Digital Nomad Jobs – Copywriter

Digital Nomad Jobs – Copywriter

How to become a copywriter.

If you want to live the digital nomad lifestyle and have a passion for writing why not consider copywriting as a career? If done correctly you can make an extremely decent living whilst doing something you love anywhere in the world you want. Sounds good to me.

What is a copywriter? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting

What do you need to become a successful copywriter? Well an interest in writing is a given, as is the ability to work to a strict deadline. If you have both of these you are on the right track. Becoming a copywriter isn’t as easy as writing a few words and waiting for the money to roll in, there is quite a lot to think about before you get that far. Do you know the working landscape? Do you know what kind of copywriter you want to be? I hope so but if not you are going to need to do some research before you can go much further. As the world goes ever increasingly digital there are more and more opportunities for copywriters online every day. This is often fuelled by a need for search engine optimization, do you know what this is? You might have to if you want to be a success! Those that can stay on the cutting edge of the latest trends can have a huge advantage, look at sites like https://moz.com/ and https://econsultancy.com/ for help here. Another side effect of the digital world is that there are fewer opportunities for analogue work like script writing, mail campaigns, business literature and press releases but a much higher number for web editors, SEO copywriters and other online content roles. Make sure you know the differences between the roles and focus on tailoring your work to the role you desire.

A successful copywriter needs to be able to communicate extremely well, you need to make your words tell a story and interest people, to convince someone to do or buy something. Having a masterfully expert knowledge of English language skills can obviously be an advantage but you could end up writing the most technically proficient piece of work that still bores the shoes of anyone that reads it. There may be times when you need to know all of the rules of grammar, but maybe don’t show off for the sake of it! Consider your style, does it suit the subject you are writing about? Can you alter your style freely to suit several topics? That would be ideal, if you can’t this is where your research will come in handy.

Experience is key to the copywriter and everyone needs to start somewhere. If you haven’t already, start up a blog on a subject you are interested in, if nothing else this will be good practice. Set yourself deadlines to meet and research projects to complete, test yourself out of your comfort zone. For a more practical approach contact local advertising and marketing agencies, they may be interested in looking at your work or at least may be able to give you some advice and tips. To get work you will need examples to show off your skills, therefore you will need a strong portfolio. It is key to consistently update your portfolio with your latest work, create fictional press releases if you need to fill up some space. Researching the competition can be a great help, don’t steal anyone’s work but look at examples and hone your own unique style. A strong online presence is a must for a copywriter, creating a website is so easy and cheap to do these days that there is no excuse not to have one, this website should be solely focused on your copywriting work and in no way connected to your personal website, this also goes for social media accounts! As always, linkedin, facebook, twitter and all the other usual suspects are useful tools to use here. Promote yourself as much as possible and annoy all of your friends into helping! View any new acquaintance as a potential client and always self promote.

The digital nomad copywriter will need to build up a solid customer base through hard work and determination, approach customers local to where you used to/currently live, people like to work with local people, even if you are in Australia and they are in Alabama! As long as you can consistently deliver quality work on time you should be fine!

Training/qualifications.

None really. Formal education and a degree can be an advantage but are not entirely necessary. There are courses in several different areas you can take in preparation such as marketing and journalism. These may be useful to you if you have the time and would like help honing your existing skills. Courses like these can be a great way to learn research skills and how to work to strict deadlines so if you’re not the best in these areas it may a great idea. Whilst having a degree in English, marketing or another relevant subject can never hurt, if you are able to show off your skills to potential employers in a practical way they are much more likely to be impressed. People will/should be more impressed with your experience and ability rather than a small piece of paper, especially one you haven’t written!

Hardware/software.

The hardware here is simply a PC/laptop and an internet connection really, one of the beauties of being a copywriter is that the equipment needed is kept to the bare minimum.

The software needed is all in your head and includes things like curiosity, listening skills, an eye for detail, vocabulary skills, the ability to see things from different points of view and research skills. These are all important assets for a copywriter to posses.

Where to find work online?

The sites below have many jobs available to the digital nomad copywriter, good luck!

https://www.upwork.com/

http://www.bloggingpro.com/jobs/

http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/category/writing-gigs/

https://www.linkedin.com/nhome/

http://creativepool.com/jobs/copywriting-jobs

How much to charge?

Research the work out there, the prices will vary. You will need to price yourself competitively to start with and maybe even have to be prepared to do some samples for free. You may need to be prepared to work at a lot of hours for minimal reward to start with but hopefully, provided you have the skills and a little bit of luck you should be able to make a very healthy living out of copywriting.

How well does it suit the Digital Nomad lifestyle?

Copywriting, if done correctly can be extremely well suited to the digital nomad lifestyle. With minimal equipment needed you can carry your office on your back anywhere around the world easily, creating new and unique copy as you go. The only potential downside is the money, you probably won’t be rich as a new freelance copywriter. You should be able to make enough to live of comfortably provided you have the skills but you won’t be living the life of luxury straight away. Copywriting can be lucrative on it’s own but you may wish to consider teaming it with another job to start with if possible. It may be difficult to start with but perseverance is key, don’t be put off by rejection, show your determination and grit, keep going and hopefully soon you will be at the start of a new, rewarding career.

Good luck!