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If you are on a native level in English, you could start working from home and writing advertising texts from home.
How would you like some extra income by working couple of hours every night, or maybe turn it into a full-time job?
This is a real option for you if you write English on a native level, or handle one of the niche languages for localized content. And you should act now for one important reason.
Online marketing is busier than ever; every chart shows an upward trend in creator economy and online businesses.
Countless people have quit their jobs. Thousands are looking online to start a new hustle on their own. In other words, online business in thriving!
Why would you care?
Odds are that you are reading this thinking about the idea of starting copywriting as remote job.
And that’s a great idea, because there’s endless demand for all those online entrepreneurs setting up their own shops, and looking for professional writers who can help them get some business!
I mean that your dream clients are simply waiting for you to contact them and offer a deal that they cannot refuse (cue in Godfather theme).
This unique opportunity for working from home is ripe! Economists are blowing their whistles about looming recession that will make 2008 crisis look like a day trip to the fair.
If you wait until the hit blows you out of your job, you’ll be competing against countless unemployed and desperate people. Better to get on the copywriting wagon now. There’s something worse than recession on the horizon.
Remote work is an interesting choice for now, but it might be the only option soon. The economy is changing. Old jobs are disappearing.
It’s the Mass Extinction of conventional jobs. Information age has made them obsolete. And they are never coming back.
Nothing will stop technological advancement, and you know it.
So, what is remote copywriting, and how can you become a copywriter?
To futureproof your income and living, copywriting is an excellent option for an independent, remote job.
Remote copywriter is a professional, who writes ad copy, radio and video scripts, releases and product descriptions among other things.
Copy is everywhere. Quoting Claude C. Hopkins, copywriting is ‘Salesmanship in print’.
You might have noticed that you see quite a many ads and commercial messages during the day, regardless of the media.
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and email are full of targeted marketing – trying to get your attention, following you around. Google knows more about you than you care to know.
What if you could jump on the other side of the fence? Become the one who gets paid for writing?
The first thing in deciding whether to become a copywriter is to simply ask yourself: Can you see and hear yourself telling others that you are a copywriter?
That singular question holds much more depth to it than is first recognized.
Copywriting is not for everyone. Ask yourself if you could identify yourself as a copywriter.
That question makes you revisit your work history, your habits, your education, your traits and talents.
If writing and communication are not in your ‘skill tree’, why would you bother?
Let’s make another thing very clear:
If you are looking for a remote copywriting position for a company or agency without any prior experience, that’s never going to happen.
Instead, you do have the option to start your own shop as self-employed freelance copywriter, and start finding clients who you could help and learn the skill as you go.
It’s a challenging path, but always open. Setting up a business as a sole proprietor is very easy and cheap in most parts of the world. Best of all, you don’t really need anything else than a working computer with Microsoft Word and connection to internet. Here’s what I read on Forbes.
But opening shop doesn’t mean that anyone’s going to ring the doorbell. What to do?
If I started from zero right now, without any knowledge or skill, I would learn the basics by reading 4 books from the masters. Hopkins, Ogilvy, Halbert, Kennedy, pick your favorite – they all talk about the same concepts and principles.
Notice the bolding? Techniques and tricks are useless at this point. Learn the concepts and principles to get the foundation right. Otherwise, your learning is going to fail and you will be a mediocre writer at best.
Next step is to start writing daily, if you don’t already. Pick any product or service and start writing sales letters.
Write headlines, lead-ins and the body of the copy. Cook up testimonials, benefits and bullet points. Finish up with call to action. Edit and analyze your text. Get your feet wet. Get into the habit of writing, don’t wait. Your first client is right here.
Let’s say you have now studied some books, applied the formulas and ideas by writing some copy of your own, and you want to get some real-life experience which you can measure. But where to find the first client?
Well, you get to be a ghostwriter. FOR YOURSELF!
Hah, got you there, didn’t I?
The fact is, no one knows anything about you. Nobody knows you exist, let alone write copy.
To build a client list and scale up – the first test subject is your personal brand.
At this point you can register your proprietorship. And apply for any governmental grant if such are available in your country for startups. In that case your first acid test is writing the business plan to convince the authorities to give you the grant.
Now, you might have a name for your business, like SCRIIV, or simply use your own name if it’s not too long and complicated.
Build a website for your copywriting service! Create a home page, landing page, services page, bio and such. Don’t know how? Here’s an free guide to build your business website in few hours.
You can do it. And you definitely need it. Remote success requires a funnel.
Maybe you’re not familiar with the term sales funnel. It simply means a graphical visualization of the path how potential clients find you.
If you remember, no one knows you yet. So, they wouldn’t find your website either.
The top of the funnel is a large opening, symbolizing all medias and marketplaces where your content could be displayed for people. Bear with me – it’s not complicated, I promise!
For example, you could post on Facebook in your own profile that you have started doing copywriting. That’s the top of the funnel. Or you design a banner that Google shows on websites. That’s the top of the funnel, too.
If the people are interested – your content needs to have a link and lead them somewhere. Makes sense, right?
If you don’t have a website for your business – no one is going to take you seriously.
When they click through your content at the top of the funnel – be it your post on social media or paid ad – then they move to the middle of the funnel.
That means a much smaller amount of people, thus the image of a funnel. Everyone who glances at your content is not going to click a link. Maybe 5% if it’s interesting enough.
And then they need to see your business website for copywriting. Then it’s your job to convince them that you are a real business. Finished look and modern layout make the job easier. But I didn’t tell you something yet.
At this point the funnel from ads or social media will not produce you any clients. But someone will be looking at your website.
As a fresh business with zero credibility, you have to start asking people in your network (in person) for a chance to work together for a case study or for a testimonial. That’s your best bet to get some real action and experience – even if it doesn’t pay.
You likely know some people who run their own business or work in smaller businesses who could use some free or very affordable help.
And when you start doing that, some people will look you up. What will they find if you don’t have a website? Old Facebook picture of you eating sausages?
“He’s a dabbler. Forget it.”
First impressions are crucial. Website is a must. Use mine as an example and find others.
This headline made me chuckle while writing it.
I remember a case where I was interviewing a Finnish-Italian kid for a job, that required high knowledge about Finnish language, and deep cultural understanding.
The cocky kid spoke broken Finnish and thought the job is about something else. We parted ways with silent smiles.
Why I’m bringing this up is that half-ass effort leads to zero result. Finnish is a particularly tricky language where verb conjugations and other grammatical monsters can instantly flip the meaning of any expression and get you in trouble.
The worst translations for content and copy I’ve witnessed are done by machine. While machine learning makes them gradually better, fractional website content is always full of blatant translation errors.
English to Spanish or German works quite well, because these languages are related in vocabulary and grammar. Trying that in Finnish makes people leave the website as fast as their mouse can take them.
Let’s summarize the process of becoming a remote working copywriter:
You study. You write. You set up your business. You build a website. You ask around. No entry requirement – just time and effort.
What next?
Prepare a presentation. A template of what you are going to do. You need to have something ready, or more importantly, when you are listening to what your future client wants, you need to know what to say in the pauses.
Trust me, you are getting closer now to start getting paid. But there’s a surprise you might not have anticipated.
Getting the ball rolling asks for guts and grit. Serious determination.
Maybe you are lucky and get an easy first client through your network. Maybe not.
When I quit my old job and started working full-time back in 2020, I literally wasted months doing secondary things to keep me busy. Trying to avoid the hard thing.
The hard thing is the truth about getting clients. You need to do it yourself.
Send emails to cold audience! EN MASSE. We are talking about VOLUME.
Don’t do the same mistake than me. Just start reaching out and get over yourself.
Your remote job can become a reality faster than you think. If you really dedicate your time to read few books, practice and set up the business and website, you’re half way there!
Hunting clients, creating content, doing copywriting in practice for yourself is the second part. With consistency and resilience, some people will eventually reply.
Keep adjusting, keep testing, keep trying. Write more posts on your website. Make the offer even better!
When the first prospect replies – have a video call and make sure you get that deal. Be of service. Dress smart, look sharp, talk with confidence. Be honest.
Give them what they want, and you’ll be fine. Adapt and go the extra mile.
By now you understand that remote copywriter jobs are not just hanging out there like ripe fruit – but the opportunities for self-employed copywriters are juicy and abound!
You can definitely become a successful remote working copywriter by following the simple steps. In other words, they are skill acquisition, business setup, marketing and cold emailing.
SIDENOTE: If you don’t especially like bookkeeping, get a bookkeeping service when you get your first paying client to make sure all your accounts and taxes are kept and paid accordingly.
Your first client might ask you to do email marketing. That would be great, because new emails need to be written all the time.
And while you now have your first client that pay, you need to continue looking for others by sending proposals with your best offer.
Over time it’s a good idea to build around you a network of professionals. Check out your local co-working space to make some friends. Go to Meetup events and say hi to people. You never know who you might meet.
Then you can refer others when clients or prospects ask for specific services. And as a return favor they will refer other clients back to you!
Remote copywriting is considerably easier option than any labor job. In effect, you are using Google and your mind to produce text that sells. Sending emails back and forth with clients.
In writing, it’s good to be inspiring and avoid plagiarism. All the rules are simple. You just have to know them, and with consistent reading and applying you will master your art in few years.
As you improve your skills, you can write an avatar for yourself; your business alter ego. That makes content marketing much easier and more fun.
Don’t be the boring, average copywriting when you could be having fun and great results with the same effort.
Copywriting is very much related to creative writing. But every expert knows the value of proven formulas, so don’t try to outsmart yourself and the audience by crazy ideas. Test them first with some confidants.
Over time it gets easier to get new clients, and your side hustle turns into a lucrative business with very comfortable income.
Top copywriters are millionaires. Why? How is it possible?
The thing is that if you are an ace in copywriting, clients will give you business opportunities that could profit you in many ways. Profit-share, revenue-share and many other options become available.
Beyond clients and partners, you could set up your own ecommerce businesses with your new skills, and earn more for your writing that way. Then every campaign is directly earning you money. The possibilities to earn with your new skills are abundant!
By now you should have a better understanding if this remote job would be a good fit for you.
How about a work routine of working, say, 4 hours per day?
That’s totally possible when you become established, and have enough clients.
Then you don’t need to spend time hunting clients and honing your own landing page copy. Your business network will generate enough clients by referral – automatically!
And while you have more time for yourself and your family, you can also decide where to have your office. Right now, I’m working from Mexico, because why not!
Even if the basic steps are simple, there’s a lot to do, and a lot of mistakes to avoid in order to be successful.
You need to pick up some other skills to thrive as an entrepreneur, such as personal branding. All the good things are awaiting you on the other side, but can you get there alone?
Maybe I could help you to get to that next level, where you are working independently from your home office, wherever it is, and earn enough for you and for your family to have a good life.
The good news is that copywriting is in big demand, and now is the perfect timing to learn it and earn from it.
You don’t need a degree or no formal training to learn copywriting. I can offer you personal consultation to answer all your questions how you can get over the first, second and third hurdles without breaking any bones.
Painless consultation will make the learning and succeeding an idiot-proof path to start earning money as a remote copywriter.
It’s all for you to gain. You can book the first consultation call for free, so do it now by clicking the button below. Pick up a skill and employ yourself before the next big hit blows up the economy to stay safe in any future scenario.
Could you call yourself a copywriter?
Curious about marketing to gamers? Let’s craft your message together to get better results.
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Sastamala, Finland, FI31541758
Maru Hieta ©2024
Designer & Writer