Is Freelance Copywriting a Legit Way to Make Money From Home–Even As a Busy SAHM?
It’s okay, friend… you can admit it!
When you first heard “Freelance Copywriting” you immediately went to rights and ownership, legal jargon, and wondered “why in the hell would I want to do something like that?”
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to over the years who had absolutely NO IDEA that copywriting and “copyright” are two totally different things. One is, in fact, legal jargon, rights and ownership… while the other is one of the first businesses I ever had working from home and earning money online.
Copywriting is simply writing marketing materials for different companies and brands. And “freelance” is just a fancy word meaning you do it on your own schedule! 💃🏼
Think:
Blogs
Social media posts & captions
Marketing emails
Ads
Website copy
Product descriptions
Articles
Newsletters
If you’ve been on the hunt for a way to make money from home or something to do to earn an income online in between toddler naps and snacks–you’ve more than likely seen copywriting pop up.
So What Is Freelance Copywriting?
Do you know how you doom scroll and add items to your cart at 3 am? When the rest of the world is asleep and we’re still wide awake with the rest of the night crawlers? You don’t actually purchase any of those items but anything that looked remotely interesting now sits in your cart…
And then you know how you’ll get an email from that company the next day saying something around the lines of “Hey - you left a few items in your cart! Don’t forget about them!” or “here’s an extra 10% off if you grab them today!”
That’s a prime example of copywriting!
Someone wrote that email and came up with a creative way to remind you about your 3 am shopping spree and they got paid to do it!
Or what about when you tell Google all of your symptoms and it gives you a direct link to WebMD where you then discover you either have a mild cold or you’re on the verge of numbered days… (sound familiar? 👀)
Most of the information you pull up from search engines, such as Google, are blogs that have been posted by different companies. But it’s rare that someone from their marketing department sat down and wrote it. Most blogs are hired out to a freelance copywriter because writing is their thing and it’s easier to push out content when you have someone in your corner who focuses solely on that.
And once again, that writer pocketed some big bucks to write it!
When you’re scrolling social media and you come across an Ad–copywriting.
When you see that Target posted to their insta about new summer items–copywriting.
When your favorite influencer sends you a weekly newsletter of all the new Amazon must haves–yep, you guessed it… copywriting!
Got It… So What Does A Freelance Copywriter Actually Do?
The main goal of copywriting is to write engaging, persuasive copy to get your reader to take some type of action.
Most social media posts are for engagement. They post for likes, comments, shares. And this helps spread brand awareness.
Blogs are posted to educate and inform. You can easily engage with blog posts by commenting, clicking links inside the post, or by sharing bits and pieces to different social platforms.
Product descriptions are written in a way to persuade you to buy that product!
(Are you catching on?)
“Time is running out” emails are written to create a sense of urgency and a message that says “buy before it’s too late!”
Good copy will always get the reader to act.
Even if that’s just a simple “like” on a Facebook post–that’s still engagement!
Companies need freelance copywriters because their marketing depends on it! In this day and age, it’s important that big brands show up on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and all the other social platforms… while simultaneously landing in your gmail about new promotions, adding blogs, and cranking out newsletters to keep everyone in the loop!
Most of those posts are written by freelance copywriters–not a marketing team!
Why Freelance Copywriting Appeals to So Many Stay-at-Home Moms
Remember what I said the word “freelance” meant?
The ability to write fun emails and social media captions for your favorite brands… getting paid for it… and doing it all on your own schedule!
As a SAHM myself, I want to make money from home… not from a 9-5 or an office desk.
And I want to earn money around my schedule–aka: around football practice, never ending loads of laundry, play dates, dinner, and that cleaning schedule I rarely stick to. (but it’s there!)
I started my first online business writing for keynote speakers, life coaches, career coaches, and religious influencers. I wrote newsletters, emails, blogs, and website copy all while working remotely from home in my corporate accounting job.
The flexibility and freedom I had with this gig was addicting!
At the time, I was still working at my full-time job but I was a remote worker so you already know I was using alllll of my time at home barely working and learning this side gig instead!
I made over $6,000 in roughly six months from the time I landed my first client… working super part time and still learning what the hell I was even doing.
I was hesitant, but I found a self-paced copywriting course that walked me through how to set up my entire business, from start to finish, and taught me how to “write” along the way. (And if you’re wondering–this is not the type of writing you did in high school. You actually have to unlearn all of the “proper” ways to write and just get comfortable writing like you would talk to your best friend—slang and all!)
And that’s just another perk to freelance copywriting and why more stay at home moms are learning how to make an income from it—you don’t need any type of experience whatsoever. Not even a portfolio.
When you’re in the mom cracks of life, these are the gigs we’re looking for, right?
How Much Money Can You Make With Freelance Copywriting
Just like “freelance” means “on your own schedule…” your prices are also entirely up to you.
In Write Your Way to Freedom, this is the general breakdown I used to price my work:
Blogs $300-$700 (1,500 word minimum)
Webpages $800/page (3 page minimum)
Emails $100/email (5 emails minimum)
Newsletters $150-$300
One of the best ways to make consistent income with copywriting is to find yourself 2-3 “retainer” clients. The client pays you the same amount each month and you provide the same pieces of copy in return.
Let’s put this into perspective…
Let’s say you have 2 clients…
Client 1 needs the following each month:
1 blog per week (4 total)
1 monthly newsletter
3 emails per week (12 total)
Let’s price them:
4 blogs: $350 each → $1,400
1 newsletter: $150 each → $150
12 emails: $100 each → $1,200
Total: $2,750
Client 2 needs the following each month:
2 blogs
5 social media posts per week (20 total)
Let’s price them:
2 blogs: $350 each → $700
20 social posts: $50 each → $1,000
Total: $1,700
That’s a total of $4,450 in consistent income every single month. 🤯
And for a stay at home mama… that type of income doesn’t look half bad! Especially when you can work with as many clients as you want… or as little.
What if you had 2 more of those? That’s still only 4 clients. The days of running and pounding the pavement for work and trying to get as many clients under your belt as possible are GONE.
Sign Me Up—Where Can I Learn This Side Gig
As with anything new, you have to learn the basics. And to turn this into a full blown business to earn consistent income from home, it’s necessary to be a part of a community of mentors and like-minded people. (This is where I bounced ideas around and learned what was working from other people, too!)
Write Your Way to Freedom is a self-paced course and community I joined to help me with this process. And fun fact… the course creator was actually hired by Meta to share her skills! How cool is that?
If you’re a stay at home mom and you’re looking for a way to make money online—don’t skip over freelance copywriting when doing your research!
It truly is one of the more beginner-friendly ways to jump into the online space. And I promise you’ll get hooked!
And if you want to see some visuals of how this works and snippets from my own business to get the full picture—grab my free mini course! I do a deep dive and show you the entire process that happens behind the scenes.
Drop some thoughts below in the comments! Let me know what you’ve been looking at and what makes you think copywriting might be for you!
