Copywriting can be profitable in 2024, but profit potential depends on a variety of factors, which primarily include:
Current skill level and previous experience play a major role in your earning potential as a copywriter. New copywriters typically don’t make much money, while senior copywriters can earn a considerable hourly rate for their expertise. For example, Keeley Walker is a copywriter with 15 years of experience that currently charges £250/hour by operating her own digital marketing agency and selling her copywriting expertise as part of a consulting package. Another copywriter on Reddit makes nearly $100K/year with one full-time copywriting position and some freelance work, but admits they made around just $30K their first year.
There are many marketing channels you can write copy for, such as email, PPC, product listing, and webpage. Some copywriters specialize in writing copy for one marketing channel while others write for all channels. Copywriters that specialize can often charge a higher hourly rate because they achieve greater expertise in one area. An Ecommerce email copywriter on Reddit claims that they can make $40 to $100 per email they write. Although this is higher than the market average, they can charge more because their focused expertise can generate better results for clients.
While copywriters that achieve advanced skills in one type of copy can charge a higher hourly rate for freelancing work, in-house and agency copywriters tend to have more stable workloads because they can accommodate a larger portion of a business’s copywriting needs. This allows in-house and agency copywriters to get full-time positions rather than continuously searching for new opportunities like many freelancers must do. An in-house copywriter on Reddit earns over $200K per year with a consistent workload through her full-time job.
As the in-house copywriter above points out, your copywriting profit potential also depends on where you live. A native English speaker that has worth authorization in the United States generally has a higher earning potential than non-native English copywriters without work authorization in leading economies like the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada.
Copywriting rates also tend to be higher in high-value niches, allowing copywriters who write for these niches to earn an above average income. For example, tech is considered a high value niche, so it’s no surprise that this in-house copywriter for a software company earns over 6 figures per year.
Alex Cattoni lists the current most profitable copywriting niches as artificial intelligence (AI), alternative health and wellness, Ecommerce, personal wealth and finance, and coaching. Alex is an authoritative figure in the copywriting industry, having started and scaled her own multi-6-figure copywriting business and coaching others through her copywriting community, Copy Posse.
Finding profitable copywriting opportunities often requires good networking ability. Copywriters that take the initiative to meet with business owners, learn their problems, and pitch them on copywriting work are much more likely to find profitable opportunities than copywriters that just try to find work through saturated job platforms like Upwork and LinkedIn.
Instead of exchanging time for money like most copywriters do, an alternative online business model to consider as a copywriter is local lead generation. Local lead generation entails creating websites that attract customers for local service business owners and selling the leads to real businesses for $500 to $3,000/month. Copywriting is one of the key skills required for this business model as these websites need to create interest in a service and convince customers to take action and reach out for more information. The best part about local lead generation websites is that once you get a website to rank well on Google and partner with a local service business owner to take the leads, you can earn passive income because these websites usually require minimal maintenance work.
In the following article, we discuss copywriting profitability further by looking at the earnings potential of different copywriting roles.
Which is More Profitable: In-House or Freelance Copywriting?
Freelance copywriting is typically more profitable than in-house copywriting because it allows writers to work with multiple clients. Plus, since they charge on a per project basis, they can potentially earn more money than in-house copywriters. Both of these factors can contribute to growing a freelance copywriter’s earnings.
For the most part, the main difference is that an in-house copywriter is limited to a fixed monthly salary. A freelance copywriter has greater financial flexibility because earnings usually vary from month to month, depending on how many projects they work on and how many hours they spend writing. Freelancers also get to enjoy copywriting from home or other locations since they are not bound to physically report in offices.
Freelance copywriters do face certain challenges, such as the constant need to hunt for new clients, the lack of benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc), and the risks of unpredictable income. Although earnings are generally higher, there may also be slower months when they won’t make as much.
A freelance writer earns an average of $93K per year in the USA, according to ZipRecruiter while Talent.com reports that an in-house copywriter has an average yearly salary of $68K.
4 Smart Ways To Make Money From Copywriting
1. Freelance Copywriting
As a freelance writer, you can make money by finding your own clients or by using freelancing platforms. An independent copywriter sends cold emails to several businesses until they find an ideal client that needs their expertise. This can be time-consuming because data from Hubspot shows that the average cold emailing response rate is just 1%, but the advantage is you get to keep your earnings in full.
Alternatively, freelancers can use copywriting online platforms like Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Upwork to find paying gigs faster. The obvious disadvantage is that these sites often charge freelancers with a service fee or percentage cut for every completed copywriting job.
2. Commission-Based Copywriting
If you’re a website owner, you can also diversify your income by signing up with affiliate marketing programs. Next, you need to consistently write compelling copy that inspires people to take specific action and purchase products or services. Companies usually pay affiliates with a commission of 10 to 30% out of sales made from affiliate links. This could mean an extra $100 to $500 earnings per month on top of your income as you get paid for copywriting.
3. Creating Online Copywriting Programs or Courses
Experienced copywriters can also earn money by creating and offering online copywriting programs or courses. For example, Sarah Turner shares her copywriting skill and knowledge through her Write Your Way To Freedom. Her course teaches learners to build their own freelance copywriting business within 3 months. Sarah offers a free copywriting masterclass but also charges $1,999 for her course.
Filthy Rich Writer founder Nicki Krawczyk also has the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy where she accommodates beginners who want to learn to copywriting and advanced writers with the goal of mastering copywriting. Nicki's program costs a one-time payment of $697.
4. Selling Fixed Copywriting Services
One great way of building your copywriting income in a super simple way is to add productized services to your offerings. So instead of charging per hour or per copy project, you will ask a potential client to pay a fixed amount per month for certain packages. This will allow you to work less while earning more at the same time.
As shared by the Copyblogger website, here are some productized service examples for digital marketing copywriters and anyone who does content writing in general:
What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the practice of creating written content for the purpose of marketing a business. Its main goal is to share information that engages and persuades readers to take action, such as purchasing a product, joining a program, subscribing to an email list, or others. Generally, copywriting serves as a tool to boost a company’s sales and conversions.
A copywriter is a professional who specializes in creating valuable content marketing and advertising materials. A copywriter produces various types of copy for clients, such as ads, brochures, email copy, sales letter, social media posts, website content, and others. Some copywriters are hired in-house while others work as freelancers.
What Type of Copywriting Makes the Most Money?
Freelance copywriting, technical copywriting, direct response copywriting, email copywriting, and SEO copywriting are the types of copywriting that make the most money because they are in high-demand among big and small businesses.
How Much Do Copywriters Make?
Copywriters make anywhere from $28,500 up to $136,000 per year. $77,180 is the average salary of a copywriter, according to a ZipRecruiter report. Monthly salary usually ranges from $2,375 to $11,333, and the national average is at $6,431 per month.
What Factors Impact a Copywriter’s Income?
Experience, education, and geographic location are the factors that impact a copywriter’s income. For example, it’s possible to become a copywriter with no experience or any formal education. However, the fact is writers with those advantages usually earn higher than those who don’t. For example, average copywriter salary data from Payscale shows that copywriters with 5-9 years of experience make 44% more money than those with one year experience or less. Geographic location also plays a part since major cities often offer bigger salaries than those living in smaller towns.
Additional factors that may likewise determine your overall copywriting pay include:
Can Copywriters Scale Their Income?
Copywriters can scale their income, based on their skill level, experience, and type of pay arrangement they have with their clients. For example, royalty-based payment can be “a dependable source of income over time,” according to Copywriting.org.
In a Quora thread, Deanna Blanchard shared she knows copywriters who “earn in the millions” each year. One writer was able to buy her mother a new house from a single royalty check. “Without royalties, it doesn’t matter how good you are,” she adds. “It’s nearly impossible to earn a 7-figure income if you’re just paid by project.”
On the other hand, in-house copywriters may receive a pay raise, depending on their performance or when they get a promotion.
Is Six Figures as a Copywriter Really Possible?
Six figures as a copywriter is really possible given that you have extensive experience, niche expertise, and are well-paid by your employer or clients.
The American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI) shares several examples of good copywriters who became six figure earners. As a full-time freelance copywriter, Ed Gandia made $163,181 in his first year. Mindy McHorse has also reached $100,598 despite struggling for two years as a copywriter.
On Reddit, PeterWritesEmails says “it’s very doable,” adding “it’s a matter of having a rate high enough and doing enough hours each month.” As an email copywriter, he’s working with multiple clients to reach the goal.
Meanwhile, breadzero writes they “just got a 6 figure offer in-house” as a lead/senior copywriter with “some added responsibilities.” The Redditor also points out that the only way to reach 6 figures is to “branch out and get additional skills.”
Can Copywriters Be Millionaires?
Copywriters can be millionaires if they master the art of persuasive copywriting, persevere in the industry, work in top-paying niches, and take control of their career. While not all copywriters can hit the millions, some have proven that it can really be done.
Case in point, Forbes tells us about New York-based copywriter and Talking Shrimp founder Laura Belgray. She formed her one-woman business in 2009, which eventually made it possible for her to earn up to $1,450 per hour as a copywriter. At age 50, she finally made her first million in revenue. “It’s going to be really hard to make the kind of money you want doing one-on-one work,” she told Forbes.
According to a Business Insider report, Belgray made $1 million in 2020 alone by offering online copywriting courses Story Hero + Inbox Hero and Launch Hero where she charges $499. She also makes extra money as a mentor for Shrimp Club, a group coaching program for copywriters, where people pay $1,500 for membership.
Local Lead Generation Offers a More Stable and Scalable Income Than Copywriting
Copywriters remain in high-demand because businesses need excellent content to keep their brands relevant and earn customer trust. After all, 74% of website users pay close attention to the quality of grammar and spelling on company websites. However copywriting is difficult to start and scale. There's overwhelming competition and you need experience. It's hard to gain the trust of high-paying clients and you'll work long hours.
In comparison, the local lead generation market isn’t as saturated since you are targeting localized niches and have fewer competitors. It’s also easier to market your services as long as you can deliver quality results. Instead of spending long hours typing content, your job is to build websites and then rank them on major search engines. This may only require a few hours of work each month. The goal is to reach top spots and then offer your digital assets for rent to interested business owners. As you bring organic traffic and leads for their companies, you get to earn a steady income each month.
Since I own several of these local lead generation sites, and each can make between $500 and $3000 per month, I earn up to $52,000 in that time. This is significantly higher than what you can earn from copywriting. For instance, I made a Grand Rapids tree care website years ago, and it continues to make passive income. Although I’ve only done little or no maintenance work for the site over the years, it continues to make me $2,000 per month. My happy client benefits from the leads my site generates for their business.
