Having great writing skills won’t help you make good money if you don’t have a proper business plan. Whether you’re a newbie freelance writer or have been writing for years and want to earn more, you are at the right place.
Here are eleven simple yet actionable tips that will allow you to earn more as a freelancer and achieve your financial goals.
1. Choose the Right Online Portals
Every single online job portal claims to provide “high-paying writing gigs” for freelance writers. However, when exploring the freelance writing industry, you can easily verify that most online portals aren’t worth your time.
You must explore the best freelancing sites for writers to ensure you spend time on the right websites for hunting clients, and don’t waste your time on platforms that can’t help you earn better.
Spending time comparing different online portals will allow you to find exciting gigs that allow you to make more money.
2. Establish Your Blog
Having a blog will allow you to show your portfolio correctly and help you develop a deeper connection with your clients. This is why you should develop your website as soon as you can to help you achieve success faster.
Developing a website doesn’t require hiring a website designer or spending a lot of money. You can learn how to build your website from scratch by reading online guides. You can also reach out to someone in your network to get advice on developing your website properly.
3. Create an Amazing Portfolio
To command higher rates as a freelance writer, you must create a portfolio that differentiates you from other writers. You should spend more time developing a portfolio that you can use to attract more clients.
Uploading your written content on “Google Drive” is not the best way to develop a portfolio. It’s better to get your work featured on top blogs to highlight your writing skills and the respect you command as a writer.
It’s better to identify your writing niche so you can develop your portfolio in a short time. For example, if you love writing about the manufacturing industry, you can use the “blogger outreach approach” to get your content on leading manufacturing blogs.
4. Build Your Social Presence
The best way of charging more as a writer is by building a strong presence on social media. Having a lot of followers on social channels shows that you have been in the industry for a long time and proves that you are respected as a writer.
Getting started with building your brand on social media doesn’t require you to spend a lot of time. All you need to do is identify the social channels where your target audience is active the most.
For example, if you want more entrepreneurs to follow you on socials, you should explore which platform is famous among entrepreneurs in your target niche.
5. Polish Your “Cold Outreach” Skills
Relying solely on job portals won’t allow you to earn more as a writer. If you want to get more high-paying clients, you must get started with “cold outreach.”
You don’t need to spend a lot of years as a sales professional to learn how to reach out to potential clients the right way. If you are on a tight schedule, you can consider taking short online courses about cold outreach to boost your outreach skills in a short time.
6. Grow Your Network
As a writer, the easiest way of getting good clients is to have a strong network. Proper networking allows you to have established writers and business/agency owners in your network, so you don’t miss any writing opportunities.
Getting started with networking doesn’t require you to spend a lot of time daily. You can consider relying on social platforms to grow a strong network if you have a tight schedule. But it’s a better choice to explore physical events so you can meet with potential clients in person.
7. Diversify Your Skillset
Having limited skills will never allow you to get more clients. To stay relevant in today’s fast-paced digital world, you need to focus on developing skills to meet the industry’s changing demands. Learning new skills doesn’t require you to enroll in lengthy courses.
If you are on a tight schedule, you can consider taking online courses to boost your skills without investing a lot of time or money.
Make sure you compare different MOOC platforms to choose the one you like the most and enroll in a course at your earliest convenience.
8. Review All Types of Content
Sticking to only one writing skill will not help you meet all the demands of your writing clients. For example, you cannot stick to writing “guest posts” for the rest of your life. You need to have adequate knowledge about different types of writing to command higher rates.
Some of the common types of writing include:
- Landing page copywriting
- Social media copywriting
- Ad copywriting
- Ebook writing
- Whitepapers
9. Participate in Competitions
You won’t be able to ask for more money from your clients if you don’t trust your writing skills. A simple way to gauge your skills so you can be courageous to take on different writing tasks is by participating in writing competitions.
These competitions can help you earn prize money and also enable you to grow your network. Explore different writing competitions held in your area or online to sharpen your writing skills.
10. Learn a New Language
Offering your writing services in multiple languages is a great way to earn more money. For example, if you know French, you can offer translation services to clients who want to communicate with a French audience.
You don’t need to enroll in lengthy courses to learn a new language. Online apps can help you learn a new language in a short time.
11. Read Books on Marketing
Getting more clients is related to how well you can market your services. To get better clients, you need to sharpen your marketing skills so you can get more high-paying clients in a short time. Some of the great books on marketing include:
- How to Get Ideas by Jack Foster
- Renegade Marketing by Drew Neisser
- How Not to Suck at Marketing by Jeff Perkins