Imagine you have a toothache.
A throbbing, keep-you-awake-at-3am, make-you-cry-in-public kind of toothache.
You rush to the nearest clinic. You burst through the doors. And there, standing in a white coat, is a guy holding a wrench.
He smiles.
“I can fix that tooth,” he says. “I also fix plumbing, bake sourdough bread, and I’m pretty good at landscape gardening.”
Do you sit in his chair?
No.
You run.
You find a dentist. A specialist. Someone who does one thing and does it exceptionally well.
Yet, when it comes to freelancing, so many writers try to be the guy with the wrench. They try to be the “do-it-all” copywriter. They write blogs, tweets, brochures, technical manuals, and maybe the occasional birthday card.
They are the sporks of the marketing world.
(And let’s be honest, sporks are terrible at soup and even worse at steak).
If you want to stop scraping by and start earning serious money, you need to stop being a spork.
You need to specialise.
And specifically, you need to look at an email copywriting course for freelancers.
Here is why narrowing your focus is the fastest way to broaden your bank account.
1. The “Jack of All Trades” is master of… broke
There is an old debate in the industry: generalist vs specialist.
The generalist takes whatever work comes their way. They are safe. They are versatile. They are also usually exhausted.
When you try to master every single format of writing, you end up mastering none of them. You become a commodity. And commodities compete on price.
That is a race to the bottom that you do not want to win.
On the flip side, the specialist solves a specific, expensive problem.
When you specialize in email marketing, you aren’t just “writing words.” You are driving revenue. You are nurturing leads. You are the engine room of a business.
Specialists get paid for value, not just hours. If you want to see exactly how this shift works, check out our case study on moving from hourly rates to value pricing.
2. Direct response is the money skill
Let’s talk about direct response copywriting.
It is not fluffy. It is not about making things “sound pretty.”
It is about psychology. It is about getting a reader to open an email, read a story, feel an emotion, and click a link.
It is the closest thing to printing money legally.
General copywriting courses often skim over this. They teach you grammar (boring) or how to write a catchy blog headline (useful, but low value).
A specialised email course goes deep. It teaches you how to be a guest in someone’s inbox—a very intimate, guarded space.
Understanding the nuances of this space is vital. The inbox is changing fast, and you need to know what a modern email copywriting course for freelancers should teach you to stay ahead of the curve.
3. Building your marketing skill stack
Scott Adams (the Dilbert guy) talks about “talent stacking.”
The idea is that you don’t have to be the best in the world at one thing. You just need to be in the top 25% of two or three things that stack well together.
An email specialist stacks these skills:
- Sales Psychology: Understanding why people buy.
- Data Analysis: Reading open rates and click-throughs.
- Automation: Understanding flows and sequences.
- Storytelling: Keeping readers hooked.
This is a powerful marketing skill stack.
It makes you indispensable. A client can fire a blog writer. They hesitate to fire the person who controls their daily sales emails.
If you are self-taught, you might be missing huge chunks of this stack without realising it. We cover this in our breakdown of 5 revenue-killing mistakes self-taught writers make.
4. Niche specialisation creates trust
Let’s go back to our dentist analogy.
When you pitch a client and say, “I write emails for e-commerce brands,” you instantly possess authority.
You speak their language. You know their pain points (abandoned carts, low retention, Black Friday stress).
Niche specialisation cuts through the noise. It makes your proposal the obvious choice.
But you have to choose the right training. Not all courses are created equal. Some are fluff. Some are gold.
If you are on the fence about which direction to take, read the ultimate guide to choosing the best email copywriting course for freelancers in 2026.
It saves you time. And money.
5. The proof is in the pudding (and the reviews)
You don’t have to take my word for it.
Look at the market. The writers landing the big fish—the ones on £5k, £10k monthly retainers—are almost always specialists.
They have invested in themselves.
If you look at The Legacy Room reviews, you will see a pattern. It isn’t just about learning to write. It is about learning the business of email. It is about confidence.
It is about moving from “Can I write this?” to “I know exactly how to sell this.”
Once you have that confidence, the retainer conversation becomes easy. You stop begging for work and start negotiating partnerships.
(Need help with that part? We have a guide on how to get copywriting clients after finishing your email copywriting course for freelancers).
Final thoughts
The world doesn’t need another generalist.
It is full of them. They are everywhere, offering to write anything for pennies.
Don’t be a spork.
Be the scalpel. Be the specialist. Be the one clients rely on to keep the lights on and the sales flowing.
Pick a lane. Master the inbox. And watch your freelance career take off.
Love,
Kav
P.S. Looking For An Email Marketing Course For Freelancers?
We have a full stack email marketing program available for anyone that wants to learn the skill of inbox sales.
And the best part is, we built this course to be commercial. It isn’t a get-rich-quick win. It is a professional e-learning platform that comes with lifetime access to me and my team, consulting, networking, job opportunities, and so much more.
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