Copywriter Salary Range: Entry Level to Successful Freelancer

"How much do copywriters make?"

Good question. Normally anything you hear is self-reported, and varies by a wide range. (Example: some freelance copywriters make $1,000,000+ per year, and others make $20,000/year).

But that's WAY too broad. So we decided to put on our "data collection" hats and figure out what a copywriter actually makes.

The most readily-available data we were able to scrape came from job listings for copywriters.

There's several different types of copywriters:
Agency copywriters: They work at marketing agencies.
Corporate copywriters: They handle all the internal copywriting for large companies.
Freelance copywriters: They pimp their words out for money to anyone who needs them.

So....let's get started investigating how much copywriters make!

 

AGENCY & CORPORATE COPYWRITER SALARIES (YEARLY):

This is the best data we have, because we can accurately collect job listing salary data. Below is a huge list of salaries for agency and corporate copywriters. The list is sortable by Salary, Position, and Company:

Salary $	Company	Post	Source
$30,663	Zulily	Copywriter	[link]
$65,499	FCB	Copywriter	[link]
$67,738	Digitas	Copywriter	[link]
$94,097	Saatchi & Saatchi	Copywriter	[link]
$108,660	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	Copywriter	[link]
$70,167	Ogilvy & Mather	Copywriter	[link]
$74,917	Crispin Porter	Copywriter	[link]
$89,822	J. Walter Thompson Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$85,504	FCB	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$92,192	Leo Burnett	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$67,790	Leo Burnett	Copywriter	[link]
$127,034	AKQA	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$56,856	Macy's	Copywriter	[link]
$74,845	AKQA	Copywriter	[link]
$63,494	Grey Group	Copywriter	[link]
$134,751	BBH Global	Copywriter	[link]
$100,903	Publicis	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$76,213	The CDM Group	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$62,850	Integer Group	Copywriter	[link]
$87,933	Deutsch	Copywriter	[link]
$65,028	RAPP	Copywriter	[link]
$78,367	Young & Rubicam	Copywriter	[link]
$46,541	mcgarrybowen	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$92,640	AbelsonTaylor	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$70,281	Razorfish	Copywriter	[link]
$74,759	R/GA	Copywriter	[link]
$88,056	Dieste	Copywriter	[link]
$48,868	BBDO	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$56,222	LAPTV	Copywriter/Programmer	[link]
$98,920	Havas Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$89,642	Digitas	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$60,805	The CDM Group	Copywriter	[link]
$49,895	TracyLocke	Copywriter	[link]
$53,729	Nordstrom	Copywriter	[link]
$58,583	Arnold Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$77,808	DDB New York	Copywriter	[link]
$71,579	TBWA Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$51,509	Bromley Communications	Copywriter	[link]
$46,108	FCB	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$55,763	R/GA	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$103,856	Saatchi & Saatchi	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$106,231	Razorfish	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,321	Crispin Porter	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$81,810	Dieste	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$75,351	RPA	Copywriter	[link]
$38,673	Red Ventures	Copywriter	[link]
$74,178	Mullen	Copywriter	[link]
$64,601	McCann Erickson	Copywriter	[link]
$120,864	BBDO	Copywriter	[link]
$62,576	mcgarrybowen	Copywriter	[link]
$74,270	Hill Holliday	Copywriter	[link]
$62,377	Wieden And Kennedy	Copywriter	[link]
$71,639	LatinWorks	Copywriter	[link]
$44,129	RAPP	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$91,121	The Wunderman Network	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$98,863	RAPP	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$77,994	Arc Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$96,295	Mullen	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$88,864	Harrison and Star	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$64,730	The Vidal Partnership	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$50,254	DigitasLBi	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$50,434	AKQA	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$54,082	FindLaw	Copywriter	[link]
$65,149	MRM//McCann	Copywriter	[link]
$68,213	DigitasLBi	Copywriter	[link]
$63,960	The Wunderman Network	Copywriter	[link]
$50,514	Royall & Company	Copywriter	[link]
$35,490	Wayfair	Copywriter	[link]
$33,571	Backcountry.com	Copywriter	[link]
$63,690	The Richards Group	Copywriter	[link]
$50,472	Hill Holliday	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$86,631	Organic	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$78,489	VaynerMedia	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$98,483	Young & Rubicam	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$87,025	Sudler & Hennessey	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$25,264	SoftRock	Copywriter	[link]
$62,097	Havas Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$72,042	TBWA\Chiat\Day	Copywriter	[link]
$52,258	VML	Copywriter	[link]
$46,250	Barkley	Copywriter	[link]
$51,561	Guitar Center	Copywriter	[link]
$46,446	VaynerMedia	Copywriter	[link]
$55,224	Moxie	Copywriter	[link]
$44,282	Circuit City	Copywriter	[link]
$59,484	Alcone Marketing	Copywriter	[link]
$57,595	Epsilon	Copywriter	[link]
$56,274	Arc Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$77,000	Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners	Copywriter	[link]
$65,730	Meredith Xcelerated Marketing	Copywriter	[link]
$55,631	Geometry Global	Copywriter	[link]
$72,289	Publicis	Copywriter	[link]
$60,765	López Negrete	Copywriter	[link]
$56,781	Zimmerman Advertising	Copywriter	[link]
$69,206	DDB Chicago	Copywriter	[link]
$71,271	GSW Marketing & Advertising	Copywriter	[link]
$56,770	VSA Partners	Copywriter	[link]
$50,197	The Vidal Partnership	Copywriter	[link]
$78,404	JOHANNES LEONARDO	Copywriter	[link]
$42,277	Conill	Copywriter	[link]
$40,172	AdAsia Communications	Copywriter	[link]
$94,518	Dieste	Technical Copywriter	[link]
$49,890	Leo Burnett	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$31,914	Zimmerman Advertising	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$51,850	FCB Health	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$50,475	Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$46,490	Dieste	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$106,284	DDB New York	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,390	OgilvyOne	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$112,744	J. Walter Thompson Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$79,125	Team Detroit	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$69,341	Macy's	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$94,710	R/GA	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$120,775	TBWA\Chiat\Day	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$73,231	VML	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$82,820	Geometry Global	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$89,609	Ogilvy CommonHealth	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$82,583	Integer Group	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$49,375	VaynerMedia	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$39,041	Tta	Copywriter/Translator	[link]
$30,407	Web.com Inc	Copywriter	[link]
$47,400	QVC	Copywriter	[link]
$71,041	Avon Products	Copywriter	[link]
$58,058	Fab.com	Copywriter	[link]
$41,104	Vente-Privee.com	Copywriter	[link]
$65,987	Bloomingdale's	Copywriter	[link]
$64,320	Electronic Arts	Copywriter	[link]
$78,056	Shutterfly	Copywriter	[link]
$46,855	Doner	Copywriter	[link]
$50,132	Staples	Copywriter	[link]
$73,917	Williams-Sonoma	Copywriter	[link]
$56,089	TMP Worldwide	Copywriter	[link]
$85,333	C.C. Filson	Copywriter	[link]
$62,234	SK+G	Copywriter	[link]
$54,952	The Marketing Arm	Copywriter	[link]
$43,500	Rue La La	Copywriter	[link]
$48,500	Pure Romance	Copywriter	[link]
$38,694	RPM Advertising	Copywriter	[link]
$75,265	Saatchi & Saatchi	Copywriter	[link]
$60,894	Entree Health	Copywriter	[link]
$45,215	Bluefly	Copywriter	[link]
$71,154	DiMassimo Goldstein	Copywriter	[link]
$37,072	Bon-Ton Stores	Copywriter	[link]
$44,907	Aisle Rocket Studios	Copywriter	[link]
$65,138	Saks Fifth Avenue	Copywriter	[link]
$71,597	Energy BBDO	Copywriter	[link]
$39,372	Adcetera	Copywriter	[link]
$61,378	GlobalHue	Copywriter	[link]
$61,644	Colle+McVoy	Copywriter	[link]
$29,827	Virtucom Group	Copywriter	[link]
$52,157	EVB Inc	Copywriter	[link]
$106,940	Team One	Copywriter	[link]
$58,268	AgencyRx	Copywriter	[link]
$64,491	Harrison and Star	Copywriter	[link]
$74,405	Sapient	Copywriter	[link]
$93,838	kirshenbaum bond	Copywriter	[link]
$41,855	Burlington Stores	Copywriter	[link]
$76,769	AD AMERICAS	Copywriter	[link]
$53,878	Nashimoto	Marketing Director/Copywriter	[link]
$55,267	Publicis	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$54,441	Saatchi & Saatchi	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$45,845	J. Walter Thompson Worldwide	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$45,812	Arnold Worldwide	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$53,653	Mullen	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$43,828	Arc Worldwide	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$43,499	Integer Group	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$40,901	Slingshot, LLC	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$35,825	Team Detroit	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$45,921	Young & Rubicam	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$81,714	Critical Mass	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$81,849	Huge	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$82,728	Ryan Partnership	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$62,333	REI	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$101,900	C-K	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$115,625	BBDO	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$66,911	Momentum Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$83,745	Campbell Ewald	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$80,354	AgencyRx	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$96,190	360i	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$86,026	López Negrete	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$136,105	Deutsch	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$89,286	GlobalHue	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$109,598	Tribal DDB	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$68,572	Bromley Communications	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$86,318	Accentmarketing	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$47,332	Digitas	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$44,526	Eberle Communications Group	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$53,293	LatinWorks	Copywriter/Technical Writer	[link]
$32,843	TechTarget	Marketing Copywriter	[link]
$43,045	hibu	Copywriter	[link]
$38,672	Sears	Copywriter	[link]
$65,586	Thomson Reuters	Copywriter	[link]
$63,568	Expedia	Copywriter	[link]
$82,089	Havas	Copywriter	[link]
$45,420	Groupon	Copywriter	[link]
$39,725	Agora - MD	Copywriter	[link]
$96,115	Mattel	Copywriter	[link]
$39,149	Dillard's	Copywriter	[link]
$86,597	Amazon.com	Copywriter	[link]
$57,496	SapientNitro	Copywriter	[link]
$91,088	MEplusYOU	Copywriter	[link]
$71,067	Esurance	Copywriter	[link]
$35,097	MBS Textbook Exchange	Copywriter	[link]
$46,613	Moroch	Copywriter	[link]
$83,812	Condé Nast	Copywriter	[link]
$79,256	Gotham	Copywriter	[link]
$52,889	The Designory	Copywriter	[link]
$49,092	Team Detroit	Copywriter	[link]
$53,676	Concept Farm	Copywriter	[link]
$57,865	AbelsonTaylor	Copywriter	[link]
$64,137	MRY	Copywriter	[link]
$34,864	Agora Financial	Copywriter	[link]
$68,431	gyro	Copywriter	[link]
$67,292	BoomBox	Copywriter	[link]
$54,306	PetEdge	Copywriter	[link]
$71,413	FCB Health	Copywriter	[link]
$51,211	BVK	Copywriter	[link]
$54,609	One Kings Lane	Copywriter	[link]
$36,117	TriDigital	Copywriter	[link]
$71,949	72andSunny	Copywriter	[link]
$37,009	Officite	Copywriter	[link]
$55,752	Ignition	Copywriter	[link]
$54,073	Davis Elen Advertising	Copywriter	[link]
$75,924	United Online	Copywriter	[link]
$58,096	McCann Worldgroup	Copywriter	[link]
$60,564	Weber Shandwick	Copywriter	[link]
$68,463	BBDO Detroit	Copywriter	[link]
$48,658	T3	Copywriter	[link]
$46,686	Meredith Corporation	Copywriter	[link]
$32,581	TNT Dental	Copywriter	[link]
$58,536	Guess?	Copywriter	[link]
$42,221	Melaleuca	Copywriter	[link]
$80,302	Vitro	Copywriter	[link]
$73,593	GSD&M	Copywriter	[link]
$51,711	HZDG	Copywriter	[link]
$40,800	BFG	Copywriter	[link]
$56,051	GlynnDevins	Copywriter	[link]
$34,136	ARS Advertising	Copywriter	[link]
$56,847	Intouch Solutions	Copywriter	[link]
$44,749	Upshot Inc	Copywriter	[link]
$66,189	Olson	Copywriter	[link]
$28,603	True North Custom	Copywriter	[link]
$29,775	LocalVox	Copywriter	[link]
$50,254	Domo	Copywriter	[link]
$46,582	Two x Four	Copywriter	[link]
$62,534	Havas Health	Copywriter	[link]
$80,641	Publicis North America	Copywriter	[link]
$61,012	H4B Chelsea	Copywriter	[link]
$60,149	The Home Depot	Copywriter	[link]
$67,369	Huge	Copywriter	[link]
$64,687	G2 USA	Copywriter	[link]
$57,555	The Mars Agency	Copywriter	[link]
$59,913	LLNS	Copywriter	[link]
$91,101	Beachbody	Copywriter	[link]
$30,538	Brafton	Copywriter	[link]
$62,166	Sudler & Hennessey	Copywriter	[link]
$95,131	Translation	Copywriter	[link]
$84,989	Ignited	Copywriter	[link]
$68,332	Swirl	Copywriter	[link]
$133,872	Devito/Verdi	Copywriter	[link]
$117,295	Productopop	Copywriter	[link]
$50,606	NHK Cosmomedia America	Copywriter	[link]
$79,492	Hanft Unlimited	Copywriter	[link]
$54,081	Modernista	Copywriter	[link]
$148,048	Optimedia International	Copywriter	[link]
$49,831	Yamagata Bank	Copywriter	[link]
$56,338	Ogilvy & Mather	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$54,585	Havas Worldwide	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$50,447	Digitas	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$48,521	Sudler & Hennessey	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$50,130	McCann Erickson	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$48,983	Tribal DDB	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$42,555	Flashpoint Medica	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$44,836	GSD&M	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$31,342	Versa Creative Group	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$40,340	Upshot Inc	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$44,208	Rue La La	Junior Copywriter	[link]
$91,396	Ogilvy & Mather	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$70,961	Capital One	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$87,946	GSD&M	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$112,922	Grey Group	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$94,837	MRM//McCann	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$98,633	RPA	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$122,862	mcgarrybowen	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$72,005	The Mars Agency	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$84,345	Havas Health	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$85,418	GA Communications Group	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$94,528	RealNetworks	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$98,324	Digitas Health	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$119,491	72andSunny	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$147,035	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$111,483	Arnold Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$80,578	LexisNexis Legal & Professional	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$110,235	eBay Enterprise	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$44,116	Horizon Hobby	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$71,622	Havas Life	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$73,310	R.R. Donnelley	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$63,302	Capstrat	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$55,729	Sears	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$74,468	Dailey & Associates	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$85,662	H4B Chelsea	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$99,909	MTV Networks	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$84,653	Havas	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$97,342	Leopard Communications	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$57,367	Upshot Inc	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$80,092	H4B Catapult	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,108	Conill	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$97,415	Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$89,008	Sapient	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$89,196	Reader's Digest	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$113,261	Zubi Advertising	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$85,040	Casanova Pendrill	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$126,162	Droga5	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$79,111	Prudential	Senior Copywriting Specialist	[link]
$78,907	Crispin Porter	Senior Interactive Copywriter	[link]
$69,146	Princess House	Bilingual Copywriter	[link]
$47,249	LatinWorks	Technical Writer/Copywriter	[link]
$48,007	Crispin Porter	Interactive Copywriter	[link]
$48,710	AbelsonTaylor	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$47,004	VML	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$46,457	Integer Group	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$45,622	FCB	Associate Copywriter	[link]
$40,453	Corbett	Assistant Copywriter	[link]
$53,120	Groupon	Marketing Copywriter	[link]

 

We can see pretty clearly that the most common copywriter salary is around the $55,000/year range. Going low as about $31,000 and high as around $147,000:

 

 

AGENCY & CORPORATE COPYWRITER SALARIES (HOURLY):

Some places prefer to pay their copywriters on an hourly rate rather than full time. You can see the different levels of income for different levels of copywriter and by company:

Hourly Rate $	Company	Post	Source
$9.62	Fathom	Copywriter	[link]
$60.63	FCB	Copywriter -	[link]
$50.41	Aquent	Senior CopyWriter -	[link]
$43.25	Lunchbox	Copywriter -	[link]
$40.93	Aquent	Freelance Copywriter -	[link]
$37.69	Aquent	Copywriter -	[link]
$28.32	Goldstar Events	Copywriter	[link]
$26.73	Walmart eCommerce	SEO Copywriter	[link]
$25.19	AR Media	Copywriter/Creative Coordinator	[link]
$24.74	YP	Copywriter -	[link]
$24.56	J. C. Penney	Copywriter -	[link]
$23.54	FindLaw	Copywriter -	[link]
$22.75	QVC	Copywriter	[link]
$20.34	Sears	Copywriter -	[link]
$19.62	Starmark/MARC USA	Copywriter	[link]
$17.71	Golden Hippo Media	Copywriter	[link]
$17.71	Forever 21	Copywriter	[link]
$16.92	The RealReal	Copywriter	[link]
$15.83	Belk	Copywriter	[link]
$15.31	Kohl's	Digital Copywriter	[link]
$14.83	HauteLook	Copywriter	[link]
$14.64	iNET Web	Copywriter	[link]
$14.52	Drift Web Design	Copywriter	[link]
$14.45	FCB	Copywriter Intern	[link]
$14.23	REVOLVE	Copywriter	[link]
$13.55	Overstock.com	Copywriter	[link]
$13.36	Ajax Union	Copywriter	[link]
$13.35	SoftRock	Copywriter	[link]
$13.34	Zulily	Copywriter	[link]
$11.39	eDrop-Off	Copywriter	[link]
$11.13	Sudler & Hennessey	Copywriter Intern	[link]
$11.05	The CDM Group	Copywriter Intern	[link]
$10.69	Web.com Inc	Copywriter	[link]
$10.31	RPA	Copywriter Intern	[link]
$10.14	Tocquigny	Copywriter Intern	[link]

 

The most common copywriter hourly salary is around the $18/hour range, and the average is about $21/hour. The lowest hourly wage was $10.14/hour, and the highest hourly wage was $60.63/hour. Now a lot of these hourly positions are for interns and junior copywriters, but it's still helpful to see it graphed out:

   

 

The highest paying Corporate and Agency Copywriter Jobs (over $100,000/year):

We sorted the salaries that bring in over $100,000/year, and here's what we got:

Salary $	Company	Post	Source
$148,048	Optimedia International	Copywriter	[link]
$147,035	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$136,105	Deutsch	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$134,751	BBH Global	Copywriter	[link]
$133,872	Devito/Verdi	Copywriter	[link]
$127,034	AKQA	Senior Copywriter	[link]
$126,162	Droga5	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$122,862	mcgarrybowen	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$120,864	BBDO	Copywriter	[link]
$120,775	TBWA\Chiat\Day	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$119,491	72andSunny	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$117,295	Productopop	Copywriter	[link]
$115,625	BBDO	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$113,261	Zubi Advertising	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$112,922	Grey Group	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$112,744	J. Walter Thompson Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$111,483	Arnold Worldwide	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$110,235	eBay Enterprise	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$109,598	Tribal DDB	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,660	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	Copywriter	[link]
$108,390	OgilvyOne	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,321	Crispin Porter	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$108,108	Conill	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$106,940	Team One	Copywriter	[link]
$106,284	DDB New York	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$106,231	Razorfish	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$103,856	Saatchi & Saatchi	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$101,900	C-K	Senior CopyWriter	[link]
$100,903	Publicis	Senior Copywriter	[link]

 

It's pretty clear that most of these jobs are for Senior Copywriters at large advertising agencies. So if you want to make over $100,000/year as a copywriter for an agency or corporation, aiming to become the Senior Copywriter is your ticket!    

 

FREELANCE COPYWRITER SALARIES:

This is the hardest group of copywriters to accurately gather data for, because it's all self reported.

The data gets all garbled because:

• ....a freelancer will often self-report only their "greatest" years, not the average numbers.
• ....a freelancer can "bring in" $100,000 in revenue, but that doesn't remotely mean it was all profit.  Since they are running their own business they may have lots of costs and overhead they're not reporting.
• ....there's no reliable way to see if they're reports are true.
• ....the ranges vary so so so so much. You'll meet freelance copywriters making $2,000 per year, and other freelance copywriters making $2,000,000 per year.  These extreme ranges make it difficult to report a specific amount.

For example, I brought in several hundreds thousand dollars last year from copywriting fees off this page alone.

BUT.....I also know a great deal of freelance copywriters that made maybe $800 extra in the whole year.

The other issue with reporting this number is I didn't actively promote my consulting services, so the number could be far different depending on the amount of marketing I do to the consulting services. There's just no super-reliable way to full understand these numbers.  

Why freelance copywriters can *possibly* make the most money:

If someone is a "freelance copywriter", what that really means is they are a "small business owner."

This means they have to handle all the annoyances of owning a business (such as expenses, lean years, and accounting), but also get all the perks of owning a business (such as making an unlimited cap of money, doing whatever you want, and getting paid as you choose).

The freelance writer can follow a path like this to becoming very successful:

Works as an agency copywriter --> Picks up a few freelance writing clients on the side --> Word gets out about them and they take on more clients --> They start making more money than their job so they quit --> They put up a website and join writing communities --> Opportunities come along where they can make a lot of money by partnering with another company --> They get offered a position to be director of marketing a fast growing startup --> They end up making a good deal of money etc etc....

What happens is the freelancer writer after a few years often gets tangled up in some other businesses.  This doesn't always work out, but it can.

And just like any small business owner, the path to success is usually not a straight and paved path. It's usually disguised in the form of a meandering and uncertain path.

Me for example, I never planned on becoming a "copywriter."  In fact until about 5 years ago I didn't even what that word meant (I thought copywriting was what patent lawyers do).

By trying to become a copywriter you end up picking up this whole stable of skills along the way (Go here if you are trying to get your first freelance gig😞

• How to charge clients.
• How to consult as a side job.
• The psychological reasons people buy things.
• How to sell products and services.
• After years of experience you start developing a sense of what WILL sell and what WON'T sell.
• The difference between using logical selling points and emotional selling.
• The list goes on.....

   

 

Salary Synopsis (by copywriter type):

Here's a quick synopsis of the data we found sorted by the type of copywriter being hired:   Average Copywriter Salary Data:
These are the salary ranges for any type of copywriter:
Average: $57,000
Lowest: $31,000
Highest: $147,035     Junior Copywriter Salary Data:
As an entry-level copywriter in the working world, here's the salaries you can expect:
Average: $46,868
Lowest: $31,342
Highest: $56,338     Copywriter Intern Salary Data:
If you're simply interning as a copywriter, you can gain a massive amount of great experience, but the pay is often on the lower end and hourly:
Average: $11/hour
Lowest: $10/hour
Highest: $14/hour     Technical Copywriter Salary Data:
If you are writing technical documents, the copywriting work can be more lucrative (although sometimes a little boring):
Average: $65,020
Lowest: $47,249
Highest: $94,518     Senior Copywriter Salary Data:
A senior copywriter can pull in a strong wage, as they are in charge of all the marketing copy that goes out the door and makes sales:
Average: $91,005
Lowest: $44,116
Highest: $147,035     Associate Copywriter Salary Data:
An associate copywriter working can expect earnings like this:
Average: $47,746
Lowest: $44,526 Highest: $50,434

 

Of course these are just the lows/highs/averages from the data we collected, but hopefully this gives you a good idea of what you can make as a copywriter! Related Copywriting Articles:

• What is copywriting?
• Examples of copywriting.
• How to become a copywriter.
• Consulting as a side job.
• Getting Your First Freelance Writing Jobs.
• Copywriting Books and Courses .

 

Download this whole Copywriter Salaries post:

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Hope you learned something and enjoyed!

Sincerely,
Neville Medhora

P.S. Let's get some self-reported data from the copywriters! In the comments tell us how much you make as a freelance copywriter!