If you’re reading this, you’re likely at a crossroads in your freelance copywriting journey. You want to earn more value from copywriting, but either:
- You don’t have enough hours in the day to handle your current workload – OR –
- You are tired of having to grind, grind, grind to find every lead
Scaling a copywriting business can seem a little counterintuitive; after all, you only have two hands! But the trick is to work smarter and not harder. By optimizing your existing business – taking a critical look at who you serve and how – there are relatively simple ways to make more moolah without putting in more hours.
Before we get into this, let’s state the obvious. If you want to grow your business, your services need to be darn good. So make sure that you are writing high quality copy so that you have a strong track record to fall back on. Highly engaging, well-edited copy goes a long way in attracting potential clients and keeping existing ones happy.
Now for the scaling tips. We’ve put together five tried and true ways to scale your business and increase your profit.
Table of Contents
1. Specialize
Most copywriters cut their teeth by taking whatever job they can, no matter if it is within their expertise or preference. Once you’ve developed a taste for what you like, you can scale your business by narrowing your focus. Start by asking yourself some questions:
- What do I enjoy writing?
- What do I know a lot about?
- What do I have experience in?
- What is easy for me to write?
- What topics could I research successfully?
You’ll find that the more specific you get with your copy, the greater chance you will have of appealing to specific/niche needs. But don’t choose a topic willy-nilly; instead, you want to find a field where you can stand out as an expert. Do some research to find a niche that you can fill, and then present your copy to people working within that niche. If you have high-quality copy, word of your skills will likely spread within the niche.
2. Upsell Yourself
We recently put out an article about how to successfully upsell products, but another way to scale your copywriting business is to upsell yourself.
In order to do that, you need to know your client and what kind of copy they need. Spend some time researching what they offer and how they get it to the customer. Look for a way that you can deliver more. For example, let’s say a client wants sone Facebook Ads. You could review their funnel and see if people are actually converting on their landing page. If the numbers aren’t great, you could upsell the client to buy funnel copy along with Facebook Ads so everything is congruent and has a higher chance of converting. You could also suggest that they hire you to write their emails.
You could also suggest that they need more than a sales page. What about their upsell pages? Or their email sequence? Show how you could deliver on all counts.
You can also offer a stair-step of services to your clients. Think of it as a formula where x, y, and z are products and n is the final cost:
Option 1: x = n
Option 2: x+y = 1.5n
Option 3: x+y+z = 2.25n
By offering a stair-step of services, your clients see that they’re getting the best deal when they buy all three services, and they’re likely to bite. Additionally, your Research should carry across x, y, and z, so you’re making more money without doing a lot more work.
3. Increase Your Prices
Of course, another easy way to scale your business is to increase your prices. There are a lot of solid copywriters out there who are missing the opportunity to charge more. You can start by charging new clients more. If you have a solid history and great testimonials, why stick with lowball rates?
You can also take a look at your existing clients. If you know they’re a small business that’s barely getting by, it may not be worth asking them to raise your rates, so focus on the clients who can accommodate an increase.
Start the conversation by highlighting your track record. If you can point to specific evidence that you’re helping their bottom line, you’ll be much better positioned to get that raise. You can also take some time to make recommendations for increasing the company’s profitability. This helps you create the authority that you’ll need to confidently request that rate increase.
Of course, you do run the risk that you could lose a client, which is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you’ll lose that consistent source of work. On the other hand, you’ll free up your time for a client who will pay more for your services.
4. Outsource What You Can
Outsourcing can allow you to take on more work, but it can feel a little scary, too. We get it, your business is your baby, but if done right, outsourcing can be well worth it. Start by looking at things besides writing that other people can help you with. Office managers, virtual assistants, accounting, scheduling – there are plenty of people who can do these jobs well so you don’t have to.
If you decide to outsource some of your writing to other freelance writers, make sure to hold them to your standard. Remember: even if they wrote it, your name and reputation are on the line, so it’s crucial that whatever you put out is quality.
You can find good freelance writers through networking or freelance websites, but be sure to vet their work samples carefully. It’ll save you a lot of time and headache if you only hire writers who use a voice like your own.
5. Create a Product or Service
You’ve probably been on a website where a screen pops up asking if you’d like to subscribe or register for an e-book/newsletter/course/service. If you loved the website, you probably signed up for the additional information at least once.
Creating a product within your expertise is an excellent way to scale your business without putting in a ton of extra time. Of course, you’ll need to create the content in the beginning, but once it’s done, you have a source of passive income. Just make sure that the content is fantastic so that people keep coming back for more.
You can also offer a service in addition to your copywriting. You could offer to proofread other people’s copy or coach copywriters on how to be successful. Just make sure to do your research to see who is using your product or service, and then write for them.
Scaling your freelance copywriting business brings in more money without requiring significantly more hours on your part. By being smart about what, when, and how you change, you can set yourself on the path to greater income and personal freedom.
