Creative Copywriter

So I’m a creative copywriter, we know this much. But why have I set out on this risky and lonesome journey to be a freelance copywriter online?

Surely it would be safer and much more glamorous working for some big fancy advertising agency?

Well the answer to this is… maybe.

But let me give you my 5 main reasons for choosing the path of a self-employed copywriter online. Then you can make up your own mind.

1. Flexibility is awesome…

Being employed by me makes this profession very flexible. I get up when I want, work whatever hours suit me and accept whichever jobs look interesting. Don’t get this muddled up with being lazy. If you wanna mope around all day drinking cans of Heineken, eating natchos and watching Big Brother Live – then go ahead – but don’t expect to earn an income from it.

Working for yourself as a creative copywriter online requires great responsibility, self-discipline and hard work. But the flexibility – to choose my hours, my clients, my holidays and my location – is fantastic. An ad agency works differently. You’re tied up by the restrictions of normal office working hours. These tend to be much longer for a copywriter and there’s a big bad boss making sure that this happens.

2. The comfort of my PJs and a pair of slippers…

As a self-employed copywriter online the office I go to everyday is my house. Therefore I don’t regularly go anywhere – apart from the nearest corner shop to re-stock on milk for those all-important cups of tea (British-style). This trusty laptop is my tool and the web is my channel to the outside world. This is very comfortable and convenient.

Even if I wanted to come to work dressed up in a shoulder-padded blazer, a mullet-shaped wig and girls’ make-up like one of the band members of Spandau Ballet – not saying that I do – then I could!

Don’t take advantage of this too much though. Lack of social interaction can send you crazy – well, me anyway. Make sure you get out and about a bit. That initial face-to-face contact with clients can also be really useful for sealing the deal, building up some rapport and for truly understanding what they really want from you.

3. The UK, Europe, America, Israel or a small tropical island off the coast of Thailand…

Reason 3 is location. As my own boss and as a copywriter who works mostly online, I can pretty much live wherever I like. Although I mentioned face-to-face interaction, lots of jobs these days can be done solely through the use of Skype, emails and other internet resources.

So you could be copy-writing for a local firm, while actually chilling out far far away in a beach bar on a tropical island, sipping Rum & Coke through a colourful straw. (And getting fanned by palm leaves and hand-fed grapes).

You can also target customers from any country in the world. Advertising in English is in growing demand pretty much everywhere. A copywriter online can snap up any of these international jobs…and if you’re feeling adventurous – why not jump on a flight right over to your client’s homeland and live there for a while?

Having a wife from Israel, whose family and friends still live in the “Holy Land”, makes this perk a vital asset to my lifestyle. I also lived in Australia and I’m a bit of a traveling fanatic, so think of myself as a man of the world…Some might even say an international man of mystery (but are unlikely to). Anyway, as a Creative Copywriter who loves to travel – being a freelance copywriter online allows me to fulfil my desire.

4. You ain’t the boss o’ me!

In fact, no one is…apart from me. And aside from the flexibility and ‘frolicking around the globe’ bits, there is another huge perk to this.

It’s the feeling you get from being your own boss – from running your own company, dealing with all the responsibilities, from overcoming obstacles and from having your very own clients. It’s all kinda exciting and self-rewarding I must say.

A freelancer may not get close to writing for national brands by themself, but their clients are their own. They have the satisfaction of choosing which clients and projects they want, working with clientele on a personal level and accomplishing their goals all by themself. Freelance copywriters will also get hired by ad agencies when they’re in need of extra talent – so don’t rule out the possibility of writing the new jingle for the Coca Cola campaign!

5. An unlimited income…

How much you earn as an ad agency copywriter fluctuates, depending on where you live and the size of the agency. Level I copywriters usually get between the low $30Ks and the low $50Ks (or 20 Pound Sterling – 40 Pound Sterling if you’re a fellow Brit!). Level III copywriters can earn up to the $80K mark (65Pound Sterling).

This gap is even bigger when it comes to the world of freelance copy-writing. A self-employed, full time copywriter online can earn anything from the meager teens up to a massive 6 figure yearly sum. So if you’re an optimistic, high-goal-setting, creative copywriter like me – and want to be the Bill Gates the copy-writing market – then freelancing can give you that opportunity!

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