Do you want to know how to make money as a copywriter? Do you want to be able to support your lifestyle as a copywriter? Do you want to be able to pay your bills?
You can do all of those things and more by making money as a copywriter. So how can you do that? How can you make money as a copywriter?
The answer is simple: Get a job as a copywriter. Lots of copywriters make a good living, and it’s quite possible that you’ll be able to support yourself and even thrive as a copywriter. You just need to know what you’re doing and how to do it well. Here are some tips on how to make money as a copywriter.
Know The Market
You cannot charge the same rate as a literary agent, but you can charge higher rates than a magazine writer or blogger. The magazines and newspapers that you’ll be writing for won’t always have the big budgets that a company like Google does. So you have to find a way to make extra money. One way is to find a way to make your copy more actionable and interesting. The ad industry refers to this as ‘hard sales’ writing. So if you’re a good copywriter, you can capitalize on that. Do some research and find out which parts of your market are struggling and which are doing well. Once you know that, you’ll be able to target your efforts more effectively. For example, if your market is university students, you might want to focus your efforts on online tutoring or writing an undergraduate thesis. In some markets, such as real estate, you’ll probably find that translation is a popular requirement. So if you’re a good translator, you might want to consider finding work in that area.
Get A Name For Yourself
Everyone who writes for a living has a name for themselves. The good news is that you don’t have to be completely original. You can piggyback off of the work of other writers or use a pseudonym. There’s no wrong way to go about it as long as you get the job done. You just need to figure out what works best for you.
An easy way to get a name for yourself is to find a pen name that sounds cool and original. Remember: This is a job where you’ll need to prove yourself. So having an original name will definitely help. You can also use your real name with a hyphen or an acronym. For example, Thomas-Romeo is a pretty cool and original name. You can also go with something more traditional, such as John or Jane. You just need to make sure that you don’t use the same name as any other writers. This will help establish your identity in the industry relatively quickly.
Find Your Niche
If you can become known for a specific type of writing, you’ll be able to charge higher rates for that work. The more specific you can get, the more you can charge. For example, if you’re known for crafting witty, acerbic social media posts, you can charge a lot for those. On the other hand, if you’re known for translating literary works, you can charge lower rates for that work. The more specific you can get, the better. This is basic economics. The more you can identify a specific niche, the more you can charge for your work. To get started, simply identify a specific niche and start churning out some samples. If you can get 10 or 15 samples done in the next 2 weeks, you’ll be able to charge a higher rate than you could if you’d taken a lot longer to find your niche. Plus, you’ll have more samples to show prospective employers. In addition, as you get more specific with your niche, you’ll be able to find more focused work. For example, if you identify a need for an English tutor in your niche, you’ll be able to find work that is specifically focused on teaching English to speakers of other languages. In this way, you can find more focused work and be more versatile with your pricing. It’s also a great way to find work if you’re a freelancer who specializes in certain subject matter areas. For example, if you’re a literary agent, you might want to look into getting a separate license for each subject matter area that you specialize in. This way, you can charge higher rates for your work and have more versatility.
Learn How To Pitch
Pitching is essential to being a successful copywriter. You’ll be pitching projects all of the time. These are the cold calls that you make to potential employers. When you call them, you’ll most likely be asked to pitch. You’ll have to listen to some generic spiel about the project, the agency, and the company. Then you’ll have to pitch your services in a way that they’ll want to hire you. To do this, you’ll need to develop some quick and easy pitches for common situations. For example, if they’re looking for a copywriter to promote a new restaurant, you might want to pitch them on the power of food to bring people together. Or if they’re looking for an SEO writer to boost their online presence, you might want to pitch them on the benefits of organic search. You get the idea.
The best way to develop these quick pitches is by doing some research. You’ll find lots of examples of pitches on the Internet. Just search for ‘pitch example’ or ‘pitch template’ and you’ll see what I mean. You don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so it’s a good idea to use existing pitches as templates for new projects. This will make your job much easier and potentially allow you to pitch projects that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to. In addition, developing a pitch that fits into a short elevator pitch will make your life as a copywriter much easier. Short pitches should be around 30 seconds to a minute long. Anything shorter than that and you risk losing your listener. In addition, when you pitch, you have to speak confidently and clearly. If you stumble over your words, they’ll lose interest in your pitch. You also need to use language that is professional and inviting. When you’re pitching, you’re selling yourself, so make sure that you put on your best suit.
How To Get Started
Once you’ve found a niche and identified a name for yourself, it’s time to start applying for jobs. Finding work as a copywriter is very similar to looking for a needle in a haystack. You’ll have to do some research and put in the effort to find the jobs that you want. The good news is that there are very few jobs that you have to go through to get started. Most agencies and smaller businesses will simply review your resume and contact you for an interview. Interviewing is quite often the first step of the hiring process, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get hired right away. There are simply too many people who want to work as a copywriter for any one company to allow for everyone to be hired. You’re going to have to prove yourself to be the best among the best. Make sure that you’re ready for that challenge and that you’re willing to accept it. If you’re not sure how to get started, simply ask the people around you for help or visit your local library and look for books on writing or advertising.