The number of claims that you can make a living online working from the comfort of your own home seems to grow every day. With the global economy in a sorry state and many people losing their previously secure jobs there is a growing number of ‘victims’ for those operating get rich quick and/or ‘work from home’ scams. Copywriting, whether on or off line, is an expanding industry; it’s also an industry that has suffered badly at the hands of ‘work from home opportunity’ claims.
One thing that seems to blind many people new to the idea of working from home is the word ‘home’; home with all its relaxing associations. Many seem to ignore the ‘work’ part of the phrase. When it comes to working as an online copywriter the story seems to be that anybody can be a writer. At the risk of sounding exclusive I’m not convinced this is the case. There are two absolutely necessary requirements to becoming an online copywriter. One, you need to be a writer. Two, you need to be prepared to work hard. Establishing yourself as an online copywriter is not easy – nor does it necessarily pay well to begin with.
Are you a writer?
So how do you know if you are a writer? If you’ve taken a creative writing course, a degree in journalism or other writing qualification it’s usually a good sign that you probably are a writer. That may sound just a teensy bit patronising but there is a point in there somewhere. How many other professions do you start out in without some sort of qualification? If you haven’t studied writing in some way – this can be simply studying the subject yourself – believing that you can make a living as a writer can lead you into the welcoming arms of those ‘work from home opportunity’ scammers. Writing is an art, a craft and a profession and having some qualifications, or at least a bit of self-directed study behind you, will help to compete in what is a very difficult industry to break into.
First steps to online copywriting
So, how to break into online copywriting? As with any other internet opportunity if you have to pay a fee to get work it’s a scam. There are plenty of sites out there which offer writing opportunities: ‘People per Hour’ and ‘oDesk’ to mention a couple. Some of them do charge a membership fee to allow you to up your quota of applications, but they all offer a basic level which does not incur a fee. If you’re starting out go with the free option. From personal experience I found ‘oDesk’ to be one of the better sites. They take a commission – as would any employment agency – but they do have significant benefits and opportunities that are built into their site. Tests are free – and essential to prove your abilities – and you can easily build a portfolio. The competition is global and you’ll be offering your services alongside people who can undercut you significantly. At first this can be daunting, but if you’re good at your job, you’ll find the jobs coming to you.
Low pay, what pay?
Be prepared to work for low pay to start with. This can be the hardest part. You were busy dreaming of making a living working as a writer and suddenly you discover some of the ‘rates’ on offer are so poor you may as well be paying the employer. Working for little or no reward is the first point where many online writers – or any freelancer for that matter – can become disillusioned. Think about the alternatives – a dead end job in an office, 12 hour shifts in a fast food restaurant. Hopefully this will spur you on. With some good work behind you, that you can include in your portfolio – and hopefully some good feedback to – you’ll find that jobs are easier to come by and you can adjust your rate in an upward direction. The real trick, I guess, is to believe in yourself and persevere.
Establishing yourself
Increasingly there are a number of smaller online copywriting agencies operating. Some of these are simply individuals working alone, but others will be interested in taking on ‘staff’. The most successful agencies will normally be desperate for staff, because of their workload. Having completed your ‘rookie’ days on one of the larger content producing sites you can approach this type of employer. It may take some considerable research and a lot of rejections – something writers learn early on to thrive on – but it can offer great results. Working alongside a group of writers who produce quality work will open up a lot of opportunities for you and should see the pay levels becoming realistic.
There is no one way into working for yourself as an SEO copywriter. Every successful individual will have found there way into the industry with their own different methods. Mostly though, they will share some characteristics: perseverance, determination, hard work, a dose of hard headedness and a dash of cynicism. If you have most of those characteristics already you’ll stand a great chance of being successful.
You’ll also pick the rest up on the way!
More from Julie McElroy
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess there’s a distinct line between amateur article writers and profesionnal copyright writers. While I agree that real writers who have completed ‘creative writing course, a degree in journalism or other writing qualification’, there is a small core of amateur writers who through their experience of reading (whether it is through books or online) can probably class themselves as ‘real’ writers.
I still class myself as an amateur online writer, but hopefully I can learn how to become a real writer one day! Thanks for the interesting article – I’m off to check out a couple of the sites you mention!
>>Low pay, what pay?
Be prepared to work for low pay to start with.
This is true, however I’d like to add that you should never expect *no pay*; if you’re just starting at an entry-level copywriting position, you can expect to pick up some $12/hr positions. However, one should not accept lower than this! Unless you are looking for an unpaid internship… even then, I believe there are enough companies looking for hires like this for *at least* $12/hr.