Hire Freelance Copywriter: A Complete Guide for Businesses

Brandon Crawford
Sep 19, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Strong copy is more than just cranking out an article. Copywriting is the driving force behind online sales, customer engagement, and brand awareness. Whether you're running a small ecommerce store, managing a startup, or leading a seasoned marketing team, sending the right message sets you apart from your competition...and ultimately, wins the trust of your clients.

This is where a freelance copywriter for hire comes in.

Hiring a freelance copywriter gives you the power to display professional-caliber writing on your platform without the cost of hiring a full-time employee. But what exactly does a freelance copywriter do? How do you find the best freelance copywriter for your business?

Let's talk about it.

What Is a Freelance Copywriter?

A freelance copywriter is a rogue professional who creates content that drives emotion. The final product must be persuasive, engaging, and trigger the reader to perform a desired action. What separates regular writers from copywriters is the behavior triggered by the author's writing.

All writing drives emotion, right? Well, copywriting drives emotion and action. Copywriters focus on marketing and sales-based outcomes. Whether it's buying an item, submitting an e-mail, or clicking a link...the copywriter lights the digital fire under the butt of the target audience.

Copywriters provide services like:

Website Content: Homepages, landing pages, blog posts.
SEO Copywriting: Optimized content that ranks in search engines.
Ad Copy: Google Ads, social media ads, print campaigns, native ads, etc.
Email Marketing: Newsletters, drip campaigns, product launches.
Product Copy: Descriptions for e-commerce sites and catalogs.

Essentially, the copywriter provides the content that nurtures the buyers every step of the way during the sales process.

Why Hire a Freelance Copywriter?

Outsourcing your copywriting duties to a freelancer has significant advantages over an in-house staff. It absolutely trumps writing the content yourself.

If you've been kicking the can, contemplating on whether you should hire a freelance copywriter...consider the following advantages:

Cost-Effective: Instead of paying an hourly rate to creators in your writing department...you only pay for projects you need.
Specialized Expertise: Hiring a freelance copywriter affords you the luxury of solely tasking an expert to write your content. Not only are they skilled in SEO, branding, and persuasion...but you can find a copywriter who specializes in your niche or industry.
Flexibility: Easily scale projects up or down depending on your workload.
Fresh Perspective: An outsider's take uncovers fresh selling points you probably overlooked.

For startups, smaller businesses, or independent agents...the benefits of hiring a freelance copywriter can propel you to a win.

BUT...tread carefully and do your homework. There's a lot of pretenders who claim to be expert copywriters. If you're not careful, you end up paying a ton of money for AI writing that isn't worth a fraction of what you're going to pay for it.

How to Choose the Right Freelance Copywriter

Not all copywriters are created equal...so don't let anybody tell you selection doesn't matters, or that you're better off going with AI. Make sure you vet any copywriter you consider, and look out for the following:

Portfolio Review: Any copywriter that's worth a damn will have a portfolio showcasing their work. If you're looking to hire within a particular industry, check for content matter first. Nothing that matches your industry or niche? No need to go any further. If they do have experience, you can move on to quality and style. As a sidenote...many copywriters work on a ghostwriter basis...meaning their clients retain rights to the work and post it under a different name. They may not always have results on paper. Don't be afraid to ask how their articles performed.
Ask for a portfolio.
Writing Style: Does the tone of their past pieces generally match what you're looking for with your brand? It doesn't have to be an exact match...but you normally wouldn't hire Nicolas Cage to play the same role as Tom Cruise...you know what I mean?
Communication Skills: Good copywriters ask their clients questions...they listen...and make changes as needed.
Testimonials: This isn't always mandatory but positive reviews demonstrate additional reliability and proven results.

What to Expect When Hiring a Freelance Copywriter

There are a million ways you can hire a freelance copywriter. We'll circle back to that. That said, usually there's a standard way to present your project to the writer. The following steps will suffice:

Introduce Your Project: Have a short conversation with your copywriter about your project. Whether it's through phone, text, chat...it doesn't matter. Just verbalize what you'd like out of your project. This is a great time to introduce them to your brand and brand voice. Make sure you express your expectations and how you want your brand to be portrayed.
Negotiate Contract Terms: Most freelance copywriters will have a contract they use before performing any work. This includes details about ownership of the work...rates...expectations for payment...all the fine details. Make sure you go over the contract and be sure everything is acceptable.
Submit Prompt/Project Details: You'll send over an official prompt or outline highlighting the details of your project. This will include things like the primary topic, keywords, target audience, CTAs, and any data or additional information you'd like to present.
Initial Outline/Draft: Depending on the specifics of the service they provide and what you've worked out personally, most copywriters provide you with either an outline...and most certainly a draft. If there are any major tweaks you'd like to make, now is the time to voice these requests.
Review Final Draft/Send Invoice: After returning the outline or first draft, your writer will return a copy if the finished product. They most likely have an editor they use...but you'll still want to run it by your own editor or pass it through Grammarly/use a third-party to vet the article. Any small changes to grammar or content can be expressed here. Return it to the writer for a final pass...if there are no changes, you can submit payment.

Understanding all this...one of the most important elements beyond vetting for quality is the price. So...how much should you pay your freelance copywriter?

Freelance Copywriting Rates?

Rates for freelance copywriters vary WIDELY...especially in the current market. Price is important...so you want to be mindful of this step. You don't want to go with the cheapest writer available...but you don't want to get ripped off either. You're looking for the perfect mix between value and quality. Here's what to expect:

Hourly Rates: $30 on the low end, $175 on the high end. Depending on exactly what you're looking for...sometimes you might surpass the high end...but that's only for the highest quality content available with maybe some special requirements that call for more effort.
Per Project: Blog posts ($150-$500), landing pages ($300-$1,000), website packages ($1,000-plus).
Influencing Factors: Experience and reputation, project complexity, turnaround time, niche specialization, and steps to completion.

Remember...great copy is an investment that pays for itself. Don't be afraid to shell out a few extra dollars...assuming you do your homework...you will see where that extra money went.

Tips for Working With a Freelance Copywriter

I'll bless you with the following tips on working with a freelance copywriter. These can save you a lot of time and headache...ensuring you have a much smoother experience.

Communicate Clearly: Be honest about your goals, expectations, brand guidelines, and target audience.
Set Clear Expectations: Come to an agreement on the timeline, number of revisions, and other deliverables.
Provide Constructive Feedback: Be specific about the changes you want. If you voice your suggestions in a respectable way, most copywriters will welcome your opinion. It gives them a chance to grow...and most importantly, satisfy a client.
Respect Their Expertise: On the same token...trust their knowledge of best practices. If they suggest a change...tweaks to the content, specific wording, or alternative keywords...it's for your benefit. The better the collaboration, the stronger the end product.

Where to Find Freelance Copywriters

Finding the best freelance copywriters today is easier than ever. With the deployment of chatGPT and other AI platforms, competition is stiff, and writers are competing harder than ever for your business. You can check places like:

Upwork
Fiverr
LinkedIn
Contently

One of the best sources is right here, with Brandon Crawford Copy. With our services, you get years of experience, a seasoned background in sales...all backed with a degree in psychology. Drop us a line today and let's get started introducing your brand to the world. It's your story...it deserves to be heard.