Once upon a time, there was a skinny little Iowa farm girl who loved to read and write stories. Most of them lived in her head and never made it onto paper, but they became part of how she thought and the way she saw the world.

When she saw people, she saw their stories and she felt their feelings. She discovered this made her a good communicator. As she grew up, she became the person people came to for advice when they weren’t sure what to say or how to respond in different situations. This made her feel useful and appreciated, and she never saw it as her way to invest in and give to the people around her.

But she never saw it as something she could build a business around. That little farm girl, of course, was me. And I didn’t discover how to put my innate gifts and talents to work inside a business until I was 38 years old. 

You might say I’m a late bloomer, but I truly believe everything I had done in my professional life had brought me to this calling at the right place and the right time for me. All the same, when I think about how many years I spent in a job that didn’t fulfill me and only tapped into a small fraction of my passions, it makes me a bit sad. 

I don’t want that for you, dear reader. 

There may be someone out there reading this right now who is wondering if a person really can earn a full-time income as a writer. They might be questioning whether or not they have what it takes, and if success can come to more than just a few lucky ones. 

You can. You do. It does.

If a stay-at-home Iowa mom with a part-time business as a graphic designer can make a stark pivot at almost 40 years old and grow a new business that generates multiple six figures in revenue in the first year, anything is possible. 

It turns out, the exact skills I had made me a natural at writing direct response sales copy – the kind of copywriting that calls people to take a specific action, like make a purchase. 

Was it an easy transition for me? Nope. I had to learn a whole new set of skills, build a network, change the whole structure of my working environment, break down what I believed was possible, and take a chance on myself. 

It was worth it. All the tears, frustration, fears, long (LONG) hours and uncertainty was 100% worth everything I experienced on the journey, and I’m just getting started.

If this resonates – if the idea of earning a full-time income as a sales conversion copywriter makes your heartbeat a little bit faster and your brain shift into overdrive – then you’re going to love the rest of this article.

Keep reading to learn the 9 tell-tale clues you might be a good fit for the sales copywriter life.

Clue 1: You Love to Write

This one kind of goes without saying,but you can’t be a sales copywriter if you don’t like to write. You’ll never enjoy spending hours a day on a client’s copy if you dread having to put words together. If writing is something you enjoy and look forward to doing, then you might just have a hidden sales copywriter in there somewhere!

Clue 2: You Can Put Yourself in Other People’s Shoes

When you’re a sales copywriter, you don’t write for the client. 

“Ummmm, I thought that was the whole point, Christa.” 

Stick with me. You’re writing on BEHALF of the client, yes, but the people you’re writing FOR is the client’s target audience. In order to be a good sales copywriter, you have to be able to see things from other people’s point of view and put it into words in a way that connects with them. 

Empaths, or hypersensitive people who experience a high level of compassion, consideration and understanding towards others, make great sales copywriters. I’ve found that being a sales copywriter helps channel that quality into purpose.

Clue 3:  You Don’t Mind Research

The most important thing a sales copywriter can do is know the target audience like the back of their hand. How can you write for an audience you don’t know? That means you have to be willing to dive into the data and research that will give you a good understanding of who they are and what they want. Without knowing those things, you can’t create copy that reaches out and connects with them the way it needs to in order to sell.

Clue 4:  You Ask a Lot of Questions

This one goes hand-in-hand with Clue 3. In order to be a good researcher, you have to know the right questions to ask, and you can’t be afraid to ask. There is no assumption. Assuming is bad. You know what they say, when you assume … well, it’s true. Ask all the questions!

Clue 5:  You Take Feedback Well

As a sales copywriter, you have to work closely with the client and the client’s team. That means a good number of people may be putting their eyes on your copy and weighing in with feedback. It really helps if you don’t take it personally and take it all in stride. In other words, you can’t get so married to your copy that you’re not willing to listen to what someone else has to say about it. 

On the other hand it’s important to know when to concede and when to stand firm. As you gain more experience and get better at reading the target audience, you’ll get a feel for what’s going to work and what’s not. You’ll be able to absorb the feedback and stand up to it when you need to – and sometimes you’ll need to.

Clue 6:  You Like Learning New Things

As someone who writes for a variety of different clients with unique offers, I learn a lot of things about a lot of things. I usually have 8-10 clients with open projects at any given time, and their offers might range from a course on money management to menopause products and supplements.

So yeah, I know a lot of random information on a lot of random topics, and I think it’s fun. I’m open to learning about different industries, businesses and offers.

Clue 7:  You’re a Chameleon

When it comes to sales conversion copy, it’s important for the client’s or brand’s voice to shine through. After all, that’s what has attracted the target audience in the first place. So … how good are you at impersonations? 

If you find it easy to slip into someone else’s way of communicating and let that come out in the way you write, you may just have a future in sales copywriting.

Clue 8:  You Like Fishing

Sales copy begins with a hook every time. There has to be something present that grabs audience attention and pulls them in to keep them reading. If you’re great at commanding attention (and maybe even a little dramatic), you’ll be able to come up with all kinds of creative hooks to try. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Clue 9:  You’re a Critical Thinker

I always say that a sales copywriter has to be part mind reader, part storyteller and part lawyer. You have to be able to address pain points and objections in the copy before they even come up. You also have to be able to defend your client’s position by coming at offer promotion from all angles.

Just because YOU understand the value of the offer doesn’t mean the target audience does. If you enjoy brainstorming audience reactions, past experiences and thought patterns, sales copywriting could be right up your alley. 

So … How Did You Do?

Is there a hidden sales copywriter inside you? If reading this article made you feel like someone opened up your brain and looked inside to read your mind, then you might just be an amazing sales copywriter in the making!

Want to learn more about what it really takes to write sales copy that converts consistently and gets big results for clients? Click here to learn more information about Written Results Academy, the only online training platform for sales copywriters that addresses writing plus sales strategy, psychology, data and analytics, mindset and business building.