Redundancy Can Be The Springboard To Copywriting Success

Back in 2003, I was happily (well, less than happily, if we’re honest) and only slightly gainfully employed as an Editor at a medical-communications agency in Cheshire.
I’d been there only 16 months when they decided to go for a spot of downsizing. ‘Last one in, first one out’ being the name of the game, I was unceremoniously booted from the building within two weeks of the redundancy rumours.
Clutching a small cheque and a box of staplers and Post-it Notes, I retired to the local hostelry as a suitable prelude to the rest of my life. Eight hours and 12 pints of Real Ale later, I had a major headache brewing and the beginnings of a Business Plan.
Not being the most entrepreneurial of folk, I was at least lucky. I was employed in the kind of job that you can do on a freelance basis. Had I been a skincare rep or a paramedic, I doubt I would have dived into the world of the self-employed with such alacrity.
Since then, I’ve been partly lucky, partly quite skilful and almost businessman-like. Here’s how I’ve managed to do OK out of my freelance copywriting career.
Firstly, get used to motivating yourself. Switch off all distractions and set little targets (five pages by lunchtime, for example).
But we’re jumping the gun. First, we need to find some work. For my own part, after bumbling around on various freelance-writing sites and picking up bits of work, I eventually struck gold when I discovered Google Adwords.
This is pay-per-click advertising – check out the sponsored boxes on your next Google search. Basically, for a small fee every time someone clicks on your box, you get to have your website (yes, you WILL need a website) advertised on page one of Google.
Thanks mainly to Adwords and the repeat business that followed, I was able to make nearly ?30k in my first year, an astonishing result for a rookie freelance copywriter.
Since then, Adwords has become extraordinarily competitive and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Prepare to spend nearly ?2 every time someone (maybe a competitor) clicks on your ad after a search for ‘copywriter’ or ‘copywriting’. Copywriting, expensive? You bet.
Other avenues include networking. Now, I have to say that this really isn’t for me. Perhaps it’s the fried breakfasts. Perhaps it’s the 6am starts. Or, more likely, it’s because networking is fundamentally flawed.
Here’s why. You’re part of a group that meets weekly, all with different skills, passing ‘referrals’ on to each other as trusted associates. And that’s where it falls down for me. How do you know your colleagues are any good at what they do? Why should you recommend them just because they happen to have paid ?400 to join your networking group?
Other methods that have been more successful for me include word-of-mouth referral – do a good job for someone and they’re bound to tell somebody else in business. I’ve also done fairly well out of cold-calling – if you can bring yourself to do it. Reckon to make 100 calls for every piece of good news.
Promotional letters and other mailings can work well – especially for copywriters. You can also tag onto the coat tails of local design agencies and web designers. Offer to pay them 10% of your fee for any referrals they pass your way.
But finding work is only part of the deal for the freelance copywriter. You’ll also need the right mindset. From now on, you’re on your own. You must be self-reliant and strong, even if you’re not. It might help to read some self-help books or scour the Net for advice, if you’re short on the kind of confidence needed to succeed in business.
So, how to set your rates? Remember that you have to factor in all your expenses, like heating, lighting, travel, your pension and so on. At the time of writing, hourly rates tend to vary between about ?25 and… the sky’s the limit. I know of big-city copywriters charging ?100 an hour and above. At the start, I’d be prepared to compromise on your fees so that you can build up a portfolio that you can proudly display on your website.
After a few weeks, with the initial trickle of work hopefully turning into a small stream, you can sit back and congratulate yourself. You can set your own hours and rates, play golf during the daytime when the links are quieter (or run, play tennis or whatever), pick the kids up from school and generally live a more-fulfilled, relaxed and boss-free life.
Best of luck!