My top tips to get you past the beginner stage as a freelance 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. Freelance copywriting for beginners is a whole other monster.

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.

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.

Best tip to start copywriting for beginners? Get good at copywriting.

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. 

When beginning as a copywriter, curate your copywriting content.

While you’re new, what you consume is important. That’s why right now more than ever…

Skip the trash. 

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 for 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.

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. Check out 4 Steps to Profit and yourself the foundation you need to not only BUILD, but later GROW and SCALE—your way and in alignment with your life.