One client paid me $500 for a 414-word article. That got me thinking, how much per word have I earned on my financial copywriting projects?
One of my side gigs handed me close to $13,000. It was a total of six pages and 1,400 words… which works out to more than $9 per word. But here’s the best part, it kept on paying me as long as the copy worked. And it required little-to-no upkeep.
Most people reading this will think that’s a big payout… but I know I’ve only scratched the surface. The top financial copywriters can make $100K+ per project in a few months.
With that pay potential, it’s no surprise you’ve landed here. And at the very least, picking up a few copywriting skills can help you grow your career. At its core, copywriting boils down to selling people ideas… whether it’s in an email, website or on a billboard. Choose your words with care…
To upgrade your writing, you’ll find tips below that you can use today. These ideas can help you reach and engage more readers. This can help you find better copywriting jobs and earn more per word.
Your Guide to Financial Copywriting
With any big goal, people tend to get caught up thinking too much about the endgame. The outcome is important – no arguments there – but focusing on the path is more productive. And to become a financial copywriter, here’s the first step… write.
Start by writing some copy and putting it out into the world. For example, blogging is a great way to improve your writing. Start building a portfolio of content that you own. This can help you stand out for financial copywriting jobs. And you can always return to your articles to improve or reuse them.
When starting out, also prepare for the sound of crickets. I’d be lucky to get 10 views on any one article. It was discouraging but the key is to be persistent. Keep writing and looking for ways to improve and share your articles. If you learn how to add more value for readers, you’ll reach more people.
How to Write Financial Copy
There’s no need to recreate the wheel. Whatever topic you research and write about, someone has already covered it. And your goal should be to improve upon what’s already out there. Find a unique angle.
With a writing topic or promotion in mind, start with a Google search. Check out the top results and try to reverse engineer the copy to find out what’s working. If there’s a comments section, this can also be a gold mine. Take any useful feedback and blend it into your copy.
This is a great way to find how to add value for your readers. And a good rule of thumb is to always include something unique, interesting and useful in every article. And if you’re writing promo copy, go and look at what’s currently working in that market. If a competitor keeps spending big money on an ad campaign, it could be a good guide. But this is a big picture strategy. Let’s dig deeper into what makes great copy…
Financial Copywriting Tips
There are formulas to succeed in every industry and the publishing world isn’t exempt. You can take repeatable steps to learn and improve. For financial copywriting, here are some time-tested formulas and tips…
Data Drives the Best Copy and Marketing
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” – Peter Drucker
Many people reject this quote and I agree with them. You don’t need to measure all things to improve… but the main takeaway: when you can measure your effort and the results, you can better focus on what works. What works is sometimes counterintuitive.
Every industry is collecting and analyzing more data. As a result, we’re finding trends that our brains can’t easily process. For example, compounding returns… do you know the CAGR formula? This is one way to measure your investment returns. How effective is your business and marketing?
We’re approaching a limit of complete understanding. This is a powerful mindset for any industry… but let’s bring it back to financial copywriting and advertising. Here’s one of my favorite quotes…
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – John Wanamaker
This quote is over 100 years old. And a lot has changed since then. Marketers can now track the effectiveness of their ad spend to the cent. It’s vital to collect and look at this data to see what’s working. This helps to better focus your copywriting projects.
Statistics isn’t sexy, but learning – and applying – best practices can improve your results. You can isolate efforts with A/B tests. And to improve insight, it helps to scale. Try for bigger sample sizes and be wary of bias.
One Big Idea for Copywriters
For most copywriting projects, it’s key to focus on one big idea. Once you pin down an idea that engages your audience… hammer it home. Don’t deviate from the big idea.
When you introduce new ideas, it distracts from your call-to-action. And this almost always lowers conversions.
Write Easy-to-Read Financial Copy
Financial copywriters can cover complex topics. But it’s best to keep it simple…
Easy-to-read content does better. I’ve seen it firsthand with millions of readers. But this runs counter to what you learn in school. Unfortunately, academic writing isn’t useful 99% of the time… that’s unless you’re trying to lose your audience with big words – like politicians when it comes to tough topics.
One editor I worked with has refused to simplify his writing. He’s one of the smartest guys in the room but doesn’t want to “dumb down” his copy. As a result, he’s only seen a fraction of the success when compared to other more willing editors.
This is a logic trap. But the data shows that a simple message is more effective… and it isn’t easy to do. But are you a true expert on the topic if you can’t break it down to the basics?
Copywriting Tools and More Tips
The Flesch–Kincaid (FK) score is a great tool to check readability stats. It’s built into Microsoft Word, and I always try to write at the 8th grade level or below. For example, this post comes in at the 6th grade level. And here’s another free editing tool… Hemmingway App.
That writing tool gives a good visual of ways to improve your writing. It’s good to keep this concept top of mind when you’re writing…
Utilize minuscule locutions. That’s a distracting mouthful which means… use small words. Another example, never say “police officer in a vehicle.” Use “cop in a car.” That takes it from 10 to four syllables. More often than not, there’s no loss of meaning and intent. Great writers keep a thesaurus close at hand and use common words.
For another copywriting tip… almost always use active over passive verbs. When you use a passive verb, the reader uses more brain power to connect the dots. This isn’t good for keeping them around… and I practice what I preach, I only use one passive verb in this article. Can you find it and tell me why I kept it?
Build Credibility and Trust
Why should I read your story? Or you read mine? Why read a Forbes article? Time is valuable… so it’s vital to build credibility and trust from the get-go.
Forbes has the upper hand since it’s built a powerful brand… but you can leverage top brands. With some effort, you can publish content on top sites. You can then use… [Your Name] featured on [Big Brand Site], [Big Brand Site] and [Big Brand Site]. This pushes the reader to associate you with credible brands.
This strategy has become more common… so it’s lost some luster. Use it sparingly and instead, focus more time on showing why you’re an expert on any given topic. Or if ghostwriting, why your client is an expert.
At the start of this article, I showed you two clear examples of my financial copywriting success. You knew right away that I’m not some Joe Schmo. I showed you examples of how much I make as a copywriter per word. And I could have done better by providing three examples…
Once is a fluke. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.
On top of that, it’s better to show, not tell. It’s ok to tell readers your idea but it’s more useful when you back it up with at least three examples.
Listicles, Odd Numbers and Rule of Three
Our minds seek the path of least resistance…
Our brains use less energy to learn a topic when it’s broken down into a list. This is a powerful mental model that you can use to pull in more readers. And don’t treat all numbered lists the same.
Odd numbers can further improve click-through rates. This concept – like many I’ve discussed above – is cross disciplinary. Many of the world’s most famous paintings have an odd number of focal points.
Our minds tend to group even things and numbers. We subconsciously give them less attention. That’s why odd numbers and the Rule of Three can improve intrigue.
Find Your Copywriting Niche and Pay Structure
The tips above can help you become a better copywriter. I’ve focused on financial copywriting, but you can apply these tips to any niche. There’s lots of psychology behind why these writing techniques work.
As you build up your writing track record, you can lock in better clients. There are also many pay structures out there and it often depends on the type of copy. There’s pay per word, pay per article, short-form lead gen, long-form promotions, etc.
Pay per word and article can be a good way to get your foot in the door. However, you limit how much you can make. How many articles can you write in a day? You’re providing a commodity in a crowded market.
As you improve, you should shift towards pay based on performance. It can be feast or famine, but if you’re a good copywriter, it’s the best way to make more per word. It better aligns your interest with clients. It’s also a great way to avoid client sticker shock. If you ask for $10,000 up front for lead gen copy, it’s usually a non-starter.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m continuing to hone my craft and would love your feedback. Any questions? Writing tips to share? Or good books to read? Feel free to reach out anytime.
As mentioned, there’s lots of psychology behind copywriting. And here’s a throwback to one of my early YouTube videos on Fake Smile Psychology. It might seem off topic, but it taps into our subconscious mind. This is a powerful idea when it comes to marketing. But I caution you… with great power comes great responsibility 😁