Storybrand is useful for branding which is a whole different beast. Most small businesses owners need sales. For that, I’d recommend Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins and Adweek by Joe Sugarman. These two are the only books you need to get started. You can also read Gary Halbert’s letters. They are free. Just google it you’ll find them.

I get referred by past clients. For the most part I reach out to them. The way I get them to hire me is that I don’t pitch copywriting services. I start with the outcome ie. Sales. I simply say I’ll get you X sales. If I’m working with big companies I charge an upfront fee and commission on gross sales. With small business owners I only charge commission. This lifts any scepticism because they don’t have to pay me if I don’t bring results. It’s as simple as that. And because of that I spend zero time discussing money and haggling over price. It becomes irrelevant. But the important thing is to pitch the outcome not what I do.