How I Became a Well-Paid Copywriter Overnight
The story of how I failed as an entrepreneur, pivoted and became successful (again)
I’ve been a full-time entrepreneur for 18 months now and have been trying several businesses in the last year and a half.
Initially, I went all-in with my PropTech startup, but I quickly realized that the development would take much longer than expected. However, I liked the entrepreneurial lifestyle and didn’t want to go back to employment only after a few months of enjoying “the freedom.” So I was looking for a skill that would bring in money quickly.
At first, I failed (miserably)
I used to blog about cycling and psychology when I was a teenager and, back then, I would get lots of compliments about my writing style. In addition to that, I started a blog about entrepreneurship when I founded my startup. Thus, I thought copywriting would be my best attempt to make “a quick buck,” as I had no idea how to monetize my background of working in the finance department of a startup.
I had no idea what I was doing.
I contacted magazines with listed job openings and pitched them to work for them as a freelancer. I didn’t get a single response. So later, I reached out to businesses hiring copywriters and managed to get an interview through a LinkedIn connection. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get this job either with no experience whatsoever and because they were looking specifically for an in-house copywriter.
Fast forward three months, and I still hadn’t earned a single dollar from copywriting.
So I quit the idea of becoming a copywriter and decided to tap into WordPress development. After all, my previous blogs were all made with WordPress, and I was pretty familiar with the environment. To my surprise, the sister of my co-founder needed a website for her business, and he referred me. I landed the job a delivered a reasonably good site.
How I got a regular income as a freelancer (no copywriting)
After six months, I had a solid portfolio of websites, and my monthly income was around $1,000. But to cover all my expenses, I still needed another $1,000. So I decided to create an Upwork profile and offer my WordPress services. I positioned myself as an expert in using Elementor (the most popular page-builder) and landed my first job within days. Another one followed, and soon I had the extra $1,000 a month and a bit of a change in my mindset.
For the first time in my freelance career, I had the feeling that I knew what I was doing. I got faster with every website, built some great relationships, and launched a one-person agency to get some local clients as well. It was all working out great, and in March this year, I had a monthly profit of $10,000. You may think I figured it all out and would scale my agency from now (and I sure as hell thought, too).
Niching down killed my agency
I followed all the advice you get from the so-called gurus to scale even faster. One thing that they’ll all tell you is niching down. Offering just one service for a particular target group.
So that’s what I did. I saw a massive opportunity with lawyers & tax consultants. They are high-ticket clients, the whole sector is very conservative, and most of them have awful websites or none at all (at least that’s the case in my home country, Austria).
I had an incredible gut feeling. “This is how I’m gonna be a millionaire soon,” I thought to myself.
I stopped using Upwork. You rarely see lawyers or tax consultants seeking web developers there. Instead, I built a sales funnel with a fancy lead magnet, email series, wrote 20 something blog articles, and all that stuff. Furthermore, I invested heavily in advertising and quickly got to 100 leads.
But then… NOTHING happened.
Only a single lead converted to a client (at least a great one), but the revenue didn’t ever cover advertising costs. And I’m not even talking about the endless hours of work I spent building that funnel.
In April, for the first time in my freelance career, I made a loss. In May, the loss quadrupled.
I couldn’t get anything to work anymore. I wasn’t getting any leads from other branches anymore, as I had completely niched down.
I panicked and was scared as hell. Would that be the end of my agency? Do I have to shut down entirely and go back to a regular job?
The Grand Pivot
I had to do something. So I blocked myself an entire day to plan for the future, and I thought about different strategies or different niches that I could serve.
The solution of that day? I call it “The Grand Pivot.” Back to square one.
No more lawyers, no more tax consultants, and no more WordPress development. I was sick of it all.
For the future, I only wanted to work with clients I love working with and who pay me what I’m worth. Consequently, I even canceled almost all monthly contracts (terrible clients anyway) and decided to go back to Upwork to look at what services are in demand right now and what I could be doing for work.
How I became a well-paid copywriter overnight
So I was browsing through Upwork and saw a HUGE demand for German copywriting and SEO texters. Dozens of open jobs, some paying poorly, but most of them with pretty reasonable budgets. The jobs I was looking at were all a couple of days old, but I saw that the clients only concluded one or two interviews, some even none. No hires at all.
This is how the beginning of my story is connected to the end.
I thought, “Wow, there is a real demand for this kind of copywriting. Maybe I should give the freelance copywriting another shot”. So next step, I deleted all my profile info without even thinking about it. After months of losses, I was just sick of it all. “Professional,” “top-tier clients,” “successful agency owner,” …yeah right… If I couldn’t believe myself, why should potential clients?
I swore to myself that I was going to be 100% honest. Thus, telling them the story I told you right now.
I clearly stated that I failed, but at the same time, I learned so much about entrepreneurship and marketing. I told them that I know business owners’ problems, as I have experienced them all myself. I told them that I have broad expertise, but I’m not the regular specialist they will find here. I told them about my blog and how I can help them with all kinds of services. Not only simply completing a task but also looking “at the bigger picture” and delivering something thoughtful and unique, advising them with all my knowledge. I also told them that, for this, I would charge more than most of the freelancers on Upwork, a $70 hourly rate.
Basically, I was pouring my heart out, showed vulnerability, but remained confident. Arguably the best thing I’ve ever written. All of this at 2 am with nothing to lose anymore.
With this new profile, I applied for four jobs. Three of them being German Copywriting jobs and one content marketing job for a startup. My proposals weren’t fancy at all. Just two-liners where I said that I think I could be a good fit, and they could read my profile to decide for themselves.
The following day, I woke up at 11 am. I checked my emails, and I couldn’t believe it: 5 messages from all five jobs. They all loved my profile and thought my experience would make me the perfect candidate for their jobs. One hired me on the spot: a 4-figure monthly retainer for three 1,500 word articles per month.
I’ve conducted all the other interviews within the next couple of days. And the result? I managed to get hired for all copywriting jobs, and I’m still in talks regarding the content marketing job.
Sell yourself and not just your services
This is how I became a well-paid copywriter overnight, and if I can do it, you can, too.
My most important advice: Never ever give up. I know the life of an entrepreneur is hard. You suffer, you make a lot of sacrifices, and most of the time, you will fail and won’t get anything in return. It’s frustrating, yes, but the worst thing you can do is giving up. Instead, see failure as an opportunity to learn. Try again, and get better. If you’re in entrepreneurship for the long run, you will be successful one day.
My second piece of advice: Think about what makes you unique and how you differentiate yourself from other freelancers. Be honest, show vulnerability, and sell yourself and not just your services. There is no other person that is just like you. Use your personality and get those clients!
