Do Experienced Copywriters really make good money

The money is in any field.

I think people glaze copywriting like a sexy get rich quick scheme. It's actually very hard to get rich copywriting.

Being a good writer is only half the equation. Being a smart business person and negotiator is the other half. Neither one is very valuable on their own.

When you can write copy that converts on a consistent basis, you can write your own ticket. You can call the shots. Whether you're freelance... working inside an agency or marketing department... or you work on your own products.

It's all how you structure the deal. Even people who are employees, can be paid rather outlandish salaries... get generous perks, bonuses and equity... when they have the goods.

But if we're talking freelance, I'll share with you the secret to getting paid a lot.

Many copywriters think clients are paying them for their copy. They're not. They're paying for them for their reputation. Once you internalize that principle for yourself, however you do it, whether that's cultivating great clients willing to pay you what you're worth... becoming a copywriting guru... becoming a legend over time... or writing for yourself first... you're good to go.

- Rick Duris

Short answer: yes.

Better answer: see Rick's post above.

Hi vastcosmos

As Rick says: being a good copy is the beginning, to make money you have to be a good businessman.

YT Look, there's lots of free stuff.

The big money…

During my 28 years in the wonderful world of copywriting I've discovered the big secret.

If your copy makes big money.

You the copywriter will make big money.

(providing you don't charge $97.00 for the copy).


Steve

Good copywriters pump the WHUMP through veins till writing in blood leaves indelible stains.

That's my ticket.

Now, now be fair.

Pumping the WHUMP can be inspiring.

Just don't do it and try and write at the same time.

Last time I did, she said, " For f*** sake, stop jotting down notes and concentrate on me - we can discuss your "performance" in a few minutes..."


Steve

if you are list building and Product creating then yes 100% its easy to make money copy writing but if you will be just waiting for copy writing prospects then its quite hard as there are plenty experienced copy writers already in the market.

K,

We'll get there.

Mebbe this figures in the neurowango Warrio-mindo trail, but I'mhappy to overclever on all asses, anytime.

Even SLEEEPIN'.

How else do we aspire to 1 in 1,000,000 unless we're Zero in the Infinite on some kinda aspirational roll?

(Somewhere, on another thread, we were discussing Matt Damon and unicorns, AND I WAS SLEEPING.)

But what the hey — puke pants ahoy, lolCashlol.

I have your number, I have your scale, I have your reptilian huskskin snagging on my kitten heels.

My dials were set before you got here with your tWEAKs.

+ : Happy to snort your 'overly' from any crackless pipe.

(yeah so i got in a catfight mom, but it was a good catfight yanno 'cos the guy was punchin' with crap, and yanno how i hate when punchin' with crap wins out so i figured on smackin' the guy in the face 'cos it was maybe more polite than tattooing BOZO on his ass and draggin' him thru the street, tarred and feathered, for some kinda 2015 style c'waaaard-cum-imbecile. Hey, i'm a GOOD GIRL, mommy, and i have a DREEEEEEEEEEEM. Sure, i'm gonna mess with the schmucks when they get lame on the future!)

I don't normally bother with them…

But if Princess B wrote a graphic novel.

I would be tempted to flick through it.

(Don't tell her this in case I get decapitated but I'm aching to swipe "aspirational roll")


Steve

Life is a graphic novel.

It's WHAM before our eyes, and though we kid ourselves, we ain't seen NONE of this shit yet. Plus, every X and Y axis of our graphular being is hoovered and moovered by Google.

And we're SELLING THIS predicted-yet-uncertain future like it was HERE, NOW, to snuff out all the other pre-future agonies that sucked and burned and died and INVITED ONLY MISERY?

*sob*

Slay the 'overly clever' at your peril, say I.

Every grist to the mill needs a twist to the will or we'll all be stuck with wool forever.

But, yeah — running with plots for graphic novels right now if anyone else is done with the factual futurefictional...

Alternatively: looking to hook up with Matt Damon. Because he's a d'oh-reeeeeem.

Does WF have a dating forum?

Maybe Matt is on here, drilling down on his plot for a sequel to Avengers VII (because Marvel now owns everything heroic until my boy breaks 60).

But, yeah.

Copy...dreams...future...

Hey, Steve, I don't mix with the decapitation shebang.

Neither do I wish to inspire mock terror.

Godzilla movies handle that baby.

All I know is, swipe the aspirational roll while it's going — or you'll pay through the nose for the grimace of a soggy baguette.

It's a shame.

She sussed out google.

But fell madly in love with a Hollywood heart throb.

She has all that talent…

But can't use it just yet.

Cos she's pining for Bourne 5 (release date 2016).


Steve


P.S. Thanks for not chopping my head off and letting me use "aspirational roll" - it really is a kicking killer phrase.

Ok, so I get PINING.

PINING is where this thread starts and ends.

But I'm classy.

No one shovelled Damon down my throat.

I chose him.

From my list of mortal wants.

Problem is, how did I know to choose?

'less I was PINING and then SHOWN SOLVEY-PINEY-FANDANGO?

No one shovelled Damon down my throat, but now I match PINE to SHOW — hell, yeah, I'm PRIMED for a shovelling.

I even dreamt of the guy and tapped in to unicorns.

But hey, what were we talking about here, anyway?

Graphic, or novel, or tapping into emotion via wordies in order to WHUMP stuff — or wahooey?

It's not for your sales copy, but you can get paid for sales copy services, like fiverr for $5 for few words.

Those are actually pretty good analogies -- fields with low barriers to entry, in which a few make good money but most scrape by (if that)...

With that, I think the O.P. gets a realistic picture...

(...Though there are probably more chefs making big money than freelance copywriters... )

Dear Jim,

To answer your question...

Do skilled and experienced copywriters really make top dollar?

Yes and No... it all depends on what you mean by top dollar.

If you mean a job replacing income then "yes"; many people do happily work from home. I do and have for many years now and I am paid very well for my writing, but I work hard at it. My copywriting business is the job I've worked the hardest at -- that I've loved the most.



So how much can you make?

The income range of what a copywriter can make is directly proportional to the time spent learning and understanding the craft of writing copy, their natural creativity, their ability to work with clients and the effort they want to invest - and they proof that what they write - SELLS.



Is writing copy hard to do?

Writing copy is hard work and don't let anyone tell you different.

Writing copy takes a lot of skill and creativity to write well and when you learn how to do it you will be paid well for it. You will be investing a large portion of your time learning the craft in the beginning, setting up your website and writing your samples and then finding clients.



Do people who switch careers stay writing copy?

I have trained 4 copy cubs and all have their own businesses writing copy for clients and are doing well.

All of them are happy they invested in themselves and ditched their corporate jobs. One cub did it in under a year and the rest took a bit longer but they would all do it all over again to live the life of a freelancer.

I have found the biggest barriers to a copy cub's success in creating a job replacing income include:

1. can you work unsupervised from home?
2. can you get the copywriting work done in a timely manner?
3. can you take copy critiques and listen to direction?
4. can you rewrite your copy so it is what your client desires?
5. can you negotiate with clients to be paid what you are worth?

We all know life gets in the way so you have to be prepared for your life significantly changing. If you are going to dedicate your free/spare time to learning copywriting you need to give up some of your free-time activities.


Can you make money with a copywriting business part-time? When do I switch to full-time?

Yes, you can and being a part-time copywriter can make a nice side income.

When your copywriting income is close to your current regular income you can quit your day job to go full time as a copywriter. Now this may take many months if not a year or more to accomplish depending on how badly you want to work for yourself and how well your clients pay you and seek your services and how much time you can devote to your copywriting business.


What will I write about as a copywriter?

Remember... A copywriter can do a lot of things, not just write sales copy.

Copywriters are needed to edit copy, create articles, ebooks, brochures, ads, presell pages, landing pages, main sales copy pages, upsell pages, downsell pages, WSOs, email copy, social media copy, facebook pages, linked in business pages, website copy, magalogs, direct mail pieces, post cards, business letters, resumes, long form sales letters and video scripts - the list is virtually endless.

The demand for copywriters that can write well and engage an audience to push that button to buy is growing and growing and will never slow down.


How do I get clients and repeat work?

Once you get good at writing sales copy -- the work you will receive will soon become more than you can handle. When you have a few clients and they like your work, they will tell their marketing buddies they liked working with you and they in turn will hire you. In time you will have a solid client list which will pay you well and often.


How do I figure out what to charge and when do I up my fees?

Anyone, including you, may be able to write higher converting sales copy than other A List Copywriters who charge and get considerably more.

So what a copywriter charges is relative to what they produce and the sales they can generate. These factors are what separates the wanna-be copywriters from those who write and make good money for their copy.

When you show you can write copy that converts to sales and have the stats to show for it then you can charge more. Your clients will happily pay it. It all boils down to how much you think you are worth and you can show your client's your copy is worth. Clients pay for results and will happily hire you again and again when you can produce sales for them on a consistent basis.



Many of my new copywriters struggle with what to charge and how to charge.

I say start at an hourly rate you feel comfortable with. Then as your expertise and client base grows raise your rates accordingly. If you do a fixed price for sales copy be firm on the price and the number of revisions or edits you will provide. The only way you will know is to try it part-time and see if it works for you and your lifestyle.


So how do I get started?

What I suggested my copy cubs do to get started:

You could try to market a product (write a pre-sell page for a Clickbank product) and offer it to the Clickbank Vendor (if it produces sales). When it does (then and only then) show this presell page to the Clickbank Vendor - they may want to buy your presell page and have you write many more.

That is a good action plan to get your feet wet and bank you some spending money when just starting out. The downside is that means you need to become a Clickbank Affiliate, create a website, build a pre-sell page as well as write the pre-sell copy.

This does work, many of my copy cubs got their first clients doing this. They then went on to write the Vendor's emails, upsells and finally to do a split test sales letter or video script, using the original sales letter or video script as a base and just improving the conversions.


How much will my new copywriting business cost me?

If you do as I suggested above this gives you a big boost for several reasons:

1. You have a very small time and set up expense as you won't be creating a product

2. You will know if you like doing this or not rather quickly so less time is lost

3. You can select a Clickbank Vendor Product which is something that excites you so is easier to write about and inspires you - which will help you write better converting copy much quicker and easier

4. You can sell this presell page on Flippa and even get copywriting gigs for doing this from your Warrior Forum or Flippa listing.

5. You will start building a online portfolio - even if you don't want to approach the Clickbank vendor you can create 4 to 5 Clickbank presell pages and sell them on the Warrior Forum or Flippa for extra income too.

6. You can add these same presell pages to your online copywriting website and build your portfolio.

7. If you link all of these together on your main copywriting website (copy them to the individual pages of your website) you will more easily get natural organic traffic to these pre-sell pages too. This in turn will give you higher organic traffic rankings to your website so other clients looking for presell pages will find you to write for them.

8. You will start to feel more confident writing these simple pages and in time will feel more comfortable writing longer sales letters and video scripts.

9. You can offer video script transcription services for other copywriters.

10. You can offer research services for other copywriters.

This is a Quick Tip List - a 10 item list for how you can get a quick start to become a copywriter. You can easily build a copywriting portfolio and now you have what to do at each stage to get you off to a good start.

Just be sure to use a keyword targeted domain name for the type of copywriting you want to do so clients who are looking for a copywriter who writes what you like writing will find you!

Good luck!

Jennie Heckel
Product Launch Copywriter

How am I the only person who's thanked Jennie for that post?