How to Make Money Writing: Tips to Become a Copywriter

So you want to be a freelance copywriter? Yay! I might be biased since I’ve been running my freelance copywriting business full-time since 2018… But it’s a pretty good gig. The thing is though… Starting anything new can be overwhelming. Which is probably why you’re here reading about how to start copywriting for beginners.

Not only are you starting something that requires a lot of learning about how to do the job well (being a good copywriter), but also how to run the business side of things. If you’re here, you might be in that beginning phase where you feel like you have so much to do—everyone is giving you so much information and you don’t know where to start.

Let’s make the journey less overwhelming. In this blog post, we’ll cover my top tips to start copywriting for beginners. Also:

• What a copywriter actually does?
• A look at my journey to become a copywriter.
• How to start and grow a copywriting business.
• The best books for copywriting.
• How to start freelancing.

And more! Let’s get into it. Feel free to skip around to find the parts most relevant to you. I’ve linked to other resources where applicable too.

What does a copywriter do?

You might be in the early stages of researching what a copywriter does. What is a copywriter, really? And what does the job entail?

Essentially, copywriters get paid to write. All businesses require copy of some kind to sell their products and services. That’s the beauty of the gig… All businesses need someone to write that copy.

Copywriters can work in house for a business, on a team within a marketing agency, or as a freelance copywriter. I chose to become a freelance copywriter and have never looked back over my years of freelancing. It’s such a rewarding career! I get to make my own hours, set my own rates, and work with clients who I genuinely appreciate and value.

You can read more about what a copywriter is here.

My journey to become a copywriter

If you’re feeling intimidated about the world of copywriting for beginners, know that you aren’t alone. Especially if you choose to become a freelance copywriter, and start to learn about the experts in the field. It can make you feel kind of small as you start out.

The good news is that everyone was a beginner at one point. And I’ve found the copywriting community welcoming of beginners. There’s always someone willing to share their knowledge, insight, and expertise to help you grow as a copywriter. I’ve had some fantastic copywriting mentors over the years, and also run my own mastermind teaching and mentoring other freelancers and personal brands too.

It’s funny to look back at the beginning for myself though. When I started freelancing, I was paid only $25 per gig. Since then, I grew my copywriting business to earn over 6 figures each year. Lately, I only work part-time hours. Life and work is so different now compared to when I first started! You can learn more about my journey to become a copywriter in this video.

The best advice to start copywriting for beginners

My first piece of advice to start copywriting for beginners? Focus your efforts. If you split your attention too much, nothing will get done. This is true for any stage of business… Not just the early days.

Instead of spreading yourself too thin, focus your efforts in these 5 areas. Nail these first, and you’ll get out of that beginner copywriter stage so much faster.

Practice copywriting as a beginner to gain experience and get better.

This doesn’t mean you have to be the best copywriter right away… Although aiming to be at the top of the game is always a good idea! Becoming a good copywriter will naturally require time spent studying, practicing, and learning. Invest in yourself and your skill—it’s the number one thing you can do to build value. 

But where do you start? Learning how to be a copywriter doesn’t need to be all about purchasing courses on copywriting for beginners. While courses are great, there’s so many other places you can learn.

• Read copy from well-known copywriters. Reverse engineer what they’re doing.
• Read books on copywriting, but also other areas like marketing, sales, and psychology.
• Listen to podcasts and dive into YouTube channels about copywriting.
• Find a copywriting mentor.
• Look for a junior freelance position working with someone you respect.
• Practice! Copywriting is something that you will improve with continuous practice.

PSA: The more you know, the more you can do for your client. The better results you can provide, the more clients you’ll attract, and the higher rates you can charge. 

Curate the content you consume as a freelance copywriter.

While you’re new, what you consume is important. That’s why right now more than ever… Skip the trash. Don’t waste your time with fluff or BS business advice.

Look at copywriters who you like, who are where you want to be, and who you trust to inspire you. You are the sum of who you surround yourself with, after all.

Maybe you can’t invest in a copywriting mentor or a business coach right now, but you can still learn a TON for free on the internet. Pay attention to who you’re following, and the content you’re consuming. Are they inspiring you to do better? Setting the bar high for you? Or are they making you feel less-than or icky? If so, take that as the red flag that it is.

Overwhelmed because you can’t keep up? Consider this your permission slip to unfollow anyone who doesn’t bring feel good vibes. Ditch the BS marketers and find a community and role models that feel good for you.

Pinpoint what you do as a copywriter—and who you do it for.

The most profitable services combine your strengths with the perfect client’s wants and needs. Without both, your copywriting packages just might not hit home. (Side note: It’s okay if you aren’t feeling super confident about whether or not your strengths are good enough. Practice over perfection, so right now, do your best to learn and implement that knowledge.)

Apart from honing your skill to fine tune those strengths, you NEED to know who you’re writing for. If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, then you won’t capture anyone’s attention. And NO, your audience is not “everyone” or “anyone”… That is a major mistake that most freelancers make in the early days of their business! 

When you know who you’re trying to reach, it will be a lot easier to come up with specific offers that align with this exact person. What do they need? What results do they want? How can you make life easier for them? ← You need to know who they are in order to design a service or copywriting package that’s an easy YES.

Map out your sales pipeline to get copywriting clients.

Your number 1 priority when starting a freelance copywriting business as a beginner is to LAND CLIENTS. Without clients, you’re not really in business. So how will you get those copywriting clients? Map out your sales pipeline.

‘Sales pipeline’ might sound scary and intimidating, but I promise it’s a lot simpler than it sounds. Let me break it down for you. Your sales pipeline is basically HOW you go about selling your services—from the time your potential clients encounter you, till the time they sign a contract and get your copy. 

When you’re a beginner freelance copywriter, your sales pipeline will look a lot different from someone who’s been doing this a while and runs a copywriting micro agency. In the early days, maybe your pipeline involves cold pitches. As your business grows, you might want to switch to attraction marketing, and set up a full blown sales funnel. You get to decide what works for you at your current stage of business.

Build a solid foundation for your copywriting business.

Most of us don’t want to just have a business that functions at a minimum. You actually need to make money, too—we’re talking profit at the end of the day. To do that, you need a solid foundation that sets you up to grow and scale easier. 

What do I mean by foundations? I’m talking about all the things that revolve around HOW you do business and how you attract more clients. Because consistent revenue should be your first goal. From there, you can refine the business further.

Specifics include:

• A website that converts on autopilot.
• Visual branding and a messaging strategy that feels aligned with you/your business.
• A solid sales pipeline (go read the point above again!).
• A marketing strategy to fill the top of your pipeline.
• A client experience that is worthy of raving testimonials—not just results, but they feel good about working with you. (This comes with time, dedication, and practice.)

Before you get overwhelmed in these details, look at this smaller. Everything on this list can be broken down into simpler tasks to help you make money faster.

Copywriting for beginners: Other resources to get started

I share a lot about how to start freelancing and how to become a copywriter specifically! Here’s a few other resources you may like…

Become a Copywriter: 5 Tips to Help you with Copywriting for Beginners

How to Start a Copywriting Business

What Copywriters Do: A Behind the Scenes Look

How to start freelancing as a beginner copywriter

If you choose to become a freelance copywriter like I did versus going in house or working for an agency, there’s even more to think about than just perfecting the craft of copywriting. You need to build a business too. That includes things like:

• Learning how to get copywriting clients.
• Understanding business operations and structure.
• Setting rates to charge for freelance work.
• And more potentially like team growth, marketing, managing clients, etc.

You can read about How to Start Freelancing in this blog post here.

What to Charge for Freelance Work may be helpful too if you’re just getting started and don’t know what the going rate for copywriting is. And when you’re ready to take your freelance copywriting business seriously, you may want to explore systems and processes for your workflows. This is where things like a Client Onboarding Checklist would be beneficial to implement.

The best copywriting books for beginners

I’m always talking about or reading a book! And I credit a lot of my growth as a freelance copywriter, and entrepreneur in general, to this dedication to continuous learning. If you’re not growing, you’re stuck. So if you want to level up from copywriting for beginners to becoming a well respected and sought after copywriter, I highly recommend you keep practicing your skills and learning new ones too.

Where do you start? Here’s my list of books to start and grow a copywriting business.

My secret to reading is to not pigeon hole yourself to just reading books written by other copywriters and marketers. Instead of memorizing copywriting frameworks and formulas, go straight to the source of those ideas. I prefer to read about things like sales strategies and the psychology of decision making. This way, I can bring well-rounded knowledge to my client projects, and my own business. Rather than copy/pasting something I’ve been told works, I know why things work. You can gain the same knowledge and experience.

Level up from copywriting for beginners to expert status.

This might feel like a lot! 4 Steps to Profit is for copywriting beginners just like you starting your own business. This is the roadmap I made to point beginner copywriters in the right direction. It’s about more than just copywriting for beginners—it’s about nailing down the business side of things, too.

If you want to start your freelance copywriting business in a way that doesn’t sacrifice how you live your life, I encourage you to also check out Align + Integrate, my mini course in The Biz Bar.