I make $200+ per hour as a freelance copywriter. Here's how.
So, you clicked on this blog post because it says I make $200 as a freelance copywriter.
And now you're probably like, “Is that possible? Is that actually true? I want to make that much money.”
We're going to talk about that in this blog post, as well as what copywriting is, what I do as a freelance copywriter, how I got started, and how you can get started, too.
If you want to learn how to start freelance copywriting, then keep reading!
What is copywriting?
Let’s start with the basics: what exactly is copywriting?
Here’s an easy way to define copywriting: any time you see or hear words from a business, whether in the form of an ad, a website, an email, a brochure, or a social media post – those words are considered “copy”. So, what a copywriter does is write those words.
Unlike other forms of writing like editorial and fiction, writing copy is all about getting your audience to take action, i.e. “Buy this product”, “sign up for this email newsletter”, “follow our Instagram!”
Copywriting is easier said than done. Countless drafts go into a single piece of copy to make sure it’s as effective as possible and resonates with the brand’s voice. Believe it or not, the shortest copy is actually the most challenging to write. When you only have six words to perfectly describe an idea, it’s quite difficult (and fun, in my opinion).
Traditionally, copywriters either worked in advertising agencies or as part of an in-house marketing team. If you’re curious about what life as an advertising copywriter is like, I encourage you to watch Mad Men. Although the market and technology has changed a lot since the 1960s, copywriters are essentially doing the same work. We try to sell products, services, and companies through words.
But keep in mind: not all copywriters work in advertising.
Now, more copywriters are going freelance. Copywriting is great remote work, because most of the work can be done alone in your home office (or wherever you like to work).
What does my day look like as a freelance copywriter?
Here’s a casual list of things that I do as a copywriter on a semi-daily basis:
Researching
Interviewing
Communicating with clients via emails and phone
Proofreading
Editing
Managing projects
Sourcing images
Prospecting clients
Updating my social media
Managing my finances
Oh yes, and sometimes actually WRITING
Sometimes I do things that are internal for a business. For example, I may help an organization create content that they're going to share with their sales team to train them on the products that they have. I’ll also write newsletters for businesses that will only be sent to employees of the company.
Since I work for myself, I have the luxury of creating my own work schedule, and I usually don’t start work until the afternoon. I have a lot I like to do in the morning, like read, journal, take my dog on a walk, exercise, and make music.
I usually don't get to work until around 1 PM or 2 PM, and I'm done working by 5 PM. So I only work for about three to four hours a day.
When I sit down to start work, what I like to do is go through my emails and make sure there are no fires to put out.
My writing routine helps me get in my work flow, and it’s structured like this: I make a cup of tea, I sit down at my desk, and I turn on a chill Zelda lo-fi playlist on Spotify. And then I just go to town. And usually after about 45 minutes, I'll notice that my brain is starting to turn off and then I'll go take a break.
I use this manifestation planner, and it helps me prioritize what tasks are the most important and what's really going to move the needle on my goals each day.
I keep all of my copywriting projects tracked on a project tracking spreadsheet so I know what’s due, when I’m going to do it, and how much money I’m making every month and every week. (Pssstt… you can use the same project tracking spreadsheet when you become a member of The Freelance Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy!)
I also try to limit the amount of calls I have as much as possible, because having a call really takes me out of my flow.
What do I do as a freelance copywriter?
I’m a freelance beauty copywriter (you can learn more about beauty copywriting here), and the projects that primarily work on are SEO blog posts. That's kind of my bread and butter. I have a lot of clients on a monthly package where I'm delivering between two to eight posts per month for them.
Everything is on auto-pay, and I get paid on the first of the month. I deliver the blog posts, and either I upload them or my clients upload them.
I’ll also do extra copywriting projects on top of that, which are either on a flat-fee basis, a retainer basis, or an hourly basis.
What’s the difference between those?
A flat-fee is like a short-term project, where I’ve talked to the client to figure out how long the project will take me, and I multiply that by my hourly rate and put on a little padding for emergencies.
A retainer is when someone buys a certain number of my hours ahead of time, and then I just put those hours aside for them. The last thing is hourly. If clients really don't know what they want, then I'll work for them hourly and then send them an invoice at the end of the month.
When I started freelancing back in 2017, I charged $39. But I soon realized I was on a one-way ride to Burnout City with that low of a rate. So, I kept raising my rates. I went to $75 per hour and then got to $150 per hour pretty quickly after that because I booked up so fast. I was at $150/hour for about three years, and it's only been recently that I've like felt like I could be at $200.
How did I get started as a freelance copywriter?
I’ve talked about my freelance journey quite a bit, so if you want to learn my full story, then watch this video!
But here’s the gist: I was living out in LA (ya know, the 10th most expensive city in the world), and I was laid off from my job with only a couple thousand dollars in savings. I knew I wanted to become a freelance writer, but my back was really up against the wall to make it happen.
I’d already figured out my freelance writing niche (beauty) since I had worked in the beauty industry and pretty much only had beauty-related samples. I tried freelance writing job boards for a while, but they really weren’t working for me. First of all, I rarely saw postings for my niche on the freelance writing boards. And unfortunately, everyoneseems to think they can be a beauty writer, so the competition was steep when there was a beauty-related job. In fact, the only freelance job I ever got out of a job board was writing 1000-word history pieces for $0.08/word. But at $80 a pop, that job definitely wasn’t going to pay my rent. And even that was temporary, as the client eventually let me go for being “too expensive”.
I also tried Upwork. Back then, I didn’t know what I was doing and rarely made more than $35 for an assignment on Upwork. When you calculate Upwork’s hefty fees into the mix, I was barely making enough money to go to Taco Bell, let alone pay my bills.
So I turned to cold email pitching. At my last job, I had written the brand’s blog posts. Nobody else at the company wanted to write the blog, but I always enjoyed it. So I figured that other beauty brands must have the same issue: a dormant blog with no one on the team to write it.
Around the same time, I realized that there are countless beauty brands out there. Go to the beauty department at Marshall’s and look at all the beauty brands you’ve never heard of; the beauty industry is A LOT bigger than just Olay and Estée Lauder. I figured that if I reached out enough, there would be enough beauty companies hiring to support little old me.
I started collecting the names of as many beauty companies as I could find. I put them in a spreadsheet and noted whether or not they had a blog that had been recently updated. If a company had a blog that hadn’t been updated in a while, I sent them my cold email pitch. Most of the time I received no response, but every once in a while I DID get a client! And by continually reaching out, I was able to eventually book enough work to make a living as a freelance writer. Using this method earned me over $4,500 in my first three months of writing. Woo!
Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash
Is it possible for you to be a freelance copywriter?
Unfortunately, the competition to become a freelance copywriter is high. There are a ton of freelance newbies out there! If you’re just starting out and you have no prior experience, you’re going to have more obstacles in your way than someone who has experience.
But don’t fret!
Here are a few things I recommend:
Learn everything you can about copywriting. Read books. (Here are some of my recommendations.) Brush up on your grammar skills. Take a course. Practice copywriting on your own.
Develop expertise in a money-making industry. This money-making industry is your niche! Once again, read books, listen to podcasts, or take online courses. t
Make a portfolio. I recommend making a portfolio website. I have a handy website template so you can save yourself the time and struggle. If you've never worked with clients before, then you're going to pretend you're working with clients and make at least three spec pieces that show off the type of work that you want to do.
Put yourself out there. I mean, really put yourself out there! Spend at least a couple hours each day marketing yourself. Network. Cold pitch. Cold pitch. Cold pitch. If you need cold pitching tips, watch this video.
What are the next steps?
If you feel like this topic is interesting but you're not really sure if you want to do this, then subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can passively watch some videos and see if freelance copywriting vibes with you.
You can also sign up for my email list, or check out one of my freebies for freelancers.
If you’re a self starter and you're naturally a motivated, organized person, then check out my course The Freelance Writer’s Guide to the Galaxy. It's a step-by-step, self-guided course with everything you need to set up your freelance business and have it thrive.
If you want more help and 1:1 guidance, I have a coaching program called Six Weeks to Launch. Inside the six-week program, I’ll hold your hand and guide you through everything. I'll show you what to do, and I'll edit all of your business pieces!
I think that’s all for now, buddy. I hope you found this blog post helpful!
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