Writing texts and copywriting: how to start, how much to charge and where to find orders

Writing texts is one of the most accessible fields of freelance work: you need neither expensive equipment nor licences, and there are clients in every field that has a website, an online shop or a social media account. At the same time it is the field most changed by artificial intelligence, so when starting out it is important to understand what clients pay for today.

This part of the guide covers what texts are ordered, how a copywriter differs from a content writer, how the price is calculated, how to put together a portfolio without clients and where to look for orders.

What texts are ordered

Beginners most often start with product descriptions and SEO articles – these are ordered the most. The best-paid texts are those whose result can be measured in money: landing pages, email sequences, ads.

Copywriter or content writer?

In job ads both words often mean the same thing, but the essence of the work differs. A copywriter writes a text that has to prompt action here and now: buy, sign up, call. A content writer writes a text that answers the reader's question and builds trust over time. The first is judged by conversions, the second by traffic and reading time.

In practice a freelance writer does both jobs. Still, once you choose a direction it is easier to explain your value to a client: “I write emails that sell” or “I write articles that are found in search”.

What an SEO text needs

An SEO text is not the repetition of keywords. The client usually provides the main phrase and expects that the text:

• answers the question a person types into search, already in the first paragraphs;
• has a clear heading structure (one H1, logical H2s and H3s);
• covers related questions rather than a single phrase;
• has a title and a description for search results;
• relies on verifiable sources and contains no invented facts;
• is unique – not copied and not rewritten from competitors.

If the client does not provide keywords, researching them is a separate service that can be priced additionally.

How the price is calculated

Several different units are used in the text market, and the same text priced differently can cost very different amounts. Before you agree, make sure you are both talking about the same thing.

A price per character encourages writing long rather than writing well. That is why, having gained experience, writers usually move to a price per text or project: the client knows the amount in advance, and you do not earn less just because you wrote more concisely.

A portfolio when there are no clients yet

1. Write 3–5 samples in the fields where you want to work: a product description, an SEO article, an email, landing page copy.
2. Mark clearly that these are sample works, not orders from real clients.
3. Add the brief to each one: who the text is for, what its purpose is, which keyword or audience you chose.
4. Put them in one place – a simple page or a shared document folder that can be sent as a single link.
5. Update it when real work appears. You can publish a client's texts in your portfolio only with the client's consent.

A test text is common practice, but unpaid test work should not be longer than a few paragraphs. A client who asks for a full article “as a trial” gets a free text.

Where to look for orders

• Marketing and SEO agencies. They constantly buy texts for their clients and often work with external writers.
• Online shops. New products mean new descriptions – this is recurring work.
• International platforms. Upwork and Fiverr suit above all those who write in English or another foreign language – these platforms are oriented towards international clients.
• Direct emails. A short email to a company with a specific observation about its website and one sample works better than a general introduction.
• Professional networks and topic groups. Clients post one-off jobs there, and colleagues pass on orders they do not have time to do themselves.

Artificial intelligence: what has changed

Text generation tools write a correct general-purpose text in a few seconds. So it no longer makes sense for a client to pay a writer for a text where “any content” is enough. Google states in its guidance that it rewards the quality of content rather than how it is produced, and that using automation, including artificial intelligence, to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings violates its policies.

Today clients pay for what the tool does not do by itself:

• knowledge of the subject and conversations with real specialists;
• checking facts, figures and sources;
• brand tone and consistency across dozens of texts;
• responsibility – that the text contains no invented claims, other people's quotes or misleading promises.

Copyright and the contract

A text is a literary work protected by the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. Under it, a copyright contract for commissioning a work is concluded in writing, and it has to specify the economic rights transferred, the territory, the term and the remuneration. If the modes of use are not specified in the contract, it is considered that only as many rights have been transferred as are needed to achieve the purpose of the contract.

In practice this means: if you write an article for a client's blog and the contract says nothing about rights, the client can publish it on the blog, but it is debatable whether the client can, for example, publish it in a book. It is clearer when this is written down. The author's moral rights – authorship, name – are not transferable to other persons, so whether the text will be published without your name is worth agreeing on separately.

Frequently asked questions