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Obey These 7 Natural Laws of Freelancing to Make Money Writing
Want to make money writing, but your freelance writing life sometimes feels insanely difficult?
You know…like you’re trying to roll a big, greasy ball up a steep hill.
You may be working too hard because you’re working against the natural order.
To make money writing, you need to understand the fundamental laws under which all freelancers operate.
Much like Newton’s laws of motion, there are some basic laws that govern the world of freelancing. Understand and work with them, and it’ll be easier to grow your income. Ignore or remain ignorant of them, and it’s hard to get any traction.
What are these basic laws of freelancing to make money writing? I have seven (and a handy, downloadable infographic version you can keep — scroll down to the bottom of this post):
SEO Writing: A Tech-Savvy Freelancer Reveals 6 No-Bull Strategies
If you’re trying to figure out SEO writing to drive traffic to your writer website, there’s a lot of online crap to sift through.
Gimmicky promises. Expensive software. Even get-your-account-shut-down advice out there about SEO writing. And you don’t want to step in any of that.
So how do you get more potential clients to find you online?
Almost every week I hear from writers, who tell me things like:
- I don’t have time to blog
- I don’t have a marketing strategy
- I hate selling myself
- I’m hoping people will buy my new book
- I don’t know how to help my publisher market my book
- I have a very specific audience, but I don’t know how to reach those people
Sound familiar? If you want your website to help you generate leads, drive traffic or build an audience, you need to know how the motherlode of search engines works.
As an SEO writing expert and consultant, I’ve helped hundreds of authors and freelancers get results. One recent win even helped boost traffic by 175 percent for one of my clients.
Ready for some no-bull advice about SEO writing? Here’s what you need to know:
The Truckload Strategy: 6 Heavy-Duty Marketing Tips to Sell Books
What if you could sell books by the truckload?
You know…your book gets listed on Amazon, orders pour in, you start making passive income.
Too hard? Too competitive? Marketing too expensive? That’s what a lot of freelance writers think. But that’s just because they haven’t learned The Truckload Strategy to sell books.
If you’re thinking about self-publishing a book, pitching a publisher, or your book is about to be released, there’s more to freelance success than just great writing.
You need to know how to sell books. And like it or not, selling books is more about strategy, tactics, and heavy-duty marketing than creative prose.
Want to write and sell books to boost your income as a freelancer?
It’s totally possible to sell a ton of books, even if you don’t have a massive audience.
Seriously. I’ve written 18 books. I teach self-publishing at New York University, and I’ve helped thousands of freelancers get published, sell books, and earn more.
Ready to sell books by the truckload? Here’s what you need to know.
Professional Writing Win: How A Young Writer Ramped to $5K a Month
When I started professional writing as a freelancer, things were hard.
I’d just graduated high school and needed a remote job, so I started freelancing. But after working for a year, I was only making $800 a month.
I thought professional writing was supposed to pay well, but that definitely wasn’t enough to live on. Something needed to change. I needed a win.
Sound familiar?
Maybe you’ve got a few professional writing clients or landed some assignments, but you’re not making enough money.
Or maybe you’re just starting out, and have a lot of questions about professional writing, finding clients, and how much you should charge.
When I was really struggling, I signed up for the Freelance Writers Den 2X Income Accelerator program to get help from Carol Tice.
That’s where I learned how to ramp up my professional writing career and my income. Now I’m consistently making over $5,000 a month as a 20-year-old freelance writer. Many months, that number is over $7,000.
You can do it, too. Wondering how? Check out these key strategies I used to build my professional writing business and my income.
How to Be a Freelance Writer: 8 Tips for a Mindset Makeover
If you want to learn how to be a freelance writer, what’s your game plan for bad days, self-doubt, and lack of motivation?
How’s your mindset? Optimistic or doomed to fail?
If you’re the latter (even once in a while), those little thoughts that cross your mind when you’re about to hit send, sign a contract, quote a project, or wonder if you can actually make money writing can wreak havoc.
- What if I’m not good enough?
- Should I charge this much?
- Can I really make a living writing?
- I’ll never be as good as her at writing.
When you’re hustling to learn how to be a freelance writer, there’s a good chance you work alone…in isolation…and your thoughts can make or break you.
Ever felt depressed, anxious, or fearful that you’ll fail as a freelance writer? Do those thoughts and limiting beliefs keep you from marketing, being creative, or making more money?
It happens. Just about everyone who’s traveled the path to learn how to be a freelance writer experiences some kind of struggle. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Ready for a mindset makeover for freelance success? Here’s what you need to know.
Tired of Junk Job Boards? Pitch These 10 Hand-Picked Writing Jobs
If you’re looking for writing jobs online, there’s a good chance you’re sifting through a pile of junk.
Does this sound familiar? You search for writing jobs and freelance work online and turn up stuff like:
- Blogging or writing assignments for less than $50
- The promise of exposure to a non-existent audience of potential clients in exchange for your well-crafted words
- A racket to get hundreds of freelancers to audition by writing a “test” post
- Offers to write for free until a “paid” opportunity opens up
If you’re using made-for-the-masses sites like Craigslist, Indeed, and Upwork to find writing jobs, you’ll have to sort through a lot of rotten apples to find work that pays pro rates.
But not all places that publish writing jobs are filled with rotten leads and low-paying work. In fact, if you know where to look (like the Junk-Free Job Board inside the Freelance Writers Den) you can find great clients that pay pro rates.
Check out this hand-picked list of writing jobs:
Writing Contest: Share Your Biggest Freelance Fear to Win
What’s your biggest freelance fear, and how did you overcome it? Enter our writing contest for a chance to win.
Fear has a way of holding you back as a freelance writer. It suffocates creativity. It gets in the way of taking risk. Let it dominate your thoughts, and fear prevents you from putting yourself out there, marketing, sending query letters, connecting, pitching your dream clients. Sound familiar?
When fear plagues your freelance writing career, it’s like being in the middle of a Stranger Things episode. You’re expecting the Mind Flayer or the Demogorgon to rip you to shreds at any minute. Only it never really happens.
But if you don’t face your fears, fight back, and pursue your freelance writing goals, the results can be devastating. You roll around on the floor. You procrastinate. Days, weeks, months, maybe even years go by in this state of mind. That’s a terrifying thought.
In this writing contest, we want to hear about your gnarliest freelance writing fear, and what you did to overcome it. Check out the rules for the writing contest and prizes for winners.
Writer Websites That Rank Well: 8 Secrets of Top NYC Writers
Freelance writers sometimes overlook a critical piece of marketing that can drive traffic, generate leads, and land assignments… writer websites.
How’s your writer website?
Maybe you’ve got the basics like a home page, about page, and your portfolio. Maybe you’re still looking at writer websites to get ideas for setting up your own.
- What should your writer website include?
- Does design matter?
- What makes other writer websites perform well?
- What about SEO?
- What can you do to stand out in a crowded niche?
These are questions an elite group of freelance writers, authors, and content marketing experts can answer.
Ask Google to help you find a “top NYC writer,” and you’ll get slammed with 19 million results. That’s more than double the Big Apple’s daytime population of 8.6 million.
So how does a NYC writer stand out online? Being smart, creative, and friendly helps. But in today’s digital world, writer websites matter, too.
So I Googled ‘Top NYC writer,” and reached out to the writers whose websites topped that search. Below, eight of those top-ranking writers share their secrets for creating writer websites that seriously get you found and hired.
Ready to launch or revamp your writer website? Here’s what you need to know.
The Clock is Ticking: Now is the Time to Raise Freelance Writing Rates
When’s the right time to raise your freelance writing rates?
Here’s a hint. November is one of my favorite months. And it’s not because of the impending holidays, though.
It’s because this is the best time of year to raise your freelance writing rates.
Seriously, how about starting the New Year already knowing you’re going to make more money? Yes, please.
Here’s the thing…if you want a raise next year, the clock is ticking. It won’t be long before your holiday line-up of parties, shopping, and events take up all your free time.
Maybe you even dial back freelance work for a few weeks during the holidays. That’s fine. It’s one of the perks of being a freelancer.
But if you don’t take action now, you could miss out on one of those no-time-like-the-present opportunities to raise your freelance writing rates.
Do you have any low-paying clients? Are you getting paid what you’re worth? Have you developed your skills and portfolio to charge higher freelance writing rates?
If you’ve been thinking about this stuff, here’s why you need to raise your freelance writing rates…right…now.
How to Write a Press Release That Generates Buzz for Your Clients
Do you know how to write a press release? If you do it right, you can help generate some buzz for your clients.
But here’s the thing. A lot of press releases never make the cut to score a media story in print, online, on the radio, or a TV video segment. And that’s not what you want.
For example, Carol Tice recently sifted through press releases as a quick way to come up with 23 story ideas. But do you know how many press releases she deleted, skipped over, or ignored? A lot.
Knowing how to write a press release that gets results doesn’t involve hocus pocus. And it doesn’t have to be overly complicated.
But there are a few things you can do to make it easier on editors and reporters to take notice, pick up the phone, and call your client. That’s the result you want when you write a press release.
Want to know how to write a press release that generates buzz? Here’s what you need to know:
Topics to Write About: I Found You 23 Salable Article Ideas in Minutes
Are you one of those writers who struggles to find topics to write about? I hear that a lot: “I just don’t have any ideas!”
So I decided to take a few minutes and find some article ideas for you. (You’re welcome.)
Seriously, I did not spend hours gathering the ideas for this post. I collected press releases for a week that come in my inbox due to my long history as a business reporter, and then took perhaps 5 minutes apiece to think on them.
Then I used them as jumping-off points for story ideas. That’s it.
This post breaks down my process of developing a little tidbit of news into a pitchable idea, honed from 12 years as a staff writer at two business publications.
But you could do the same with overheard gossip, with scanning through publications and reslanting articles, with info you get in interviews…you name it.
Why collect story ideas? If you hope to be a working freelance writer, seeing your byline in publications, you need a big stack of story ideas.
If you fantasize that you can earn well as a writer, and editors will hand you ready-made ideas…sorry, that era ended with the rise of the internet and the decline of print.
Today’s reality: When you know how to develop salable story ideas, you get more assignments, get in the door at bigger publications… and you earn more money.
Think of those story ideas as keys to the publication kingdom. The more keys you have, the more doors you can open.
Ready to turn on the idea-generating part of your brain and learn how to create an article-idea gold mine? Then let’s go!
Email Interviews: 3 Tips to Make Sure They Don’t Suck
Let me say this up front: Email interviews are not really interviews, from a journalistic point of view. I’ve shared my view on that repeatedly.
But writers are increasingly relying on this method of extracting quick quotes from experts.
Often, they’re either scrambling for blog-post fodder.Or they’re simply scared to call people and conduct real interviews.
I see posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Help a Reporter Out, and other places, nearly every day for sources to “send your best tip on email for inclusion” in roundup posts for blogs large and small. Sigh.
In a typical week, I dozens of requests asking me to participate in email interviews of 6-10 questions. They’re usually idiotic.
And it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m always going to choose picking up the phone over email interviews. But if that’s your only option to connect with a source, here’ how to make sure it doesn’t suck.
Looking for writing courses & community support?
Our online community, Freelance Writers Den, was founded in 2011. Since then, we’ve helped 14,000+ writers connect with peers, improve their skills, and grow their freelance writing income.
Our lively community is stuffed with useful tools and career-building resources. Use our 24/7 forums to get your questions answered by pros. Tap our 300+ hours of self-study trainings to learn new skills.
The Den has live events and multi-week bootcamps where you can tap experts’ knowledge, an exclusive job board, accountability buddies, live chats, and more. Also, if you want feedback on your writer website, LinkedIn profile, or article draft, we’ve got you.
Visit the Freelance Writers Den site to see if we’re open for new members right now. Sign up on the waiting list if we’re not, and you’ll be first to join when we reopen (plus, you’ll get useful free resources in the meanwhile).
