5 Things I Did Right That Helped Build My Full-Time Writing Career
Pay attention to 2, 3 and 5
Breaking into the competitive world of professional writing seemed like an uphill battle at first. But going down memory lane, I made some strategic decisions early on — that undoubtedly accelerated my progress.
While I also made many mistakes along the way (I’ll share in my next post), these five key moves provided a sturdy foundation for my writing career success:
1. I Built My Portfolio from Day One
One of the first pieces of advice I followed was to start building my writing portfolio before even landing any paid gigs.
I created a personal website (by myself) and a blog, where I consistently published new writing weekly on topics I wanted to cover professionally. It allowed me to demonstrate my voice, expertise and ability to publish quality content regularly.
This blog became my working portfolio piece. I sent it to potential clients or employers anytime they requested to see my portfolio.
Having a robust portfolio gave me credibility and confidence when pitching for opportunities.
If having your website sounds farfetched for you, your Medium can easily pass for your portfolio, but that’s if you’re super intentional about the kinds of articles you write.
Not everything you write can pass for a compelling portfolio.
2. I Invested in Mentorship Early
As excited as I was to pursue writing professionally, I knew my skills and experience were still quite raw when I started. That’s why I purposefully sought mentorship from those already thriving in the industry.
Four months into running my agency, I joined my first coaching program. It was a six-figure coaching program and a significant amount at that point in my business, but that program changed my life.
Having an experienced support system helped me bypass many beginner mistakes and make steady progress. My coach’s insights allowed me to take guided shortcuts rather than stumbling adventurously.
If you want to go far and fast, mentorship is a life hack.
I have an offer for you at the end of this piece.
3. I Mastered the Arts of Pitching and Marketing
While having a portfolio and mentor was invaluable, none mattered without a consistent pipeline of paid client work.
So, from the start, I devoted considerable effort to pitching writing opportunities and marketing my services aggressively.
I studied how to craft compelling outreach that hooked clients and stood out in their inboxes.
I sent at least three pitches or applications each day to prospective clients. It was exhausting but also provided critical practice for refining my pitches and handling rejection constructively.
Identify whom you want to serve and how you can serve their dreams, then shoot them a proposal.
4. I Built a Powerful Personal Brand Online
It took me a while to realize the importance of an online presence — on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
These days, LinkedIn is an essential platform for writers looking to land freelance gigs and full-time roles. In recent years, I’ve had to optimize my LinkedIn profile as a powerful personal branding asset — And it has served me greatly.
In addition to showcasing my portfolio and services, I publish insightful posts and articles regularly. It helped establish my credibility while expanding my visible professional network.
Over time, my LinkedIn presence has allowed me to attract consistently new leads.
Visibility is key if you will build a career in writing and building a personal brand online is one way to get before more eyeballs.
Want to learn how to build a brand on LinkedIn? Check this out :
5. I Treated Writing as a Legitimate Business
In my encounters with several writers, there are three kinds of writers I’ve seen:
- Those who write for the passion and impact alone
- Those who write just for the money
- Those who write for impact and money. I belong to this class.
While writing for me is a passion, I also treated it as a real business from the beginning.
I invested in proper tools, assets, contracts, and more to ensure I was setting up a legitimate, professional operation — I also registered my agency from the get-go.
While it required upfront effort, it helped me avoid pitfalls and grow with the right foundations in place.
Book a free clarity call with me if you’re finally ready to get help and mentorship to take your writing career from amateur level to PRO. Let’s have that conversation at last.
Wrapping up
These five strategic decisions were critical to my success in building a career as a full-time writer.
Building a portfolio, finding mentors, mastering marketing and personal branding, and treating writing as a bona fide business - these elements elevated my skills and opened up new opportunities.
If you’re a beginner writer, model habits like these. They’ll provide a launchpad to accelerate your journey as a successful professional writer.
I hope this helps you. If it did, clap me a thousand times (joking, a few tens would do), leave me a comment (it will encourage me a lot), click the follow button and subscribe to get email notifications.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn.
