So, you’ve developed your writing skills, never missed a deadline and your clients think you’re cool to work with? Great, but you may be wondering what to do next in order to get better rates and go skiing in Aspen. We won’t talk about the prerequisite here – being good at the basics of copywriting. However, will rather focus on helping you take other, key steps towards sustainable revenue growth.
Here are the seven best strategies for improving your copywriting value, building a brand, marketing your service, reaching clients and, in a nutshell, earning better money.
Table of Contents
1. Understanding Your Value
To get the rate you deserve, you must first understand the value you bring compared to other writers in the field.
Therefore, you must be aware of the market rates for copywriting services, and how factors like the type of content, project complexity, and geographical location are typically priced in your industry.
Quantifying your relative value as a copywriter can be challenging. This involves putting a number to both intangible and tangible aspects of your work.
On one hand, your writing skills and deep understanding of industry-specific trends, terminology, and the audience is a major asset driving your rate up. More experience in a field also translates to a higher understanding of client needs.
Knowing how to write SEO-optimized content (including keyword optimization, understanding user intent, and effective content length), additionally increases your value.
On the other hand, a track record of satisfied clients is a strong indicator of your reliability and skill. So are measurable metrics, like your clients’ increased website traffic, higher conversion rates, or growth in social media engagement. This will allow you to earn more than copywriters with less successful results.
2. Renegotiating Rates with Existing Clients
Provided that you’ve nurtured relationships with existing clients and consistently provided quality work, this might be possible.
If you have a good idea of your copywriting value, you can effectively prepare your case. You may, for instance, be asking for an increased rate because it’s currently below the current market rate for your level of service.
Or, say you’ve tracked the relevant metrics from the start of the project to ensure you and your client are aligned on evaluating its success. To justify better pay, you may leverage these data and the increased return on investment your work brings.
Timing is crucial here. Consider approaching your client at the end of the fiscal year when budgets are being re-evaluated or after completing a significant project.
Be prepared for some negotiations and open to some counteroffers. Consider also offering different packages, where higher rates are tied to faster turnaround times. However, have a clear idea of the minimum rate you’re willing to accept so that you can get what you’re worth.
Be bold and revisit rates with established clients. Look for opportunities – like completing a particularly successful project that leveraged header bidding to boost conversions – to initiate a conversation. Backup your request with data: showcase the positive impact your work has had on their business. Remember, loyal clients are worth their weight in gold, so prioritize building solid relationships.
3. Embracing Personal Branding
Copywriting is quite a competitive field. So you need to demonstrate your value by showcasing the success of projects you’ve worked on. As people connect with stories, it’s handy to share your journey, the challenges you’ve faced, and explain how you’ve overcome them.
Case studies, testimonials, and your portfolio are your friends here. Keep in mind that it shouldn’t come across as overly self-promotional, so rather focus on how your work benefitted the client and share insights or lessons learned from your projects that could be useful to others.
For case studies, provide a brief description of the project, detail the services you provided, and highlight the key quantifiable metrics. Back this up with testimonials.
Carefully build your portfolio to include the right samples of your writing – for each sample, briefly explain the goals and how your work helped achieve them. Furthermore, you can use an AI presentation maker to create visually appealing presentations for your clients without much effort.
You may also write guest posts, articles, or blog posts that showcase your expertise and provide value to your audience. This strategy can help you build backlinks to your website, increase your visibility, and attract new clients. Use your writing style, humor, and personality to stand out and build a loyal following. This can help you build a strong reputation and attract clients who appreciate your unique perspective.
Another thing, if you have the gift of gab and stage presence, why not share your knowledge and expertise with a broader audience by speaking at events, webinars, or conferences? This plan of action can help you build credibility, establish yourself as a thought leader, and attract new clients.
All of this is working toward effective personal branding, that will not only demonstrate your competence. But also clearly articulate how your past experiences and value proposition set you apart from other copywriters.
4. Marketing Your Services
Building your personal brand requires the right marketing avenues. One of them is content marketing – for starters, a blog or website where you discuss past successes, but also publish your writing. The latter serves a dual purpose, as it demonstrates your skills and helps you establish your expertise in the field.
Don’t stop at your own blog, but also write guest posts for others in your niche. Email is another channel to use for sharing valuable content. This time in the form of a newsletter (but also for sending updates about your services and cold outreach/special offers).
Next is social media, which you must use to connect with potential clients. Identify the platforms where they are most active. LinkedIn, for example, is great for B2B clients (and overall as a space where satisfied clients can leave recommendations), while Instagram and Facebook are usually more effective in terms of B2C engagements.
Whatever the case, again, examine success stories and regularly post content relevant to your target audience. Join relevant groups on social media to meet potential clients.
You may also offer to speak at industry events, webinars, or podcasts. It increases your visibility and positions you as an expert in your field, while presenting another opportunity to meet clients.
5. Specializing in a Niche
No matter if you’re focusing on nurturing existing or finding new clients (or both), specializing and becoming an expert in a specific niche allows you to face less competition compared to generalist copywriters and command higher rates.
How to choose a niche? Of course, it’s great if it aligns with your interests. However, while industries like tech or fashion will always thrive, others might not, so do research to ensure there’s sufficient demand and/or growth potential.
Once you’ve begun specializing, you’ll find other benefits this brings to increasing your revenue. For one, your service becomes easier to market as it resonates more strongly with a specific audience, while allowing you to build a concentrated portfolio that demonstrates expertise and depth in that particular area.
You’ll need less research time for each assignment. Leading to increased efficiency and faster turnaround times – another benefit of specializing in a certain niche.
6. Diversifying Your Services
While it’s advantageous to specialize here as well, exploring various forms, rather than just sticking to one type of copywriting, helps serve as a buffer against market changes. It also broadens your client base.
For instance, you may be used to writing informative blog posts, but you could also tackle social media content creation. Wherein you’ll need to learn each platform’s set of norms and expectations and how to encourage likes, shares, comments.
Branching out to writing for email marketing will have you learning how to personalize content, craft irresistible subject lines, and so on.
Technical writing, involving creating user manuals, product descriptions, and other technical documents, is quite lucrative if you have expertise in the given technical field.
Additionally, you could also offer the full content planning and development service. Creating comprehensive plans for clients’ needs after assessing their goals, target audience, and market environment.
Either way, while you may specialize in one type of copywriting, when you’re able to provide a broader line of service (while ensuring quality, of course), it equals a better opportunity to score higher-paying clients.
7. Staying Current with the Copywriting Market
Apart from keeping pace with trends in the niche you’re writing in, you have also got to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in copywriting and digital marketing.
For instance, this could be learning how to adapt to changes in Google’s algorithms, social media’s ongoing evolution, or the growth of video/interactive content we’ve been seeing.
One way to stay updated is by attending workshops/webinars led by industry experts. (On a side note, these are also excellent networking opportunities to connect with professionals in related fields. Such as graphic designers or web developers, allowing for the exchange of ideas or even client referrals).
There are numerous helpful courses online, too, covering various aspects of copywriting and digital marketing.
Following relevant blogs, journals, newsletters, video channels, and podcasts will also get you valuable insights. So will following industry thought leaders’ social media, allowing you to keep producing effective work in line with industry changes.
Continue Reading: How to Manage Finances as a Freelance Writer
8. Balancing Success and Well-Being
While the strategies we’ve outlined provide a roadmap to elevate your copywriting career and income, do us a solid and don’t make the mistake of failing to balance the pursuit of success with personal well-being. (Remember, cheesy as it may sound, your health is an invaluable asset in your career journey).
It’s a good idea to regularly take time off to recharge, and establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. Use both designated work hours and a workspace to make this happen. Adopt effective time management practices, such as task prioritization and daily/weekly planning.
Manage your workload properly by knowing your limits and setting realistic deadlines. This will ensure your well-being and the quality of your work.Finally, celebrate your successes. Recognizing your growth can be a great motivator and a buffer against burnout. This will keep you working with renewed enthusiasm and increasing revenue.
Final Thoughts
Sustainable revenue growth in copywriting requires a combination of strategy, creativity, and persistence. By implementing these 8 strategies – knowing your audience, focusing on benefits, using storytelling, optimizing for SEO, testing and refining, renegotiating rates, leveraging user-generated content, and embracing personal branding – you’ll be well on your way to driving revenue growth and achieving success. Remember, the key to success lies in staying adaptable, continually improving your craft, and building strong relationships with your clients. With the right mindset and strategies, you can thrive in the competitive world of copywriting and achieve your revenue goals.
