Ready to earn money as a stay at home mom without sacrificing your family or sanity?
Are you looking for a way to earn money without sending your kids to daycare?
Are you sick of scrambling to find babysitters to cover school closures or your partner’s changing shifts?
You’re in good company. There are 2200 Google searches for “stay at home mom jobs” each month, which doesn’t count all the variations of that question. Working and having kids sounded so easy… until they arrived. Now you know the work/kids juggle is crazy hard! (But it’s not impossible.)
First, I want to share what this blog isn’t about.
You won’t find coupon cutting, earning points that eventually turn into a few dollars, hustling for affiliate payments, or spending all your time writing “hey girl” messages to your friends. There are loads of blogs that will tell you about these “non-job” options, but in my opinion they end up taking more time than they’re worth. And the one thing you don’t have much of is time, right?
This is for moms who want a real career to earn real money making a real impact in the world.
This is for moms who want a legit stay at home job.
Still with me? Excellent, let’s roll…
Being a parent is a full time job. Full Stop. I believe this to my core.
And like it or not, the reality of today’s world means even parents who choose to do the hard work of staying at home with their kids often need to bring in some income. You have to feed and clothe those tiny humans — there’s no way around it.
Maybe you resonate with one of these situations…
You’re holding a newborn and dreading the day your maternity leave ends.
Your take-home pay is nearly gone by the time you cover for gas and daycare.
You call in sick constantly so you can take care of your kids or because the daycare has closed — again.
You want to be present for the first steps, school plays, and to hug your child when they need you instead of having yet another sitter watch them.
Or maybe you’ve looked into part time work, but juggling the schedule around daycare, school holidays, closures, and a partner’s shifts can drive anyone crazy.
The good news is there absolutely is a way to be a stay at home mom and earn money. (Oh, and you don’t have to pressure your friends and family to buy “great products” from a MLM company— yep, I think those are scams.)
Let’s see why copywriting is the best stay at home mom job
Here’s the outline in case you want to jump ahead:
Why is copywriting a great stay at home mom job?
Flexibility
Save on work/daycare costs
No experience required
Your life experiences help you write
Low start up costs
You choose what companies/brands you promote
Keeps your mind active and engaged
Work and grow at your own pace
Earn more than a VA, SMM, or phone jobs
What is copywriting?
(And if you already know what copywriting is, go ahead and skip to the next section!)
Don’t worry if this is new territory. A few months before I launched my business, I had never heard of copywriting! And yet, here I am… a copywriter.
Copywriting, according to a quick Google search is “the act or occupation of writing the text of advertisements or promotional materials” — sounds very boring and vague IMO.
Copywriting is writing the words for marketing materials, but the underlying goal of copywriting is to communicate clearly, connect emotionally, and help people decide if the product/service/offer is the right fit for their needs.
Examples of copywriting are:
This blog 😂 (And many other blogs and articles that you scroll daily)
Emails from companies or programs
Websites
Sales pages — you know, those looooooong pages that help you decide if a program is right for you or not? (Those are my specialty, I love them)
Many social media posts
Billboards/advertisements
Pamphlets you get in the mail or in packaging
The list could go on… wherever you see words that are attempting to grab your attention and convince you to sign up, purchase, or take action is where you’ll find copywriting.
In the digital age where everyone is marketing online, the need for copywriters continues to increase.
Copywriters often work for agencies or companies, but in this article, we’ll be focusing on freelance copywriting. Freelancing means you start your own little business (which is easier than it sounds) and you are in control of the workload and processes rather than having a manager telling you what to do.
Now that you know what copywriting is, the next question in your mind is likely…
Why is copywriting a great job for a stay at home mom?
This is why you’re here, right? To dig in and decide if this copywriting thing is legit, and if it could work for you. Let’s dive into why it’s a great job for moms (or dads) who want to stay home with their kids and still earn money.
1. Copywriting lets you create a flexible work from home schedule
As you’ve searched for stay at home mom jobs, you may have come across many that required you to be at your desk during specific hours of the day. I’ve even heard of some that do “random checks” to make sure you’re there during those hours… ick.
I don’t know about you, but the whole reason I wanted a career change was so I had control over my schedule. I could drive for field trips, schedule appointments, be available when my kids needed me and bring them to things like story time and pop-up fairs.
Being a freelance copywriter means you legitimately set your own schedule, and you can change it anytime you want. I reserve Mondays and Fridays as “no Zoom call” days and fully embrace the messy bun, sweatpants, and no makeup benefits of working from home.
I often work on Saturday because my husband works weekends and the kids are old enough to run outside and play for hours unattended. I like to offer Discovery Calls on Saturday because many of my clients are swamped with their own businesses during typical working hours. The whole reason they need to outsource to me is because they are T-I-R-E-D and doing it all. I don’t work every weekend, but when I do it’s by choice.
For moms with babies or young kids, this may mean you get most of your work done early in the morning, during nap time or showtime. Or if you’re a night owl and can still function the next day, you can rap tap tap away on your keyboard in the middle of the night.
Your schedule is under your control.
2. You can plan trips and take holidays off
This ties closely to #1, but it still deserves its own section because it’s a huge perk.
Here’s what you avoid by owning your own business:
Scrambling to get your time-off request in before your coworkers so you can coordinate with your partner’s rotating shifts.
Choosing which holiday you’ll miss with family because of the holiday work requirements.
Begging friends, relatives, and near-strangers to watch your kids during your evening or weekend shift.
4am phone calls from the manager saying someone called in sick and they need you to come in to work. (Was that only me? Surely someone can relate…)
As a copywriter, you get to set your daily and weekly schedule… and you also get to choose when you take a vacation or how you want to celebrate your holidays.
✈️ If we have vacation plans coming up, I simply adjust my client call schedule and front-load my work so I don’t have to worry about Wi-fi or taking calls from a hotel room. (Or if I know the kids will be busy doing other things, sometimes I intentionally bring work with me and take a few quiet hours to write with a different view behind my screen… it’s kind of fun!)
3. Copywriting as a stay at home mom cuts down on work costs
Working from home means your commute is on foot… to wherever you decide to sit down for the day. You save on gas (which seems to cost more every single day) and you don’t put wear and tear on your car.
Copywriting from home means you get to wear whatever you want to work. There are no special “work clothes” required that you won’t ever wear elsewhere in your life.
☕ Let’s talk about convenience food costs too. When I was working crazy hours, it was sooooooo tempting to pop through a drive through for coffee and again for lunch. Each time seemed like just a little money, but in the long run these expenses add up. Being at home means you’re more likely to walk over to the coffee maker and make your own as well as chop up some veggies for your lunch instead of hitting the drive through.
You have work expenses when you own your own business — paper, pens, a computer, internet, and different online platforms to make sure you can do your job well… but these are all tax deductible and often don’t add up as fast as gas and food.
4. Copywriting is a stay at home mom job that requires no experience
Copywriting is a completely unregulated field, which means literally anyone can open up shop and call themselves a copywriter. You don’t need a degree, certification, or a stamp of approval from anyone. (This is a bit mind-boggling since so many of us work in over-regulated fields like teaching, healthcare, engineering etc.)
You could go back to school and get a marketing degree, an MBA, or find someone online to tell you you’re “certified” in copywriting… but you don’t have to. You don’t even need to have a writing degree or writing background.
You’ll learn as you go. Which is equally exciting and terrifying, right? 😉
The “proof” you need to create a sustainable copywriting business includes outcomes from your writing and happy customers. As you become more experienced, you’ll gather metrics (such as open rates, conversions, or ROI) and testimonials. These are the things that help your business grow — not degrees or certifications.
Even though you don’t need formal training, you are learning a completely new skill. If you invest in learning and having a community of copywriters, it will pay itself back many times over.
My recommendation → Write Your Way to Freedom by Sarah Turner.
You can take the free masterclass to get started and see if copywriting interests you.
5. With copywriting, your previous experience helps you find clients
You don’t need previous writing or marketing experience to become an excellent copywriter and create your own stay at home mom job.
But… all your previous life experience WILL help you become a copywriter!
There are copywriters for literally every industry and business type.
You’ll be able to leverage all these things and more as a copywriter:
Your previous career or work experience
Struggles with food allergies
A passion for pets or exotic animals
That BS degree that’s collecting dust right now
A passion to travel, problem solve, or find the best deals
Pop culture, Sci-fi, or History fascinations
That list doesn’t seem like it has any common theme, right? That’s the point — all knowledge is valid depending on your target market.
Your experiences, struggles, and passions will make you a unique writer, and the exact type of person that a specialty company is looking for. This doesn’t mean you have to have personal experience related to every business you write for, but it does help you get started.
For example, my background is in healthcare, we love to travel, have a dyslexic kid, homeschooled for a while, and I love geriatrics. All these elements have come into play at some point or another when booking projects. People want to buy from people — so being unique will be an asset.
6. Copywriting is a stay at home mom job with relatively low startup costs
You will have to invest some money to become a freelance copywriter but…
Think about people who are starting a “bricks and mortar” business — like a clothing store, ice cream shop, or even a food truck. They need tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their business up and running. Copywriting doesn't require anywhere near the investment that other businesses do.
Startup costs for copywriting are incredibly low. You need a laptop, Wifi, a website, business license, and a few other minor things. The largest expense is likely the copywriting training/community that will help you learn the ropes and start earning money faster. (Click here to read more about the program I recommend)
It’s hard to spend money on yourself as a mom, and it’s hard to invest in yourself when you’re not sure that this business idea will work out in the long run. (I was having the same worries when I wanted to find a stay at home mom job… I wanted to launch without spending any money. Here’s my story if you’re curious.)
As you look at the big picture of starting a freelance copywriting business, remember that the startup costs are SO MUCH lower than a traditional business, and when you create a stay at home mom job that you love, it will be money well spent.
7. You get to choose what companies you support, and contribute to a greater cause with a copywriting business
Ok — you ARE contributing to a greater cause by being intentional and thoughtful as you raise tiny humans. But some days it can feel soooooo mundane and disconnected from anything outside of changing diapers, wiping boogers, and cooking endless meals that are left untouched.
Copywriting is a stay at home job that allows you to have an impact far beyond your home or even your community.
You choose what companies you write for and what you promote. You should feel aligned with the mission and values of the companies you support, otherwise the projects will be very hard to complete. (We all make this mistake at least once!)
It’s possible you’ll write an ad for a lactation consultant and as a result, more moms and babies will get help. Maybe you’ll spearhead a fall-prevention campaign that helps keep people out of the hospital. Your writing can help a small business grow as well as impact the people who buy their goods or services. Simple put, it’s a ripple effect.
Creating a life you love includes a stay at home mom job that makes you feel good rather than misaligned. If you don’t believe in a company’s product or tactics — just say no to writing for them. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
8. Having a stay at home mom job keeps your mind active and engaged
The strangest thing about being a stay at home mom is… it’s challenging and exhausting… and also mind-numbing at times.
You answer “Why?” 35,467 times a day.
You read the same book night after night.
You narrate what you’re doing and what you see.
You watch a “cool trick” or push a stroller around for hours.
👉 All of these things are incredibly important for the healthy development of your child.
👉 All of these things help your child feel connected, secure, and loved. (Yes, I’m an occupational therapist and I want you to know you are doing an amazing job mama!)
👉 All of these things are also sometimes a bit… boring, right?
This is why so many moms want a job where they can stay at home with their kids and also “use their brain” a bit — because the daily grind of motherhood is tough.
Copywriting is a flexible, challenging-but-not-too-challenging job that allows you to dig into your interests and get paid for it. Your experiences in the trenches of motherhood will resonate with many readers who are facing the same challenges.
Instead of spending your spare moments scrolling for something interesting, or pinning projects you’ll never complete, why not get paid to write some of the content that other people will search up and find?
9. You can progress at your own pace and respect your family’s needs
Most moms don’t want to go from no work to full time work overnight. That’s a tough shift for any family. Thankfully, creating your own stay at home mom job with copywriting means you can take it slow and let everyone adjust as you go.
Don’t get me wrong — you’ll want to dive in all the way and start earning thousands of dollars overnight, but slow and steady truly wins the race. (There are lots of moms in the WYWTF group who call themselves the “turtles” 🐢— so you’ll be in good company as you chug along.)
With copywriting, you can learn the basics of one type of copy and only offer that until you’re ready to expand your skill set again. For example, you can write blogs only and support a handful of companies without ever diving into email strategy, direct response, or websites.
Or, you can write only email copy and never touch SEO or blogs if you prefer. (This is my preference.)
As running your business gets easier, you can choose to expand and offer more services to your customers. When you grow slowly and intentionally you’ll be far less likely to hit burnout.
Just like kids develop and grow at different rates, your business growth will be unique to you.
Bonus tip: Earn more than a social media manager or VA with copywriting as a stay at home mom
This one’s a little bonus to the top 10 list… just because it’s a common thing I see.
Many stay at home moms who look into copywriting also look into becoming a Virtual Assistant or a Social Media Manager. These jobs are also remote, flexible, and have very low start-up costs.
Social media is also very tempting because it’s fun and flashy. However the reality of social media management is you’re spending hours and hours behind the scenes creating videos and graphics that have a short life-span. There’s also less growth potential in social media vs copywriting.
Virtual assistants help business owners complete small tasks such as data entry, posting, responding to emails, or setting up funnels. The pay varies quite a bit, but since the tasks are often simple and mundane and don’t require a lot of thought, business owners outsource to the least expensive person (often in the Philippines from what I’ve seen, for $2-$5/hour.)
This is why I recommend copywriting over VA or SMM jobs.
Those are my top 10 reasons why the best stay at home mom job is copywriting.
Next, you may be wondering how to balance it all if you decide this is the path for you…
How do I balance a stay at home mom job with the demands of motherhood?
This will differ for everyone, however there are some keys to success when balancing a stay at home job with motherhood.
Stay at home mom job tip number 1: Schedule, schedule, schedule
You have to treat time like the most precious resource (after your kids… of course…)
But really, time is the thing you need the most and have the least of, so be very intentional about what you do with your time. A great first step is to do a time audit for yourself.
What are you spending your time doing? Even if it’s 5-10 minutes of scrolling social media here and there throughout the day, you’ll likely be surprised at how much time it adds up to be.
Find a planner that allows you to time-block and schedule your work hours. Be SUPER realistic with yourself, and include your partner if you have one. (Or grandparents, neighbors, or anyone else who’s willing to watch your little one(s) for a few hours here and there as you start your business.)
Figure out when you can schedule short work-sprints, and try to also schedule a half or full day for deep work. I know this is H-A-R-D to do, but blocking out some time during “normal” hours will keep you from going to bed late, waking up early, and burning yourself out.
Stay at home mom job tip number 2: Streamline and Systematize
You don’t have time for redundancies or inefficiencies — at all.
Give yourself grace as you start your business because everything will take longer than you think it should. Then, as you start to figure out your workflow, create systems and protocols ASAP.
Look at each task and decide if there’s a way to cut out some steps, or use a platform that completes some steps for you (automation).
An example of this may be closing a sale on a call rather than sending someone a proposal later. This way you don’t have to spend time creating a proposal, sending it, and waiting for their response.
Another example would be using a CRM platform like Dubsado that allows you to send the proposal, contract, and invoice all in one email. The system does the work for me and cues my clients to move from one step to another. (Otherwise I’d have to send each separately… and nobody has time for that.)
As you’re learning how to run your business, write down the steps for different tasks so you don’t have the mental load of remembering how to do them later.
I have a list of “end-of-month tasks” that I work through. The list includes things like reconciling my transactions in Wave, entering expenses in Dubsado, and recording metrics so I can see where my business is growing and what needs to be adjusted.
For a long time I did these end of month tasks without a checklist — but it was SO inefficient! I was spending way too much time hunting down links, Google analytics, and trying to remember how to find the total for the transaction fees in PayPal. It annoyed me every single month… but with a checklist and links attached I complete it in half the time. (The next step here is outsourcing this task to a VA… which I’ll do as soon as I find the right fit.)
Stay at home mom job tip number 3: Plan Tomorrow Today
There's nothing worse than waking up before the kids and being ready to dig into work… then floundering around trying to decide what’s the most important task.
When I do this I end up with 100 tabs open, 4 notebooks, and I accomplish nothing before someone wakes up and wants breakfast.
It’s infuriating — and I know I can only blame myself for the conundrum.
Each night before bed, take a few minutes to decide what the most important tasks are, or the tasks that will require quiet and focus to complete. Write those down at the top of your planner so as soon as you shuffle to your computer with messy hair and a coffee — you know what to do.
Whatever you do, don’t get sucked into social media first. Even if you feel like it’s accomplishing something — it’s not. It’s stealing your time and energy and slowing down your progress.
Stay at home mom job tip number 4: Go Easy on Yourself — This is Challenging
This will get easier with time and intentional planning.
Remember that this season of life doesn’t last forever, even though sometimes each day can drag on for 547 hours. The relationships with your children, partner, and friends are more important in the long run than fast business growth.
You’ll be bombarded by messages of “overnight successes” and moms who are “effortlessly doing it all” and looking smoking hot at the same time.
The more moms I talk to and the more online businesses I work with, the more I realize that it is all smoke and mirrors. It’s the story people want to hear, even though it’s not truthful.
Those overnight success stories are usually backed by years of trials and failures, and often divorces. The rhetoric of being wildly successful while being “fully present and home with the kids” is usually a huge overstatement.
From what I’ve seen, these mega business owners have nannies and send their kids to loads of camps during the summer. Or the kids are planted in front of a screen all day and the mom is emotionally unavailable — which is essentially my worst nightmare — and definitely not the stay at home mom I want to be.
Be kind to yourself and remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Take small steps each day toward your goals, and pause when your kids need you.
A year from now, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come. It’s a journey of professional and personal growth — you really can’t separate the two when you’re a stay at home mom and a business owner.
📚 If you’re also a homeschool mama, you may want to read this blog for even more tips and support.
If you want a deep dive into the "best and worst of starting a freelance copywriting business as a mom, click here to read a blog for you.
Final Thoughts On The Best Online Job For Moms At Home — Copywriting
Finding an online job for stay at home moms might be challenging at first, but in the end, it will give you more flexibility, freedom, and money.
Copywriting provides a legit, scalable job for stay at home moms, and keeps you away from the MLM traps, endless surveys, or being tied to your phone 24/7 (which we know isn’t good for kids emotional development).
Working as a stay at home mom takes planning, discipline, sacrifice, and a bit of juggling… but you can do it! It also comes with massive rewards and memories that last a lifetime.
Take it slow and steady, and always keep your family as your first priority.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. (For real — all the other moms are getting help in this journey, even if they won’t admit it.)
Other Online Jobs for Stay at Home Moms
In case you’re curious about other options, below is a quick list of jobs for stay at home moms that I found. Each one requires a different skill set and pay can vary. If any of these sound interesting, drop it into Google and the magic of SEO will pop some (hopefully) helpful blogs up in the search results.
Remember to be a savvy consumer — if a website looks spammy or they are asking for your personal info/bank account or they’re promising overnight riches… run.
Use that mama intuition and vet each option very carefully. Happy job hunting!
Virtual assistant
Social media manager
Online course creator (If you choose to do this, Gemma’s program is top-notch)
Graphic Designer
Web Designer
Matchmaker
Transcriber
Translator
Copy editor or proofreader
Influencer, brand ambassador, affiliate marketer, YouTuber (these require a lot of groundwork to start earning)
Blogger
Customer service representative
Bookkeeper
Online Stylist
Coach
Content Marketer
Online Business Manager
Tutor
My preference, of course, is copywriting. And whatever you choose, remember you’re not stuck with that forever!
I’ve seen multiple copywriters in the WYWTF community move on to other jobs or careers, and more often than not, they don’t regret the investment in becoming a copywriter a bit because it was the stepping stone they needed to help themselves grow and find their path.
Enjoy this journey of self discovery and career development. You’re modeling a growth mindset and stress management for your children as you go.
You’ve got this.
Start with a Free Copywriting Masterclass to learn if copywriting is a good fit for your stay at home mom job.
