How to Make Money as a Copywriter: The Complete Guide for 2024
Copywriting is the art and science of crafting compelling written content to promote a product, service, brand or idea. In today‘s digital marketplace, copywriting has become an in-demand skillset that can be quite lucrative for those who master it. This comprehensive 2600+ word guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start making money as a copywriter.
The Growth of Copywriting: A $44B Industry in 2022
As consumers increasingly research purchases and brands online, demand for quality web content continues rising exponentially.
In 2022, over $44 billion was invested globally in copywriting, content marketing and persuasive writing according to Forrester Research. Their projections show spend expanding at a compound annual rate of +6%, exceeding $67 billion by 2027.
With 91% of organizations currently utilizing content marketing, copywriting now represents a massive industry filled with job opportunities.
Powerful copy and content have become essentially required to compete for audience attention and engagement. As a result, skilled copywriters are in tremendous demand.
Let‘s explore exactly what these professionals do day-to-day within marketing departments and agencies.
What is Copywriting?
Before we dive into the strategies for making money, let‘s start with a clear understanding of what copywriting entails as a career.
Copywriting involves using the power of persuasive writing to influence opinions, emotions, and behaviors. The primary objective is to spur your target audience to take a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting a business.
Copywriters create all forms of sales and marketing collateral for companies. This includes:
- Website Content
- Blog Posts
- Social Media Captions
- Advertisements
- Product Descriptions
- Email Sequences
- Sales Letters/Promotions
The mark of exceptional copy lies in its ability to communicate value in a way that resonates with readers. Rather than simply stating facts, copywriters tell a compelling story that grabs attention while seamlessly promoting a product or service.
Top-notch copywriters combine excellent writing abilities with a deep understanding of human psychology. Leveraging insights into behavior and decision making enables crafting copy that pulls the right emotional triggers to influence purchases.
The Copywriting Process Step-By-Step
So what does the copywriting process actually look like? Here is an overview of the typical workflow:
Step 1 – Research
Gather extensive intel about the product, service, company and buyer personas through provided materials and your own investigation.
Step 2 – Brainstorming
Spin up creative messaging ideas and content formats that align with campaign goals and audience preferences.
Step 3 – Outline
Map out a structured content outline highlighting essential info to convey within copy and crucial calls-to-action.
Step 4 – Writing Draft
Bring your outline to life through an initial rough draft showcasing your creative ideas in more narrative format.
Step 5 – Feedback
Share draft with stakeholders to collect feedback on necessary revisions to better meet campaign KPIs.
Step 6 – Optimization
Refine copy incorporating feedback and suggestions from decision makers. Thoroughly polish all phrasing.
Step 7 – Delivery
Format content within requested mediums like web pages, blogs, ads and email templates for final review.
Step 8 – Launch
Hand-off final copy to clients and support campaign launch through continued optimizations and iterations.
Now that we‘ve covered the standard workflow, let‘s explore the must-have skillsets top copywriters require.
Crucial Skills You Need to Become a Copywriter
Succeeding as a copywriter requires an extensive set of abilities beyond simply being a strong writer. Key skills include:
Writing Skills
From proper spelling and grammar to honing an engaging writing style, exceptional writing ability provides the foundation. Mimicking brand voice and using proper tone for intended audiences is crucial.
Marketing Knowledge
Understanding fundamentals like identifying target buyers, attracting website visitors, developing branding messages and executing multi-channel campaigns is a must.
Research Expertise
Thoroughly studying products, services, customer needs and audience demographics is required to create breakthrough messaging that resonates.
Creativity
Copywriting calls for outside-the-box creative thinking to craft content that captures attention and conveys messages memorably. Imaginative art direction is a differentiation point.
Analytical Thinking
Analyzing campaign data and metrics to spot trends and identify optimization opportunities that increase conversions requires strong analytical abilities.
Project Management
Juggling tight deadlines, collaborating with multiple stakeholders and managing intense copywriting workloads demands top-notch organizational skills.
Cultivating expertise across all of these areas takes significant time, but the payoff makes the effort well worth it. Let‘s explore tactics for showcasing these abilities.
Building an Impressive Copywriting Portfolio
Before seeking paid copywriting work, you need an impressive portfolio highlighting your skills in action across real-world campaigns and projects.
These samples should demonstrate your capability to produce persuasive, results-driven copy.
Here are tips for creating a knockout copywriting portfolio:
Choose a Niche
Curate samples tailored to a specific industry or type of copy. This demonstrates specialization depth.
For example, focus solely on healthcare content marketing samples or retail email marketing examples.
Showcase Range
Within your niche, include diverse content types like social media ads, blog posts, web pages and more. Displaying variety is key even within a tight niche.
Highlight Attention-Grabbing Headlines
Effective headlines make first impressions count, so showcase excellent examples of attention-grabbing, click-worthy leads.
Display Clear Calls to Action (CTAs)
Exemplify how your copy can effectively lead readers to take next steps like clicking, signing up, downloading or purchasing.
Limit Total Samples
Quality over quantity. Carefully select 4-7 stellar samples that represent your absolute best client work rather than overwhelmed visitors with too many pieces.
Explain Context
Briefly summarize campaign goals, target metrics and intended audiences for each sample. This provides critical context around the intent behind your personalized copy.
With a refined, niche-focused copywriting portfolio ready, it‘s time to start searching for real-world freelance jobs or full-time writing roles.
Popular Job Boards to Find Your First Copywriting Gigs
Here are some of the best websites to find entry-level and experienced copywriting job opportunities:
ProBlogger – Leading job board and community for bloggers / copywriters consistently lists available contract and permanent positions at major publishers and agencies.
Mediabistro – Top digital media resource providing listings across marketing, journalism, design and more. Great for locating copywriting and content editing roles.
Flexjobs – Award-winning site specializing in remote work and freelance jobs. Features copywriting opportunities across diverse industries.
JournalismJobs.com – Ideal for media-focused copy roles like newsletter writing or editorial content creation. Tons of magazine and digital publisher listings.
LinkedIn Jobs – Largest professional social network. Nearly all employers post roles here. Useful filters help narrow from 800k+ openings to relevant copywriting opportunities.
Indeed – Leading aggregator hosting listings from thousands of company career pages, staffing agencies and job boards in one place. Great for finding local copywriting jobs by city.
Copywriting Jobs – As the name suggests, niche site solely dedicated to active copywriting role listings from top employers and agencies.
Once your polished portfolio is ready, tap into these resources to land your first paid copywriting gigs either as a freelancer or full-time position.
How Much Do Copywriters Earn? Average Salaries & Rates
Copywriter income varies substantially based on depth of expertise, client types and freelance vs in-house status. However, recent surveys provide an overview of typical earning potential across career levels.
Entry Level Copywriter Average Salaries
According to 2022 data from ZipRecruiter, the average annual copywriter salary for entry level full-time roles falls between $40,000 to $50,000 depending on exact position and location. This assumes 0-2 years experience.
As a benchmark point, 25% of entry level copywriters earn up to $36,500 annually. The top 25% make at least $62,500 as base compensation starting out.
Experienced Copywriter Average Salaries
For mid-career copywriters with 4-8 years honing their craft, average salaries reach $68,873 per year. Once again, ZipRecruiter‘s data places the middle 50% of incomes between $56,750 and $86,500 at this experience range.
Surpassing the decade mark, senior copywriting salaries exceed $100k quite comfortably. And specialized creative or managing director roles can command $150-200k+ in total compensation.
Clearly, substantial earning upside exists long term by gaining expertise within the field.
Average Freelance Copywriting Rates
Freelance copywriter income also covers a wide gamut based primarily on skill level, services offered and types of clients.
According to WriterAccess, a top freelance platform, entry level copywriters charge an average of 4 to 7 cents per word. This equates to $40-70 per standard 500-word blog post.
Mid-tier writers with solid experience and client rosters easily command 10 to 16 cents on average. Per-post, this equals ~$125 for 1,000 words of content.
Expert copywriters capable of producing technically complex scripts like software launch collateral or medical white papers often receive 25+ cents per word. These projects can carry home $5,000 or more depending on length.
And for truly specialized work like sales funnel optimization or product launch management, senior copy consultants can charge over $100 per hour. Top performers secure retainer contracts with monthly minimums reaching $5-10k+ from enterprise brands.
Clearly, tremendous income upside exists by establishing niche expertise and a reputation for delivering significant ROI via copy services.
Actionable Game Plan for Maximizing Copywriter Earnings
Beyond sheer writing talent, implementing these best practices sets high-earning copywriters apart from the pack:
Strengthen Client Relationships
Building loyalty and trust earns repeat business and referrals. Be exceptionally responsive to needs, feedback and requests to become a go-to resource.
Tighten Your Niche Over Time
Gain renown for specializing in a specific industry (ex. SaaS), service area (内容ç–划) or copy style (项目文档). Avoid spreading efforts thin across every vertical.
Obsess Over Campaign Metrics
Consistently analyze performance data to present clear optimization ideas tied to outcomes clients seek like more conversions, lower CPL and higher revenue.
Master Messaging Funnels
Thoroughly understand how target audiences move through brand awareness, consideration and decision funnels to help tailor copy to their mindset during each journey stage.
Adopt a Consultant Mindset
Provide strategic guidance on holistic messaging, content strategies and long term goals rather than just executing isolated copy tasks. This earns trust to become a valued partner.
Never Stop Learning
Voraciously consume the latest copywriting books, podcasts and trainings to stay on the cutting edge of persuasion psychology and content marketing innovations.
For those passionate about working with words to deliver results, few careers offer more flexibility, continuous skill development and scalable income potential than professional copywriting.
Hopefully this 2,600+ word guide has provided tremendous clarity regarding how to excel within the field and maximize earning ability over time.
While achieving copywriting success requires dedication through early portfolio building, client networking and skill-honing phases, six figure incomes await those able to put in the work.
The next generation of copywriters are in high demand. Are you ready to seize your share of this multi-billion dollar industry in 2024?
