Negotiating rates is one of the most challenging aspects of being a writer. When you’re just starting out, there’s a tendency to price yourself either too high or too low. This is likely because you have no idea how much is reasonable to ask.

Even if you’ve been in the industry for a few years, increasing your rates can be tricky. You don’t want to leave money on the table, but don’t want to lose a job to competitors over a few bucks either.

Working from home can be headache in this sense. It’s tempting to return to an office-based role just to have somebody else figure it out. But we believe that’s the last thing you should ever do.

Becoming a freelance copywriter in the Philippines or elsewhere can be viable and rewarding. Read on as we explain why.

Does Copywriting Make a Lot of Money?

Data gathered by employment website Indeed shows that a copywriter in the Philippines makes an average of PHP 26,215 per month. Meanwhile, PayScale pegs it at PHP 292,394 per year or PHP 24,366 per month.

Looking at these ballpark figures, you can say that freelance writing is bankable, though the compensation will depend on several variables.

What Are These Factors that Affect Copywriter Salary?

Unsurprisingly, the highest-paid positions are reserved for the most relevant. Check if you have the following fundamentals and how they help you move up the career and pay ladder.

Years of experience

Work experience greatly increases your chances of getting hired. It’s understandable that an employer is more willing to pay for candidates with a professional background than those without.

As reported by Glassdoor, Filipino copywriter salary ranges from 192K to 552K per year. A junior content writer can be paid as low as 16,000 every month.

A senior copywriter, on the other hand, can receive as much as 46,000 per month. The median usually reserved for mid-level freelancers sits at 30,250 monthly.

As for why they get paid around that much, let’s consider what are expected of them and what their common behaviors are.

Entry-level

Expected Skills:

• Uses proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• Produces concise content that reflects the company’s brand and voice
• Writes compelling copy that promotes client products and services
• Understands the target market and the message of the campaign

Typical Behaviour:

• Lacks a good routine and works when they feel like it
• Uses an improvised workspace rather than a dedicated one
• Loves the taste of freedom from being without direct supervision
• Unable to assess where and how they fit into the big picture

Being a beginner means there is still much for you to learn. Clients aren’t keen to assigning big tasks to you yet, which is why you won’t get paid premium for now. Take this time to expand your knowledge as you go along.

Mid-level

Expected Skills:

• Familiar with on-page SEO methods for boosting website traffic
• Incorporates social proof into content to add authority and trust
• Conveys the proper emotion to persuade the audience to buy
• Cooperates with the team to develop a content strategy

Typical Behaviour:

• Sets their own short- and long-term goals and evaluates their efficiency
• Embraces opportunities for learning by overcoming the fear of failure
• Creates a working environment optimal for working
• Invests in tools and resources for advancing their career in writing

Count yourself in if you have at least 4 years of online working experience. You must also have a decent portfolio along with a good understanding of your role. This is the stage when you must decide what type of copywriting to specialize in, be it SEO or technical writing.

Senior-level

Expected Skills:

• Writes complex long-form articles while adhering to SEO best practices
• Crafts content that increases conversion and delivers quality results
• Tracks web traffic and other metrics for improving site performance
• Conducts extensive industry research to fill any content gaps

Typical Behaviour:

• Relied on by the employer to deal with any issues or distractions
• Works in a dedicated home office or co-working space
• Displays a professional relationship with the rest of the team
• Expresses themselves well when presenting their work or expertise

Level of expertise

It’s not enough to have years of experience to move up the ranks and be labelled as a senior writer. If you want to receive a higher copywriter salary, you must have the necessary skills to match.

By honing your skills, you’re able to provide more valuable deliverables to your client. Only then will you be rewarded accordingly.

Organizations are less likely to give a raise due to tenure these days. You could be working for the same company for 7 years yet remain in the mid-level because you don’t have the skill-set that’s expected of a senior-level writer.

To become an up-to-date content writer, we suggest you focus on these areas:

• Refining your spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• Making your copy more friendly to search engines and web users alike
• Coming up with headlines that entice people to click and visit the website
• Specializing in a specific niche, such as medical articles or gaming blog posts
• Learning to write in a way that satisfies the intent of the users
• Showing customers how a client’s products and/or services meet their needs

Now that you’re aware of the areas where you can improve, work on them as time goes on. Don’t stay on the same level as where you started.

Business of employer

To boost your chances of receiving a higher copywriter salary, pick a sustainable client to work for. Mind if you’re choosing a global organization, a mid-sized company, or a small startup. Your bank account will likely reveal the differences between them.

A local business who wants you to start their blog may be struggling with their finances, so they can’t afford to pay you more. A well-known online business tends to be more willing to pay a higher rate.

In the same way, a craft shop on Etsy likely doesn’t earn as much as a website that sells popular computer parts. You cannot demand a bigger salary from them when they don’t have the funds for it in the first place.

Difference in location

Just to set things straight: It’s hard for a freelance copywriter in the Philippines to earn as much as a writer in the US. You can make big money all the same, but not to the same extent as someone who lives in the western part of the world.

To give you a better idea, let’s look at the difference in pay between a technical writer in the Philippines and a copywriter in the US.

Paylab says that the average monthly salary range for a Filipino writer is at 7,524 to 21,407 in pesos. Converting that to USD, we get a range of 155 to 441. A writer in the US gets 3,463 to 6,157 in dollars.

It sounds unfair but you must realize that clients look for a copywriters in places like the Philippines so they can cut costs. In other words, they don’t want to pay that higher range so it’s hard to demand that amount from them.

However, you may use this salary information to your advantage. With skills that match or exceed a copywriter in the US, you may negotiate for a higher rate. Prove that you give as much unique value as your western counterparts and you might get paid premium.

How Does Copywriter Salary Compare to Others?

Copywriting can pay well when you’re a skilled and experienced worker. But to help you understand your career options better, let’s see how it stacks up against other common professions in terms of wages.

We’ll be using the extensive database of Paylab to compare the average base salaries of different jobs in the Philippines.

There you have it. It’s worth venturing into a freelance writing career if you’re receiving chump change for your job now. The figures tell you that a career as a copywriter may bring higher-than-average income.

Getting Started on a Remote Copywriting Career

If we’re to believe MarketWatch, writers are in high demand as remote workers these days. This means that if you’re switching to an online career, why not make it copywriting?

It won’t be easy to work your way up from entry-level to senior-level but a can-do attitude will make it work. Remember to level up your writing skills if you’re determined to earn premium copywriter salary in the next few years.

We at Remote Workmate can help you get started. We update our job listings regularly to ensure that you’ll be among the first to know about a new writing opportunity.