners who need copy, too.
I’m certain that almost any business owner who hires you can at least think of ONE person in their network that would benefit from your copywriting and provide an intro for you.
The key is to have your CLIENT facilitate the intro — NOT you.
Why? Social proof, baby.
When your client makes the introduction for you, you are “borrowing” their likability and trust and using it to snag another client.
Imagine if you just reached out to your client’s connection directly. It just wouldn’t carry the same weight as them reaching out on your behalf.
It implies that you’ve done good work and that you’ve been a pleasure to work with (Do you see now why #2 is so important?)
Just like the introduction to my current employer from my freelance manager at the Hustle or my introduction to “famous” copywriter Chase Dimond, this part of the process is immensely important.
5. FOLLOW UP
Follow up, follow up, follow up.
Here’s where things become super tactical.
If your client is dragging their feet to make the intro, follow up with them until they do.
(Obviously don’t piss them off … one email followup a week is probably okay.)
In the wise words of an incredible manager I’ve worked with in the past, be “pleasantly persistent.” If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Once your client makes that first intro, respond to the potential client and share the video you recorded for your current client (or, a collection of videos if you’ve done a few of them).
The training manual video is a demonstration of what you are capable of, and as copywriter John Bejakivoc taught me, demonstration is one of the MOST impactful forms of proof.
The best part is that the more you do this, the more proof you have! With every single client, you get to build up your “skill proof” more and more.
And in my opinion, this is much more impactful than just sending over a portfolio.
You’re doubling down on the two most important forms of proof — social and skill — at the exact same time.
See how it all links together?
6. REPEAT
At a certain point, you may not need to do this anymore.
Once I was working with enough clients and had held enough full-time jobs as a copywriter, I had built a small — but mighty — network.
Connections became much less tactical and much more fluid.
And there you have it. The Client Cloner strategy.
Study this post. Use it in the way you see fit. And please let me know how it works out for you.
And if you want to take it to the next level?
My nearly 7,000-word ebook, Survival Guide, can show you how to navigate the workplace as a copywriter, potentially get better jobs, titles, and salaries, and generally enjoy your career more.
You can check it out at the link below:
https://www.stealthiscopy.com/survival-guide
