If you’re seeking support in your journey to finding copywriting jobs, you’ve come to the right place. Here at Copywriter Exchange, we want to help make finding freelance copywriting jobs easier and help copywriters across the globe thrive.
We’re speaking from experience because all of us here at Copywriter Exchange have succeeded in our freelance careers. Now, we want to teach you how to do it, too.
You can allow your hopes and dreams for the future–along with your imagination–free reign to explore the possibilities of your career as a freelancer.
Do you want to work from home and have the freedom to set your own hours? Or do you see a freelance career as a way to have autonomy over your own decisions and future? Do you want to set your own rates and control your income instead of having it set for you by someone in a corporate cubicle?
As a gig seeker, you’re able to cut your own creative path for how you see your future unfolding. Whether you’re an artist who wants the time to create your art (but also make money), or if you’re someone who’s been downsized or furloughed and you are ready to make money for yourself instead of for someone else, we’re here to light the path ahead so you can determine if the freelance life is for you.
Let’s Start at the Beginning 
When planning for your long-term goals for freelance copywriting jobs, a successful beginning means that you know exactly where you want to be at the end. You have a goal, a plan, and a known destination.
E.L. Doctorow famously said, “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Your freelance life will be a lot like that, except for a few additions: you have to know how to drive the car, and you must know your final destination. From there, just follow your headlights.
The Steps to a Successful Plan Include:
- A realistic vision
- Strategic thinking and planning
- A workable business plan for growth
- Implementation of the plan
- Review and reassess as needed
Questions to Ask When Looking For Freelance Copywriting Jobs
To start making your plan. You’ll want to ask yourself the following questions:
- What do you want from your career as a freelancer?
- What can freelancing bring to your life that a typical 9-to-5 job can’t?
- Where do you see yourself both personally and professionally six months from now?
- Where do you see yourself in four years?
- What do you believe is possible for your future?
These questions should help you focus your attention on what you want out of your life and your freelance copywriting jobs and how to get there. There are no wrong answers. These are your goals and your blueprint. In essence, you are about to begin drawing your own roadmap to a life as a freelancer.
If you want to complete your novel, begin your poetry chapbook, or have the time and space to devote to any creative endeavor–including raising your family– then freelancing as a writer or graphic designer can be an excellent means to an end for you. It takes time management, business sense, and dedication to both the business and the beauty of a freelance life.
If you want to work from home so that you can travel, see the world, and live independently of a corporate stranglehold on your time, then you’ve come to the right place.
If you want additional income to set aside for travel, an event, or a major purchase, freelance copywriting jobs are a great way to get there.
There’s no wrong answer.
Whatever your motivation, beginning with the end in mind is the best place to start. You get to determine why you’re going down this road. You only get one life. Luckily, as a freelancer, you can get multiple gigs that will drive you toward your destination.
Let’s talk about goal-setting
When setting goals as a freelance copywriter, it’s important to view those goals from three angles:
- Personal goals
- Financial goals
- The timeline for those goals
Simply put–you’ve got to make money so that you can achieve your personal goals.
Even if your personal goal is to complete your novel this year–a goal that feels like the opposite of working as a copywriter–you’ve got to carve out the time to do that and still pay your rent. We recommend trying either the SMART goal method or the 30/60/90-day goal planning method to help structure your goal setting.
If you ask a certain type of teenager their long-term goals, they may answer, “I’m going to be rich,” or “I’m going to be famous.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with becoming rich and famous, right? But this isn’t goal setting; this is just wishful thinking.
We’re past the wishful-thinking stage.
We can vaguely see what we need to achieve our goals of an independent and fulfilling life. What we need now is a plan. And the first step to a successful plan is setting a realistic vision.
If you’re currently working full-time at an unfulfilling job and are just beginning your exploration of freelance life, you’re in a lucky spot to get started. With freelance copywriting jobs, unlike hopping from one full-time spot to another, you can add jobs and projects as you continue working full-time. You can slowly add new, long-term gigs and transition to full-time freelance copywriting jobs, or you can add gigs when you need them.
For example, meet Taylor. Taylor works full-time as a project assistant for a large corporation. Their goal is to eventually leave the corporate world to freelance full-time as a content creator. In the first month, they land a client that pays $300 a month for work done over the next year’s time. That’s great! Taylor can easily continue working full-time and meet the obligations of the side hustle.
As Taylor grows the freelance work, they add another client for $500 a month, then one for $1000 a month. Perhaps the first client has more work for Taylor, and that $300 is about to turn into $1300. Taylor starts to realize they’re at a tipping point: it’s either time to jump ship and dive into freelancing full-time or stop taking new clients. Because Taylor has set a realistic vision of what the future can look like, Taylor is able to take the next step confidently toward freelance work.
If you’re a recent graduate or are temporarily out of work, you may feel the urgency to ramp up your freelance work quickly. However, taking the time to step back and make a plan can help you determine a sustainable workload for yourself and keep you from burning out.
By beginning with the end in mind, you are on your way to developing a plan for your freelance copywriting jobs. Take some time to write down your goals and dreams. Then, sketch the beginnings of your roadmap to get there.
Author Bio
Christina Rowell, Ph.D., is a content strategist at Content Workshop, Managing Director at Copywriter Exchange, and a former college writing instructor. She has over ten years of experience writing, editing, and creating content for healthcare, mental health, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients.
At Copywriter Exchange, we’re a group of master content marketing pros who bring their diverse talents and backgrounds to bear on the art and science of creating high-performance content, tailored to your needs. We exist to help copywriters thrive in today’s economy by connecting them with the resources they need to step up their game. Join now to access our templates, guides, and courses to help you grow your career, skills, and network.
