How to Become a Freelance Copywriter

Do you love writing and want to start making money with your skills?

Then copywriting is a great career for you.

You probably think you’re no good for it since you have zero experience. But we all have to start somewhere. A copywriting job is not as complicated as it sounds, and there are a few reasons on why you should test the waters:

• There’s a dramatic increase in the number of companies that choose to hire freelance copywriters as they focus on establishing an online presence.
• You don’t have to show proof of experience to earn six figures in this business.
• You can work in the comfort of your couch.
• You don’t need some fancy diploma or qualification.

There’s no way of telling when the pandemic ends, but you can’t justify your procrastination with it. If you’re dead serious about earning some cash while being confined in your comfortable prison, then freelance copywriting is a worthy proposition. It is one of the few “pandemic-proof” gigs out there.

What Freelance Copywriting Means

The term “freelance” means providing services on a contractual or project basis. One perk of being a freelancer is that you get to choose the people you want to work for. You have a flexible schedule, plus you can set your preferred rate.

If a prospective client disagrees with your offered rate, you can move on to the next.

Freelancing is the new normal for companies and organizations looking for specific skills.

The demand for it is high, especially in the copywriting industry. As a freelance copywriter, you get to explore a diverse set of projects from different clients, thereby allowing you to expand your portfolio.

The copywriter’s job is to create content for commercial and marketing purposes. The “copy” is diverse enough to cover advertising, newsletters, website content, email marketing campaigns, and more. A freelance copywriter is also tasked to create compelling and exciting descriptions and taglines for magazines.

A copywriter is required to produce unique articles designed for web publishing. He or she functions and works as a salesperson, but discreetly.

How to Start a Career in Freelance Copywriting

Thankfully you don’t need a fancy office or expensive equipment to get started. The three essentials are internet access, laptop, and a word processor.

That’s it.

Experience counts in getting lucrative gigs, but it’s not a requirement. As the adage says, “a journey begins with the first step.” You’d be on your way to making a successful career as a freelance copywriter if you embrace these tips:

1 – Read whenever you can.

Don’t just read when you’ve got nothing else to do. All prominent and successful writers are bibliophiles. But in the modern-day, your reading prospects are no longer confined to books.

Become an avid reader of anything under the sun – blogs, magazines, to websites Wikipedia – but especially sales copy so subscribe to a ton of email lists. Reading is an effective and efficient means of obtaining insights and seeing what works.

When you find just about any reading material as enjoyable, that’s the time you build a habit of enriching your brain with fresh content.

2 – Learn to organize things.

Even if you have control over your schedule, there will be a time when you’re bombarded with a ton of work. If you are disorganized, you end up getting overwhelmed by the thought of meeting so many deadlines at the same time. Embracing a strategy is the key to successfully finishing copywriting assignments.

3 – Embrace research.

You can’t be a copywriter if you don’t possess the necessary writing skills. But there’s more to becoming a successful freelance copywriter than just the knack for words.

You also need to be a skilled researcher. It’s not like you’re writing a novel with your creativity and imagination as the primary content sources.

In copywriting, you need to learn a lot of stuff from existing content before you can produce your own. If you’re tasked to create a blog for a company or product, you must come up with an article that’s optimized for the search engines.

If your job involves creating social media posts, you must be updated with the latest trends. All these require research.

4 – Be patient.

So many people had short-lived careers in freelance copywriting all because they couldn’t wait for opportunities to come their way. You must learn to be patient; even if there’s a high demand for copywriters, not all opportunities out there fit your skillset.

Furthermore, some clients look for something definite in terms of writing style and experience. But with the demand exceeding the supply, you’ll find your niche if you’re patient enough to look for it.

Types of Copywriting Jobs

As previously mentioned, freelance copywriting offers an extensive array of prospective jobs. You’ll never run out of options once you start searching for opportunities.

1 – Web Content/SEO

Describing SEO copywriting as an emerging industry is quite an understatement. People have been writing all sorts of material for their websites to impress the search engines. SEO copywriters produce articles and blogs that are optimized for Google’s liking.

So, if you’re interested in this line of work, study and learn as much as you can about keyword research, call-to-action, links, and wiring unique content.

2 – Technical Copywriting

Technical copywriting involves creating content both for web and print. This isn’t about sharing your opinion and thoughts on a subject. Instead, you’ll be writing based on facts and specific knowledge to educate your audience.

Technical writing offers one of the most lucrative copywriting jobs out there, but you have to be knowledgeable of a particular area or field.

3 – Marketing

A background in marketing helps you succeed in a prospective freelance copywriting career. There’s a considerable demand for content to be used in email campaigns, advertisements, and billboards. Someone who knows how to pique an audience’s interest is useful in this industry.

However, the difference between copywriting in the realm of marketing to that of traditional advertising is that you can’t use overly “salesy” language in the former.

4 – Creative Writing

You can be a creative copywriter if you have a knack for telling a story. It’s a useful skill since many companies need people who are creative and talented enough to develop a brand or image from scratch using words.

Your job as a freelance creative copywriter is to come up with catchy phrases to be used in advertisements and create content for branding purposes.

Conclusion 

You can build a highly successful career as a freelance copywriter. It’s as legitimate as any other typical job. In reality, it is challenging and rewarding at the same time. So, don’t think of it as merely a temporary or side gig.