Copywriting is a good side hustle, given its blend of profitability and flexibility. Today, businesses compete with each other faster and on a larger scale. This pushes demand for copywriters who can help them compete and connect with audiences. Aspiring entrepreneurs choose copywriting because it's a flexible side hustle. You can work whenever and wherever you are as long as you can get results.
Copywriting is profitable as it helps businesses communicate and sell to their audience. For example, veteran copywriter Matt Hall makes $12-$25K monthly. He suggests charging hourly rates as it takes time to research and make great copy. This lets you avoid the risk of arguing over word counts and spending as much time as you need to write.
However, copywriting has its disadvantages. Copywriting has a low barrier to entry, making it easy for people to get into. Alex Cattoni on LinkedIn says 90% of copywriters will fail. The difficulty of learning to make great copy promotes a "churn and burn". Meaning, majority of aspiring copywriters will fail and leave.
In this post, we'll discuss what makes copywriting a good side hustle. We'll give you profitable side hustle ideas, the pros and cons, and other ways of making money online.
1. Copywriting can Offer Good Side Hustle Profits
Copywriting is a profitable side hustle because it helps businesses sell more. With many businesses selling and marketing online. They need copywriters to connect them with audiences and stand out from competitors.
You can make money with copywriting side hustle as its has high demand and opportunities. ZipRecruiter's 2024 data says US freelance copywriters make between $23.56 to $46.15 per hour. Success stories include engineer turned copywriter, Daniel Throssel. He decided to leave his previous job to learn and practic copywriting. This led him to become one of Upwork's highest paid copywriters at $200/hr.
2. Copywriting is a Flexible Side Hustle
Copywriting's flexibility lets you work anytime, anywhere, as long as quality isn't compromised. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr let copywriters and businesses collaborate worldwide. It lets copywriters choose what industry and market they want to get into. They can also choose to specialize in niches that they're interested in. What matters most is using creativity and language skills to persuade their audiences.
This Reddit commenter works as an in-house copywriter for five years. They do freelance work on the side as a ghostwriter for blogs on topics they're good at. This earns them $100/hour for 5 hours/week, which adds up to $2k monthly. They show how copywriting's flexibility enables them to earn more from their expertise.
3. Copywriting can Earn You Passive Income
Copywriting, when done right, can be a good way to earn passive income. However, you must learn how to make great copy that get results and converts readers. Gather the results you've achieved for clients and create your own portfolio. This lets potential clients see your work and shows off your expertise.
For example, this Reddit commenter suggests offering Facebook ads to generate passive income. Their idea is explain that it's easy to learn, there's demand for it, and it requires less time investment. His clients pay $500-$1K monthly for this service, and is scalable. This shows how skill and market understanding can earn passive income.
4. Copywriting is a Difficult, High-Paying Skill
Copywriting's skill difficulty requires understanding audiences and persuasive writing that converts. Content Marketing Institute says 60% of marketers struggle to create engaging content. This shows how its steep learning curve make it hard to master. However, it also means that not everyone can do it well, and businesses are willing to pay for good copy.
Skills like creativity, research, writing, SEO, time management, and sales, help you succeed in copywriting. Copywriters are salesmen first, writers second. This Reddit Comment says copywriters need strategic thinking, good ideas, and common sense. This lets copywriters standout and avoid instability due to AIs like ChatGPT.
5. Copywriting Give You Potential to Grow
Copywriting's growth potential is huge, with its difficulty and effect on sales. Many successful copywriters started from small, humble beginnings to big sales projects. The grandfather of modern advertising, David Ogilvy, did not begin as a copywriter. He used to be a door-to-door AGA stove salesman in Scotland. This gave him insight into understanding consumer behavior. He used this in his copies, which still stand the test of time and studied today.
To start a copywriting side hustle, you should first learn the basics of copywriting. This will teach you the dos and don'ts of copywriting. Then, you pick a niche you're interested in and want to get into. This leverages your knowledge and understanding of a niche to create audience connections. After picking a niche, it's time to start gaining copywriting experience. You can do this by offering your services for free to friends or local businesses. This lets you develop the skills required to do copywriting for real-world clients. It also lets you build a portfolio and professional network. Leverage these to gain more clients and projects. With enough time and success, this builds your reputation as a copywriting expert
The best resources for learning copywriting as a side hustle include:
Top Benefits and Challenges of a Copywriting Side Hustle
Pros
Flexible schedule: Copywriters can offer their services online. This allows you to set your own working hours and work from anywhere.
Potential for high earnings: Copywriting’s ties to sales drives demand for this service. This gives you opportunity to earn income.
Variety of clients: Many businesses need help establishing their online presence. This lets you choose niches and industries you may want to write copies for.
Enhanced portfolio: Copywriting is a results-based industry. Creating a portfolio helps you show of your abilities to future clients.
Expressing creativity: As a copywriter, you are a salesman who uses written words to close sales. This gives you the opportunity to craft unique and engaging content for audiences.
Cons
Lack of job security: Copywriting as a side hustle means you’ll be independent. This leads to inconsistent income and project availability.
Continuous deadlines: To make this sustainable, you'll need to work with many clients and various projects. This means you need to keep up with those deadlines to be profitable.
Solitude: You'll be working alone most of the time in copywriting. This can be off-putting or a blessing for some.
Need to stay on top of trends: Copywriting requires constant learning. Consumer behaviors and market trends always change, and you must be ready to meet them.
Challenging to get started: Starting out can be difficult without clients, a niche, or a portfolio.
Limitations on content: Working with clients means you’ll need to follow their style guide and specifications. This restricts creativity and can be difficult to surpass.
8 Profitable Copywriting Side Hustle Ideas in 2024
Where To Find Copywriting Gigs as a Side Hustle
- Remote OK: provides remote work opportunities and data for each job post. This job board makes it easy for you to filter jobs that meet your criteria.
- Flex Jobs: Is a paid platform that has the largest amount of copywriting job posts. Their team screens companies that post jobs to ensure safety and legitimacy.
- Blogging Pro: This job board focuses on content marketing jobs. It’s updated daily, and you can use it to find copywriting and editing posts.
- Upwork: One of the most popular platforms for freelancers and businesses to collaborate. It’s a competitive platform due to its popularity. This makes it harder for entry-level copywriters to stand out from experienced competitors.
- Fiverr: This platform lets you list your copywriting services for free. This makes safer and easier to pitch to clients with less effort on outreach.
- Contra: This commission-free freelance platform is currently growing. This makes it easier to find freelance copywriting jobs. Companies like Figma use Contra to find people to work with.
- Freedom with Writing Newsletter: Connects editors and publishers to writers directly for free. They provide weekly emails with at least 3 job opportunities.
- The Writer’s Job Newsletter: Provides a curated list of copywriting jobs every week when you sign up. These job opportunities have been pre-screened and vetted by their team.
- Facebook: You can join Facebook groups to network with other copywriters and find opportunities.
- Reddit: It is a massive forum where you can use subreddits like r/hireawriter or r/forhire to find opportunities.
Is a Copywriting Side Hustle in High Demand in 2024?
Yes, a copywriting side hustle is in high demand in 2024 because more businesses are going online. The fast-paced nature of going digital pushes demand for skilled copywriters. Their copies help businesses stand out from competitors, sell, and connect with audiences.
Copywriting's flexibility and profitability make it a popular side hustle. Career Explorer says there are 151.2K copywriters in the US. The US Bureau of Labor predicts copywriting employment in 2024 will grow by 9%. This shows a growing demand for skilled copywriters.
Copywriting is a competitive side hustle as it's profitable and easy to get into. However, this promotes a high churn when beginners find out that it takes time and effort to get good at the craft. This Reddit comment says copywriting pays well. However, you must dedicate yourself to learning the craft. This makes it a good full-time commitment, not a side hustle.
Copywriting is not a suitable side hustle idea for beginners who are not willing to commit to it. You need to practice creating good copies and build a portfolio and client rapport. You'll be competing with other experienced copywriters or think it's easy to do. This Redditor says copywriting requires commitment to be a side hustle. However, the skills you gain will pay off in the long run.
The Best Side Hustle in 2024: Local Lead Generation or Copywriting?
Copywriting as a side hustle lets you monetize your creativity and flexibility. You'll be working with businesses to create content that engages audiences. However, you'll encounter issues like content quality, client acquisition, and inconsistent income. Local lead generation stands out for its scalability and predictable income.
However, copywriting is not always sustainable, and it's difficult to create passive income with copywriting skills alone. Even full-time copywriters dedicate extra time to get more projects. Copywriting is a craft that needs measurable results and social proof. While it is profitable, it can't provide a large income if you don't commit to it. Local lead generation provides stable income with less hassles.
In local lead gen, you create niche websites that rank on search engines like Google. Then, you rent those out to local businesses willing to pay $500-$3,000 monthly. It requires less upfront investment and maintenance. Plus, you can scale this by creating more ranking websites for other niches or ZIP codes.
I've created 50+ local lead gen websites in niches like tree care and gold investment. Together, these sites earn $52,000 a month. The best part is I own these websites, and they act like digital real estate. You can use your skills to create copy and understand SEO to rank your local lead gen site. If you're a copywriter looking for a different way to make money online, consider local lead generation.
