Book the best remote copywriting jobs with one key skill
The flexibility of remote working is a major bonus for most copywriters. With so many remote copywriting jobs available, it’s easier than ever to sustain your copywriting career from the comfort of your home—or anywhere with Wi-Fi.
Balance your way to the best copywriting jobs for your career
It can be tempting to grab every remote copywriting opportunity at the start of your career, but consider what balance means to you before jumping in with both feet. In order to maintain professional stability as a freelance writer, you have to balance three key elements. If you keep all three in sync, you’ll be able to pick remote copywriting jobs and make your career a success.
Step 1: Balance your time
Time is your most valuable resource. Maximizing your time and balancing your expectations with your clients is possible with a few key considerations and preparation methods. Intentional time management will allow you to decide what remote copywriting jobs to take to maintain your ideal balance and productivity.
Managing availability
Dictating your own schedule is great, but keeping up with it requires motivation and excellent time management skills. Before taking on any more remote copywriting jobs, there are a few things to consider.
What are your commitments or demands on your time?
Some writers turn to remote copywriting to spend more time with their families. Others are tired of the daily grind of corporate jobs. How might your life’s responsibilities impact the time you allocate to work? Keep your time demands in perspective, and don’t take on more than you can handle.
Where are you located?
Do you share a time zone with your clients? Knowing your availability for client calls, your typical working hours, and where your computer is located can help you manage your clientele more effectively.
Workday expectations
Writing is just one aspect of your daily routine. Remote copywriters have to bake in time to respond to emails, gather client leads, compile feedback, update their website, send and process invoices, and perform all the other administrative tasks contributing to a successful freelancing business.
Building a copywriter’s daily routine
Imagine your perfect remote copywriting schedule and fill in the blanks below.
- My ideal workday is ___ hours long.
- I typically work from ____ (location).
- I will break up my ___-hour workday into the following segments:
- ___ hrs- Current client outreach and communication
- ___ hrs- Lead gathering
- ___ hrs- Invoicing & other administrative tasks
- ___ hrs- Writing copy
Add flex time to your daily schedule to give yourself some wiggle room!
Project discovery
Take charge of your time as a transparent and punctual copywriter. Repeating your approach will help you gather information about your clients, stay on track, and save time.
Before accepting the job, ensure you and your client understand the following:
- The specific kind of copy your client needs.
- How you share documents and drafts with clients. Google Drive is a great (and free) option, for example.
- Who is your point of contact, and are they the same person responsible for providing feedback on your draft?
- Contract and timeline agreement—don’t begin working until you have a signed contract and a mutual understanding of any significant milestones and the final in-hand date.
Build your own templates, including:
- A standard contract template – This outlines your rights and those of the client, payment methods, revision processes, and everything else relevant to the project.
- Your project discovery template – Work with your client to fill in the information that informs your copy, like
- Topic
- Target audience
- Tone
- Message overview
- SEO details
- Relevant links to include or use during research
- Call to action
- Resources to share with the audience
- The project brief—created using the information gathered in discovery.
Step 2: Balance your workflow
When you recognize the demands on your time, you can effectively schedule your workflow. Lay out the elements of your project, and only accept other remote copywriting jobs that fit into your schedule.
How does the copywriting job fit into your workflow?
Establishing your schedule and managing your time makes it easier to accept work using conversations with your client as a guide. However, it is crucial to protect your time. Your contract with the client should clearly outline all responsibilities, the amount of work, and the turnaround time. If the client deviates from the contract, wave a flag right away. Get back into balance by steering the project to its original course or amending the contract.
A copywriter’s process
Using the “copywriting” block of your workday day effectively is essential for balancing your time, staying on schedule, and meeting the conditions of your contract. While copywriters can arrange their individual process most effectively, a well-structured writing process typically includes similar elements.
Build the brief – Using your project discovery template, customize your copy brief to your latest remote copywriting job.
Research – The information you’ve gathered from your brief, client interviews, product or service information, SEO research, and any notes you’ve taken will help you identify what is missing. Add all new research to your notes.
Absorb & outline – Take a break. Step back, go for a walk, or do anything else away from screens for 20 minutes. Afterward, jot down a rough outline. Don’t overthink it. Your copy’s structure will come into focus soon.
Bad draft – The goal is to write a draft, not to edit, not to revise, not to think about structure – just write. Go only forward, never back. In fact, turn off your grammar and spell checkers. You’re here for a short time, not a perfect time.
Second draft – Turn the bad draft into a good one. Make the adjustments you didn’t allow yourself to make during the first pass. Clarify information, delete the superfluous stuff, and ensure you speak to the correct audience.
Step back & tighten up – Take time away from your draft—from a few hours to a full day—before reading it aloud and polishing any rough edges.
Submit – Share with your client and stay in close contact for edits and revisions.
Time & track
Use a timer or incorporate the process into your time management blocks. Many copywriters use project management software to keep track of the progress of their remote copywriting jobs.
Step 3: Balance work with life
Wanting a healthy balance between work and life is not unique to copywriting, but it’s a powerful motivator for many remote freelancers. The flexibility of freelancing won’t be available to you if you never take a day off or work beyond your scheduled time blocks.
Stick to your scale
Workflow, time management, and life balance convey to clients that you are a dependable contractor with a system that works. If you think a potential client may push the scales too much, politely decline, but always explain why. Offer a different deadline or develop a plan to take on their next project.
Bring on the balance
Managing your freelance career is a balancing act. The resources you create for yourself allow you to choose remote copywriting tasks you’ll enjoy and avoid commitments that would push your limits too far. Managing your time effectively, optimizing your workflow, and maintaining a work/life balance will help you thrive as a freelance copywriter.
Jo Gore-Wright is a copywriter and marketing strategy consultant based in Atlanta. She spent years working in business development, operations management, and marketing strategy in the corporate sector but was ready to make a splash on her own. Jo launched Copysplatter and hasn’t looked back since.
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