How to Start Your Copywriting Side Hustle Now (+ 7 Examples)

You may want to consider a copywriting side hustle if you’re looking to make some extra money. Copywriting is the art and science of persuading readers to take action, usually to complete a purchase. It’s a well-paying occupation, with the average US base salary being $72,341, so just imagine how much you’d still make if you made room for copywriting as a side hustle.

Copywriting is particularly popular on the web. You have no shortage of content for which to write copy, such as blog posts, articles, pillar pages, landing pages, ebooks, case studies, social media, white papers, case studies, and more. Industries like SaaS, tech, B2B, and finance typically pay the most for copywriting projects.

The good news is that you don’t even need to have experience to start this side hustle since there are many blogs, videos, and online courses you can read, watch, and take to sharpen your copywriting skills.

How to Start Your Copywriting Side Hustle in 8 Steps

Getting your copywriting side hustle off the ground is as easy as these eight steps. Let’s explore them in further detail.

Step 1: Build a Copywriting Portfolio Website

The first step has to be establishing your online presence. The best way to do this is to set up a minimalist portfolio website where all your written samples for different projects go, so you can display them to potential customers. A portfolio website can be as simple as a one-page scrolling site built on a CMS like Squarespace, WordPress, or Wix.

An iMac and a laptop on a desk, as part of a copywriting side hustle setup.

You don’t have to go overboard here. In fact, a simple site does more for you than a complex one since you’re selling yourself, the copywriter. Don’t lose sight of that amid clutter. Your portfolio site should really only show leads your:

Samples
Past project
Bio
Contact information (email, phone number)
Social media icons

That’s all you need!

Step 2: Create Different Social Media Profiles

Create different social media profile is crucial in attracting potential copywriting clients.

Start by creating profiles on popular social media platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. These platforms allow you to showcase your copywriting portfolio, skills, and experiences. Make sure to optimize your profile bio by including relevant keywords such as "copywriting services" or "freelance copywriter" to attract the right audience.

Facebook and Messenger social media icons.

LinkedIn is especially important for networking and connecting with potential clients and fellow copywriters. Join copywriting groups and engage in discussions to establish your expertise and credibility.

X and Instagram can be used to share samples of your work, offer copywriting tips, and engage with your audience. Use relevant hashtags to increase your visibility and attract potential clients.

Remember to keep your social media profiles professional and consistent with your brand. Regularly update your profiles with your latest projects and achievements to show potential clients that you are an active and reliable copywriter.

Step 3: Set Your Rates

Before you open for business, you need to establish how much you’ll charge your clients and what tiers you’ll implement for different projects.

Ask yourself the following:

How much work will I invest in the project?
Who is my target audience? Are they small businesses or bigger corporations?
What industry are you trying to get clients from? SaaS, education, ecommerce, entrepreneurs?
Will you charge hourly or per project?

When setting your copywriting side hustle rates, remember to include charges for your travel time (if applicable), the supplies you’ll need for each project (Wi-Fi subscription, computer, apps you may subscribe to, etc.), and revision requests. Personally, we’d suggest using the per project billing model instead of hourly because you never want to allow your clients to devalue your services to the point where they’re calculating if the amount of work you perform in an hour is legitimate. Instead, quoting a per project fee communicates your value in a more comprehensive way they can’t second-guess.

Step 4: Look for Copywriting Jobs in the Right Places

It's time to start looking for copywriting jobs to turn your side hustle into a steady stream of income, but where do you find these opportunities?

Job boards are a great place to start. Many companies and individuals post copywriting gigs on platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr. These websites allow you to showcase your copywriting portfolio and connect with potential clients.

Another option is to join copywriting groups on social media networks. These communities often share job postings and provide a space for copywriters to network and share tips and advice. Additionally, consider attending networking events in your area. Meeting people in person can lead to valuable connections and potential clients.

Don't forget to leverage your online presence as well. Optimize your social media profiles and include a clear description of your copywriting services in your profile bio. This will make it easier for potential clients to find you and contact you for copywriting projects.

Lastly, consider reaching out to businesses directly. Approach business owners or reach out to content marketing departments in B2B companies. You can even offer your services as a copywriting consultant to non-profits, or just about any business that may require compelling content. Reach out cold via LinkedIn, X, or email.

By exploring these avenues and being proactive in your search, you'll increase your chances of landing copywriting gigs and turning your copywriting side hustle into a lucrative freelancing career.

Step 5: Market Yourself Effectively

Most of your copywriting projects will be online, so you need to maximize the time you spend online by marketing yourself to prospects. We’ve already covered starting your own copywriting portfolio website, plus opening various social media handles.

There are other strategies for marketing yourself.

You can take out paid ads on Google Ads, specifically targeted to keywords like “copywriting” or “freelance copywriter,” as just two ideas. You can narrow this down even further by using local SEO tactics like adding your specific location in the keywords of those ads.

Don’t forget about community websites like Quora and Reddit, where the Q&A format is popular. Market yourself as an expert on those forums by opening an account and then answering as many questions related to copywriting as a side hustle that you can find there. This is a form of advertising your expertise, too, and it’s free. The only thing it’ll cost you is your sweat equity.

Step 6: Reach Out to Businesses and Blogs Directly

One of the most effective ways to land copywriting gigs is by reaching out to businesses and blogs directly. Start by identifying the types of businesses or blogs that align with your copywriting niche. Whether it's B2B companies, non-profits, or just businesses in general, targeting specific industries can help you position yourself as an expert in that field.

Next, create a list of potential clients and research their websites or blogs. Take note of areas where you can provide value through your copywriting expertise. This could be crafting compelling sales letters, email campaigns, or creating engaging website content.

Once you have identified potential clients, reach out to them via email or through their social media profiles. Introduce yourself as a copywriter with experience in their industry and provide examples of your work. Be confident, concise, and show them how you can help them achieve their business goals through persuasive copy.

Additionally, consider attending networking events or connecting with business owners and entrepreneurs in person. This will give you the opportunity to establish real connections and be seen as the go-to person for copywriting services.

By actively reaching out to businesses and blogs directly, you will not only expand your network but also increase your chances of landing lucrative copywriting projects.

Step 7: Contact Your Own Network to Source Leads

One of the easiest ways to find clients fast for your new copywriting side hustle is exploring the list of contacts you already know: your own network. This can be people you’ve worked with in the past, current colleagues, and even friends and family. Anyone you already know may be someone who has a need for copy to market their brand or can refer you to someone else who has.

A man on the phone, calling his network about his copywriting side hustle.

Go through your list of contacts, whether on your phone or LinkedIn. Inform them that you’ve started a side hustle and are interested in writing marketing material for them or anyone they know. It’s really that simple. If you see friends or family in person or talk to them over the phone, put out the same feelers and request.

You’ll be surprised what you can come up with in terms of your first client!

Step 8: Write for Free to Create Samples for Your Portfolio

When you’re first starting out, you likely won’t have any copy you’ve written for clients, whether that’s on the web or in print materials like a brochure or a mailer. One way to build your portfolio quickly is to offer your services for free.

Start by reaching out to friends, family, and acquaintances who may need help with their copy. Offer to write web content, social media posts, or sales letters for them. While you won't be getting paid for these projects, the experience and samples you create will be invaluable.

In addition to reaching out to your personal network, you can also join copywriting groups or online communities where businesses and entrepreneurs hang out. These groups often have requests for copywriting assistance, and, by offering your services for free, you'll have the opportunity to gain experience and showcase your work.

Remember, the key is to create high-quality samples that demonstrate your skills and understanding of different copywriting styles: web copy, sales pages, direct-response pieces, and more. These samples will be the cornerstone of your portfolio and will help you land paying gigs in the future.

Writing for free is a small investment that can lead to a steady stream of income later on. Keep honing your craft, building relationships, and expanding your portfolio, and you'll be well on your way to making your dreams of copywriting as side hustle a reality.

7 Copywriting Side Hustle Examples

Here are some actionable ways you can get started with your side hustle immediately. You can work on these projects after your regular job, on weekends, or whenever you have some free time. Let’s dig in.

Side Hustle #1: Website Copywriting

Website copywriting is likely the biggest opportunity you’ll get in this industry. There are millions and millions of websites that sell products or services in a huge range of different industries. All of them belong to brands and companies that need a copywriter to write content on the web for them.

A pair of hands on a laptop, belonging to a man engaging in his copywriting side hustle.

With such a huge number of niches available, you’re bound to find a website for which creating content will be easy. It may be a passion of yours or something you’ve always wanted to learn along the way, but you can always readily research most topics that you’re writing about.

Side Hustle #2: Case Studies

Case studies are a lot different than writing copy for the web. Your case study may be used by a sales team in a PDF just as easily as it may live on the web. In either situation, case studies involve a few moving parts.

A case study demonstrates how your client’s product or service improved the business or lives of their customers. You’ll have to interview these customers, and then write up the case study in a narrative arc that demonstrates how your client’s product or service solved their customers’ problem.

Creating and writing case studies is engrossing. You can also command pretty high fees per case study—as much as up to $4,000 per case study (if you gain enough experience in this niche).

Side Hustle #3: Ebooks

An ebook is a digital file that can be up to dozens of pages long. Think of it as the exploration of a single subject in far greater detail than a mere blog post. Ebooks can also position the solution of the client you’re working with as the answer to the pain points of readers in a way that’s more direct than blog posts.

An ebook is also a lot more work than writing a simple blog post, even if that blog post is a long-form one. As such, you can also command a relatively high fee for ebooks, somewhere between hundreds of dollars to a few thousand, depending on the length and complexity of the ebook.

Side Hustle #4: Email Newsletters

The great news about email newsletters is that they always come as part of a sequence, which means you’ll have a lot to do. Businesses sent email newsletters to engage with their audiences, move them down the conversion funnel, and get them to take a specific action.

A hand holding an iPhone displaying Gmail.

Email newsletters can be updates about a blog to news about discounts to cart abandonment reminders. The general length of an email newsletter is quite short at around 200 words, but you can still make good money from it because the stakes are high. Each email can result in generating a significant amount of money in lead generation for your clients.

Side Hustle #5: Blog Posts

Blog posts are the bread and butter of SEO or search engine optimization. They are the basis of blogs that attract thousands of site visitors and climb up the Google search engine results pages (SERP) rankings for thousands of keywords. As such, they’re instrumental to a website’s revenue.

This is the hook you’ll need to command higher rates for blog posts. Remember that you’re not just writing content here. You’re doing keyword and competitor research for SEO, researching the factual elements of the blog post, potentially conducting interviews, drafting the blog post, and then addressing your client’s feedback in the review round. For all this work, it’s not unheard of for copywriters to charge more than $1000 per blog post.

If you find a client that understands the value of organic traffic and commissions many blog posts, you could very well make this specific copywriting side hustle more than worth your time.

Side Hustle #6: White Papers

White papers are similar to ebooks in a way, but still different. White papers address a particular pain point your client’s customers have and then explain in great detail how your client’s solution will address these pain points. White papers are also longer types of content, ranging up to 10 pages in length. They’re meant to illustrate the expertise a business has in solving problems, using empirical evidence to back this up.

White papers are also a good source of income for your copywriting side hustle: The average cost is about $4,500, with more advanced copywriters commanding even more per white paper.

Side Hustle #7: Social Media Copywriting

Even the text that businesses and influencers use for their posts on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook is a rife opportunity for your side hustle. While the amount of text you’ll write for brands and people on social media is succinct due to the smaller character limits, these projects require an understanding of brand voice and tone, along with researching what’s engaging to their target audiences.

Social media icons and apps shown on a smartphone laying on a table.

The average salary for a copywriter in the US is $50,000 per year. Even as a side hustle, you can make a good amount of income from this style of copywriting since businesses are willing to invest in social messaging for engagement and brand building.

Copywriting as a Side Hustle: Easy to Break Into

The good news is that copywriting today is easier than ever to master, which can generate additional income streams for you on the side. The Internet abounds with one opportunity after another in this growing form of content writing. Even if you only have a couple of hours each day after your regular 9 to 5 or can only fit it into your weekends, you can still generate healthy, supplemental income from copywriting.

Thanks to the numerous forms of content you can write, along with the sheer number of businesses and people who use the web to advertise their products and services, your copywriting side hustle can be successful with consistent dedication.

If you’re interested in partnering with a copywriting agency to grow your website’s traffic, readership, and revenue, then reach out to us now. Contact The Glorious Company today for a no-obligation consultation and estimate.

Have any questions? Keep the conversation going by leaving a comment below.

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