Interview with Mr Shahzad Khan, a rebellious engineer from Multan
Profile
Shahzad Khan is a globally renowned direct-response copywriter from Pakistan. He is the author of the “The Ultimate Copywriting Handbook” and is presently running a popular support group on Facebook where he is leveraging his skills and knowledge to empower and guiding others to earn at least 6-figures a month.
PAGE: Tell us a little about yourself, your background, your education, and your work?
Shahzad Khan: Born and raised in Multan, I was an A+ student and excelled in school. I joined UET, Lahore for Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and later taught at ISP as a lecturer for the Mechanical Department.
Though my university GPA was not exceptional, unlike others scoring above 3.5, I knew that I was hardworking and dedicated, but that does not matter when you hand over your CV as a fresh recruit at different job fairs. They are always looking at the numbers and sadly I was rejected by some top firms because I didn’t meet the norm or fall into their preset criteria.
Later, I joined a company as a field service engineer for a meager amount of Rs. 10,000 a month, it was disappointingly low, but I did not have many options back then. All fresh grads can relate to that feeling of dejection and discontentment.
My inner voice told me that I was better than this, it kept reminding me that I deserved better, that I had the potential to earn more than what was being offered.
That’s when I took the leap, because I had to break this chain of conventional work norms, I had to be above and beyond and follow the direction my gut feeling led to.
Many considered my behavior silly, but aren’t all leaders silly at one point in life because they are not doing what the rest of the flock would want them to?
There are certain circumstances in life where you need to make that jump and not just climb the ladder like the rest of the gang. You need to make some uncustomary decisions to step out of the rat race and take a leap of faith. And for me, it was quitting my job and venturing towards copywriting in 2017 and there is no looking back.
People used to smirk, finding me writing on my laptop where my counterparts used to be sweating away examining boilers, turbines and other fancy machineries, assuming I had wasted my degree. Little did they know that I was converting my earnings from dollars to rupees, achieving success where some take years to reach and earning 7-figures which often seems like a farfetched dream to many.
PAGE: Please brag about your career accomplishments, what are the things you are really proud of?
Shahzad Khan: When a young fresh graduate starts his career, he has big dreams and aspirations. He starts planning on how to spend before he even gets his first salary.
He wants a big car, a comfortable modern day house, above average lifestyle, enough money to go on vacations but all this is not possible with what is being offered in the Pakistani job market for fresh graduates.
For many it may take years to reach that stage, but I managed to beat the average timelines just because I was working for international clients. Now, I am rated amongst the top 10 copywriters by Fiverr, where my competitor is the world.
Many may turn 40 by the time they achieve these milestones but I have generated a whopping $7 million in sales for my clients, while completing 3000 copywriting projects in a span of just 5 years.
I believe one thing that has benefitted me the most is that I am one of the few Pakistani copywriters who have learnt directly from Adil Amarsi (a billion dollar copywriter) and have worked with Stefan Georgi (another billion dollar copywriter), where we have generated $1 billion in sales. When you have some top notch mentors and teachers behind your back, then they surely don’t let you fall or get you back on your feet if you take a fall.
Another lesson I have learnt from all these top internationally acclaimed copywriters is that they have always shared their experiences and blunders with their followers or budding copywriters at large. This motivated me to start my own group, the first-ever copywriting community on Facebook with over 15,000 followers. Where we learn from each other, we share experiences and rejections, we take and give advice. Here, I actively interact or answer any and every question asked. From time to time I even share with them top hacks, tips and tricks to be successful and be that motivation which keeps them pushing to not give up.
The same passion to share knowledge motivated me to write the book “The Ultimate Copywriting Handbook” again the first of its kind in Pakistan. It is a how-to guide where you can literally learn all of the hidden secrets of copywriting by reading it once.
PAGE: What are your future plans/aspirations? What impact it will have on the community/society/your team/your project?
Shahzad Khan: I want to harness the power of copywriting in Pakistan through educating individuals. I want them to explore, to go beyond, to learn at par with the world, to earn in in dollars and to make 6-figures a month by leveraging nothing but their English.
PAGE: What challenges did you face when you switched your career?
Shahzad Khan: When I began my career in copywriting, it was a relatively new area for me. What copywriting is believed to be in Pakistan it is not actually that; even big names, those considered as gurus of copywriting in Pakistan still don’t know much. So I had to face some challenges in getting the right guidance and mentorship, or bench marks to compare with. I had trouble relating to anyone from Pakistan, since no one was working at this high level. No one could critique my work, which I believe is essential to make improvements, to become a more seasoned writer. At the start of my career, I didn’t even know if I was going in the right direction or not.
PAGE: What has been your best education/career decision and why?
Shahzad Khan: Switching to copywriting has been the best decision ever and there is no going back. My life has completely evolved. I am not a slave to any organization. I am free; free to choose my projects, free to decide when to work, free to help others, but most importantly free to grow, to expand, because now I am free from the shackles binding one down where one can neither explore nor experiment.
Now my impact is not just my work, but the community I am leading, the avid learners, I am guiding and opening doors to explore better opportunities.
PAGE: What are the best lessons you’ve learned?
Shahzad Khan: Persevere! Don’t give up. Keep trying, fall down once, get up and start over, and don’t stop learning. This drive comes from within and can take you places. J.K Rowling was rejected by publishers over a dozen times and now she is one of the most successful and widely read authors. Jack Ma, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr.Suess), all faced failures but one common thing about them was that they did not give up.
PAGE: What is the future of copywriting in Pakistan?
Shahzad Khan: It is very bright and promising. Pakistan is exuberating exceptional talent. We’re already making waves and it’s just the beginning, the copywriters who are yet to come are going to break all records. Even mine too.
We now have early starters. One of my student, who is just 20 years old is making 100k a month. Imagine where he’ll be when in a few years’ time, what heights he would be reaching when he is in his forties or later in life.
PAGE: Which copywriter inspires you and why?
Shahzad Khan: All of the great ones do. I have learned something or the other from everyone. Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, David Ogilvy, Chris Haddad, Stefan Georgi, Adil Amarsi, you name it, and of course there are many others too.
PAGE: Do you think Pakistan has changed as a society, in terms of accepting freelancing and providing services?
Shahzad Khan: Yes, it has totally transformed. And I believe there will be a time when the entire paradigm will shift in the favor of freelancing. Tax exemption, higher values of other currencies when converted to Pakistani Rupee, better pay rates, all have played a crucial role in giving a great boost to this field.
PAGE: What needs to change to help more youth coming towards this area?
Shahzad Khan: I believe it’s the right people with the right intentions in the position of power. This has to be a massive movement. We need to tell them that they don’t have to go down the regular route and make an impact with this.
PAGE: If you could change one thing about the copywriting industry/business, what would it be?
Shahzad Khan: In the Pakistani copy market, I would want to implement a strict rule of a minimum pay rate. New writers get taken for a ride every single day; they are exploited and offered sometimes less than Rs. 1 per word which seems like a joke. The industry needs to recognize that not everyone can be a writer, it’s a skill and they need to stand on standardizing it.
PAGE: What would a day in copywriter’s life be like?
Shahzad Khan: It’s nothing crazy. It’s just me working on a laptop, researching, writing something for a client, or hopping in and out of meetings.
PAGE: What top three things should a budding copywriter do? What would you advise?
Shahzad Khan: Firstly, be relentless in your pursuit. You can either make money or excuses.
Secondly, I would suggest that you should reduce your learning curve by uncovering the secrets from someone who has already done it.
Thirdly, dive into the market without worrying about perfecting your craft.
And most importantly, READ! I cannot emphasize this enough. Read anything good that comes your way and dissect it, learn the way the natives write, read books, articles, works of other copywriters, advertisements.