Can you actually make cash as a copywriter right this moment?
With AI content material writers, earning money as a copywriter might sound unlikely – particularly in case you don’t have any expertise.
However there are nonetheless loads of copywriters making six and even seven figures.
Even a fast look at platforms like Upwork proves that loads of firms nonetheless pay over $100 per hour for expert-level copywriters.
The largest distinction right this moment is that copywriters have to be glorious on the ideation facet of copywriting.
The best paid copywriters aren’t simply stringing phrases collectively.
First, they determine the issues readers face.
Then, they discover and/or curate distinctive information, examples, and insights that illuminate precisely what readers must do to beat these challenges.
On this publish, I’ll define precisely how one can change into a extremely paid copywriter in a matter of weeks.
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How A lot Cash Can You Make As a Copywriter?
Most individuals take into consideration how a lot you may make as a contract copywriter.
Although freelancing is simply step one within the recreation.
After incomes some cash as a contract copywriter, you should utilize your copywriting expertise to construct a private model and, ultimately, a enterprise.
Right here’s a extra detailed have a look at the completely different ranges of scale you may obtain by changing into a copywriter.
Degree 1: Freelance Copywriting
The primary degree of earning money as a copywriter is freelancing, although the precise area of interest you choose considerably impacts your incomes potential.
I requested ChatGPT to summarize the typical incomes potential as a contract copywriter for varied niches, and right here’s the info offered:
The excellent news about freelance copywriting is that you could begin earning money comparatively rapidly. When you observe the step-by-step directions on this publish, it is best to be capable of begin incomes cash inside a matter of weeks.
Degree 2: Influential Private Model
As you’re freelance writing, use your writing expertise to begin constructing your private model.
Rising a following on LinkedIn or X can take a while, however when you construct momentum, there are many methods to earn further earnings out of your writing by selling merchandise to your new viewers.
First, you may earn cash as an affiliate marketer by selling different merchandise to your rising viewers and incomes a fee on something your viewers purchases.
You can too change into an influencer marketer, the place manufacturers pay you to advertise their services or products.
It takes years to construct a following the place you’re incomes a considerable quantity from model offers, however manufacturers are sometimes prepared to pay the proper creator wherever from $500 to $2,000 per publish:
Right here’s a quote from Ahrefs’ influencer marketer concerning their typical finances for influencer advertising and marketing:
Degree 3: Solopreneur
Selling different services is an effective way to make more money for minimal further effort, however a a lot larger leverage alternative is providing your personal services to your viewers.
Listed below are only a few examples of solopreneurs who’re incomes over $1 million per 12 months – they usually all grew via their followings on LinkedIn and/or X:
My enterprise accomplice, Charles Miller, constructed a following throughout LinkedIn and X and has remodeled seven figures offering programs, teaching, and LinkedIn content material providers to my viewers.
You’ll be able to study extra in regards to the course and group we run collectively, Copyblogger Academy, that helps copy creators construct and monetize an viewers on LinkedIn.
I share this to indicate you that freelance copywriting isn’t the one approach to make cash. You can begin with freelance writing to rapidly earn money after which use your copywriting expertise to construct your personal viewers and both scale it right into a advertising and marketing company or provide your personal merchandise.
How To Make Cash As a Copywriter
I do know loads of firms nonetheless hiring freelance copywriters, and that is the step-by-step course of you should utilize to land your first shopper in only a few weeks – even when you have no prior expertise.
Step 1: Establish Your Area of interest
Nice employers rent specialists. For instance, in case you’re a SaaS firm hiring a SaaS content material author, which of those profiles would you select?
When you’re like most SaaS content material entrepreneurs, you’d in all probability select the SaaS content material author over the generic freelance author.
So choose one area of interest and make your self the definitive professional in that individual area of interest.
Listed below are just a few examples of niches you could possibly choose to ascertain your self as a specialist in:
- LinkedIn ghostwriting
- Weblog writing
- Gross sales web page copywriting
- E-mail copywriting
Even inside every class, you may area of interest down even additional to specialise in creating content material for a particular avatar or business.
For instance, you could possibly specialise in writing for:
- DTC firms
- SaaS firms
- Coaches
- AI firms
When you’re having hassle selecting only one, keep in mind that you could at all times develop and add providers after you’ve constructed a buyer base.
For instance, you can begin with weblog writing for SaaS firms after which develop to additionally provide e-mail advertising and marketing.
But in case your preliminary positioning is simply too generic, you’ll seemingly discover getting your first few shoppers tough.
Step 2: Create A Piece of Content material
Most individuals create a web site or optimize their LinkedIn profile after deciding on a distinct segment.
I want to take motion and simply begin creating content material.
Utilizing the method I’m about to put out, you’ll be capable of land your first shopper after which come again and optimize your LinkedIn profile and create a web site.
However touchdown your first shopper offers you the momentum it’s essential keep motivated.
So, how do you get your first shopper?
As an alternative of constructing a writing portfolio, create content material in your dream shopper.
Then, you’ll ship that piece of content material to your dream shopper and provides it to them to publish. This content material could possibly be a sequence of emails, a weblog publish, or a LinkedIn publish.
The important thing to creating this method work is to make sure that it’s so distinctive and useful that it makes them appear like a real thoughtleader.
And that may be laborious.
Ideally, create a novel piece of content material with information.
This information ought to reply a burning business query.
For instance, a pal of mine needed a brand new content material advertising and marketing shopper.
Her dream buyer was an influencer advertising and marketing SaaS platform.
As an alternative of simply writing a generic publish about influencer advertising and marketing, she studied each LinkedIn publish Anthropic sponsored after which created a weblog publish highlighting insights from that information.
For instance, she recognized that:
- Many of the sponsored posts underperformed the creator’s common by about 26%
- Most of their creators have been macro relatively than micro creators
- Most creators have been solely employed for 2 sponsored posts
These insights have been beforehand unknown and are extremely useful to the influencer advertising and marketing group.
So, when she gifted the weblog publish to a SaaS firm, the corporate instantly employed her on a month-to-month retainer.
She didn’t have a flowery web site or writing portfolio.
The publish was merely useful sufficient to them and aligned with their objectives, which made it a no brainer to rent her on a month-to-month contract.
Even when that shopper had turned her down, she may have pitched it to different opponents with influencer advertising and marketing platforms.
The shopper additionally remodeled the info right into a LinkedIn publish that carried out very properly:
As you may see, this similar information is also used in case you’re making an attempt to supply LinkedIn ghostwriting providers. You could possibly additionally use this information to supply e-mail advertising and marketing providers.
In brief, this information works for any sort of content material advertising and marketing as a result of the insights from the info are fascinating regardless of the type of content material.
So, how do you create a novel or fascinating piece of information?
How To Collect Attention-grabbing Information
Many information research exist, however most don’t reply burning questions.
For instance, let’s say the subject you’re writing about is Linkedin influencer advertising and marketing.
Listed below are some examples of statistics that don’t assist influencer entrepreneurs enhance efficiency:
- 40% of customers have a profile on LinkedIn
- Greater than half of LinkedIn’s members’ households earn over $100,000
- There are greater than 234 million members within the US alone
Then again, these statistics from Anthropic’s influencer advertising and marketing program would assist an influencer marketer enhance efficiency:
- Sponsored posts underperformed the creator’s common by about 26%: The lesson is that it is best to underproject efficiency by about 26%.
- Most of their creators have been macro relatively than micro creators: The lesson right here is that macro creators may be a greater funding than micro creators when you have a B2C model product like Anthropic.
- Most creators have been solely employed for 2 sponsored posts: The lesson right here is that the very best offers aren’t at all times doing long run partnerships with creators.
To create fascinating information research that reply burning questions, use this immediate in a platform like ChatGPT:
“What are some hotly debated subjects in (business) the place I may create an information research that will give (professionals) the insights they should generate a greater ROI from their (business) efforts?“
Right here’s an instance:
ChatGPT additionally provides you some good concepts on how you can gather the info.
Usually, you may get a VA to make use of free or low-cost instruments to comb via and gather the info.
For instance, within the LinkedIn influencer advertising and marketing information research, my pal used a free Chrome plugin referred to as Creator Match to extract all the information on the influencers they labored with:
When you don’t have time to manually gather the info, you can even use a VA on Upwork to assemble the info for you.
You can too ask ChatGPT for some suggestions on how you can gather the info:
When you end accumulating the info, it’s necessary to extract insights from the info to assist your dream shopper’s prospects enhance efficiency.
When you’re having hassle with this step, you may at all times ask ChatGPT to investigate the info and extract insights for you.
For instance, right here’s a immediate you could possibly plug right into a instrument like Manus or Perplexity to extract influencer insights:
“Right here’s the uncooked information for my influencer advertising and marketing case research. Are you able to please analyze the info after which extract insights that will assist influencer entrepreneurs enhance the efficiency of their campaigns?“
Typically this immediate works, however you may also need to do your personal evaluation.
After you have the info and insights, all it’s essential do is optimize the insights into the content material format you’re planning to make use of (e.g., LinkedIn posts, emails, weblog posts, and many others.).
Step 3: Pitching The Content material
After you’ve created a bit of excellent content material, pitching manufacturers is pretty simple.
An important factor is to pitch the proper particular person on the proper platform.
When you’re doing any content material writing (e.g., e-mail advertising and marketing, weblog content material writing, and many others.), the very best particular person to contact is probably going the content material advertising and marketing supervisor. If it’s a smaller firm and there isn’t a content material supervisor, pitch the advertising and marketing determination maker (e.g., CMO, Head of Advertising and marketing, and many others.).
If the particular person is energetic on LinkedIn or Twitter and you might be additionally energetic on that platform, you may ship them a message on that platform. Nevertheless, in case you by no means use social media, you would possibly appear like a bot, and also you seemingly gained’t obtain a response.
As for the message itself, make it only a easy, private be aware and embody your content material within the message.
For instance, that is the precise message my pal despatched to her dream shopper:
And, you may see that it was a profitable pitch:
That single message was a fantastic shopper. Nevertheless, even when that model hadn’t responded positively, my pal may have pitched this text to some other influencer advertising and marketing platform.
Step 4: Construct a Private Model
When you land your first shopper, how do you get extra shoppers and in the end scale your earnings?
Probably the most fundamental possibility is to ask your current shoppers for referrals.
Nevertheless, referrals aren’t a scalable answer because it depends in your present shoppers to behave.
As an alternative, begin constructing your private model and talk about (and present!) the outcomes you obtain for shoppers.
As you earn followers on a social platform, you’ll appeal to potential shoppers so that you simply by no means need to do any chilly outreach once more. As an alternative, folks will know of you and attain out to you for providers.
- Profile Optimization: Optimize your profile by stating who you assist and what you provide. Add a clear headshot and banner picture with a screenshot of outcomes/testimonials.
- Interact: Interact along with your excellent prospects and different business influencers (particularly those that have giant followings).
- Submit Persistently: Submit persistently (ideally daily) on the platform. Nevertheless, make it possible for the content material you’re posting supplies useful insights.
In case your shoppers have a following on LinkedIn, ask them to publish a few of your outcomes or content material on LinkedIn. This can provide you a big enhance in visibility and credibility.
If you need extra inspiration on what to publish or how you can interact with different accounts, try our information to private branding.
Step 5: Scale
When you begin constructing your private model, you’ll earn extra inbound leads and attain some extent the place you may’t sustain with demand.
At this level, you’ll have just a few completely different choices to scale.
The obvious possibility is to easily enhance your pricing. It is a wonderful means to earn more money with out altering any of your techniques or processes.
Nevertheless, there’s normally a cap to how a lot you may cost for copywriting, except you’re employed out a income share settlement (which is difficult for weblog writing or LinkedIn ghostwriting).
Alternatively, you could possibly scale it right into a advertising and marketing company, although remember the fact that:
- Hiring new folks to do the work is a wholly completely different ability set from copywriting
- You’ll initially see a decline in revenue as you rent new folks.
But beginning a advertising and marketing company and easily elevating your costs aren’t the one methods to scale your earnings.
When you’ve constructed a private model, you may create completely different earnings streams.
First, you may monetize your viewers via affiliate offers (e.g., incomes a fee on individuals who purchase merchandise you promote).
An alternative choice is to achieve out to manufacturers you’re employed with and provide to do influencer advertising and marketing offers.
Right here’s an instance of an influencer advertising and marketing deal:
Online marketing may be very passive, however doesn’t have very excessive returns.
Influencer advertising and marketing has a a lot larger return, but it surely isn’t very constant earnings and requires extra energetic effort.
As an alternative, most copywriters discover the very best return on funding from creating and promoting their very own services or products.
For instance, my enterprise accomplice Charles Miller and I provide Copyblogger Academy, a course and group for aspect hustlers and entrepreneurs constructing their companies via digital advertising and marketing and private branding.
You could possibly simply provide a course or group for individuals who desire a do-it-yourself model of your service.
One other glorious choice to monetize your following is to begin a enterprise that solves a ache level your viewers feels.
For instance, Ankur Nagpal famously began his fintech enterprise, Carry, with a single Tweet:
Creating an organization out of your following might be the very best monetization possibility when you’ve constructed a considerable (or not less than loyal) viewers.
But constructing a enterprise requires a really completely different ability set from copywriting. When you don’t have this ability set, you may accomplice with a proficient operator and have them run the enterprise when you use your private model to drive the leads.
Get Extra Assist From Different Copywriters Constructing Their Careers
That is the precise step-by-step course of to make cash as a copywriter in 2025, but it surely nonetheless requires laborious work and is time consuming.
If it feels overwhelming or you might have questions alongside the way in which, having a group of different likeminded people could also be precisely what it’s essential push via the more durable instances.
This is the reason we created Copyblogger Academy.
It’s a course and group for copy creators constructing each their companies and private manufacturers. Inside, you’ll have entry to varied programs on digital advertising and marketing, from search engine marketing and content material advertising and marketing to private branding and e-mail advertising and marketing.
Better of all, you’ll be capable of ask the group for suggestions and their enter on concepts.
Join Copyblogger Academy right this moment and thank your self later after you’ve constructed your private model and scaled your earnings as a replica creator.
