How a “70% copywriter” beat me

I lost a $5,000 project last year.

Not because my copy sucked. Not because I missed the deadline.

I lost it because the client found someone who could write copy AND handle their email automation AND design basic landing pages.

I sat in my home office, staring at that rejection email, feeling like a complete idiot.

Here I was, proud of being a "specialist."

A copywriter who only writes copy. (Btw, if you are wondering, I still take up a lot of copywriting projects.)

Meanwhile, some guy who was probably 70% as good at writing as me just walked away with my biggest potential client.

Because he could do three things decently instead of one thing perfectly.

That's when it hit me.

We've been fed this bullshit about specialization for so long that we forgot what clients actually want.

They don't want the world's best copywriter. They want someone who can solve their whole damn problem.

Think about it.

Your clients are drowning in a sea of specialists. They've got one person for copy, another for design, someone else for automation, and a fourth for strategy.

It's exhausting.

It's expensive.

And most of the time, these people don't talk to each other, so the final result sucks.

But what if you could handle 2-3 of those pieces?

You don't need to be amazing at everything. You just need to be good enough at a few things that complement each other.

I know a guy who makes $300K a year combining copywriting with basic funnel strategy. He's not the best copywriter I know. But he's the only copywriter who can also map out a complete customer journey.

Another friend combines copy with email automation. She charges 40% more than pure copywriters because clients don't have to coordinate between two people.

The math is simple:

Being great at one thing puts you in competition with thousands of other people. Being decent at 2-3 complementary things puts you in competition with dozens.

Maybe less.

And sometimes writing in isolation was getting boring. Now I'm thinking about the bigger picture. How the copy fits into the funnel. How the emails connect to the landing pages.

It's more interesting. More challenging. And more profitable.

Look, I'm not saying abandon your main skill.

I'm saying add one or two things that make your main skill more valuable.

If you write email copy, learn basic segmentation strategy.

If you do social media content, learn basic paid ad principles.

If you handle customer service, learn basic retention marketing.

Pick skills that multiply your current value, not random ones that don't connect.

And don't try to become an expert overnight. You just need to get good enough that clients see the value in working with one person instead of three.

The goal isn't perfection.

It's positioning yourself as the obvious choice for a specific type of problem. 

That's where the real money is.

What's one skill you could add to your toolkit that would make your main service more valuable? Hit reply and let me know.

Talk soon,
— Shashank

P.S.

Have a nice weekend, I’m gonna spend my time working on the brand engine email course.

Wish me luck :)