Hi friends! Jorden here, and we’re back this week with an amazing guest post from Stephanie, a writer who made $2,500 freelance writing online in her FIRST 30 DAYS! Wow. Those are amazing results, and below, you’ll get to learn her exact process! Remember, if you need more help getting started, you can take my free class on how to make your first $1,000 freelance writing online with no experience. Over to you, Stephanie!
If you asked me 3 months ago if I was a freelance writer, I would have said no.
This idea of freelance writing online wasn’t even in my wheelhouse (mostly because I didn’t know enough to know I could be successful).
But that’s what is so incredible about this creative world.
You can literally start whenever you would like, on your own clock, with your own agenda, and be solely responsible for your success!
After some research, numerous Instagram follows, and a willingness to seek out the best knowledge on the internet, I became a writer, a business owner, and a boss.
I made $2,500 freelance writing online in my first 30 days.
Keep reading to learn how you can do it too!
How I Made $2,500 Freelance Writing Online in My First 30 Days
1. Develop a business owner mindset.
The first step in becoming successful at anything is putting in the work and the research.
Use your resources, and make sure you’re prepared to invest in yourself and your business.
You can start on the right foot by taking this incredible course on how to make freelance writing into the business you want.
This exact course is what pushed me to earn thousands of dollars in one month!
2. Know your niche.
Before pitching to anyone, or even creating a website, I dove deep into my niche.
I Googled versions of keywords including “B2B Marketing” and specific fields. I read their blogs, saw what kind of information was important to them, and literally became one of their potential clients so that I could really see the benefit of their content.
The same companies you are reaching out to?
Take time to learn from, as their blogs have the information you might use in future research.
The information is there for your taking, so take it!
Pick a niche and get a “Google Ph.D.” in it.
Know what you’re talking about. Know what the companies who are pitching to really do.
Be an expert – high-paying clients hire experts!
Start following like-minded people and real those blogs. Educate yourself to set yourself above everyone else.
You can never know too much about your niche!
Related Reading: 10 Insanely Profitable Freelance Writing Niches for 2020
3. Develop a Killer Writer Website
Use your writer website to show who you are, what your niche is, and what you can do for your client.
I developed my website with a strong mindset, determined to gain clients because I fit the part and my site proved it.
See my home page below.
You can see that my site is clear, concise, and shows exactly what I can do for a client.
If you don’t have a portfolio website yet, there’s never been a better time to set one up!
4. Connect with people you know.
Make a list of people you know, past coworkers, family members, anyone you can think of and their professions.
Then, check their LinkedIn profiles to see what they are up to and reach out.
Tell them you have been freelance writing online and really like the work that their company does and that you would love to help contribute.
People are willing to help. The world is a small place, and you never know who people know!
I got my first connection from a friend of a friend. She posted on her Instagram story about a friend looking for help during the holidays.
I said “screw it! I’ll reach out.”.
That friend turned out to be an editor at Huffington Post!
This simple connection turned into my first $1,000 freelance writing online and an on-going writing relationship.
5. Maximize Your LinkedIn Presence
You may not feel comfortable reaching out to an old colleague via text or phone call.
…The solution? Find them on LinkedIn!
It’s as simple as seeing where they are these days and connecting with them.
My second client came from this exact approach.
From the conversation above, I built a relationship with this publication… and earned over $500 because of it!
6. Organize, organize, and organize some more.
Words are simply that, words, without organization.
Don’t allow your thoughts to get morphed into one endless to-do list. You aren’t a superhero with ultimate memory superpowers!
Make a spreadsheet to keep track of what companies you like, what the hot topics are, what other people are doing, and organize those thoughts into lists.
Each line on that list represents income!
You can learn how to make a pitching / cold emailing spreadsheet inside of the Killer Cold Emailing course!
Make another spreadsheet for goals.
Then, turn your goals into smaller action items that can be done daily or weekly and start going after them.
And put them on the schedule so they actually get done!
7. Personalize your pitches (otherwise, you can kiss your dream of freelance writing online goodbye!).
After pitching for about 3 months, I have learned just how much an approach matters, even from the receiving end.
When someone reaches out to pitch a product or idea and they fail to personalize their pitch email, I am immediately turned off.
If that same person would have written even one line of information that was about my writing specifically, I would have become much more engaged in the idea from the email as a whole.
So, take the time to research who you are contacting and their correct contact info before pitching or cold emailing.
If you don’t take that extra time to figure out who you should be contacting, all of your effort is wasted.
And remember those organizational lists I talked about earlier?
Make one for cold emailing too.
Again, you can learn how to do this and make your first $1,000 freelance writing inside of the Killer Cold Emailing course.
Remember, you must think of each pitch as income.
These cold emails may turn out to be “one off’s” but even those are worth something.
Through cold emailing, I earned almost $1,000 in one month!
I research companies I want to work with, then research their contact information, then send out my pitches.
A final cold emailing tip:
Do not, I repeat, do NOT BCC anyone.
Personalize each email following Jorden’s tips for success at pitching.
8. Be Persistent.
Send that pitch to a company you really want to work with.
Don’t hear back?
…Follow up!
Don’t be afraid to be persistent.
Persistence pays off, and I’m living proof.
I pitched a PR company who had a blog that wasn’t updated very often. They had big clients, and I mean “Famous Amos Cookies” big, but clearly not enough time for content creation.
I didn’t hear back from them.
I could have chalked it up to the holidays.
I emailed again with a follow-up.
And guess what?
I got an immediate response!
On our first phone call, I was complimented for my persistence.
The takeaway here?
Sometimes people just need a reminder.
If you are passionate, clients will feel that and want to infuse that same passion into their business.
9. Go with the flow.
My niche is content creation for B2B Marketing Brands.
I love marketing, so when I started this process, I thought finding clients in the marketing space would be easier than making a PB&J sandwich.
But guess who my first two clients ended up being?
Lifestyle brands!
The first one was totally by accident (the Huffington Post story from earlier).
The second time, I decided I could pitch to this brand because I had published work in the same niche. And it worked!
Now I have multiple articles published by both Huffington Post and ApartmentTherapy.com!
My article for Huffington Post!
I haven’t changed my niche, and writing for B2B Marketing Brands is still my passion.
But building my credibility with other brands has given me a step up when pitching to said brands, whether they are in the same niche or not.
Yes, niching down is key, but remember:
Your niche is more about how you’re marketing yourself – not necessarily 100% of the types of companies you write for!
10. Don’t get overwhelmed.
The beginning of anything is exciting – that includes freelance writing online!
You might follow all these steps and get more yeses than you know what to do with.
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with too many projects. Say yes to the ones you have time for.
Do a superior job with those projects. Promise less and deliver more.
And as you continue, you will learn how long assignments take you and what you are actually capable of doing in the time you have.
This is your business. Do what works for you.
…You got this!
Author Bio:
Stephanie Trovato fills her days with content creation and being a toddler mom. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and is based in New York. Follow her on Instagram @steph_trov and check out her website Big H Content for more content.