How To Stop Writing For Content Mills And Get Real Freelance Clients

How to make more money as a freelance writer

I’ve been hanging out on r/freelanceWriters a lot lately, and there’s one question I answer almost every day:

“How can I stop writing for content mills and land real clients?”

I faced this same question in early 2022 when I was writing content every day for $0.02 per word.

It was a Catch-22:

• If I spent time pitching, I couldn’t write enough articles to pay my bills
• If I didn’t pitch, I’d never find a real client

I finally reached a breaking point in February when I sold the last of my meager stock portfolio to pay for canned tuna. I submitted an application to a local grocery store and got a job stocking shelves.

Turns out, the best thing I ever did for my freelance career was quit.

Now, eight months later, I’m back to freelancing at ten times my original rate, and I’m only stocking shelves one day per week.

What changed?

• I built a foundation by stabilizing my income and saving an emergency fund. This allowed me to take on more risk by pitching higher-paying clients (and receiving more rejections).