Way back, I got here up with a listing of the way working freelancers can develop their writing earnings. In the event you’ve been questioning easy methods to earn money writing—severe cash, that’s—this checklist is for you. In the event you’re a beginner, you’ll discover loads of helpful options right here, too.
I’ve given the checklist a significant replace, since issues do maintain altering within the freelance world. Get pleasure from!
Easy methods to earn money writing
Aren’t you sick of the negativity on the market within the freelance writing group? I do know I’m.
You realize the spiel. Uninformed feedback like:
Print is lifeless.
All articles at the moment are $5 or much less.
I can’t consider this Craigslist advert asks for 3 free samples.
The very fact is, some freelancers are nonetheless incomes an important residing, and you may, too. However first, you’ll should cease shopping for into the gloom and notice that what you earn is de facto as much as you.
Take the perspective that you’re an unstoppable pressure of nature, and also you received’t hand over till you’ve acquired your freelance writing biz incomes what you want!
That will help you take cost of your writing profession, I put collectively a listing of 100+ proactive issues you are able to do proper now to construct your earnings
Sure, there are a few affiliate hyperlinks under, for issues I personally know effectively and may advocate (plus direct hyperlinks to some helpful issues I’ve created for you).
Absolutely, a number of of those concepts may help you bust a transfer towards higher pay? Right here we go.
113 methods to earn money out of your writing
I’ve organized the following tips into sections—these hyperlinks will take you straight to every subtopic:
Additional assist with mindset
- Cease doubting your self
- Cease ready
- Cease worrying about what individuals consider you
- Cease questioning the place the shortcut is and begin taking motion
- Get a perspective in your challenges. Then, simply make the time to put in writing
Networking
6. Develop your community. On LinkedIn, in particular person, in all places you might be.
7. Get out and meet dwell people. Folks provide you with jobs, not computer systems.
8. Scared to go networking? Deliver a buddy for help. Then, take it sluggish. The primary time, simply go and observe and smile so much, after which go dwelling. Subsequent time, introduce your self to at least one particular person.
9. Begin a networking group, if there isn’t a superb one in your space. Nice approach to get identified by lots of people quick—as a result of everybody thanks the host, don’t they?
10. Create a “me” speech, so you understand what to say when individuals ask what you do — after the half the place you say “I’m a contract author,” and so they say, “Actually? What sort of writing do you do?” (Because of IJ Schecter for this one.)
11. Observe up in your networking, to begin constructing relationships with prospects you meet.
12. Ship former editors and managers job leads, in the event that they go away their job or get fired. Even when it doesn’t result in a rent for them, they’ll keep in mind you after they get their subsequent gig.
13. Get cool enterprise playing cards that say one thing about your distinctive writing abilities. Deliver them with you in all places.
14. Make a particular supply on your enterprise card, similar to a free seek the advice of. Retains it from being tossed out.
15. Contemplate getting a t-shirt or magnetized automobile signal that advertises your writing.
16. Get on LinkedIn. It’s an enormous search engine firms are utilizing to seek out freelancers, each day. I do know, you hate social media. Do that one anyway.
17. Ask for suggestions, utilizing LinkedIn’s device. LinkedIn suggestions make the sale!
18. Reply to full-time job advertisements you see on LinkedIn, and ask in the event that they want a freelancer in the intervening time.
19. Put key phrases in your LinkedIn title, so your prospects can discover you. However them in your profile’s URL, too (you’ll be able to change it).
20. Discover individuals on LinkedIn—former editors, advertising managers, co-workers — and reconnect.
21. Be a part of LinkedIn teams—good spot to attach with individuals who may refer you’re employed.
22. Ship InMails to individuals who’ve seen your profile, if they appear like prospects. Ask in the event that they’re in search of a author.
Social media
23. Get on X/Twitter/Bluesky/Threads and share helpful stuff your purchasers would love. Begin constructing authority.
24. Discover editors on social media and pitch them.
25. Discover area of interest social-media platforms in your specialty. New platforms come up on a regular basis. Experiment and see the place you join with good leads.
26. Contemplate attempting Fb or Google advertisements to advertise your enterprise.
Author web sites
27. Put up a author web site. Exhibits you’re a professional. Want inspiration? Listed below are 5 necessities to incorporate in your writing web site.
28. Enhance your author web site. A clear, sharp, mobile-enabled web site makes an enormous distinction within the charges you’ll be able to command.
29. Make it simpler for individuals to contact you in your web site. Kill that contact type and put your contacts proper in your header, as an example.
30. website positioning your web site. Get key phrases your purchasers would use to seek out your sort of freelance author into your URL, headline, tagline, and duplicate.
31. Solicit extra testimonials from earlier purchasers and add them to your web site.
Prospecting
32. Learn extra extensively so you’ll be able to discover extra story concepts to pitch.
33. Get a E-book of Lists in your nearest main market, for a prepared supply of high quality company leads.
34. Get The Writers Market with on-line help, so you’ll be able to simply analysis publications.
35. Collaborate with designers and different related-industry professionals. Refer one another enterprise.
36. Observe prospect nibbles that haven’t panned out but, and maintain following up. Ship them articles of curiosity—something to maintain the connection.
37. Search for ongoing tasks. Even common running a blog gigs can add up to huge income, and allow you to begin every month with some pre-booked income.

Running a blog
38. Write weblog posts in batches. Huge time-saver, whether or not it’s in your personal weblog or a shopper’s.
39. Plan out weblog posts with a scheduling device similar to WordPress Editorial Calendar.
40. Put a “rent me” tab in your weblog, so individuals know you need gigs.
41. Deal with your weblog as a writing pattern. Have a clear design, present you perceive social media, and write each submit prefer it’s a $1-a-word journal task.
Negotiating
42. Don’t work and not using a contract. In any other case, your purchasers haven’t any obligation to pay you, ever. Ensure that contract defines funds phrases, so that you’re clear once you’ll be paid.
43. Ask new enterprise purchasers their funds for the venture. Generally, they’ll inform you.
44. Don’t quote your value in a primary shopper assembly, for those who’re a beginner. Inform them you’ll get again to them tomorrow together with your proposal.
45. Ask for extra money, if the scope of the gig expands.
46. Make preliminary enterprise writing contracts brief, say, for less than 60 to 90 days. Then, negotiate a greater fee when it expires, based mostly in your rising information of the shopper’s enterprise.
47. Outline a small first venture with new enterprise purchasers. Get began, see for those who like working for this shopper, and don’t get locked into an extended contract you slowly notice you’re underpaid on.
Operating your biz
48. Cease writing for content material mills. Only a street to nowhere.
49. Cease shopping for into the pay-per-click dream. Ditto pay-per-view.
50. Cease bidding on jobs on-line, the place you’re competing with tons of of different writers. Decide out of the race to the underside.
51. Ship payments out extra promptly. Many firms solely lower checks as soon as a month, so don’t miss the cutoff. Higher but, negotiate for higher cost phrases and receives a commission quicker. Higher money stream is pretty much as good as a increase.
52. Minimize your bills. Then, you’ll really feel much less stress to take low-pay gigs and have extra high quality advertising time.
53. Know the home-business tax breaks. Retaining extra of your cash has the very same impact as incomes extra.
54. Think about using a co-working area for the networking, contemporary perspective, and referrals from different enterprise homeowners working there.
55. Pitch larger firms. Larger actually is healthier, in our line of labor.
56. Begin a retirement account and make common deposits. Cost extra, so you have got sufficient to place some away.
Queries
58. Ship simultaneous queries, even when magazines’ tips say to not.
59. Ship a number of concepts in your question. Ups your odds of success.
60. Don’t wait to listen to again on these question letters. Ship extra question letters instantly.
61. Learn to write nice queries, for those who’re not getting assignments.
62. Do extra analysis and discover new markets. New on-line markets are rising each day and new magazines are began.
63. Pitch publications’ web sites, too. They could additionally assign articles individually for his or her web site—and vice versa.
64. Search for buyer magazines, once you’re procuring, on the dentist, wherever you go. Learn, pitch them—you already know their merchandise.
65. Learn firm newsletters and magazines you get digitally and within the mail. Pitch them.
66. Question better-paying magazines. Severely, you’ll be able to solely get $75 out of your native mags for therefore lengthy. Proper?
67. Resell your articles, for those who’ve solely offered first or restricted rights.
68. Recycle unused elements of interviews you’ve executed into new tales.
69. Write a couple of article off the identical set of analysis, for noncompeting markets.
70. Ask interview sources what else is happening of their {industry}. Depart with one other story concept.
71. Don’t overreport. You’re not going to have the ability to match eight sources right into a 500-word article.
72. Be taught to put in writing to size. Much less rewriting means time saved, and extra earnings potential within the 12 months.
73. Hold concept lists, so that you at all times have extra concepts to pitch if an editor asks.
74. Have one other concept prepared, each time you flip in an article.
Advertising 101
75. Contemplate including companies to your shopper combine, for those who solely write for magazines. They have an inclination to pay higher and quicker.
76. Ship custom-made prospecting emails. The remaining is simply spam.
77. Make chilly calls. Simply seize the telephone ebook, decide up the telephone, name advertising administrators and ask in the event that they use freelance writers.
78. Ship unsolicited mail postcards. Few writers do this, so you’ll be able to actually stand out.
79. Cease responding to Craigslist advertisements. Want I clarify?
80. Discover higher job boards the place the businesses should pay to submit a list. LinkedIn’s board, as an example.
81. Discover area of interest job boards for industries the place you specialize.
82. Have a advertising plan. In the event you don’t know the place you’re going, guess the place you find yourself?
Inventive advertising
83. Write an e book and promote it. Then, assist purchasers do it.
84. Placed on free lessons in your prospects, both on-line or in particular person.
85. Create a free, informational report to offer your prospects, with writing or advertising ideas. Finish together with your contact information or a particular supply.
86. Create a publication your prospects can subscribe to, to be able to keep in contact.
87. Analyze your purchasers, and the way you bought them. Which advertising strategies paid off in the very best purchasers? Do extra of that.
88. Donate your writing companies to a charity public sale—you’ll meet a prospect, and get some good PR.
89. Volunteer for a superb trigger, and acquire precious contacts. I as soon as wrote for my regional library system’s publication, and have spoken on Society of Skilled Journalists panels, as an example.
90. Enter free or low-cost writing contests—it will get your work in entrance of editors who may rent you.
91. Get listed in on-line useful resource guides of service suppliers {and professional} associations in your goal industries. Typically, it’s free.
92. Bid on authorities contracts. Get certified to bid instantly or save the paperwork and join with businesses which are bidding contracts—typically, these are huge tasks at respectable charges.
Shopper administration
93. Elevate charges for brand spanking new purchasers. Then, carry on doing that, till you’re incomes what you need.
94. Elevate your charges for present purchasers.
95. Elevate your charges yearly within the fall, to take impact the next 12 months.
96. Ask for shopper referrals from all of your present purchasers, previous purchasers, associates, and former co-workers.
97. Write for extra elements of your current purchasers. Does that writer produce other magazines? That firm produce other divisions?


Productiveness
98. Rise up earlier. Do a block of selling earlier than everybody else will get up.
99. Keep up later. Work within the quiet, whereas others sleep.
100. Surrender tv. You received’t consider how rather more time you have got.
101. Get extra train. You’ll be more healthy and higher in a position to focus and write.
102. Take a day without work. I’m speaking no less than at some point offline every week. Solely you’ll be able to stop burnout.
103. Take mini-breaks the place you rise up out of your laptop and stroll round a bit.
104. Outsource boring duties that rob you of productive writing time.
105. Know your chronobiology. Write at your best and artistic time of day.
106. Write what you’re feeling impressed on, as an alternative of the piece that’s “high precedence.” Waft, and also you’ll be extra environment friendly.
107. Drop your lowest-paying shopper, to make time to market and discover better-paying purchasers. I’ve but to satisfy a author who ever regretted dropping a shopper who wasn’t definitely worth the aggravation.
108. Log your every day actions, and remove belongings you do this aren’t leading to earnings.
Help and studying
109. Take a category and learn to market higher. Or, study a brand new writing specialty.
110. Be a part of a author’s group and get help and suggestions from friends.
111. Be taught to put in writing exhausting stuff. Write about actuarial forecasting, superior washing-machine know-how, or software program growth. Discover the niches the place they will by no means get sufficient good writers.
112. Be taught to put in writing gross sales copy. Serving to purchasers earn more money will at all times pay effectively, and there’s at all times a necessity.
113. Find out about profitable kinds of writing similar to white papers and particular studies. In the event you lack journalism coaching, study to put in writing articles, to get in better-paying magazines.
Questioning easy methods to earn money writing? Choose a means
There you have got it! Greater than 100 paradigm-changing concepts for rising your writing earnings.
Clearly, there are a ton of methods right here. All of them received’t be best for you. However in there someplace are issues try to be doing in your writing biz and aren’t.
To make it simple so that you can maintain this brainstorm sheet, I’ve turned it right into a obtain PDF—get it by submitting the shape under. That means, you’ll be able to come again and simply evaluation for brand spanking new methods, and also you’ll by no means surprise easy methods to earn extra money from writing once more.