- August 1, 2023
- Kaitlyn
How To Become a Freelance Copywriter With No Experience
Looking for a remote job that allows you to work whenever you need and with the rate you want doesn’t sound realistic. But, as a freelance copywriter, it totally is! Copywriting is an essential part of optimizing marketing tactics and can pay upwards of $150/hour if you’re amazing at your job! Let’s dive into how to become a freelance copywriter, even if you don’t have any experience.
Table of Contents
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What is a Copywriter?
A copywriter is simply someone who writes words, or copy, that encourages the audience to make a quick decision. If you’ve seen one of those “click now to receive…” pop-ups on a website, that’s copy!
If you’re excellent at your job, you can help your clients make tens of thousands of dollars in one email. If you’re not the best, you can lose thousands of dollars for your clients by not optimizing their copy. But don’t worry! There are tons of resources and strategies to help you practice to become one of the greats.
How Much Can a Copywriter Make?
That depends! I mentioned earlier that if you’re a great copywriter, you can make over $150/hour. But, it depends on what you offer as a freelance copywriter, your chosen industry, your experience, the results that you’ve given to clients, and if you’re working in an agency or not. As a freelance copywriter with no experience, you can expect to make around $20-$35/hour.
You can offer a VIP day, where you completely redo a brand’s copy in a day. This will take about eight hours, but most people can charge anywhere from $1,500-$5,000+ for the entire day. It will take work, but if you love what you do, consider offering this to clients!
I know freelancers who offer a VIP day who only work five days a month and have an entire waitlist of clients working for them. I’m not saying that you’ll get to this point right away, but it is possible.
If you get to the point where you have too many clients, outsource and build an agency! There are endless ways of making money by becoming a copywriter.
Pros & Cons of Being a Freelance Copywriter
There are tons of pros and cons to being a freelancer. Let’s break it down so you can decide if this is the best decision for you.
Pros
- Work whenever as a 1099 employee
- Choose your rates ($10/hour or $100/hour)
- Choose who you work with
- Vacation whenever you want
- Grow into an agency or keep it as a side hustle
- Branch into other services or only offer copywriting
- Meet amazing people!
Cons
- Clients may fire you with little notice
- Work may not be consistent
- Risk clients not paying for your services
- Takes time to build a reputation
- Takes time to truly replace your full-time income
- AI is becoming more prominent
- Keep up with trends
These aren’t all the pros and cons, just the ones I thought were worth mentioning. Mull these over and consider if it is worth becoming a freelance copywriter for you.
What About AI?
AI should definitely be a tool that you use as a freelance copywriter! It shouldn’t be something to be afraid of. If you’re great at your craft, you shouldn’t be afraid of AI replacing you. If you’re just average, consider up-leveling your skills to become an even better copywriter.
In my opinion, if you don’t use AI, you will be left behind. It’s essential to understand how to use it to your advantage. There will always be people who want to pay the bottom dollar and save as much money as possible. If these clients feel comfortable paying someone a non-liveable wage, they shouldn’t be someone you’d want to work with anyway!
What Do You Need To Practice To Become a Freelance Copywriter?
Well, decide what you want to offer first! If you’re a general copywriter, you can expect to write copy for:
- Websites
- Social media ads
- Emails
- Scripts
- Commercials
- SEO
This is just to name a few. You can specialize in certain copy areas like:
- Technical writing
- SEO writing
- Product descriptions
- Public relations
- Brands
- Ghostwriting
- Direct response writing
So, if you want to become a specialized or general copywriter, practice in those areas! Create a Google Doc and “update” a company’s website, landing page, scripts, emails, etc., Then add it to your portfolio.
Share this portfolio when you apply to work with clients. They will be able to see how you write and if these examples match their style/standards.
How To Get Clients As a Copywriter With No Experience
If your main objection to becoming a copywriter is you don’t know if you can get clients, stop! There are so many ways to get clients, even if you don’t have experience. Try signing up for, joining, and reaching out to:
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Facebook groups
- Family
- Friends
- Agencies
- Twitter (X)
Don’t turn down the idea of offering your services at a lower rate when starting. Not for free, because you deserve to be paid for your work, just lower.
If you’re struggling to get clients for several months, it may be worth it to offer one or two projects for free in exchange for testimonials. This isn’t truly free because you’re getting valuable testimonials that will grow your reputation and freelance business.
What Tools Do You Need To Get Started?
The great thing about freelance copywriting is that there aren’t many tools that you’ll need! And if there are, there are free plans, trials, or they’re pretty affordable. Here are some basics that you’ll need when starting out:
- Computer (laptop or desktop)
- Google or Microsoft Account
- Contract/invoice management tool
- Design tool (for portfolio)
- Grammar correction
- Client communication tool (email, text, or Slack)
These are just the basics for getting started. You don’t even need a website as a copywriter! Sure, it helps, but as long as you have a portfolio, you’ll be fine.
Conclusion
There is so much a copywriter can do, but there are some pros and cons that come with being a freelancer. There aren’t many tools you’ll need to get started; just practice and proof that you can give results! Joining an agency is a great way to get hands-on experience if you don’t have a background in copywriting.
I hope this helps you on your journey to becoming a freelance copywriter! If you need side hustle ideas, download this list of 113 ideas organized by category and potential income. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at hello@strivehustles.com.