If you’re a good writer, there’s NEVER been a better time to get into the industry!
What IS copywriting?
Copywriting is marketing and advertising writing. It’s the writing you see on websites, on ads, in emails, on billboards, on packaging, in direct mail and brochures—it’s all around you!
Copywriting is designed to get people to take action, but it’s not at all about tricking people into buying. Fundamentally, copywriting is about creating connections.
It’s about connecting people who have a want or a need with the organization that has the best solution to that want or that need. And we make that connection by creating messaging that resonates with the right audience and helps them understand, “Oh! This is it! This is what I’ve been looking for!”
Because we create real, positive results for companies and organizations, they pay us well for our skill and expertise.
And, best of all, it’s fun work that lets you wield your skill for writing!
What kinds of things do copywriters write?
There’s a better-than-good chance that there’s some copy within arms’ length of you right now! Yes, copy is on websites and ads and emails, but it’s also on the packaging for products and the back covers of books. It’s on brochures and letters from nonprofits. It’s on billboards and signs in your local cafe’s window. It’s the scripts for videos and it’s the description for the new educational toy you’re considering for your niece.
Basically, if it’s writing that’s designed to persuade or to get people to take action, it’s copy!
Do copywriters write blogs?
Copy is writing that’s designed to persuade or to get people to take action.
But content is writing that’s designed to educate, to entertain, and to inspire. This is where blog posts come in—along with listicles, some social media content, and other things like that.
Content is useful for a business, but it doesn’t directly benefit it the way that copy does. It also doesn’t require the same level of skill or training, which means that there’s a lower barrier to entry—and why content is paid so poorly. It’s not uncommon for content writers to write for just a few pennies a word!
That’s also why content is a “churn and burn” industry; it takes a ton of work to make enough to live on, and there are always new writers coming in, willing to work for less.
Copywriting, on the other hand, is a skilled industry and provides a service that companies and non-profits can directly benefit from, which is why copywriting pays so much more.
Copywriters can write content for their clients if they choose to, but they command copywriting rates for it because they infuse all of the skill and strategy they’ve learned into their work!
How much work is out there?
A ton! Every single business or organization needs effective messaging—after all, if they can’t convey why what they have to offer is valuable to their audience, their organization won’t last long.
There are, literally, millions of businesses and organizations already in the US alone and roughly 500,000 new businesses starting in the US every single *month*.
(You don’t need to live in the US to be a successful copywriter, these numbers were just the easiest to get! You can also work with clients around the world.)
And, considering you only need four, five, or maybe six clients per month to have a six-figure per year copywriting business, the opportunity is massive.
There is SO MUCH MORE work to go around than there are skilled copywriters to do it, and the need is only growing as more and more companies understand how crucial great messaging is.
Are all copywriters freelance?
Nope! Some copywriters definitely do work freelance (full-time or part-time) and, of course, that allows them the most time and location freedom.
However, there are plenty of copywriters that work on-staff, whether for ad or marketing agencies or internal creative teams (teams that do the marketing for a company within a company).
And, of course, copywriters can switch up how they work when and how they see fit! Freelancers can take on-staff positions and on-staff copywriters can go freelance.
Isn’t it going to be taken over by AI?
And AI is a great tool, but it just can’t replace copywriters. First, by its very nature, it can’t create anything new. It can reconfigure what’s already out there, but it can’t create something out of thin air the way a human can.
Also, writing is only part of what copywriters do. Copywriters also partner with their clients, strategize with them, dig deeper into their projects, advise them, and brainstorm with them.
Humans can help a client change directions on a project or offer new ideas or perspectives for reaching a goal. AI just can’t do any of that.
Content writers should be concerned, since the quality required for content is much lower and AI can churn out blog posts incredibly quickly.
But copywriters should be excited about AI and all of the developments being made; it all just helps us do our jobs even better.
How much can copywriters make?
Copywriting is so well paid because it’s an industry that requires skill and training, and because organizations can directly attribute their results, in part, to copywriting. And that means that they’re willing to pay us well for our work.
A brand new copywriter (after learning and honing their skills) can expect to earn $50-60 an hour.
Not every project will be hourly; many projects will make more sense to be priced on a project basis, but an hourly rate is a good place to help give some context.
If a brand new copywriter wanted to work 40 hours a week for most of the year, they’d make upwards $100,000.
And, of course, they’ll be able to raise their rates as their experience and expertise increases, as well. There’s no reason a skilled, experienced copywriter can’t eventually command $100 per hour or more.
How much training do they need?
Copywriting is a real career, just like any other—which means that it requires training to do it well and command the kinds of rates companies pay skilled writers.
However, the great news is that you can learn everything you need to know via online programs, as long as those online programs include high-quality, in-depth training, practice exercises, feedback from professionals, and opportunities to get questions answered.
But it’s not enough to just learn how to write copy—you need to learn the foundational principles and how to hone your skills, how to write for different mediums, how to build your experience, how to create a website, how to price your services, how to find and land clients, and how to work with those clients. The right training will include all of that, and more.
That said, though, with a high quality training program and putting in some good learning and practice time, a new copywriter can begin landing clients quickly—usually between a few weeks and a few months, depending on how much time they dedicate to it.
Who makes the best copywriters?
The people who make the best copywriters are people who have a natural aptitude for writing; the kinds of people whose friends are always saying, “You’re such a great writer!” or asking them for help with writing projects.
They also have to be open to learning, of course, since copywriting will be a new skill for even the best writers. And copywriters need to be open to feedback and collaboration, since copywriting is a collaboration between the writer and their client/boss.
People who enjoy strategizing will excel, along with people who are empathetic and able to put themselves in a target audience’s shoes to figure out how best to craft messaging that resonates with them.
All of that said, people don’t need to have a background in marketing or advertising to get started with copywriting. Since copywriting is an entirely merit-based career, a client doesn’t care about your background, your age, your gender, or anything like that: If you can write great copy, a client will hire you!
Where do you have to live?
A copywriter can, literally, live anywhere in the world and work with clients all over the globe. Now more than ever, clients are happy to work with remote freelancers and even remote employees, making it a very flexible career.
A copywriter just needs to have a good internet connection, and they can work from anywhere!
How can you get started?
There are a lot of great resources out there, including the blog posts at FilthyRichWriter.com and the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast.
If you want to learn more about getting professional training, one of the top-rated, most popular and most thorough programs is the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy.
Want to make sure you don’t make any of the big, career-damaging mistakes so many would-be copywriters do? Read on…
Last Updated on January 26, 2025