5 Proven Ways to Make a Full-Time Income as a Newbie Freelance Writer
Most of the top-earning freelancers applied these and it can work for you too!
I have enjoyed listening and learning from the success stories of freelance writers who have been able to earn a full-time income from their services.
Before coming across these videos, I never thought it was possible to make a living with writing, mainly due to my exposure to Fiverr and the common $5 — $10 rates sellers charge for their writing services.
From the videos I came across on YouTube, I started to observe a pattern that separated writers who make a full-time income and writers who make just enough to cover a few of their basic living expenses.
Here are five things that were consistent throughout the success stories of writers who were able to earn a full-time income without having to worry about ever going back to their 9–5 jobs.
[1] Pick a niche
At this point, you’ve probably heard a ton about the importance of picking a niche for freelance writing services.
It’s natural to think that to increase your income, you need to be a jack of all trades and offer your writing services to clients across multiple industries. However, the success of top-earning freelance writers proves otherwise.
Successful freelance writers pick a niche and position themselves as experts in that niche. In this way, they are able to:
✔ target and gain the trust of specific clients,
✔ cut out majority of the competition, and
✔ charge premium prices for their services.
[2] Be Professional
Successful freelance writers present their services professionally by taking on a business mindset.
Here are some actions they take to establish a credible and professional perception of their services in the eyes of their potential clients:
✔ They invest in building a niche-optimized website with a professional domain name (Eg. www.yourname.com or www.yourbusinessname.com)
✔ They showcase at least 3 high-quality posts related to their specific niche
✔ They invest in getting professional emails (Eg. john@mybusiness.com)
[3] Results-based services
Successful freelancers focus on delivering relevant and measurable results through their writing services.
Depending on the goals of their clients, some of these are:
✔ Increased keyword ranking on the search results page
✔ Increased organic traffic
✔ Increased email subscribers/ signups
[4] Showcase your wins
This is how successful freelancers move from newbie to pro. After they start working with their first few clients and getting results for them, they are able to charge higher prices moving forward by:
✔ Showcasing testimonials from previous clients (some take it to the next level by getting video testimonials)
✔ Posting case studies of results they have achieved for past clients
[5] Marketing/Sales
As a newbie freelancer, no one knows who you are and what you have to offer. This means you have to actively put yourself in front of potential clients, introduce yourself and share the services you offer.
Here are strategies successful freelancers use to get their first few clients in the very early stages:
✔ Cold mailing
✔ Cold calling
✔ Cold social media outreach [via Instagram, LinkedIn, …]
Yes, everything is described as “cold” because no one knows who you are and it’s the first time they are hearing from you.
Here are longer-term strategies to attract potential clients and have them reach out to you:
✔ Optimize your website with SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
✔ Create and manage an optimized LinkedIn profile
✔ Post content your target audience is interested in on social media (Eg. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok,…)
I hope you found this helpful.
If you did, leave a clap, drop a comment, and follow for more! : )
