Bootcamp Success — And So It Begins …
By Katie Yeakle

“Over 90% of the jobs that I have each year I can trace back to a Bootcamp.”

I love hearing stories like that one from AWAI Member Mike Klassen. He shared that with us last Wednesday during the “Bootcamp Exposed” teleconference.

In case you missed it, you can catch-up on some of the other insider details below.

Steve Roller – “Just Do It!”

Three years ago, AWAI Member Steve Roller was very busy in his sales career … working 60 hours a week. He had purchased the copywriting program four years ago, but kept putting it off.

He registered for Bootcamp in 2005 but cancelled. Last year, Steve decided to take action and signed up for Bootamp again … and this time he came.

“It was the defining moment in my copywriting career up to this point. After Bootcamp I went from telling people that ‘I’m taking this copywriting program’ and ‘I’m trying to be a copywriter’ to finally telling people, ‘I am a copywriter.’ Just that mental switch in my mind and physically telling people made things start happening all of a sudden.”

Steve says Bootcamp was the launching pad to his career, and he’s so glad he didn’t make the mistake of putting if off for another year. Jobs started coming in as soon as he got home. Today he’s cut his sales job down to part-time … is just about ready to replace his old salary with what he’s earning from copywriting … and has set a goal for himself to transition to full-time copywriter by February.

Steve says anyone wanting to launch their own copywriting career should just do it … find any way possible to go to Bootcamp.

Pam Foster – Bootcamp Is Where You Meet People Who Can Literally Change Your Life

Pam Foster says you can’t help but gain confidence when you attend Bootcamp. You get to meet legendary copywriters like Michael Masterson, Paul Hollingshead, and Herschell Gordon Lewis. These are the pros – people who have lifetimes of experience who are generous and willing to share their information with you … not only during the sessions, but during breaks and social gatherings.

It’s also where you can meet other AWAI members – fellow copywriters who will want to continue a relationship after Bootcamp. People you can keep bouncing ideas off of and you can share your success stories with.

“That’s how the ‘Delray Motivators’ were born. And we now have a second group in New Hampshire and Maine called ‘The Rock Solid Copywriters.’ We actually meet in person once a month at a diner in Manchester. Picture a bunch of copywriters sitting around, motivating each other, bringing copy samples, and critiquing each other’s work. It’s incredible, and I wouldn’t know any of those people if I hadn’t gone to Bootcamp.”

Another huge benefit of Bootcamp is that networking with fellow copywriters offers a way to keep a steady flow of work. Some of the people in Pam’s buddy group get so busy they can’t take on all the assignments that come their way. So if they meet some newer people at Bootcamp who show talent and eagerness, they stay connected afterwards, and recommend or farm out some work to them.

Joshua Boswell – There’s Real Money at Bootcamp

Joshua Boswell likes to look at things from a financial perspective. With 8 kids to feed, he had to know his investment in Bootcamp was going to pay off. Happily, he says he can’t imagine a single event he’s ever attended that’s had a higher return on investment than Bootcamp …

“The first year I showed up at Bootcamp, I walked away with a number of clients. Within the first 7 days, that turned into $10,000 … by the end of the first 60 days, that had jumped to over $30,000. Last year’s Bootcamp was the same story … it’s like I go to Bootcamp and come away with $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 in new clients, new assignments, new projects. It’s just been a consistent pattern for me. So yeah, there’s real money at Bootcamp.”

Joshua tells us he has walked away from Bootcamp with paying assignments every time. He also created a copywriting buddy group like Pam did, which has been very successful. Just last week he was offered a $30K assignment that he didn’t have time for, but was more than happy to refer the client to one of the buddies in his group.

Mike Klassen – It Can All Be Traced Back to Bootcamp

Mike Klassen, whose first Bootcamp was in 2004, says his career actually started on a single spec assignment he landed at Job Fair. Now 90% of all the income he gets to this day can be traced back to one of the Bootcamps he’s attended …

“Whether it’s somebody I made a connection with directly or someone that referred me to somebody else, and then that person referred me to somebody else. Over 90% of the jobs that I have each year I can trace back to a Bootcamp. So obviously, it’s important to me.”

Don’t miss out on this year’s FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp.