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The Lowdown on What Freelancers Earn and How They Find Good Clients

Carol Tice

The Lowdown on Freelance Writer Pay - 2012 Freelancer Report Infographic. Makealivingwriting.comHave you been wondering if you can really earn a good living as a freelance writer?

Well, today, I’ve got some hard data to unpack for you about freelancers’ lives — what we’re earning and how we get good clients.

The info comes from Ed Gandia’s 2012 Freelance Industry Report, a survey of more than 1,500 freelancers in all fields.

Let’s start with probably the hottest question in freelancing — what can you make?

Ed has figures for freelancers overall as well as writers and editors/proofreaders.

Let’s compare (I’m rounding these figures off, folks):

Earnings for all types of freelancers

12% make over $100 an hour

41% make over $70 an hour

67.5% make over $50 an hour

Earnings for writers

14% make over $100 an hour

31% make over $70 an hour

61% make over $50 an hour

Earnings for editors/copyeditors

2% make over $100 an hour

13% make over $70 an hour

33% make over $50 an hour

 Earnings for copywriters

24% make over $100 an hour

53% make over $70 an hour

78% make over $50 an hour

You may have heard copywriting is a highly paid niche…and there’s the proof.

Also, check out all of the proof there that writers can make a good living. More than half make over $50 an hour! Hopefully that gives writers a sense of where to set their rates.

Three fun facts about freelance writing

  • 60 percent of the writers bid by the project, the survey found. Which is how you want to do it.
  • Over 40 percent of freelance writers report they earn more as freelancers than they did in their previous full-time jobs. I just knew I wasn’t the only one!
  • Roughly half of freelancers report the economic downturn has had no or “very minor” impact on their business.
  • (For more fun facts, check out that infographic!)

Marketing that works…and doesn’t

What did freelancers report were the best ways to get clients?

Referrals 27%

Word of mouth 24%

“Tapping my personal/professional network” 17%

From there, it goes down fast — the next best was looking at online bid sites with 6 percent. Email marketing was effective for less than 5 percent of respondents.

What really sucked in marketing

Social media 3%

Cold calling 2%

Craigslist ads 1.5%

I’m not sure where they put LinkedIn in all that — referrals? Word of mouth? Social media? But want to say it’s been a great source of leads for me.

Why it’s a great time to be a freelancer

If you feel weary of learning all about how to market your business and find clients, take heart.

The fact is, you’re smart to slog through the muck and learn how to do it now.

Why?

In the future, many more freelancers will be joining our ranks. One survey forecast that the number of freelancers will grow from the current one-quarter of the workforce to as much as half of all workers, as companies increasingly outsource creative services.

People who are freelancing now will have their businesses established and earning while workers who figure out this macro-trend late will have to scramble to learn how to operate their own freelance business.

Join my freelance writer community

20 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

20 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

Best Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners. Makealivingwriting.com

Right now, a record-high number of people are considering a freelance writing career. My inbox is overflowing with questions from newbies. And the first question is: “Where can I find freelance writing jobs for beginners?”

If that’s you, sending hugs! I totally feel your confusion. The freelance marketplace is a big, complicated place. There are lots of types of paid writing, and different kinds of clients, too.

I’ve been helping writers get started for a dozen years now. And I know how mystifying it can be. You feel like there’s a door you need to find, a person you need to know, a secret you must unlock to become a freelance writer.

But really, the path to freelance writing jobs for beginners is simple.

You need to find someone willing to let you write for them. That’s it.

You get a few samples and boom — you have a portfolio to show. And you’re on your way.

There are fairly simple, break-in writing assignments that newbies tend to get. I’m going to outline what they are below.

But first, I need to explain something…

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

The purpose of a personal narrative is to describe a specific story in your life. No matter who you are, you have a plethora of life experiences, events, and stories that can be crafted into a compelling personal narrative for use in an article, blog post, case study, etc.

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Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference?

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