I’ve had my fair share of mistakes and betrayals.

Wow, I make it sound like a Shakespeare play; but truth be told, people will always be hesitant to hand over their cash. And if they think they can get away with not paying you, they’ll be sure to try (unless they’re legal entities).

When I started copywriting, I offered my services for free. This is just one of many options open to copywriters looking to make a name for themselves. I saw it as a great opportunity to get in with the biggest names in internet marketing and get on the radar of some of the best guys and gals in the business.

I worked my way up, starting with little-known IM’ers, with small-time information products. I got excellent results. from 0 to 5% on a weekend; 10% conversion rates on sales letters in the real estate niche, sales letter conversion of 42% and 70% and more. It was good.

But not everything was gravity. There were problems. The few times I have reached an agreement with some prospects on some form of refund or reward for a high-performing copy, they have gone unanswered.

I have been ignored, blocked, discussed and more.

I even had a business woman ask me for a copy (on the recommendation of a close business friend of mine), with a small fee deal of $100 (this was a while ago, now I realize it’s a low fee quality). She paid me $50 up front (a 50% upfront fee) and, having received the copy from me, she proceeded to run off into the sunset, without so much as a look of remorse or guilt. 50 dollars; I work my ass off working for someone and they leave for 50 bucks?

wow.

It’s pretty amazing, I know. Granted, I’m younger than most copywriters. I was naive at first, and you learn a lot by making mistakes. And boy, have I learned this lesson.

Now, you’re going to get screwed at some point in your career, there’s no two ways about it, no matter how many safeguards you use. I still get screwed over from time to time, simply because I have too much faith in people. I’m a confident guy, and I let people get away with it.

But after being duped again recently, I decided to be a little more ruthless with my client’s choice. And along with that, I have a few lessons for you from my experience:

1.) Don’t work for someone unless you are willing to pay them SOMETHING up front. It shows a commitment on the part of the client if he is willing to risk some money; if they don’t, they’re not sure they’re going to make any money from the product (meaning they won’t pay you). If they are willing to risk a little cash on a product, it shows strong faith in your business and product(s).

2.) Establish a clear agreement with the client. Make sure both parties are clear on what the project is and what has been agreed upon. The last thing you want is a client who suddenly needs to make another landing page (and expects you to work for no extra money). It mainly protects you, but it also protects your client.

3.) If you can, fill out and sign a contract. Bob Bly provides an excellent template in his “Copywriter’s Toolkit” book along with other materials. A contract enforces a legally binding agreement between both parties. And if your client suddenly gets up and disappears with your work, you can use the contract to get paid what you deserve.

Note: You may need to have some finances for this as it may cost you some money to go to court and such.

4.) Retain possession of all ownership rights until full payment has been made. What this means is that everything you write is instantly owned by you. No one has the right to copy your work unless you have given them explicit permission to do so.

Only release the rights to your copy once full payment has been received. You could include this in the contract if you decide to write one to keep things simple. At a minimum, you can threaten troublesome customers with a copyright notice and have them remove their copy until they pay you.

There are other security measures, but these are my first port of call. Protect yourself and be aware of the risks of being self-employed. Another obvious tip is to choose customers who appear to be loyal and trustworthy customers. Sure, there’s still a risk that they’ll be jerks and rip you off, but if you start by judging them on their character and then enforce the security measures I’ve suggested, you’ll minimize the risk of not getting your rate.

So go get paid.