As a copywriter, words are your business. You craft compelling messaging, write high-converting sales pages, and create content that brings brands to life.
But while you’re busy building the perfect narrative for your clients, are you making sure your OWN business is legally protected?
Having the right legal agreements in place is just as essential as perfecting your writing skills because without them, you risk unpaid invoices, scope creep, and potential legal disputes that could seriously derail your business.
Which is why every copywriter needs these three essential contracts:
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Copywriter Services Agreement + Statement of Work
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Website Privacy Policy
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Website Terms of Use
Keep reading to understand why each of these agreements is a must-have and how they work together to keep your copywriting business legally secure.
The 3 Most Important Contracts to Implement in Your Copywriting Business
Copywriter Services Agreement
First things first, all service providers (copywriters especially!) need to set the foundation of their client projects with a Services Agreement and Statement of Work, which is really just a fancy way of saying “client contract.”
This contract outlines the terms of your working relationship, sets clear expectations, and ensures you get paid on time. Without having this in place, you’re leaving yourself open to misunderstandings, last-minute changes, and potential payment disputes.
What a Copywriter Services Agreement Covers:
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Scope of Work – What exactly are you writing? How many revisions are included? When will the first draft be delivered? This section helps prevent scope creep, where clients continuously ask for "just one more thing" without additional payment.
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Payment Terms – Whether you charge per project, per hour, or per word, your contract should state when and how you expect to be paid. You can also include late fees to encourage timely payments.
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Ownership & Copyright – Does your client own the copy once it’s delivered, or do you retain the rights until full payment is made? This clause is crucial for protecting your intellectual property.
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Revisions & Approvals – How many rounds of edits are included? Setting boundaries around revisions helps prevent endless back-and-forth.
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Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure – Many clients share sensitive information about their business. A confidentiality clause ensures you keep that information private.
Essentially, when someone hires you for a copywriting project, it’s important that you and your client are on the same page about roles, responsibilities, expectations, timelines, payment, and more. This Copywriting Services Agreement contract template breaks everything down in easy-to-understand language, protecting you, informing your client, and increasing your creative control.
Website Privacy Policy
If you have a website (which, as a copywriter, you definitely should and probably do!), you must have a Website Privacy Policy. Not only is this legally required in many regions, but it also builds trust with visitors and potential clients.
A privacy policy ensures 3 major things:
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Legal Compliance – Privacy laws like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) require websites to disclose how they collect, store, and use personal data.
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Protects You From Liability – If a website visitor claims their personal data was misused, having a proper privacy policy in place helps protect your business from legal trouble.
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Transparency Builds Trust – Potential clients want to know their information is safe when they sign up for your newsletter, download a freebie, or book a discovery call. A clear privacy policy shows you take their privacy seriously.
Even if you’re just collecting names and email addresses for your email list, you STILL need a Privacy Policy that explains how that data will be used and stored.
And if you don’t believe me on the importance of this one, click here for a deeper dive into privacy policies and for a better understanding
Website Terms of Use
Lastly, in addition to having a Privacy Policy on your website, you’ll also want to implement a Website Terms of Use, which outlines the rules and guidelines for visitors interacting with your website.
This legal agreement essentially acts as a digital handshake between you and anyone who lands on your site. 🤝
Your Terms of Use agreement covers:
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Intellectual Property Protection – Your words, blog posts, and sales pages are your creative assets and this agreement clearly states that visitors cannot copy, distribute, or reuse your content without permission.
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Limitations of Liability – If someone misinterprets the advice on your blog and experiences negative results, a Terms of Use agreement protects you from being held legally responsible.
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User Conduct Guidelines – If you allow blog comments, testimonials, or user-generated content, this document sets the rules for appropriate behavior and what actions you can take (like removing harmful comments).
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Refund & Payment Policies – If you sell digital products, templates, or courses on your site, this agreement clarifies refund policies, chargebacks, and expectations for buyers.
Even if you’re not selling anything on your website yet, it’s smart to have this agreement in place from day one so that you don’t have to backpedal later!
The Risk of NOT Having These Agreements as a Copywriter
Skipping out on legal agreements might seem fine… until something goes wrong.
If you choose NOT to implement these legal agreements in your business, you’re risking clients not paying you, experiencing major scope creep, operating a website that isn’t legally compliant, and even copyright infringement.
While I know that it might seem like focusing on your client work is most important, prioritizing your business from a legal aspect is SO important and really shouldn’t be skipped.
Lucky for you, I’ve made it SUPER easy for you to add all 3 of these legal agreements to your business with the Copywriter Template Bundle!
This bundle features all three of these must-have agreements, including:
✅ Copywriter Services Agreement + Statement of Work (to protect your client relationships)
✅ Website Privacy Policy (to keep your website legally compliant)
✅ Website Terms of Use (to safeguard your content and website interactions)
If you’re serious about running a professional, profitable, and legally sound copywriting business, don’t leave yourself unprotected.
Grab the bundle, customize the contracts to fit the specifics of your business, and trust that your business is fully protected as soon as today!
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