10 Must-Have Tips to Become a Successful Freelance Copywriter
Almost 8 years ago now I became a full-time freelance copywriter and that decision completely changed our family‘s lives. When I first decided to quit my job and go freelance, it was a major leap, especially with a new baby at home. But I’m so glad we took the risk. Now I want to help YOU get started on the path to becoming a successful freelance copywriter in 2025.
I first started my freelance copywriting business in 2018. And now without a doubt the most common questions I get are,
How do I become a freelance writer too?
How do you make money doing copywriting?
How do you get paid to write by other people?
After awhile I realized that instead of telling people the same advice over and over like I’ve done for the last couple years, it was time for me to go ahead and compile all that advice for you guys right here!
Don’t feel like reading? Check out the video right here!
How to become a freelance Copywriter for beginners
Here are the ten steps you’ll want to take right now to improve your copywriting skills, pick up your first client work, and kick off your own freelance career in the next 2-3 months!
1. Decide On What Types of writing You Want to Do.
One of the most important things is for you to decide on the type of copywriting that you want to be doing. Are there types of content that you really love creating? Some options here could be: Creating marketing and sales copy, writing promotional blog posts, social media content, website copy, sales pages, case studies… and more.
There are so many different options that you can explore. Do some googling and watch some Youtube videos and narrow down 2-3 categories of writing that sound most interesting to you.
2. Take a course.
I’d say without a doubt the thing that gave me the most confidence to start pitching people on my copywriting services was taking a general course about copywriting. Maybe this should honestly be point #1, the thing you do before everything else!
Finding an overview copywriting course that explains the different types of copywriting, what the pay ranges are, and what deliverables should usually be can be really helpful. I originally took one called Writing for Money from Abbi Perets that actually doesn’t exist anymore. Another great copywriting teacher I took a course from is Tasmin Henderson. Here are two worth checking out: The Complete Copywriting Course : Write to Sell Like a Pro and Build a Lucrative Copywriting Portfolio with Ease.
Feel free to explore and see what seems helpful for you! There are also some great courses on Skillshare.
3. Gather writing samples.
Once you’ve decided the types of copywriting you want people to hire you for, it’s always good to have some samples to show. For me, I had a friend who had a clothing store and I wrote a couple blog posts for them for free on their website.
But you can also do this by just writing up some mock sales emails for your favorite brands, or writing the copy for your own website. Once you have a few writing samples, include them on your website or even just on a shareable Google Drive until you have a home on the web.
A little nervous about getting started? You’ll find some helpful tips in this article.
4. Have a website.
You knew we were going to get to this one, right? A lot of beginning freelancers try to skip this, but you really need a home on the web to make you look legit. If you can, try to get a web domain that includes your name (like abbyflynn.com).
Feeling intimidated about building a site? This free website copy template will help you launch your website so fast.
Make the homepage simple and easy to navigate. Focus on you as a copywriter, sharing info on your writing specialities and how to book with you. Having a website verses just social media gives potential clients an all in one place to connect and book with you. It also makes you seem more legit and trustworthy automatically. A really well-done landing page can also work well here until you have a portfolio of writing samples to include.
5. Update your socials.
Once you’ve got a little homepage worked up, make sure you also update all your social accounts to reflect that you are now accepting clients as a copywriter. Work on a few posts that you can pin for future clients that showcase what you’re all about and what you offer.
6. Think about who you know.
I’ve definitely learned that with writing, that the more experience you have, the more you’ll get paid. So I would think about who you know already that is an established business owner or is in charge of marketing for the company they work for.
Reach out and tell them you’re wanting to get some experience under your belt and you’ll write some blogs/a few emails, social copy, etc. for them for super cheap if they’ll let you include it in your portfolio. Then add it to your website!
READ THIS NEXT: 3 Fast, Easy Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills
7. Go “Live”
Once you have your website and socials set up and a few writing samples, then I’d recommend you going public with your services stat!
For me, I did a post on my personal Facebook page announcing I was doing copywriting now and gave a link to my site and socials.
Then I did a story on my personal Instagram AND my business Instagram account. Honestly, from doing those 3 things, I got about 3 leads that turned into something. If you really want to jazz this up, you could also include some sort of introductory offer, like… 4 pieces of content for $300 or something like that that you offer only for a limited time or the first few clients.
8. Send pitch emails
Give those posts like a week or so and if you don’t get any bites, it’s time to send some personal emails out to any business owners you know that you didn’t contact in Step 6.
If there’s a local business near you that you love, email them too! Offer to update their website copy, write some marketing emails for them, create some inspiring social copy, etc. Then, wait another week and see if anyone bites.
9. In the meantime, be writing.
Don’t get lazy if no one reaches out right away. Be sharing things you’re writing on socials, blog posts for your website, Medium or something like Substack. Start an email list and invite friends and family to join if you don’t already have one. Doing all of this will keep you top of mind for people and remind them regularly that you, my friend, are a writer now.
10. Don’t give up easily.
For the first like year of copywriting I wasn’t necessarily geeked about the work I was doing, but i was excited that it was paying my bills! I feel like the longer you keep going, the more dialed in your clients will get over time.
Beginner Copywriting Tool
Okay, ONE LAST THING. A few years back, I made this simple pricing sheet for a friend who was also getting into copywriting.
It’s a few years old so you can probably boost these prices a bit depending on your experience. But it’s still a good place to start for charging for your writing services as a beginner.
GET THE FREE COPYWRITING PRICING GUIDE
Shifting my career path to become a freelance copywriter was one of the best things that I ever did for myself and our family. It gave me so much more time freedom and flexibility and a lot of new skills that have helped me carry over into other types of work.
I hope that this guide helps to get YOU started in pursuing your copywriting and freelance dreams. Have questions or specific areas of copywriting that you want to dive into? Just let me know in the comments!