You’ve in all probability already heard that you would be able to make six figures as a contract author, however this will sound like a fantasy should you’re simply beginning your profession.
Whether or not you’ve been rejected from a couple of low-paying jobs on Upwork otherwise you’re struggling to make various hundred {dollars} monthly, the prospect of constructing six figures as a contract author can sound like a fantasy.
Whereas these setbacks are discouraging, the important thing to changing into a six-figure freelancer is implementing a confirmed course of, bettering your writing abilities, and persevering via any challenges.
Happily, loads of full-time freelance writers have achieved this success.
Constructing a profitable freelance writing enterprise that pays six figures isn’t easy, however should you comply with a confirmed technique and are prepared to place within the work to stage up your writing abilities, it’s actually potential.
So beneath, we’ll define a confirmed step-by-step information that actual six determine copywriters have used to construct profitable freelance writing careers.
Step 1: Choose a Area of interest
Many new freelance writers promote that they will write for any area of interest as a result of they worry deciding on a selected writing area of interest will restrict their listing of potential purchasers.
Nonetheless, employers need to rent specialists, and promoting your self as a generalist will truly repel potential purchasers.
For instance, if an actual property firm is seeking to rent a weblog publish author, they’ll search for somebody specializing in writing for actual property. So between the 2 writers beneath, the one promoting himself as an actual property specialist will certainly stand out to the hiring supervisor:
Whereas good writers can often create high-quality content material for a number of niches, it’s nonetheless finest to place your self as an professional in a selected area of interest. An added good thing about specializing in a selected area of interest is that you just’ll develop a community of purchasers sooner.
So what’s a distinct segment, and the way do you choose one?
There are three predominant classes of niches:
- Content material Kind: Some examples of various kinds of content material embrace emails, weblog posts, ebooks, ghostwriting (for books), social media content material, touchdown/gross sales pages, and video scripts.
- Enterprise Kind: Some examples of enterprise varieties embrace SaaS corporations, ecommerce corporations, on-line programs, bloggers, and native companies.
- Business: Some examples of industries embrace pets, cryptocurrency, finance, actual property, digital advertising and marketing, journey, and healthcare.
So choose one specialty from every of the three classes above. Listed here are a couple of examples:
- E mail copywriter for on-line course creators within the finance business
- Weblog publish copywriter for SaaS corporations within the healthcare business
- Social media content material author for bloggers within the journey business
Whereas niching down shrinks your goal market (listing of potential purchasers), it additionally shrinks the sector of competitors and lets you cost extra as you’ll be able to place your self as a specialised professional.
In case you have a look at the examples above, the true property specialist expenses double what the generalist expenses.
Step 2: Create a Few High quality Writing Samples
Most hiring managers don’t have time to have a look at greater than two to a few items of content material, so that you solely want a couple of items of top quality content material related to your area of interest to win your first freelance writing gig.
In case you presently don’t have any writing samples that match the area of interest you chose, listed below are two glorious strategies to create writing samples:
- Write a free pattern for somebody in your splendid goal market
- Create your personal weblog/e-newsletter/social media web page
We’ll talk about how you can execute each of those beneath.
Write a free pattern for an influencer in your splendid goal market.
Writing free samples for an influencer in your area of interest is a wonderful technique as a result of it helps you create constructive relationships with potential purchasers whereas concurrently constructing your portfolio.
The important thing to correctly executing this technique is to jot down the content material at no cost after which ship the accomplished model to the potential consumer.
Most newbie freelancers make the error of reaching out and asking if they will work at no cost with out offering a accomplished pattern.
These emails are literally annoying for busy influencers which can be well-established within the business.
Nonetheless, should you ship the potential consumer a accomplished piece of content material, they’ll in all probability reply. Right here’s an excellent electronic mail template you need to use:
Even when they don’t publish the content material, you’ll be able to nonetheless add that pattern to your portfolio.
It’s additionally price noting that should you’re going to do work at no cost, purpose excessive and attain out to well-established manufacturers/influencers in that business. If the model does publish your content material, it is going to considerably increase your credibility!
In truth, even when you have already got loads of pattern writing items, doing free work for high-profile purchasers is a good way to construct business credibility and create relationships with well-connected people which may flip into glorious referral sources.
Creating your personal content material
One other choice to construct your portfolio is to create your personal content material.
For instance, if you wish to be a finance weblog author for SaaS corporations, you can begin your personal finance weblog. Whilst you won’t be promoting SaaS merchandise, you’ll be able to nonetheless goal the identical key phrases {that a} SaaS firm would possibly goal.
This technique is great for constructing your portfolio since you’ll discover ways to write nice weblog posts and how you can develop a finance weblog. As SaaS corporations need to rent a author that may produce outcomes – not simply phrases – this may make you stand out in opposition to different candidates.
In truth, you would possibly discover that writing your personal finance weblog is extra worthwhile than being a contract author for different finance corporations.
Sadly, this technique isn’t at all times possible. For instance, this technique won’t be sensible if you wish to be a social media content material creator for native companies however don’t personal an area enterprise. Nonetheless, you can as a substitute use the primary technique and provide to create free content material for an area enterprise.
Notice: I purposefully don’t talk about how you can construct a writing portfolio web site, as a result of within the subsequent step, you’ll see that the technique you’ll use to shut your first paying consumer doesn’t contain making use of to any job boards or submitting a portfolio. In truth, spending time designing a portfolio is commonly a distraction from doing the arduous work of getting your first paying consumer. So as a substitute, we’ll focus completely on how you can create nice writing samples, and then you definitely’ll ship these samples as hyperlinks or Google Doc attachments in your electronic mail pitch.
Step 3: Shut Your First Paying Shopper
In case you’re simply getting began and have minimal writing expertise, you would possibly really feel uncomfortable pitching purchasers, however the easiest way to turn out to be a greater freelance author is to only do the job.
As well as, many purchasers are blissful to pay beneficiant costs for freelancers who produce first rate work, comply with directions, and cling to deadlines.
So after you have three to 5 first rate pattern items, search out your first paying consumer. You’ll additionally really feel extra motivated to persevere after you have your first paying consumer. We’ll talk about two strategies to get your first paying consumer:
- Ask for referrals
- Ship customized chilly pitches (with a twist)
Asking For Referrals
To seek out your first paying consumer, begin by asking for referrals from the purchasers you labored with at no cost whereas constructing your writing samples.
Assuming you probably did an excellent job, these purchasers will doubtless be more than pleased to refer you to mates.
In case you really feel awkward asking, right here’s a precise script you need to use:
You can too ask if that particular person would think about mentioning you in Slack teams and different communities they’re a member of to unfold the phrase.
Once more, this is the reason working at no cost for well-established business influencers with giant networks is far more helpful than working at no cost for any random firm.
Ship a Customized Chilly Pitch (With a Twist)
Chilly pitches can work, however most freelancers don’t know how you can make a compelling provide.
Potential purchasers typically obtain a whole lot of generic pitches from writers every month, so most emails are instantly deleted.
Listed here are two killer methods to make your chilly pitch stand out:
- Ship them a free piece of content material they will publish, and inform them you’ll be able to create extra content material prefer it constantly if they’re prepared to rent you.
- Pitch the potential consumer that you just’ll work with a selected content material advertising and marketing professional on a platform like Readability or Intro and execute all the things the professional recommends. This can be a win-win technique since you turn out to be a greater author and might justify charging a excessive value whereas the consumer will get a world-class professional to look over the execution of their advertising and marketing course of.
It’s additionally essential to ship your pitch to the proper particular person on the right electronic mail handle. In case you’re reaching out to a big SaaS or ecommerce firm, search for the content material advertising and marketing supervisor or (if there isn’t a content material supervisor) head/director of selling.
You possibly can simply search “advertising and marketing” or “content material” on the corporate’s LinkedIn profile to search out the proper particular person, and Hunter.io and Verifalia are glorious sources to search out electronic mail addresses.
In case you can’t discover the particular person’s electronic mail handle, you may as well contact them instantly on a social media platform like LinkedIn or Twitter.
Whereas it could appear easy, these two methods are usually the simplest for getting your first paid freelance writing job.
Many more recent (and even some extra established) freelance writers struggling to shut purchasers make the error of mass making use of to author positions on job boards.
Mass making use of isn’t a good suggestion as a result of swamped hiring managers often instantly delete any purposes that lack personalization. For instance, you’ll be able to see that the job publish beneath has over 200 candidates.
As well as, making use of to jobs locations you in direct competitors with different purposes, and plenty of hiring managers received’t even see your utility.
So as a substitute, refer again to your area of interest and attain out to corporations that aren’t promoting that they’re actively hiring for a contract writing place. Whereas this recommendation could appear counterintuitive, it’s extremely efficient since you aren’t competing with different candidates.
In truth, many corporations are actively hiring new writers, however don’t actively promote the place exactly as a result of most job boards generate too many candidates.
One other widespread problem that causes many writers to surrender earlier than getting their first consumer is spending an excessive amount of time creating a flowery web site or enterprise playing cards.
Most purchasers don’t care about these items – they only need somebody that’s dependable and might do the job. So your time is best spent sending compelling emails with hyperlinks to glorious writing samples.
Step 4: Search Suggestions and Actively Make investments In Bettering Your Ability Set
As you’re employed with extra purchasers, you’ll discover that every one has barely totally different requests, so a key facet of an excellent author is searching for preliminary suggestions and adjusting to your consumer’s needs (inside motive).
It’s vital to be decisive and personal your work (you don’t need to continuously hassle purchasers and ask them in case your work is suitable), however purchasers admire communicative freelance writers who take motion on suggestions.
Along with gathering consumer suggestions, probably the most profitable writers additionally search mentorship to stage up their freelance writing abilities. For instance, many freelance writers be part of content material writing programs, rent coaches, and take part in peer teams to enhance their abilities.
In case you’re desirous about becoming a member of a membership group that provides you direct entry to content material advertising and marketing coaches, dwell interviews with business specialists, content material advertising and marketing programs, and a group of high-earning freelance writers, think about becoming a member of the Copyblogger Academy.
You can too use a platform like Readability or Intro to schedule one-on-one teaching calls with world-class specialists.
Lastly, think about making a facet hustle the place you create your personal content material. For instance, should you focus on writing emails for ecommerce websites, you can begin your personal dropshipping web site and write emails to promote these merchandise.
We advisable this in step two as a technique to construct your portfolio, nevertheless it’s price mentioning once more right here, as constructing your personal content material platform is a good way to grasp the ache factors your purchasers face so as to discover ways to ship higher outcomes.
As purchasers are paying you to assist them develop their enterprise, having your personal challenge is advantageous, as you need to use it to run experiments and discover ways to enhance your abilities to drive extra gross sales. This can in the end make you a greater marketer and aid you perceive how your companies match into the bigger progress technique.
Step 5: Scale Your Profession
Getting your first few purchasers is one problem, however {most professional} writers will let you know that retaining your purchasers and producing regular revenue over a number of months is the largest problem.
If you wish to rework your freelance writing enterprise from a facet hustle to a full-time job, listed below are a couple of methods to enhance revenue stability.
Be Dependable And Constant To Earn Referrals
First, at all times produce high-quality work, reply to purchasers inside 24 hours, and submit your tasks on time. Abiding by these three guidelines is essential to each retaining purchasers and making a community of referrals.
In truth, probably the most profitable freelance writers have a look at every new consumer as a brand new potential referral associate reasonably than a one-time income.
After you have a number of purchasers and a few case research demonstrating your work, create a easy web site with consumer testimonials, case research, and your writing service packages.
You’ll quickly attain a ceiling the place you’ll be able to not tackle further writing purchasers, however there are a couple of other ways you’ll be able to proceed to scale your revenue with out overextending your self.
Improve Pricing
Growing pricing is the simplest progress lever, and most purchasers received’t even bat an eye fixed should you improve your costs.
You can too kind referral partnerships with lower-level companies/freelance writers and ship them purchasers that may’t afford to proceed working with you.
This can be a win-win scenario as you’ll be able to earn a referral associate price and maintain a high-quality consumer base.
If most of your purchasers can’t afford to pay a better value, you would possibly need to think about shifting upmarket and focusing on bigger companies that may afford to pay extra.
Require Lengthy-Time period Contracts
The following choice to scale your revenue is to require long-term partnership contracts.
As churn is likely one of the essential challenges that many freelancers face, retaining your present purchasers is a good way to extend your annual revenue.
Supply Productized Providers With Distinctive, Confirmed Processes
Lastly, probably the most profitable freelancers spend a variety of time studying extra about their consumer’s ache factors after which create distinctive programs and processes to constantly resolve these ache factors.
In case you can present your purchasers that you’ve got a selected, documented technique to unravel the precise ache level they’ve extra effectively than the typical freelancer, you’ll have the ability to cost extra and generate extra constant demand.
For instance, if you understand that almost all of your purchasers wrestle with “content material mill” or “me-too” model content material, incorporate professional interviews into your writing course of and use that to show the way you’ll create distinctive content material. This alone is commonly greater than sufficient to make you stand out from the group and command larger costs.
In case you’re unsure what your consumer’s ache factors are, spend a while speaking to them or ask in Slack channels devoted to your audience.
Take Motion Immediately
One of many greatest errors aspiring freelancers make is spending an excessive amount of time studying about how you can construct a contract enterprise reasonably than simply getting began.
This publish has all the knowledge you want to get began, so take motion right this moment, as expertise is the very best trainer.
After you get began, search suggestions and stage up your abilities. You possibly can be part of the Copyblogger e-newsletter for extra freelance writing suggestions or be part of the Copyblogger Academy to be taught from different like-minded freelance writers.
