How I Overcame Imposter Syndrome, and How You Can Too!
Published: Fri, 03/24/23
How I Overcame Imposter Syndrome, and How You Can Too!
Everyone knows me as Doug D'Anna, the A-list copywriter with over 30 years of experience and over $100 million in sales. But what they don't know is that I struggled with imposter syndrome when I started
out too.
After all, I was a self-taught copywriter. I didn't have a degree in advertising or public relations. I had a degree in speech communication, or what my dad called "a BS in BS."
I was always afraid that someone would find out I was a fraud. I wasn't a copywriter, I was a salesman who typed for a living. That's how I thought of myself - "a salesman who types for a living."
Yet, with every success I had, I came to embrace my degree in speech communication as a significant advantage. Over time, I realized that my degree in speech communication was actually a major advantage and that all copywriters are "salesmen that type."
That's because copywriting is essentially a speech to persuade on paper. This is why I had no problem writing emails, direct mail, and video sales letters - tapping into all the sales points, arguments, and emotions I learned in college to get readers to "do a swan dive to the order form."
The better I got, the more success I had, and the easier it became.
With that confidence came not only more jobs but higher-paid ones too.
Today, I can proudly say "I'm a salesman who types." I simply came from a non-traditional background like most up-and-coming copywriters today.
If you're struggling with imposter syndrome, my advice to you is this:
Think of yourself as a salesman/woman who types for a living.
Hold your head up high.
Believe in your heart and your head that you are good.
Believe that your skills and experiences will make you a better writer, not a lesser one.
Build on every small success, whether it be a simple sales letter, an email, or a landing page. Then use those successes to sell new jobs.
Do this and you can overcome copywriter impostor syndrome too!
That’s What To Do, Here’s How To Do It
For you, my theory on overcoming copywriter imposter syndrome is just that - a theory. If you simply read the above and feel good about it, that's great.
But if a week later you still feel like a fraud and you're struggling to get business, then my story
is worthless.
As I have learned, taking action is the master key to success.
But you have to have a plan.
What should you do next?
What do you say to potential clients?
What do you send them?
How do you follow up?
If you have no plan, then you won't know what to do next. And you won't get the
results you're looking for, leaving you to feel like a fraud.
That's why I created my "How to Sell Yourself as a Copywriter" home study course.
In it, I spell out everything I did to build my copywriting business - not overnight, but over time.
How to position yourself as a seasoned professional.
How to identify the people who will value YOU.
How to get your clients to say yes.
How to answer their objections.
The right way to get clients interested.
How to stand head and shoulders above the competition.
So in roughly six lessons, you'll learn not only my selling strategies that will win you more jobs but also position yourself as a leader in the field. That's the most powerful "one-two" combination of sales training I believe you could ask
for.
If there is one thing that I want you to know, it is that if you purchase my How to Sell Yourself as a Copywriter home study course, I want you to be more than satisfied.
I want you to land great clients, and get high fees, along with recurring royalties
that will pay you thousands of dollars month after month after month.
But you have to do the work!
If after you have spent 90 days AND have completed EVERY ASSIGNMENT, send me proof that you have done the work, and have not landed at least ONE client that can pay you for the cost of my course, I will gladly send you a refund.
In other words, you have to do everything I have asked you to do in order to receive a refund.
If that is a turn-off, I get it.
You see, my home study course is for serious people.
Those who
know that taking action is the master key to overcoming imposter syndrome, and
Are willing to make a commitment, not to ME, but to themselves, and are willing to prove they've done the work!
I would be remiss in my responsibility to get you to the next level if I didn’t--and if you didn’t--hold yourself accountable.
I specifically set it up this way because I WANT YOU TO SUCCEED.
The bottom line is this:
You'll never succeed if you buy a bunch of courses only to return them in a few days
because they were "too tough." Or you discovered that "you actually had to work."
This is why, for as long as I have offered this kind of sales training NO ONE has asked for a refund.
Because those people who were serious about learning my OLD SCHOOL selling techniques applied them and made money.
When I coached writers one-on-one on these techniques, I would charge $3,500 for five one-hour sessions. When I turned it into a home study course, I reduced the price to $350.
When you purchase this course, you will receive a full credit of the amount you paid towards my one-on-one coaching course when you join. So in a way, How to Sell Yourself as a Copywriter is FREE.
Meet Doug D'Anna
As a seasoned direct response copywriter, Doug has created hundreds of profitable direct mail packages, emails, and video sales letters for the world's largest specialized information publishers—generating over $100 million in direct sales.
