Freelancing or contracting: what’s the difference?
There are differences between the two and, as a copywriter, you have the flexibility to work full or part time, as well as an employee, as a freelancer, or contractor.
Most of us are familiar with what it’s like to be an employee. And because we’re familiar with it, it feels “safer.” But there’s nothing that makes being an employee safer (in fact, it’s often “safer” being a freelancer).
If you’ve been intrigued by contracting or freelancing, but don’t know where to start, this episode is for you. Nicki and Kate talk about the differences between the two, as well as the differences between these types of positions and being an employee. By the end of the episode, our hope for you is that you understand contracting and freelancing just a bit better.
Being open to contracting and freelancing can open up a world of opportunities as a copywriter. Listen now!
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Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[03:59] There are a lot of companies where you can work on staff, be remote or be hybrid, but of course that’s only one part of the whole working puzzle. The biggest similarity is whether you’re a contractor or a freelancer, you are not an employee of the company that you’re working with.
[04:30] You are typically invoicing your client, you are sending through each month or whatever their schedule is, your invoice for the work that you’ve done.
[05:17] Your freelance and contract rates are going to be higher than they would be if you were on staff. So you should be making more as a freelancer or a contractor because you’re not an employee, so they don’t have to pay benefits and all of these things.
[06:25] In a lot of ways, actually controlling your own schedule, your own client load is safer. When you’re working with a client long term, whether it’s freelance or contracting, you can still get that element of stability to a certain degree depending on the client and depending on the project.
[08:12] When you have multiple clients, losing one means you only lose a small part of your income, like 10%, instead of everything. It’s much easier to replace that, giving you peace of mind and financial security.
[08:42] If you want to let go of a client, you can do so confidently without risking your financial stability. You have steady income, and it’s easy to find new clients to replace any lost income, unlike being on staff where you could be let go unexpectedly.
[10:31] There are still some big differences between freelancing and contracting. Freelancing is generally a project based arrangement where you’re working with a client. Whereas contracting, you have a contract and depending on what is in that contract and what you’ve agreed to do, more often than not, there’s a timeline on it, whether it’s 3, 6, 9 month contract.
[11:02] In Freelancing, you guys decide how much you’re going to charge for it. You guys come into agreement on when the project is due. But largely once the parameters have been decided on, it’s gonna be up to you to make your own schedule before that deadline, when and how you work on it. It’s gonna be up to you to check in with a client certainly.
[11:47] You might have multiple projects with that same freelance client. Once that project ends, you start another one, Most, actually all of my freelance clients, that’s how our working relationship works. It’s ongoing work, but each project is its own thing with its own timeline.
[12:40] When you’re signing a contract, it’s for a specified time period. And within that time period, you might be working on multiple different projects. A lot of businesses do that just to kind of make sure it’s a good fit for both sides before committing to offering that on staff role. But that contract is gonna dictate how and when you work.
[17:19] The way you price your services will vary just slightly between contracting and freelancing. With the contract, typically that’ll be either at an hourly rate that you’ve set and negotiated or at a a day rate, or whatever the time, number of hours they have allotted in your contract.
[18:08] With freelancing, you can price work on an hourly or project basis. Typically, you’ll set a price for the entire project, considering all tasks involved—like meetings, emails, writing, and strategy. This approach offers more flexibility compared to contracting, where rates are often fixed for the duration of a contract, making it harder to adjust your rates mid-way.
[19:24] I want that flexibility. I wanna work with all kinds of different people and go to different places. Contracting can be a really great way to get your foot in the door if you’re willing to be flexible and be open to it. It gives a company an opportunity to kind of test you out, make sure that you are good at what you do, also make sure that you’re a good cultural fit. Make sure that you like it as well.
[21:16] There’s so much that you don’t know until you put yourself into the situation, actually experience it. If there’s something that intrigues you about the contract to hire or contract in general, go for it. Because you put yourself out there.
[23:35] There’s actually almost in some ways a hybrid of the two. That is working on retainers. Working on retainer is when you are not an employee, but at the same time a company doesn’t decide which hours you’re working, however, they make a contract with you for an amount of hours.
[24:36] With a retainer, you have dedicated time for the client and guaranteed income, while they get guaranteed hours from you. If they’ve committed to 15 hours but only need 12 that week, they still pay for the full 15. Of course, if this happens often, you might consider adjusting the agreement or banking some hours for later.
[27:16] There’s more flexibility than you realize. You also don’t know until you explore it. So get more information, explore every opportunity, ask questions, have the conversation, speak up for what you actually want out of the role and you might get it.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
” If you have multiple freelance clients or multiple contracts, It’s safer because you’re not putting your eggs all in one basket. You are taking control of who you’re working with, what projects you’re working on.” – Kate
” You are responsible for taking out taxes. It’s something to think about. But it’s super easy. Trust me. Just really think of it in terms of as you get an invoice in, set aside a certain amount for taxes so that when tax time comes, you just take it out of that account and pay your taxes.” -Nicki
“If you’re in a period of your life where you wanna experience a lot of different things, work with a lot of different companies, work on a lot of different projects, you might not want to go on staff at a company.”
‘You get a little bit more of that flexibility with both freelancing and contracting. You get to work with a bunch of different clients. If you have longer term freelance projects or longer term contracts, you can still have that similar level of consistency” – Nicki
“Our CCA students know they have the skills to be freelancing whenever they want to. They can start their freelancing relatively quickly if they want to leave a full-time job.” – Nicki
” Make sure that you are charging your worth and you are not short changing yourself because for the length of that contract, obviously when it’s up, you can renegotiate” and say, oh, actually I underprice my services for the amount of work that I’m doing and what I’m providing to this client.” – Kate
” Just allowing yourself to have the opportunity and explore it for what it is. Because you might realize that it’s actually a really great fit for you. Maybe the reasons that you don’t want a full-time job or that you want maximum flexibility. So give yourself the opportunity to get more information to have these experiences and then make decisions as you go” – Kate
” With all of these retainer, contract, freelance, even frankly in-house and on-staff positions, whether an agency or within an internal organization, the key with any opportunities, just ask lots of questions
and make sure you understand the expectations. Make sure that things that you want out of the experience, you’re communicating that because clients might be more willing to work with you than you even realize.” – Kate
Mentioned in the Episode
- Freelance Copywriter Benefits: How to Build Your Own Benefits Package
- 3 Steps to Taking a Vacation as a Freelance Copywriter
- Ep. 11: Tax and Bookkeeping Tips for Freelance Copywriters
- Why Copywriting is One of the Most Enjoyable, Flexible Careers
Related Links
- What is the Difference Between Freelance Copywriting and Contract Copywriting?
- Copywriting Contracts: Do You Need to Send Them to Clients?
- Marketing Trends for Freelancers and Contractors in 2024
- Can You Break Your Copywriting Contract Early?
- Why We Love Working as a Contract Copywriter (And You Should, Too)
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
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Last Updated on December 10, 2024
