How To Become A Freelance Copywriter And Get Paid To Write

When I first started freelance copywriting, I was charging $15 per article and getting ghosted more often than I care to remember. Fast forward three years, and I was bringing in $15,000 per month, working remotely, picking my clients, and writing about topics I actually cared about.

In hindsight, it was a pretty meteoric rise for a lower-middle class kid, and 13 years later, I’ve learned a lot about how to succeed as a freelance copywriter.

I don’t think I’ve ever made more than $20k in a month from freelancing, which might not seem impressive if you believe every 19 year old on Tiktok telling you about the million dollars they make from AI each month, but if you’re making the average US salary of around $60k, then $20k for a month of work isn’t half bad.

The coolest thing about what I’m going to teach you today is that it hasn’t just worked for me.

I’ll introduce you to three different freelance copywriters who have used what I’ll teach you here to build fulltime careers, and whether you believe it or not, I’ll also tell you that the 200k+ words of free training here on my blog have been read by well over a million aspiring freelancers just like you.

This 4,000 word guide is going to walk you through exactly how to become a freelance copywriter.

No fluff. No theory. No pretending this is easy.

I’ll show you what works, what to avoid, and how to thrive even in a world where AI has changed everything about how copywriting is done.

1. What Is Copywriting?

Copywriting is writing with the goal of getting someone to take action. That could mean clicking a button, buying a product, signing up for an email list, or even just reading the next sentence.

If you’ve ever clicked an Instagram ad, landed on a product page, and bought something you didn’t know you needed, that was copywriting at work. The words did their job.

Copywriting isn’t about sounding clever or poetic. It’s about making the value of a product or service so clear to the target audience, that buying it is an easy choice. It’s about understanding what someone wants, what’s stopping them from getting it, and using words to help them bridge that gap.

Here’s where copywriting shows up:

• Landing pages
• Product descriptions
• Email campaigns
• Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads
• Sales pages and funnels
• LinkedIn DMs that make you want to cry
• Kickstarter pages

If the purpose is to move someone closer to a purchase or conversion, that’s copy.

One quick heads-up: copywriting isn’t the same as content writing. Content writing is usually educational or entertaining, like blog posts and newsletters. Copywriting is directly tied to conversions. A lot of freelancers do both, but they serve different purposes.

2. Is Freelance Copywriting a Good Career?

If you want location freedom, income potential, and the ability to build something without a traditional resume, freelance copywriting is a solid path. It’s flexible. It’s creative. It can pay well.

Let’s talk numbers:

• Beginner copywriters typically earn $20 to $50 per hour or $100 to $500 per project
• Mid-level freelancers usually make $3,000 to $7,000 per month
• High-level specialists and consultants can clear $10,000 to $25,000+ per month

That said, it’s also a career filled with rejection, ghosting, and projects that don’t always pay on time.

You’ll wear a lot of hats. You’ll sell yourself constantly. You’ll write things you don’t care about to earn the right to later write things you love.

The upside is huge, but you need to treat it like a business from day one.

Case Study: How McKenzie Built a $3K/Month Freelance Writing Business (With 5 Kids)

McKenzie Clinton started her freelance journey with zero clients, zero industry experience, and five kids under the age of 10. She had just watched her husband take a pay cut for better work-life balance and decided it was time to build something from home.

Within 12 months, McKenzie was earning $3,000 per month as a freelance writer without a website, social media presence, or full-time hours.

Her early gigs weren’t glamorous. She landed her first client after sending cold emails and posting a simple update to her network. She started with virtual assistant work, but quickly pivoted into writing when a client asked for editing help.

But all that work led her into SEO content, and soon, she was writing blog posts, service pages, and sales content for agencies and local businesses. One Kansas-based agency liked her so much, they brought her on retainer as their in-house SEO strategist and writer.

McKenzie leaned hard into learning on the job. She used her past experience as a Google Search Quality Rater to understand SEO faster than most beginners. She repurposed client tools, googled everything she didn’t know, and said yes to the next right challenge.

By early 2024, she was running strategy calls, mapping site architecture, and getting paid retainers to lead content projects while working 20 to 25 hours a week from home.

Her cold outreach strategy was simple and personal. She didn’t sound like a bot. She led with familiarity and location (“Hey, I’m local”) and focused on businesses she genuinely liked.

No mass blasts. No hype. Just consistent, thoughtful outreach that turned into long-term work.

If you’re starting from scratch and juggling family responsibilities, McKenzie’s story is proof that you don’t need perfect systems or flashy branding to build a thriving business. You need commitment, adaptability, and a willingness to learn as you go.

McKenzie reached $3k/month (and had even hit her first $4k month at the time of this recording) by taking consistent action, making smart pivots, and charging more as her skills grew.

Watch the full interview above or click here to grab my 12-month freelance copywriting launch blueprint.

3. What Skills Do You Need To Succeed?

The biggest misconception about freelance copywriting is that you just need to be good at writing.

Here’s what actually matters:

• You have to be a competent multitasker (the entire business is run by you)
• You have to be willing to promote and sell yourself (you are the sales team)
• You have to be flexible and patient (this is a moving target you won’t hit overnight)
• You have to be a strategist and implementor (you plan AND do the work)
• And yes, you have to be a good writer or be able to produce good writing

The ability to market and sell yourself will have a much higher impact on how much money you make as a freelance writer than the quality of your work does.

With AI in the mix, you don’t even need to be that good of a natural writer. When I’m in an editing role, I spend a lot of my time redoing ineffective human writing with writing from targeted AI prompts. For most copywriting, the prose doesn’t matter.

Does the copy provide clarity and drive action?

That’s all that matters.

4. Do You Need Experience or a Degree?

No. No one cares if you have a marketing degree. And if they do, you probably don’t want them as a client.

Clients want copy that gets results. That’s it. If you can show that you understand their goals and can help them achieve those goals through your copy or ANYTHING else you do, you can close gigs.

That said, you do need to build trust. And early on, you don’t have a track record to lean on. So how do you build credibility without experience?

• Create 3–5 sample projects
• Get testimonials from free or discounted work
• Show your thinking process in a Loom video or blog post

Mockup work is fine. Just make it relevant, specific, and strategic. The goal is to show what you can do and how you think, not to pretend you’ve worked with Nike.

5. Learn Copywriting Fast (But Actually Learn It)

You can learn the basics of copywriting in a week. Mastery takes a lot longer.

Here’s what I recommend:

• Read the top copywriting books like “The Boron Letters,” “Scientific Advertising,” and “Breakthrough Advertising”.
• Rewrite ads you see online and think about what they are trying to do.
• Reverse-engineer landing pages from companies you admire.
• Study frameworks like AIDA, PAS, and the 4 Cs.

Copywriting isn’t about learning magic words. It’s about understanding the customer’s desire, identifying the friction, and writing your way through it.

AI can help you learn faster than ever before, but if you’re serious about speed, get a mentor, join a copywriting community, or land an entry level marketing job where you’ll be forced to write copy that performs.

Case Study: How Krista Replaced Her Full-Time Income in 12 Months With Freelance Copywriting

If you’re wondering whether it’s really possible to go from zero to a sustainable copywriting career in a short time, Krista Fabbro’s story will clear that up for you. She left a corporate sales job in March 2022 with no clients, no copywriting portfolio, and no formal writing background.

Within 9 months, she was averaging 8K in monthly income while working fewer than 35 hours a week and keeping her freedom intact.

Krista didn’t do anything fancy. She didn’t go viral or hack an algorithm. She started by sending a plain message to her LinkedIn and Outlook contacts, announcing she was going freelance and asking if anyone needed help with writing.

That one step landed her first projects.

They weren’t glamorous, but they gave her momentum. She said yes to almost everything at the beginning, focused on delivery, and learned what types of work she liked along the way. Over time, she narrowed in on website copy and blog content, raised her rates, and landed her first $5,000 client.

What made Krista successful was clarity, consistency, and community. She used cold outreach sparingly, but with intention. She leveraged local businesses and companies she already admired. Her messages weren’t robotic. They were real. That approach turned into her first retainer client and eventually made LinkedIn her most reliable lead source.

Instead of burning out chasing new clients every week, she transitioned many of her clients to retainers, expanded her services, and proactively raised her rates when her workload increased.

One client left. Most stayed.

Her income jumped by 50%. Now, Krista earns more than she did in corporate, works 30 to 35 hours a week, and only takes on clients she enjoys working with.

Krista’s path shows what’s possible when you lean into what you already have: your existing network, your voice, your initiative. She’s proof that even in a noisy market, you can build a profitable writing business on your terms.

Watch the full interview above or click here to grab my 12-month freelance copywriting launch blueprint.

6. Build A Portfolio Without Clients

No clients? No problem. You can build a strong portfolio from scratch by doing mock work that solves real business problems.

Here’s how to do it:

• Pick 3–5 companies in industries you want to work with
• Write a landing page, email sequence, or ad set for each one
• Create a simple Google Doc or Notion page to display your work
• Add context to each piece: who the target audience is, what the offer is, and why you made certain choices

Your goal here isn’t to pretend these were paid projects. Be transparent. You’re showing potential clients how you think and how you approach their type of business.

Bonus: send your best mock project to the business you wrote it for. That alone can lead to paid work.

7. How To Land Your First 1–3 Clients

The first few clients are the hardest to get. You’re building trust from scratch. No one knows you yet. So you need to go out and earn that trust directly.

The most effective strategy I know is The No-Risk Pitch:

• Find a business you want to write for
• Do some research on their copy
• Rewrite a headline, email, or ad with a note on how it could perform better
• Send it to them with a short message offering to write one piece for free or on spec

You can also:

• Reach out to friends and family who own or work for businesses
• Get active on LinkedIn and publish short content that showcases your thinking
• Apply to freelance gigs on job boards like Contra, SolidGigs, or CopywritingJobs.co

The key is to lead with value. Don’t ask people to pay you just because you exist. Show them you can help before you ask for anything.

8. Set Your Rates (And Raise Them Fast)

When you’re just starting out, your goal is to get momentum. That means keeping your pricing simple and competitive, not desperate.

Here’s a decent range to begin with:

• Website homepage: $200–$400
• Email sequence (3–5 emails): $150–$300
• Single sales page: $300–$500

Once you have a few happy clients and a better sense of what you’re doing, raise your rates. Fast. The biggest mistake new writers make is staying cheap for too long.

As your results improve, your rates should reflect that. Eventually you want to be charging:

• $1,000+ for sales pages
• $2,000+ for website copy
• $3,000+ for a full email funnel

You don’t need to charge those rates today. But it’s important to know where you’re headed.

Case Study: How Cassidy Horton Hit $20K Months (Three Times) By Doubling Down On Freelance Writing

Cassidy Horton didn’t scale her freelance income by launching a course, building a brand, or chasing a passive income dream.

She hit $20K months three different times by focusing on what was already working: writing blog posts for finance brands.

After plateauing around $12K to $15K per month for several years, she raised her rates, dropped low-value clients, and rebuilt her business with math and strategy as her guide.

Her success didn’t happen in a vacuum. It came right as the market tanked, when editorial teams were cutting budgets and clients were pulling out of contracts. She lost all but one client. But because she already had her secret hourly rate figured out and had done the work to map out her financial goals, she didn’t panic.

She went on the offensive.

Sixty cold LinkedIn messages later, she landed a $7,500 per month client. That client was the backbone of her first $20K month and the catalyst for what came next.

Cassidy kept things simple and scalable. She didn’t work insane hours. She tracked her effective hourly rate, cut clients who didn’t make the cut, and kept pushing her rates higher.

Even when income was inconsistent, her reliability and relationships brought work back to her. Editors who left one platform would hire her again at their new one. Old clients referred new ones. And when she had the bandwidth, she tested product offers that brought in $5K or more on their own.

If you’ve been freelancing for a while and feel stuck under a glass ceiling, Cassidy’s approach might be the key. She didn’t scale by doing more. She scaled by doing less and doing it better. She aligned her pricing with her goals. She treated client relationships like a long game. She built systems that made her more efficient and more valuable at the same time.

This is what scaling through service looks like. If you want to replicate her approach, start with the math. Set an income goal. Back out your hours. Figure out what each project needs to earn to hit that number. Then find the clients that can afford that rate and deliver work that makes them want to keep you around.

Watch the full interview above or click here to grab my 12-month freelance copywriting launch blueprint.

9. How To Get Better, Faster

There are two kinds of freelance copywriters: the ones who plateau and the ones who compound.

To grow fast, you need repetition, reflection, and feedback. Here’s how to accelerate:

• Read world-class copy daily (check out SwipeFile.com, MarketingExamples.com)
• Analyze what you read and ask, “Why does this work?”
• Get feedback from mentors, communities, or clients
• Write your own stuff—your own landing pages, emails, or sales funnels

Launching your own product is one of the fastest ways to level up. It could be an ebook, a workshop, a digital product, or even a physical one.

When you have skin in the game, you write differently. You obsess over the offer. You learn what matters.

This is also where AI becomes useful. Use it to test variants, brainstorm headlines, or draft email sequences. Then revise, rewrite, and optimize. Use AI as a thought partner, not as a replacement for your brain.

10. How To Stay Booked (And Keep Clients Happy)

Getting clients is one thing. Keeping them and staying booked is where your income becomes predictable.

Here’s what matters most:

• Deliver clean, effective copy on time
• Communicate clearly and proactively
• Ask good questions and listen well
• Be easy to work with
• NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

Once you land a gig, ask yourself: what else does this client need? Most clients have multiple gaps in their marketing, and if they like your work, they’ll trust you to fill them.

Ask for referrals, especially after successful projects. And keep your client roster warm. Send check-in emails every 60 to 90 days.

Freelancing is a relationship game. Don’t be a ghost. Be the kind of writer clients want to come back to, and leverage every successful project into new connections and relationships.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!

10 Common Questions About Becoming A Freelance Copywriter

Here are some direct answers to the most common questions I get about becoming a freelance copywriter.

1. Can you become a freelance copywriter with no experience?

Yes, you can. Most copywriters start their careers with zero experience. The trick is to stop worrying about your resume and start showing what you can do. If you can write persuasively and help a business improve its message or convert more leads, you’re already more valuable than half the market.

Clients don’t need to see a long list of past clients. They need to see strong writing, clear thinking, and a basic grasp of what makes a message work. Mock projects and thoughtful cold pitches can open doors.

2. How do I get my first freelance copywriting client?

Start with your existing network. Friends, former coworkers, that cousin with a startup—all of them are potential leads. Offer to write something small like a landing page or email. Show how you think through messaging and structure.

Outside your network, cold pitching works well. Pick businesses whose copy could be improved. Rewrite a piece, explain why you made the changes, and offer to do a full version on spec. You only need one yes to get started.

3. What skills do you need to be a freelance copywriter?

You need to be able to write clearly and persuasively. You also need to think like a marketer. That means understanding what your client’s customers care about, what makes them hesitate, and how to move them toward a conversion.

Other essential skills include research, communication, and the ability to handle feedback. In the AI era, your ability to use AI tools wisely and know when the output sucks is another major advantage.

4. Do you need a degree to be a freelance copywriter?

No. Degrees don’t matter in this field. What matters is your ability to deliver work that gets results. No client has ever asked to see my diploma. They ask to see samples and hear how I can help their business grow.

That said, you do need to learn. You can learn through books, courses, communities, and practice. But if you think a degree is your ticket in, you’re going to be disappointed.

5. What should I charge as a beginner copywriter?

Start with simple project pricing that reflects where you’re at. $100 to $300 for smaller projects like emails or landing pages is a reasonable baseline. Your goal in the beginning isn’t to get rich. It’s to build a client list and get real-world experience.

Once you have a few wins under your belt, don’t wait too long to raise your prices. A lot of freelancers get stuck at $25 per hour because they never shift their mindset. Copy that drives revenue is worth much more.

6. What kind of copywriting pays the most?

Sales copywriting—like landing pages, product launches, and email funnels—tends to pay the most. These types of projects are tied directly to revenue, which makes it easier to justify higher rates.

B2B niches, especially SaaS and fintech, also pay well. If you can understand a complex product and make it simple for buyers to grasp, you’ll be in demand. The key is connecting your writing to business outcomes.

7. How long does it take to become a freelance copywriter?

You can technically become one today. Set up a free portfolio, write some samples, and start pitching. But building a consistent income usually takes 6 to 18 months, depending on how much time you put in and how quickly you improve.

If you treat it like a business, stay focused, and keep refining your offer, you can build a strong client base faster than you think. Just know that it will take consistent outreach and iteration.

8. Do I need a portfolio to get freelance copywriting jobs?

Yes, but it doesn’t have to be full of paid work. You can create a few strategic mock projects tailored to your target industries and use those to showcase your thinking. Add context around the goal, audience, and decisions you made.

The goal is to show how you approach a project. A well-written fake landing page with a clear strategy behind it is often more persuasive than a real one you can’t explain.

9. Where do freelance copywriters find work?

The best work often comes from relationships, referrals, and cold outreach. You can also find projects on freelance job boards, in Slack communities, and through content you post on LinkedIn.

Eventually, the goal is to build an inbound system. A website that ranks for copywriting-related keywords, content that gets shared, or a community that sends you leads. But in the beginning, outbound is your friend.

10. Can AI replace freelance copywriters?

AI has replaced a lot of entry-level content writers. It hasn’t replaced good copywriters who understand positioning, psychology, and strategic testing. AI is a tool. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it can make you sound better than you actually are and that’s dangerous.

The best freelance copywriters today use AI to move faster. They let it help with brainstorming, outlines, and drafts. But they rely on their own brains for the messaging, framing, and editing. That’s where the money is.