Copywriting - how to find work

If you have decided that you want to work as a freelance copywriter, then you will need to get a good amount of experience under your belt and learn all the relevant skills required for the job before you set about finding work. Once you are in a position to start looking for work, there are a number of ways you might go about this. Below are various methods to find work as a freelance copywriter, and it is worth investing time in each to broaden your client base and experience.

What skills do I need to find copywriting work?

Understanding and developing the right skills you need to become a freelance copywriter is a great way to find work. If you do not have any previous copywriting experience, building skills will expand your knowledge when finding work.

As with any copywriter, grammar, punctuation, and spelling are all vital when writing content, and all count as skills. This will benefit you when working and being able to adapt to different writing styles.

Research doesn’t necessarily register as a skill to some individuals, but it is one of the most important skills for a freelance copywriter. Not all topics you write about you will be familiar with, and clients may not give you any or much information for a content piece; therefore, you are spending hours gathering research to fully understand and find the right information.

These skills will help you hit the ground running as a freelance copywriter and are also basic skills that clients will look out for so are essential to master.

Network with clients and freelancers

Investing time in networking, especially when you are first starting out, is extremely beneficial. There are many advantages of networking, including getting yourself exposure, and making contacts, which can inevitably help you find work. By joining networking events or conferences either online or in person, freelance copywriters will also be able to meet people in the same or similar industry and therefore able to share skills and experiences to learn from and gain.

If you know people in a similar field, they may recommend you to their clients or ask you to help them with their projects. Having contacts and knowing people in the right industry is essential to having a successful career. You can also get insight into the world of copywriting from experienced individuals or experts in the field. Having a wide network of contacts will put you in a good position when searching for a freelance copywriting job and will also help you to get your name out into the industry quicker through word of mouth.

You can also network through social media and online forums to communicate and search for jobs. Clients may post an available job, or you can advertise your own services so you will be found when clients are searching for a copywriter with your skillset.

Create a freelancer portfolio

Having a portfolio containing all of your best work can be essential in attracting new clients to your business. Therefore, invest time and money (if required) into building yourself a portfolio. You can obviously add to this as you get more work, but at the same time, only add your best work. You can also easily create a website and have it feature your work. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but make sure that it reflects you and your work. Having an online portfolio is an especially good idea as any potential clients can easily view it.

You should also consider setting up a Freelance Directory profile. Freelance Directory is a great way of displaying your portfolio online and gaining exposure. Clients looking for freelancers can search the directory for skills, location, and type of job, so make sure that your profile is filled out in detail so you appear in searches and can be approached for work.

Choose your target market and make the first move

Choosing your target market is important, as it helps you narrow down the businesses you want to offer your services to. If you are able to, find clients that regularly require your work, it might be a big company that requires you to regularly create new copy for them. Being able to consistently carry out work for one client can give freelancers a sense of security, without having to work as an employee.

When you are first starting out, you will likely have little experience of freelancing, so you will often need to reach out and make the first move. You may decide to reach out to small businesses and offer your services, you might even have to start off by doing unpaid work in order to build your portfolio. You will likely have to contact new people, even if you are an established freelance copywriter.

If you want to work for a certain business, company or brand then don’t hesitate to make yourself known to them. Your profile or portfolio will not always get the exposure you want, so bring people to you and show them your work.

Create a LinkedIn profile and connect

LinkedIn is a popular social media platform that is often used to search for new job opportunities and a way for companies to show that they are hiring, as well as posting content and providing updates on their life. LinkedIn is dedicated to delivering jobs to individuals through their designated job areas on their site. By using the jobs section, you are able to search for a job by skill, title, company, and location. This is a great way to target who you want to be copywriting for and also enlist your key copywriting skills - this will also help clients to find you.

An online presence is vital when finding work as this is a popular way for businesses to advertise their jobs. Make sure that your profile on social media is up to date with relevant work experience, skills, and a little bit about you.

If you have a particularly happy client, and they have enjoyed working with you then encourage them to recommend you. Word of mouth recommendations is still one of the biggest driving forces of decision making. Therefore, ask clients to recommend to others, if they are pleased with your performance. These ways of finding work are key to kickstart your career as a freelance copywriter, with these steps key to making connections online and in person.

More on copywriting as a freelancer.