There probably is not a comprehensive list of “perfect skills” every freelance copywriter should have-but here are five I feel need to be in every copywriters toolkit. Surprisingly, none of them are about writing copy. Let's assume for the moment that you already know how to do that (please… if you say your copywriter, please tell me you know how to write copy). Here are the five essentials that will keep you happy, healthy, and wealthy:
- The ability to understand other people and empathize with them.
- Face-to-face selling skills.
- The ability to shrug off rejection and criticism.
- Discipline that enables you to sit down and actually do the work (lack of this skill is more common than you might think).
- The ability to set realistic goals that stretch you, and then to employ pigheaded discipline in the achievement of those goals.
If you possess those five skills, you're way ahead of most other writers in the race. In fact, those five skills (along with your craft) can get you pretty much any others you need-either through instruction, or by hiring someone else.