How Much Money Can You Really Make as a Copywriter?

Copywriting is typically the higher paid profession in all of writing. Want to be a writer, but realize making $15,000 a year would be a "good" income? The answer is copywriting. This article demystifies the copywriting market, explaining what you will be paid and how to get paid even more. As a successful SEO copywriter, I've made more money from writing copy than fiction writing by far, and also article writing. It's just a needed market. First, a definition.

Defining Copywriting:

Copywriting is a more niche field in business writing. Sometimes copywriters even call themselves business writers. However, "Business Writing" is a more open word where you can even create internal documents for corporations. Copywriting usually means going right to the readers. Writing a page for a website ... writing a direct mail letter (AKA Junk Mail) ... or even just writing for a brochure.

Copywriting Pays?

The beginning wage for copywriters may not be something huge. It usually takes a few years to get established as a copywriter. However, with a year or two in, $40,000-50,000 a year is far from impossible. Most successful copywriters gross that every year, some even making far more. For instance, acclaimed copywriter and author Robert Bly notes often he makes far more than the simple "Six Figures," as he's a millionaire. I don't think it's bragging, but tapping into the desire of most writers to make more.

Per Page?

Generally, copywriters charge by the hour. This means, you charge $50/hour, a normal wage for a beginning copywriter, and work on the project 10 hours, you get paid $500. Sound too good to be true? There are far more copywriters today than ever before, namely because of books like Robert Bly's "Copywriters Handbook" and Peter Bowerman's "The Well Fed Writer." These books truly opened writer's eyes to how successful you can be as a copywriter. It's not a simple field to break into, but often pays more per hour than any other writing profession.

Finale:

Top copywriters truly make it into the six figure field. Journalists often have to work 5-10 years to make anything close to $50,000 a year. For copywriters, it's an average year. The truly important part about it is finding and maintaining clients. Without those, it's impossible to gross anything. The other side of the coin is advertising agencies, where you can earn a steady salary as a copywriter. Often this is where copywriters begin before going freelance. Freelance copywriting can be more freeing and often pays more.

And you don't have to quit on your other writing projects while being a copywriter. Like writing fiction? With a steady income and working from home, you may have far more time to pen short stories and novels. Copywriting does pay, isn't a fad, and will be here for a while.