If you could choose what your career looked like…what would you choose?
—> Would you be going into a funky office because you love working with people in person?
—> Would you be working at your kitchen table in the evenings because your afternoons are spend at your kids’ soccer matches?
—> Or would you be working from a cafe in Barcelona? (Try the Federal Cafè Gòtic; the ambiance is just right.
We’ve talked already about what copywriting actually is and the kinds of things that copywriters write. Check out this post for a refresher:
What IS Copywriting?
I can tell you that copywriting is, by far, the best paying writing career. But, until you understand what it actually is, it sounds a whole lot like some kind of get-rich-quick scheme.
So now, let’s talk about how you can actually structure your copywriting career.
Writing Copy On Staff
Copywriters can work on staff (as employees) in two different capacities.
First, they can work on staff for a marketing or advertising agency. (Think Peggy Olsen in “Mad Men.”)
Agencies are the external companies that produce certain types of creative projects for other companies.
At smaller agencies, you’ll often end up working on several different client projects. At larger agencies, you’ll often be focused on one large client.
The stereotype of agencies is that they’re fast-paced and high-pressure and, while that certainly can be true, it’s not necessarily true across the board. Some smaller agencies can have a much more reasonable work/life balance.
That said, it can also be very exciting to work for a fast-paced agency! Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Copywriters can also work on staff for an in-house team: the team of creative professionals that produces creative projects for a company from within that company.
In-house teams are generally assumed to be a bit slower paced, but I’ve certainly worked with a few that defied the stereotype.
At an in-house company, you’ll get to know your brand extremely well and often help craft any new evolutions of the brand voice and brand style.
(Moral of the story: Every company is different.)
In both scenarios, you’ll most often be reporting to either a Copy Manager/Director or, if there isn’t one, directly to a Creative Director.
At some newer companies that haven’t yet grown to the size that warrants a Creative Director, you might report to a Marketing Director.
Copywriting as a Freelancer
You can also work for companies and organizations (including in-house teams and agencies) as a freelancer.
As a freelancer, you’re not directly employed by the company so you don’t get benefits like health insurance or 401k.
That said, companies are willing to pay a premium for your flexibility (and the fact that they don’t have to pay for these benefits), so you’ll make more than your on-staff counterparts.
(It’s also pretty simple to craft “benefits packages” of your own that, in the US at least, offer tax advantages.)
Most often, freelancers will work project-to-project and can choose where they work from, perhaps with an occasional office pop-in if necessary.
Freelancers get the flexibility to work with multiple companies on their own schedule, and companies get the flexibility of working with an expert without having to hire one on-staff.
Working as a Contractor
A sort of hybrid between on-staff and freelance work, working as a contractor means that you’re still not directly employed by a company, but that you’re under a contract to work with them for a certain duration of time and hours per week.
A contract could be for 20 hours a week for three months, for example. A contract can also involve coming into the office and working from a company’s workspace with its employees.
A contractor gets the stability of a certain amount of work for a certain period of time, plus the flexibility of finishing with a company when the contract is up (ideal for commitment-phobes like myself).
They also get the benefit of working in-person with various members of the company, and the networking upside of that is tremendous. When each of these people move on to another company, often you’ll be the copywriter they think of and recommend when their company needs copy work done.
Full-Time or Part-Time?
On top of how and where you work, you also can decide how much work you want to do.
For someone who’s ready for a complete career change, they may want to work as a copywriter full-time, again, whether that be on-staff or freelance.
But for someone who’s not yet ready to jump in with both feet…
OR for someone who’s main concern is bringing in some additional cash on the side…
A copywriter can absolutely work part-time, taking on client work either alongside a full-time job or simply when they have the time to do so.
Since client calls and meetings are pretty limited and most of your work (brainstorming/concepting, outlining, writing, editing and polishing) is done on your own, you can make your part-time freelance work adapt to your schedule however you need to.
So here’s a question for you:
What would you like your copywriting career to look like?
Personally, I’ve worked on-staff for both agencies and in-house teams, I’ve freelanced full-time and I’ve freelanced part-time (while working on-staff as a copywriter during the day).
One of the (many) great things about this industry is that you can adapt your career as your lifestyle changes.
If you need the flexibility to be home during the day for kids or, conversely, if you want the flexibility to travel the world, you can do that.
Or, if you want the predictability of a regular paycheck, you can do that.
And, of course, if you want to bring in some extra income for the side to pad a safety net account or set aside funds for a vacation or upcoming expense, you can do that, too.
But, best of all, you can switch between any of these as your lifestyle dictates.
If you’re curious to learn more about copywriting and what your copywriting career could look like, check out the free video workshop I’ve put together right here.
And let me know in the comments how your ideal worklife would look!
About the Author
Nicki Krawczyk has been a professional copywriter for 20+ years, writing for clients including Hasbro, adidas, Reebok, TripAdvisor, Barnes and Noble, and plenty more.
Since 2012, she’s also been teaching people to create professional copywriting careers of their own via the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy, the #1 all-in-one online professional copywriting training program.
To learn more about the CCA and about beginning your own copywriting career, check out our free, on-demand video workshop.