How to become a freelance copywriter in 10 steps, even if you have no experience:
- Understand the basics of freelance copywriting
- Shift from a freelancer’s mindset to a business owner’s mindset
- Accept any type of copywriting work
- Be referable by specializing in a copywriting niche
- Build your copywriting portfolio
- Set your freelance copywriting rates
- Generate leads and find more copywriting clients
- Grow and nurture your freelancing network
- Continuously learn and improve your copywriting skills
- Properly manage your freelance copywriting business
A freelance copywriter is a skilled writer who specializes in crafting persuasive content for various clients but works independently rather than being employed by a single company or agency. Once you offer freelance copywriting services, you’ll be managing your own clients, setting your own rates, and choosing your own work hours. You might work on one-off projects or establish ongoing client relationships for a more regular income.
Copywriters work with both digital and print media, including ad campaigns, billboards, brochures, email marketing copy, graphics, magazines, product descriptions, social media captions, and website content. Copywriting is also heavily involved in marketing and sales, so you should be skilled in market research, sales psychology, and targeting the right audience.
Currently, the USA has around 131,200 copywriters, with the job market predicted to increase by 7.6% from 2016 to 2026, based on data from CareerExplorer. That means copywriters are still in demand in 2024, despite Seth Godin stating in an Ad World conference that mediocre copywriting is doomed because of the rise of AI writing software. Also, Copy Posse founder Alex Cattoni emphasizes Seth’s use of “mediocre.” Alex says that anything mediocre is dead (not just copywriting)—that she uses Canva to make YouTube thumbnails and social media graphics, but she’d still hire a graphic designer when she wants expertly designed work. The same idea applies to copywriting. While AI tools help businesses quickly produce content, that doesn’t mean they won’t hire good copywriters to get truly compelling copy.
So, if you want to become a successful freelance copywriter, this article outlines the steps you need to follow, from honing your persuasive writing skills to building a portfolio and finding potential clients. You’ll also learn what pitfalls to avoid while building a freelance copywriting business from the ground up.
1. Understand the Basics of Freelance Copywriting
Writing copy is a high-income digital marketing skill that needs time and practice to master. You won’t be great at it immediately, but start by understanding the fundamentals.
First, becoming a freelance copywriter means you’ll be self-employed. So, you should learn how to work independently and communicate with clients. You should be disciplined, practice proper time management, and keep learning to improve your copywriting skills and stay competitive.
Copywriting differs from content writing in that it focuses on persuasion and prompting readers to take a specific action. Most of the time, the goal is to get customers to purchase a product, but it could also be to sign up for a newsletter, download an app, or any other desired outcome. So, whether you’re crafting a headline or blog post, remember that the essence of copywriting is motivating readers to act.
To learn how to write copy fast and effectively, follow these tips:
Don’t get too caught up in this step. Only spend 2-3 days learning the fundamentals, so you know what you’re doing. Most of your time should be spent in Step 3 onwards.
Understanding the basics also means familiarizing yourself with the benefits and downsides of freelance copywriting. You should know what becoming a freelance writer fully entails because it isn’t for everyone. Since you’ll be working remotely, you’ll love this arrangement if you want location independence. Your work is also more flexible. But if you want more structure and stability in your profession, then freelance writing isn’t for you. Below are the pros and cons of freelance copywriting so you can make more informed decisions about pursuing it as a career path.
Pros and Cons of Becoming a Freelance Copywriter
Pros of Being a Freelance Copywriter
High Demand: Businesses constantly seek skilled copywriters to help sell their products. There are over 334 million companies worldwide, according to Statista, and these businesses all need great copy for their marketing efforts. So you’ll never run out of clients to pitch your services to.
Flexibility: Freelance copywriting offers the flexibility to choose clients, projects, and work hours. Because you can work with as many clients as you can handle, your potential income is much higher. You can also choose to work full-time or part-time and take a vacation whenever you want.
Remote Work: An Upwork survey concluded freelance copywriting was the most popular freelancing gig in 2022, which is unsurprising because it’s well-suited to remote work. You can work anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
No Degree Necessary: You don’t need a degree to be a copywriter. While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics says you’ll need a bachelor’s degree to get an entry-level writing job, that’s not the case for freelance copywriting. Often, your experience, skills, and social proof matter more.
Creative Expression: Copywriting improves your creative thinking skills because you try to find new ways to engage with customers. Plus, creativity in copywriting goes hand-in-hand with strategic thinking, so it’s a great skill to master.
Learning Opportunities: Copywriting involves learning about various industries, marketing psychology, and different platforms like social media, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and writing tools (Grammarly, Copyscape, and Hemingway App).
Financial Potential: You’ll command higher rates as you gain more copywriting experience or if you become more skilled in your specialization. Clayton Makepeace, the highest-paid direct response copywriter according to AWAI, has been making up to $3 million annually since 1997 just from royalties.
Cons of Being a Freelance Copywriter
Irregular Income: While you can earn 6-7 figures with freelance copywriting income, it’s still highly variable. Sean Ogle, author of the Location Rebel blog, says that 95% of freelance copywriters will fail and won’t make as much money. Those who are profitable have results to show for their skill, and it takes a lot of work to get there.
Tight Deadlines: Projects often come with pressure to deliver under tight timelines. This can be stressful, especially if you’re juggling multiple clients.
Revision and Critique: Your work is subject to client feedback and multiple revisions. If you and your client aren’t on the same page, this can cause many headaches.
Competition: You’ll have difficulty competing with more experienced freelance copywriters or agencies offering copywriting services.
Sedentary Lifestyle: The job entails long periods of sitting, which can impact health. Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor at Harvard Medical School, says that more people die globally each year from inactivity (5.3 million deaths/year) than from cigarette smoking (5 million deaths/year).
Isolation: Lack of an office environment and interaction with co-workers can lead to feelings of loneliness and disconnection.
Job Insecurity: Freelance copywriting doesn’t have job security and benefits (like health insurance or retirement plans) that come with being employed.
Client Dependence: Your success heavily depends on maintaining good client relationships, which can sometimes be demanding.
3 Essential Copywriting Formulas (with Examples)
PAS is arguably the most popular sales blueprint because of its versatility. You can use it in blog posts, emails, landing pages, social media ads, and more. According to marketing advisor Dan Kennedy, PAS is the most reliable copywriting formula that exists. Here are the components:
Here’s an example copy for the PAS formula, taken from Ticker Nerd Crypto’s landing page:
AIDA is one of the oldest marketing formulas, developed by advertising advocate Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. Contrary to PAS, this formula focuses on your reader’s wants instead of their pains.
“The mission of an advertisement is to attract a reader so that he will look at the advertisement and start to read it; then to interest him, so that he will continue to read it, then to convince him, so that when he has read it he will believe it. If an advertisement contains these three qualities of success, it is a successful advertisement.” - E. St. Elmo Lewis
Here’s a well-executed example of AIDA in the landing page for design agency Sumit Hegde:
The Before-After-Bridge is an excellent strategy if you want to show your reader some kind of transformation. Its beginning is similar to PAS, where you open the customer’s eyes to their current situation by focusing on a problem that they have and may not know about (the “before”). Then, show them what their world would be like if their problem was solved (the “after). The bridge between these two states will be your product. It’s the pathway your customers can take to leave their non-ideal present toward a happier future.
This tweet by Kevan Lee, vice president of marketing in the social media software company Buffer, is a short and sweet example of Before-After-Bridge copy:
2. Shift from a Freelancer’s Mindset to a Business Owner’s Mindset
A freelancer’s mindset revolves around working on a project-by-project basis, often relying on clients to come to you with their needs. But if you shift to a business owner’s mindset, you’ll have more control over the next steps in your journey.
It means thinking beyond individual projects and considering the larger picture of your career. You’ll start thinking about business objectives, financial plans, client acquisition, project management, content marketing strategies, and other high-level tasks.
Consider yourself a CEO. A CEO is confident, not fearful. Each prospective client you pitch to will be able to sense if you’re hesitant. They will perceive you as inexperienced and not hire you.
According to Jorden Roper, owner of the Writing Revolt blog, most freelance copywriters get stuck with limiting thoughts, like comparing themselves to others or having imposter syndrome. These thoughts then become feelings of discouragement, failure, and rejection. And eventually, these feelings lead to inaction because you’re afraid to fail. She says that based on her experience, mindset is what differentiates freelance copywriters who succeed and those who don’t. So, having the right mindset can be a game-changer.
3. Accept Any Type of Copywriting Work
This is the part where most tutorials tell you to choose a niche. But this can be limiting and time-consuming if you’re a beginner. A common mistake for beginner freelance copywriters is getting stuck on niche research or deciding what niche to focus on when they could spend their time better by simply looking for and doing work.
So, your focus at this stage should be to gain experience, and you can do that by reaching out to your existing network and finding any type of copywriting job. You don’t need a niche or a portfolio just yet. You simply have to offer your copywriting services, even if you do it for free or at a minimal rate.
Where to Find Freelance Copywriting Jobs for Beginners
4. Be Referable by Specializing in a Copywriting Niche
Now that you’ve done a couple of copywriting projects, this is the time to niche down. And you’ll have a better understanding of what niche to specialize in at this stage because you’ve done actual work.
Copywriting coach Ashlyn Carter defines niching down as being “referable.” If you’re referable, you’re the go-to person for something clients can categorize in their brains. Ashlyn has a two-step process for becoming a referable copywriter:
5. Build Your Copywriting Portfolio
As you finish your first projects, develop a portfolio through Google Drive, a website (via WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace), or a PDF to attach to emails or online messages. Remember to include your contact details for potential clients to easily reach out to you. If you’ve gathered testimonials from past work, include them. And whenever possible, talk about results such as conversions, sales, or engagement metrics.
Since you’re trying to be referable at this point, gradually replace portfolio projects that aren’t in your niche with pieces that are. You don’t have to show everything you’ve ever written. You can curate your pieces to display only the best and most relevant work.
6. Set Your Freelance Copywriting Rates
Copywriters get paid per hour, per word, per project, or with a retainer fee. You can also get royalties, commissions, and performance-based pay. Payments are typically processed through bank transfers or online payment services like Stripe and PayPal. According to Indeed, freelance copywriters make $18.38 to $72.88 per hour, averaging $36.60 per hour. And based on a survey of 656 copywriters by The Copywriter Club, the average annual copywriter salary is $68,586. Exact earnings depend on experience, niche, market, country, and work arrangement.
Here are some pricing strategy tips by Christine Gomolka, a B2B copywriter and host of the Paid Copywriter podcast:
Copywriting Service | Fee Range |
---|---|
Homepage Copy | $1,500 - $3,000 |
New Website Page | $500 - $1,250 per page |
Updating Website Pages (About, Services, etc.) | $250 - $1,000 per page |
Full Microsite (2-5 pages) | $3,000 - $7,000 |
User Experience (UX) Copywriting |
|
Lead Gen Landing Page or “Squeeze” Page | $500 - $1,500 |
Long-Form Sales Page |
|
Short Blog Post (300-1,000 words) | $250 - $800 per post |
Long Article (1,200-2,000 words) | $250 - $1,000 |
Pillar Blog Post (4,000 words or more) | $500 - $2,500 per post |
How-To Guide | $500 - $1,000 |
FAQs | $500 - $1,000 |
Blog Content Strategy |
|
Product Page Update | $100 - $250 per page |
Order Page or Shopping Cart Sequence | $400 - $800 |
Banner or Text Ad | $250 - $1,000 |
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign | $75 - $350 per ad |
Social Media Ad Campaign | $500 |
Standalone Email | $250 - $2,000 |
Email Sequence or Autoresponder | $100 - $1,000 per email |
Cold Prospecting Email Templates (10-pack) | $1,500 - $2,500 |
Follow-Up Email Templates (10-pack) | $1,500 - $2,500 |
E-newsletter | $800 - $2,000 (writing and/or consulting) |
Newsletter Editorial (600-800 words) | $200 - $500 |
Social Media Setup | $500 per network |
Company Description | $25 - $500 |
Press Release | $500 - $1,000 per release |
Case Study/Customer Success Story (2-3 pages; 800-1,200 words) | $1,200 - $2,000 |
Testimonial | $500 - $800 |
Resume or Personal Profile | $2,000 for bundled services |
Survey Wording | $500 - $1,000 |
White Paper (5-10 pages) | $2,000 - $10,000 |
E-book | $2,000 - $7,000 |
Event Speech | $3,000 - $5,000+ |
Short Video Script (1-5 minutes) | $500 - $1,500+ |
Long-Form Video Sales Letter (20-45 minutes) | $5,000+ based on length/VSL |
Podcast Script | $500 - $1,000 per minute |
Radio Commercial Script (30-60 seconds) | $1,200 - $1,500 |
TV Commercial Script (30-60 seconds) | $1,000 - $1,800 |
Training Script | $500 - $3,000 |
Webinar Script | $1,500 - $3,000 |
Chatbot Script | $2,000 |
Telemarketing Script | $500 - $2,000 |
Sales Call Script (5 versions) | $2,000 - $2,500 |
Sales Deck (20 slides) | $2,000 - $3,500 |
Sales Proposal | $500 - $750 per page |
Direct Mail Sales Letter Package | $1,500 - $5,000+ |
Direct Mail Renewal Series | $1,500 - $2,500+ |
Brochure (3+ panels) | $750 - $1,500 per page |
Magazine or Tabloid | $9,000 - $15,000 |
Postcard or Double Postcard | $750 - $1,500 |
Sell Sheet | $500 - $1,000 |
Sales Battlecard | $1,000 - $2,000 |
Small Print Ad | $800 - $2,000 |
Advertorial | $800 - $1,500+ |
Store Poster | $250 - $500 per sign or poster |
Copyediting | $31-$75 per hour OR 3-5 cents per word |
Product Naming | $1,000 - $3,000 |
7. Generate Leads and Find More Copywriting Clients
As a freelance copywriter, your ability to generate leads and secure new clients is just as crucial as your writing skills. It’s the lifeblood of your business, ensuring a steady flow of projects and income. Here are some strategies freelance copywriters use to gain new clients, according to copywriting coach Alex Cattoni:
8. Grow and Nurture Your Freelancing Network
Once you have recurring leads coming your way, make sure to cultivate your growing network. Client nurturing will lead to new freelancing projects, professional partnerships, and a wealth of resources to help you grow your copywriting business. Maintain a strong freelancing network by:
9. Continuously Learn and Improve Your Copywriting Skills
Engage in lifelong learning to become a better copywriter. Actively seek educational resources such as copywriter courses, books, workshops, and industry conferences. Subscribe to copywriting and marketing blogs, listen to podcasts, and watch tutorials to stay updated on the latest best practices. That said, the best resources for learning copywriting are:
10. Properly Manage Your Freelance Copywriting Business
Now that you’re running your own service business, you can choose to stay small or build a team to take on more projects. Whatever the case, prepare to handle many business-related tasks, such as marketing, client experience, invoicing and payments, pricing strategy, and taxes. Properly managing a freelance copywriting business demands entrepreneurial skills, organization, and a logical approach to business operations. Here are some best practices:
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Ditch the Crowded Freelance Market: There’s a More Lucrative Way to Make Money from Your Copywriting Skills
Freelance marketplaces, like Upwork, have become crowded over the years, with the platform signing up over 2 million freelancers just in 2019. And the vast majority of them earn modest incomes. Only 1 in 800 (or 0.13% percent) of freelancers on Upwork earn over $1,000 per month. Add to that the instability and unpredictability of client-based work, and freelance copywriting becomes less alluring.
The bright side: There’s a more sustainable and lucrative approach to earning money from your copywriting skills. It’s called local lead generation. This strategy moves away from the traditional client-servicing model and instead empowers you to apply your knowledge to your own digital assets. This method can make you $500 to $5,000 per month from each site, which means you can enjoy a passive income stream with high profit margins and minimal ongoing effort.
Local lead generation exceeds the transitory nature of freelancing. With it, you can be a digital landlord owning prime real estate in Google’s search results. You’re working on your own websites instead of clients’ websites. And by harnessing SEO strategies and building trust within local markets, you can use your copywriting skills to turn your websites into lead-generating platforms that local businesses are eager to pay for. It’s a direct connection to a targeted customer base. If you’re ready to pivot from the competitive freelance hustle to a model that affords more control and a steadier revenue stream, consider taking my lead gen course.