How to find online writing jobs as a copywriter

If you’re looking for an easy side hustle, consider becoming a copywriter and looking for online writing jobs. This is a straightforward money-making method that almost anyone can have a go at. It is also highly adaptable to fit your lifestyle, expertise, and more.

I should know: I’ve been working as a copywriter for the past 10 years with no signs of slowing down!

Copywriting is one of the easiest online jobs to get started with, too. So, read on if you’d like to learn the craft and start finding online writing jobs right away. You could have your first payment in your account by tonight!

What does an online copywriter do?

Copywriting generally refers to writing for a business. Traditionally, that means you won’t be writing fiction or journalism but rather homepage content, ad content, sales scripts, press releases, and other copy designed to help sell stuff.

In the digital era, the term “copywriter” is used a little more broadly, however. It may also include blog content, social media posts, etc. The line between entertainment and advertisement has been blurred thanks to “content marketing.” Blog content is now used to sell products, promote brands, build a following, and trust. This kind of writing may be journalistic in style, but it is still used for sales and marketing.

Online writing jobs vs traditional writing

If you market yourself for content writer jobs, you’ll get hired to write a larger proportion of blog posts and articles. If you market yourself for copywriter jobs, you’ll write emails, sales pages, site content, and the like. That said, you will probably get a combination of both these types of online writing jobs regardless of how you list yourself. Being willing to tackle any job is an important way to ensure your success as a writer.

Another way that writing jobs online vary from traditional copywriting is the focus on “SEO.” SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and refers to how an article can be written to increase its likelihood of appearing high up in Google’s search results. Clients may ask you to repeat a certain keyphrase a few times throughout an article or organize your headers specifically. We’ll discuss this more in a moment, but suffice to say that the online copywriter should at least familiarize themselves with SEO basics.

The nature of online writing jobs

Either way, you need to find clients and provide them with a copy that meets their goals (sales, engagement, persuasion). Often this means working as a “ghostwriter,” so you won’t be credited anywhere. You’ll be required to meet deadlines and will usually be paid per word.

How much does an online copywriter earn? This can range anywhere from $1 to $100 per 100 words, depending on the type of work you take on (and we’ll look at some ways you can charge more as we go on).

Why online writing jobs are easy to find

What the web has also done for copywriting is to make it more essential than ever. It’s easy to find online writing jobs simply because the web is so reliant on “content.” This is also what dictates the nature of the writing that clients are now looking for.

The way that most people find websites these days is by searching through Google. There’s a good chance that you typed the phrase “online writing jobs,” which brought you to this site! That comes down to content.

Otherwise, you might be here because you are a regular reader of Android Authority (thanks!). Once again, though, it’s probably because you like our content! This is how most brands engage with their audiences in the digital age.

Sales writing and other strategies

When a company tries to sell you a service or product, it will often rely on the goodwill and trust it has built through previous blog posts. It will often also utilize some form of “sales page” to get you to click “buy.” What does that sales page consist of? Copy! Specifically designed copy which is there to persuade a reader to buy. The right copy can increase sales by several hundred percent in some cases!

Other online marketing techniques include writing press releases (which helps them get featured in stories by the press), posting adverts on other web pages, and sending emails. Many websites will give away ebooks or “reports” to encourage people to sign up to their mailing list (other sites will sell these).

All of these strategies involve written content in one form or another. And for that reason, you will find there is little difficulty finding freelance writing jobs online, as long as you’re confident taking on this range of tasks.

Benefits of copywriter jobs

So, are online writing jobs a good way to earn money?

In terms of stability and ease of finding work, the answer is a resounding yes. I have only posted around three ads in my whole life and have received enough online writing jobs to sustain myself financially for the past 10 years. That’s because I was fortunate enough to find a few long-term clients, as well as a couple of writing agencies.

I started while I was still at university and found it was a perfect side-hustle on top of my studies. Today I use copywriting for clients to “fill in the gaps” while I look for more interesting work and fund my own projects.

My wife is a stay-at-home mum and benefits from taking on the occasional gig like this!

This kind of work appeals to me. I’ve always enjoyed writing (I used to work for a magazine called Writing Magazine), and I like being given a set task and a time frame to complete it. This allows me to work at my own pace and from anywhere. Unlike web design or programming, there is relatively little back-and-forth with clients (which creates “communication overhead”). That gives me more time to get actual work done.

Work from anywhere

I will often work in coffee shops where I find the lack of distractions and the constant supply of caffeine to be conducive to productivity. I’ll stick on some headphones, lose myself in writing, and emerge hours later a little wealthier. When I lived near the beach, I often worked on a sunlounger with a cold drink! In London, I would work nearby famous landmarks.

I also like that my clients typically pay each time they receive a batch of work. That means that I get paid almost daily, which is very handy for cash flow. The simple nature of writing jobs online also means that I can either take on more work or clock off early if I work quickly.

If those things appeal to you, you might be a good fit for this kind of online freelance work.

Negatives of copywriter jobs

That said, there are some significant drawbacks and challenges to writing online, too.

One is that the pay can be quite low on a per-word basis when you first start. Because this is work that anyone can do (in theory), that means that you’ll be competing with people from all around the world. Many of these writers can charge significantly lower rates due to lower living costs, thereby driving down the amount other writers can charge.

There are mitigating factors here, however. The market you advertise in plays a role, for instance (more on that in a moment), as does the type of work and the type of client. If you can demonstrate your expertise with a strong portfolio, you may be able to appeal to a higher-caliber client that will provide you with greater remuneration for more challenging work. To give you an idea, the fee for online writing jobs can range from $1 per 100 words to $1 per 10 words! Specialist knowledge can also help a lot in this regard: if you have a science background, this may allow you to charge more as a “technical writer.”

See also: How to work from home and find balance

Otherwise, you can compete with the lower-paid writers by learning to write quickly and in large volumes. It’s tiring, but both approaches have worked well for me in the past.

Self-motivation for writers

Likewise, if you struggle to work to deadlines, then copywriting probably isn’t going to be right for you. Writing high volumes of content on dull topics, sometimes with unhelpful instructions from clients, can be mind-numbing. If you’re prone to procrastination, that can be a real problem.

Finally, difficult clients are an unfortunate reality. 90% of the people you work with will be easy-going and reasonable, but the remaining few will want revision after revision, request lengthy Skype calls, and generally make your life miserable. Therefore, learning to spot good and bad clients is an essential skill to learn early on.

What skills and qualifications do you need?

The good news is that you don’t strictly need any qualifications to get started. I’ve helped friends with zero writing background to get work. A well-written ad can really go a long way in this regard. But there are a few things you can do to give yourself an edge.

First, you need to be a good writer. While there are a few professionals out there that can find steady work with shoddy, pidgin English, you will, of course, stand to progress much faster and further if you have actual writing talent. You don’t need to be Shakespeare, but writing clearly and concisely is critical.

The good news is that copywriting can be learned. There are a few good courses over at Udemy to start you off, for instance: Copywriting secrets – How to write copy that sells, is an excellent crash course in writing well.

SEO and other extras

As mentioned, it’s also a good idea to learn the basics of SEO. It will be a requirement for many of the clients you work with. Android Authority readers can purchase the Complete 2020 Google SEO and Growth Hacking Bundle for just $10, which is a $1390 discount!

You can also make yourself a more appealing proposition by offering to include images with your writing (you can do this by using a stock photography website such as Envato Elements or by learning photography).

Or you could learn web design and start selling those skills as a package. For example, you could build a whole website with ready-to-go content for a client. Or you could offer marketing services that include SEO articles.

Another strategy is to become a specialist technical writer working in a specific niche. For example, a health writer, a business writer, or a technology writer. I have had great success writing about self-improvement, health, fitness, and programming, and I have relevant achievements and qualifications under my belt to help me stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps most important, though, is to build up that portfolio. Submit articles to high-profile sites, consider starting your own blog, and maybe even try and get a technical book published.

How to find work and start earning

If you have the skills and you’re still interested, then you can begin looking for online writing jobs right away. There are a few places you can find these, which are shared below.

Freelancing sites

Freelancing sites are websites where freelancers can list their skills and clients can list jobs. They’re ideal for finding one-off gigs and short-term contracts, and even occasionally the odd complete job!

The biggest and best-known of these sites is Upwork. Over 4 million businesses use this site and, as such, is an ideal place to find a steady stream of work. However, that also makes it the most competitive of these sites, and its fees are also the highest. Slightly smaller but still very useful are PeoplePerHour and Freelancer.

Toptal does the same thing but only accepts 3% of applicants. This will reduce the amount of competition with meager fees and help you find the very best clients, but only if you can secure a place on the platform. College Recruiter, on the other hand, is a freelancer site for college students.

One of the most interesting options for finding online writing jobs, though, is Constant Content. This is a freelancing site for writers specifically, but it also works as a repository to place your work and then get paid each time someone chooses to use it. If you happen to have old unused content on your computer, it’s a great way to monetize that.

Read more: Top freelancing sites for finding paid work online

Webmaster forums

A webmaster forum is a forum where web admins hang out. Here, they will talk about internet marketing, SEO, web design, and other matters relating to their business. At the same time, though, it’s also a place where they can place job listings and where professionals can advertise their skills. The three biggest of these are Digital Point Forums, Warrior Forum, and Black Hat World.

The going rate here tends to be very cheap, meaning you’ll often work for little and compete against foreign writers. Many webmasters on these sites are interested in “get rich quick” schemes and will build low-quality blogs to trick Google.

While this might not sound particularly tempting, if you’re looking for a steady supply of online writing jobs where high quality isn’t required, then it can be found here in vast quantities!

If you can’t find content writing jobs, then you can try selling content you’ve already written in the form of ebooks and article batches that others can use. If you want to make money fast, then head onto one of these sites, post an ad, and you might be able to find work and get paid within 24 hours.

See also: The best office apps for Android to get work done

Writing agencies

Writing agencies are companies that have several writers on their books. They mobilize those writers to complete jobs as they come in. You can get a full-time job with a writing agency, or you can use one to find freelance writing jobs.

Writing agencies, of course, take a large cut of the profits, meaning that you won’t get paid as much as you might elsewhere. On the flip side, working with an agency means you don’t need to advertise yourself. You’ll get sent work to complete daily, then return it for cash. This is extremely stable work, and I personally recommend getting your copywriter jobs from a combination of freelance sites and writing agencies for this very reason.

You can find writing agencies with a simple Google search, and there are plenty out there (a quick search just now brought up BoostContent.com and Copify.com). You can get very similar work by approaching SEO firms and web design companies as well.

Big blogs and businesses

One last option is to approach websites, businesses, and other potential clients directly. Find a business you like, then send them an email offering your services. This can involve a lot of feeling around with little pay-off, but you may find some top clients if you get a response. You can even approach publishers and try getting some technical writing published!

Again, there is no harm in putting out feelers while at the same time earning a steady income from agency work.

Getting paid for online writing jobs

Once you’ve found the online writing jobs and agreed on a rate and time frame, you simply need to carry out the instructions. Type up the articles, blog posts, or website content, then email everything back to the client. Clients will normally respond by sending you funds via PayPal (some writers will ask for this up-front when taking on online writing jobs).

PayPal does take a slight cut, but its convenience makes it the preferred option for the vast majority. That said, if you use a platform like Upwork, the transaction might be handled there.

Either way, you can get funds into your account by the end of your first working day. Then it’s a matter of deciding how much work you want to do, how much you can write in a day, and how to charge. This will likely increase as you take on higher-profile work.

Closing comments

So, what do you think? Are online writing jobs right for you? Will you be trying your hand at copywriting? Let us know in the comments down below, and be sure to share your tips with the rest of our readers. Good luck!

Read next: The best job search apps for Android

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