One of the major reasons would-be copywriters and copywriters who are working a full-time job don’t go freelance is because of benefits. The common misconception is that as a freelancer, you don’t get the same benefits as an employee. And that’s just not true. The truth is, you have to build those benefits into your rates.

And, while that may seem daunting, actually gives you much more control over your income and where you spend it.

See, what your employee doesn’t tell you—and what most people overlook—is that the company is factoring in all those benefits (and the cost of those benefits!) into your salary or hourly rate. That’s just one of the reasons on-staff copywriters typically make less per hour than their freelance counterparts.

But what if you don’t want that $300/year gym credit or you don’t want to be on your employer’s healthcare because you’re on your spouse’s? That doesn’t change what your employee pays you.

As a freelancer, you have the flexibility to build your benefits package how you want it.

Read on for some of the most common benefits and how to build them into your freelancing rate.

Healthcare Benefits as a Freelancer

For most US-based copywriters, figuring out healthcare is often the most daunting of all the benefits. Where do you begin? Can you afford it?

The best place to start is healthcare.gov. From here, you can select your state and get taken to the right place to explore plans and costs for your state. Most states have an estimate tool that you can use to see if you qualify for any savings on your monthly cost.

Take the time to research your options and see what coverage you need for your specific situation. You can do this long before you even decide to go freelance! Digging into the options and numbers will start to dispel the fear of the unknown.

Most freelancers can also deduct healthcare expenses from their taxes. Check with your tax preparation professional to make sure you get this deduction if you qualify.

Vacation Time for Freelancers

The biggest misconception people have—including working freelancers!—about vacation time is that taking time off means time you’re not making money. On the surface this is true: if you don’t work, you don’t get paid as a freelancer. But this is where knowing your numbers is crucially important.

You get PTO (paid time off) at a company because the organization is factoring it into your salary or hourly rate.

So, you’ll do the same thing. Comprehensive Copywriting Academy students know that there’s an entire course on pricing in the CCA. As a very, very basic starting point, do some research on salaries for copywriters in your area and at your level of experience. This will give you an idea of common annual salaries. But, if you want to make more, great!

With this number in mind, divide it by the number of weeks each year you want to work. Give yourself at least two weeks vacation. The benefit of being freelance is you can build in your vacation time when and how you want. If you want four weeks, great! Then divide that number by the number of hours in a week you want to work.

Play around with these numbers! See what happens if you work more. See what happens if you work less.

Of course, ground your numbers in reality. If you want to make $100,000 a year, it’s absolutely possible. Can you hit that number working 5 hours per week with 6 weeks vacation? Not likely as a one-to-one service provider (e.g. one copywriter providing services to a handful of clients).

How Freelancers Can Plan for Retirement

Yes, some companies offer a 401(k) match. But freelancers have a huge advantage over full-time employees when it comes to saving for retirement.

If you are running you copywriting business yourself (as in, you don’t have employees), you can open up a self 401(k), sometimes called a solo 401(k), self-employed 401(k), or one-participant 401(k).

The huge perk for freelancers is you can contribute as the employee and the employer. As the employee, it’s very similar to any other 401(k): you have a maximum limit you can contribute each year ($22,500 for most plans in 2023; check since contribution limits can change from year to year). You must contribute by the end of the calendar year.

As the employer, you typically have until you file your annual taxes to make the employer contribution. Your employer contribution is a bit tricky, so ask your tax preparation professional to help you understand the limit of what you can contribute as the employer of your business. It’s based on your “earned income,” which is defined as net earning minus one-half of the self-employment tax and contributions for yourself. (The IRS explains how to do the math here and gives examples here.)

The benefit of this? If you make a lot of money in a given year, you can decide to contribute more to your retirement accounts and lower your taxable income.

Educational Benefits for Freelancers

While some employers cover all or part of the cost of advanced degrees for their employees,

But freelancers do have the perk of being able to deduct certain educational costs from their taxes.

Additional Freelance Benefits

There are, of course, tons of benefits of being a freelancer that on-staff workers typically do not get. Here are just a few of them:

• Your rates. As an on-staff employee, your salary is your salary. You may have a conversation with your boss each year, asking for a raise. Or maybe the company adjusts your salary 3% to keep up with the cost of living. As a freelancer, you can decide to bump up your rates project to project.
• Your amount of time off. Build in as much as you want and take it when you want. There’s no fighting your fellow team members for prime vacation days or being capped at two weeks. Of course, give your repeat clients as much advanced notice as possible.
• Where you’re working. Post 2020, this has become a bit more flexible as companies have realized not everyone needs to be in an office to get the job done. Nonetheless, freelancers have the perk of working from wherever they want. We have CCA students in the UK working with clients in the US; students in Canada working with clients in the UK; students in the US working with Australian clients—the opportunities really are limitless.
• Your schedule. This is also a bit more flexible post 2020, but, again, freelancers are always 100% in control of their hours. If a client asks you to take a meeting, it’s when it works for both of you—there’s not necessarily an expectation that you’re holding certain office hours as they are with a full-time job.

Watch More

On Episode 49 of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate discuss why benefits should not be something that holds you back from freelancing (if that’s your goal). They share tips for building your own freelance copywriter benefits package—one that’s far more attractive than what any employer can offer you since it’s tailored to your needs.

Your Turn! What benefits did we miss? What additional benefits have you built into your own copywriting business? Tell us in the comments!

Note: As with anything regarding taxes, consult a tax professional. We are not CPAs or tax professionals, so use this as a starting point to ask your tax professional questions about your specific situation.

The post Freelance Copywriter Benefits: How to Build Your Own Benefits Package appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

If you’ve been a part of this community for a while, you might have read that headline with one eyebrow raised. After all, I tell you again and again that the key to your success is taking action consistently and persistently.

(And that is still VERY much true. Write it down somewhere you’ll see it every day. Get it tattooed backwards on your forehead so you’ll see it in the mirror. Make it your mantra!)

But I will also tell you NOT to try to work for three or four hours a day while you’re going through the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy course and beginning your learning. And I’ll heartily tell you to take a couple of days off (a.k.a. a weekend) each week.

Why? Because it’s easy to burn out, and burnout sneaks up faster than you’d believe.

Learning Something New Is Hard for Adults

When you’re learning something new and/or taking on a new venture like copywriting, it’s taxing on you mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Now, don’t get me wrong: It’s absolutely WORTH it. All of the best things in our lives, all of the things that make our lives better, generally start out being at least somewhat mentally, physically, and/or emotionally taxing. But you get through it and you reap the benefits.

But, as adults, it’s not often that we learn something genuinely new, and so it’s a little extra tiring for our brains to process and retain the information. It’s also not that often that we call on ourselves to do something new, and that’s emotionally exhausting. And, frankly, sitting down and getting our work done can be physically exhausting!

Again, consistency and persistence are key…but while working a half-hour or an hour each day on learning and building your business and then taking the weekend off is heading in the right direction, trying to cram in hours’ worth of learning and practice day after day after day is heading in the wrong one.

“Powering Through” Doesn’t Work

When you try to power through without taking a break, you don’t give your brain the valuable time to learn and assimilate the information.

Have you ever been doing a crossword puzzle, been utterly stumped on a clue, set it down to do something later, and then come back to it to have the answer “magically” come to you?

Yup, that’s how your brain works. When you’re learning or practicing your copywriting skills, or when you’re writing for clients for that matter, your brain is working hard when you’re actively engaged in that task.

But it’s also working while you’re not engaged in that task. It’s taking new things you’ve learned and creating neural pathways to make it permanent. Working through problems or challenges to come up with the solution. Generating new and creative ideas.

You need to take time off.

Taking Time Off Makes You MORE Productive

And, believe me, I say this to you as someone who is NOT great at taking time off. I know that I operate so much better as a writer, as a coach, as a business owner, and as a person, when I take a weekend away at least once every six months. (Six months has come and gone since my last getaway.)

But I know that I don’t do anyone any good when I don’t get time off. When I’m away is when I come up with new ideas for ways to support our students, new ideas for ways to grow our business, new ideas for ways to help my clients, and new ideas for ways to grow and improve as a person. Without that time away, I stagnate as a writer, a business owner, and as a person.

So, I often try, at least once a year, to take a weekend alone so that it’s just me and my thoughts.

Yes, you need to take action and make progress consistently and persistently, but you also NEED to give your brain a break. If you happen to have the opportunity to take a weekend getaway by yourself, go for it.

(For other tips on maximizing your time off, check out our blog post here >>)

Go Somewhere You’ve Never Been Before

Go somewhere you’ve never been before. If you can, go for at least two nights. On the first night, you’ll think you were stupid for taking time away from your life to do this. But by the second you’ll have decompressed and gotten into your groove. And bring snacks. (Brie, apples, and good bread are my go-tos.)

Keep the TV Off

Reading is fine, but watching TV isn’t going to rejuvenate you in the way you need. It turns out, you’re still exercising your brain when watching TV. And scrolling your phone on social media can lead to feeling worse.

Get Outside Your House

If you don’t have that luxury to get away for a couple of days, carve out even just a few hours for yourself if you can. The ideal is a few hours by yourself (again, not watching TV–it doesn’t let your mind rest in the right way) outside of your house. I have friends who make a deal with their spouse for a few hours alone and just hop in the car and drive to a nearby park to read for a few hours.

Or, even if you REALLY can’t get time by yourself at all (please try), spending time with people you enjoy can be recharging. (No TV!)

You need a break, I guarantee it. A real and true, high-quality break. Give your brain a chance to do what it does best and let it assimilate and create and ideate while you put your attention elsewhere. Both you and your career deserve it.

Learn more about how to take a vacation as a freelancer >>

Watch More: How To Take Time Off as a Copywriter

A huge perk to being a freelancer is that you can work when and where you want. But even with that freedom freelancers are notorious for not taking vacations and working right through, resulting in burnout. As a freelancer you may feel like if you aren’t working, you aren’t making money. But if you set up your calendar properly you can plan for it! In this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate share real-world advice for freelancers struggling to take time off throughout the year.

Your Turn

How are you going to give yourself a break? What will you do and when? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Tip for Success: Take a Vacation From Your Business appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.

A freelance copywriter, master of their own schedule, should have no problem taking a vacation. And yet, it’s often freelancers often have the hardest time taking a break.

After all, you work so hard to get clients and to build up your workload—how can you walk away from that? When clients ask you if you’re available for work, your instant reaction is probably always going to be to say “Absolutely!”

The Importance of Taking Vacations as a Freelancer

As a freelancer, you have to take care of yourself in order to keep working at high capacity, and one of the best ways to take care of yourself is to take some time off. To unwind. To get away. And to not take calls from clients. You know, clients: those people who actually fund your ability to take some time off.

You can (and should!) practice self-care throughout your days and weeks to avoid burnout. But an afternoon off here and there, or a trip where you bring your laptop is not the same thing as having time to power off your computer and truly disconnect.

Without at least two weeks off per year, you’re setting yourself up for long-term burnout. This can lead to producing less-than-stellar work and even hampering your productivity. But if you build in time off, you’ll come back feeling recharged and able to produce your best work without dragging your feet.

Think of your vacation time as an investment in your business. Without it, your revenue can be severely impacted!

After all, what’s the point of freelancing if we can’t set our schedules the way we want?

3 Steps to Taking a Vacation as a Freelancer

1. Block Off Your Schedule

The only way to ensure you don’t burn bridges with clients and you get your much-needed break from work is to plan for it. Once you commit to a client project, you’re committed to it. So, for example, if you say “yes” to a project and forgot that it was over a week in July you wanted to take off, you’ll need to look at a new week.

Aim, at the least, to take a week off every six months or so. And, as soon as you decide when to take this time off, mark it on the calendar and block it off to avoid scheduling anything else during that time.

If you can, do this at the beginning of the year. That way, as clients start to book your services, you can pull up your calendar and let them know when you can start and complete projects. Then, check in each quarter with yourself to make sure your days and weeks off are still the days and weeks you want to do take.

2. Communicate With Your Clients

At the one month out mark, start letting your clients that you’ll be unavailable during that week. With this much notice, both you and they can plan to arrange project schedules to accommodate your week off. In the worse scenario, you could always shift your week a bit, but do you best to avoid this if possible—chances are, if you “shift” your week, you’ll end up skipping it.

If a client needs work taken care of even while you’re gone, work with one of your trusted copywriting colleagues to cover you during this time. Be sure, of course, that this is a copywriter whose work you respect and whose ethics you trust—you don’t want to come back to find your client poached, after all.

At the one-week-out mark, start sending out emails to all of your clients (even ones you’re not currently working with) and any recruiting contacts to let them know the dates during which you’ll be unavailable. That way, they won’t think you’re ignoring them if you don’t respond when they try to get in touch with you that week.

A Note on Out of Office Messages

Before you leave, set away messages for your email. However, remember that you’re also telling anyone who gets in contact with you that you’re not at home.

Keep your message simple:

Hi there! I am currently away from my computer and will return your message when I’m back online Thursday, July 15. Thank you!

Don’t overthink it or feel you have to explain where you are, justify your time off, or add in any more personality. You need to make sure your clients get the information they need, fast.

3. Plan for When You’re Back

A few days before you leave, start scheduling some meetings with clients a few days after you get back. This will help to avoid any extra, unwanted time off on your part and will show your client that they’re a top priority for you.

If you wait to get back to do this, it can lead to a longer-than-you-wanted vacation. As in, you may come back expecting to work, only to realize you don’t have anything to work on.

If you have projects you know you’ll wrap up after your vacation (versus before), prioritize your post-vacation schedule. This will ensure you can hit the ground running when you’re back versus dragging your feet on must-hit deadlines.

Working on Your Vacation?

At least a month out, start investigating your internet and Wi-Fi options wherever you’re going. Now, I’m not saying that you should be checking your email by any means, but you want to know where, when and how you can check it if you really feel you need to. I would recommend avoiding your email as much as possible to really help you relax, but I realize that’s not necessarily always very realistic.

Read on for more tips for what to pack if you’re working on vacation >>

Building Vacation in Your Freelance Rates

As a freelancer, we get to set our own rates. That means we shouldn’t be penalizing ourselves for taking time off. We should be building that time off into our freelancer rates.

Of course, we can’t say “I want to make six figures and work 1 day per year!” But we can say “I want to take at least 2 weeks off per year.” If you want to hit 6 figures with 2 weeks vacation, you can do that with rates that are $50/hour ($50 x 40 hours a week x 50 weeks a year).

Of course, you’ll want to figure out your hourly rate based on your level of experience and where you’re located (US rates are different than UK!), among other factors. But as you figure out your rate, you can calculate it with your weeks of vacation in mind. That way, when you’re building your project quote, you can use your hourly rate with your vacation time factored in.

Now all that’s left is to enjoy your vacation—and begin planning your next!

Watch More

On episode 122 of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Nicki and Kate dig further into the three steps you need to take to enjoy your time off, including the mindset shift you need to make. If you don’t have a vacation block currently on your calendar, watch now and start taking the steps you need to ensure your train does’t pull into burnout station.

Your Turn

Have you been able to take vacations? How have you fared? What are some of the tactics you used to ensure work stayed on schedule? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 3 Steps to Taking a Vacation as a Freelance Copywriter appeared first on Filthy Rich Writer.