3 Simple steps to build a sustainable copywriting business

What would it feel like to finally build and scale your dream copywriting business this year?

My guess? Pretty damn good.

The challenge is that so many people—while they have good intentions and the drive needed to make shit happen—they get caught up along the way.

Maybe you lose focus and motivation.

Or you don’t know what to prioritize first in order to create something sustainable.

And you get stuck. Or maybe you’ve been trying to make your copywriting business work, but something isn’t clicking. You’re scared you’ll never ditch the feast and famine of the freelancer lifestyle.

All of the above starts to feel totally overwhelming, and by mid-January you’re drowning in self-doubt and overwhelm again. 

But if you keep doing things the same, nothing changes. Keep reading to learn the 3 simple steps you can take to build a copywriting business that is sustainable long term.

How to build a copywriting business that sets you up to scale.

I’ve helped literally hundreds of entrepreneurs make good money online. How? I always, always, always teach prioritizing your business areas like this:

1. Marketing + Sales
2. Internal Structure + Processes
3. Business Development

I’ve broken these into steps that might make more sense: BUILD, GROW, and SCALE.

Let’s talk about each of these phases in depth and how to follow these steps to build a copywriting business.

Step 1: BUILD a solid foundation for your copywriting business.

🔥 BUILDING is setting up the marketing and sales systems that you need to actually get cash coming in consistently. Some examples of what I mean…

• A sales pipeline that converts leads on autopilot.
• A clear plan to grow your audience.
• Clear processes that you follow each and every time you create content.

More tactically, that means completing tasks like building a website that brings leads on autopilot then upping your social media game to drive traffic to that website.

This is where you should start if you’re in a place where you’ve had some clients but they’re not consistent, things feel a bit up and down, or if you don’t have systems in place.

So what exactly do you need for this step? Work on the foundations. That means…

• Create a solid sales pipeline. That can include a targeted website that acts as a funnel for leads, and a lead magnet to capture emails of your ideal clients.
• Connect with dream clients in an authentic way. You could build an email nurture sequence to educate and get to know your audience.
• Fill the top of your pipeline. Consistent social media content to get traffic to your website.

It’s a lot of up front work, but that creates space for you to focus on the next step: Growth.

Step 2: GROW your copywriting business intentionally.

🔥 GROWING is when you have the core pieces in place, and now you’re ready to streamline internally. In this stage, you should be asking yourself questions like…

• Where can you optimize your processes to become more efficient?
• What can you refine to bring in more dollars, but also make more of an impact for your clients and customers?
• Where can you keep the momentum going forward?
• Are your rates appropriate?

Often, this revolves around processes, structure, auditing and improving, but it will also tie back to improving those initial marketing systems you set up too.

You’ll know you’re ready for this stage when you aren’t stressed about where your next client—or your next paycheck—is coming from.

Things you should work on in this stage:

• Set up your CRM. Personally, I’m a fan of Dubsado, and using this has helped me and my clients stay organized.
• Pinpoint areas for improvement, such as task management. I use ClickUp, because it streamlines projects and takes away a lot of the back and forth between team members.
• Get super clear on your method and your approach. Think: why or how am I different than others? Then leverage that in your business.

With the pieces in place, you set up to scale.

Step 3: SCALE your copywriting business way.

🔥 SCALING requires an intense focus on business development… I mean CEO time dreaming up what comes next then actually acting on that.

This stage looks different for everyone…

Maybe your dream is to create a micro copywriting agency and hire a team so you can spend your time copy chiefing. 

Or you want to be a thought leader as a copywriter in your niche. This step might look like writing a book or developing an education platform.

Tasks for scaling are going to be unique to the way in which you scale, but that’s the beauty of this process: you get to create a business that fits your life. In this step you figure out what you want, what you’re doing well, and how to keep the momentum going.

Why follow this process?

If you don’t have the marketing and sales systems in place, it’s going to be really hard to bring in enough dollars to support the scaling stage. And if you don’t have a clear internal structure, you’re going to have a really hard time actually finding the time to focus on scaling stage activities. If you check off boxes 1 and 2, box 3 can have your full attention.

This process is what has worked for me, but also many of my clients—for freelance copywriters and other types of business owners. The reason is because when you can get sales coming in consistently, that frees up space for the other stuff. So we go after those sales first, regardless of what business we want to build.

Your homework: Think critically about the current state of your copywriting business from the perspective of this path I’ve outlined… Where do you sit?

Most people who hear me talk about these stages live—in workshops or webinars—they typically say that they’re hanging out in the BUILD + GROW phases, which is a fantastic place to be. Knowing where you sit will help you take impactful action.

Ready to build a copywriting business?

Get started with the BUILD phase with 4 Steps to Profit. It’s a free 4-day video course to learn the foundations to position yourself to stand out online, attract dream clients consistently, and build a sustainable business.