How to Become a Freelance Copywriter: A Business Blueprint
blog post
Aug 10, 2022
How to Become a Freelance Copywriter: A Business Blueprint
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By Heather Munro
Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash
Back in 1998 or thereabouts, I took a workshop with The Ad Club in Boston called “Yes, I’m in my pajamas. No, I’m not unemployed.”
An experienced freelance copywriter—whose name I’ve completely forgotten—covered the basics of working for yourself. (He had PTC as a client, so if you know who this was, let me know so I can thank him.)
Fast forward 20+ years later, and I’m the one people are asking for advice. I have no interest in creating an e-book or coaching other copywriters. The next time a fledgling writer asks me how to become a freelance copywriter, I’ll point them to this blog post.
Here’s a checklist of what you need to do to get your business up and running.
1. Register as a Business in Your State
The two most important reasons to do this are:
1) It allows you to open a business checking account
2) It protects your personal assets from any potential lawsuits
Not to mention, good clients will only work with legit businesses. I registered my company as Heather Munro LLC with the state of Colorado. My trade name is Heather Munro Creative. (Fun fact: if you Google Heather Munro, we’re all writers and photographers. Must be those Scottish genes.)
2: Open a Business Checking Account and a Business Credit Card
Now that you have to track your income, you want to keep your personal and business finances separate.
Deposit all of your paychecks into your business checking account and pay yourself into your personal checking account.
Put all of your business expenses (software subscriptions, office supplies, etc.) on a credit card designated for your business.
Link both to your accounting software so you can easily generate a Profit & Loss report come tax time.
3: Apply for an EIN Number
The IRS uses your Employer Identification Number (EIN) to identify you as a business entity. Technically, you don’t need one but I like using mine on the W-9s my clients have me fill out, so my Social Security number isn’t exposed over email.
4: Plan for Quarterly Estimated Taxes
Instead of your taxes being taken out of your paycheck, you, the business owner, must pay quarterly estimated taxes. As a self-employed person, your share of taxes will increase, as you don’t have an employer contributing to Social Security and Medicare on your behalf.
To avoid penalties, you have to pay a portion of what you made the year before, and it can get tricky if you have a great year and you’ve underpaid all along. I’m no expert. But here’s a good overview for you.
5: Invest in Accounting Software
I’ve used a few different programs in my day. It’s a far cry from my initial method of writing down the invoice amount and due date on a piece of paper I kept in a manilla folder.
Look for a program that allows you to do the following:
Send invoices, proposals, and contracts to clients
Accepts electronic payments and charges minimal fees for doing so
Links to your business checking account and business credit card
Tracks expenses and creates a Profit & Loss statement for your tax return
6: Set Your Rates
If you’re just starting out and can afford it (i.e. your partner is covering your health insurance and most of your expenses), you can take lower-paying gigs.
Nonprofits and retail typically pay less and tech usually pays the best. You will make less when you work for staffing agencies because they take a cut of the rate they bill to clients. I give a range for my rate when asked, but I’m moving toward a flat-fee model. Learn the pros and cons of each approach here.
7: Create a Website for Your Portfolio
You absolutely have to have an online portfolio. My biggest tip here is to make sure your site is built with proper SEO so you show up on Google search correctly and clients have a chance in hell of finding you.
For my current site, I paid a website designer to make my often unattractive writing samples visually appealing and I paid an SEO expert to optimize my site. You can throw up a free Wix site to have something out there, but I would invest in either a WordPress or Squarespace site after that. (Remember, these expenses are tax-deductible.)
8: Apply for Gigs
If you have experience copywriting, you can sign up with staffing agencies like Robert Half or Creative Circle. As I mentioned above, they will take a hefty portion of your rate, but it gets you work.
I stay far away from sites like Upwork because the rates are insulting and the clients are not experienced marketers. I’ve created profiles on Communo and other freelancer sites, but have never gotten work through them. You can also search for freelance copywriter gigs on LinkedIn or Flexjobs.
9: Network, Network, Network
Tell everyone you know that you’re freelancing. Here are the best sources I’ve found for work:
LinkedIn: Work that profile, connect with people you’d like to work with, and post early and often. It has been my number one source of clients.
Other Freelancers: I’ve subcontracted for other copywriters who were too busy to handle their workload. Plus, my first big break was from that Ad Club volunteer who handed off his tech client to me.
Past Co-Workers: Reach out to anyone you’ve worked with and let them know what you’re up to. Ask if they know of anyone who might have freelance copy work.
One Final Note
It takes a few years to get your name out there enough so people think of you for freelance projects. Hang in there and keep at it. Freelancing may be your side hustle to start, but if I can make a good living doing it, so can you. Good luck!