How I Built My Freelance Writing Business (And Earned $500 in one month)

I had a dream of starting a freelance writing business.

But corporate work would not let me go.

Money after 30 days held me ransom.

Until I was let go.

I got fired in 2018 December. 

No one believed in me.

But I believed in myself.

I started a business from a disadvantaged position.

And the business is growing.

Don't do what I did.

Prepare well.

I started freelancing in January 2019 and business picked up very quickly.

I’ve been freelance writing for over 4 years now. 

During that time, I built a freelance writing business that brought in $500 plus per month. Last month, I earned $400 from freelance writing. 

Don’t believe me? See the screenshots below:

Sometime in the month of June, the work slowed down and I stopped getting orders.

The best jobs are from USA, Canada, and Australia.

When you convert one dollar, you get N760. 

$1000 equals N760,000.

What a windfall! 

I show these figures to prove that it is possible.

Making money in dollars is a fantastic way to meet the challenges of the Nigerian economy.

You can build a freelance writing business in 12 months or less.

See my humble beginning:

See my YouTube video above.

Just like Jorden Roper, you can pull yourself out of the rabbit hole of writing for content mills.

Fiverr and Upwork are great places to start but when the dry season in the freelance writing industry shows up, it is the clients you pitch that help you stay above the water and not sink.

To learn more about how to pitch great foreign clients, buy my book of tried and tested strategies to pitch great clients:

The Freelance Writer's Guide - How to Make $500 Monthly for Newbies

I started freelancing in January 2018.

I wrote articles for clients from the US, Australia, the United Kingdom, and even locally. 

I did not begin breaking even until I got a strategy to help grow my freelance writing business, and today, the rest is history.

In this post, I will share that strategy and more including:

• My time writing for Upwork and Fiverr.
• How I built my foundation as a freelance writer.
• How I Landed my first Set of high paying writing clients
• My time working for an agency that delayed payments
• The insanely simple technique I used to land my highest-paying blogging gig ($200 for an eBook for a 20-page eBook)
• How I increased my rates with some of my best clients and let my low-paying clients go.

Before I jump into the post, let me state categorically that the only thing stopping you from becoming a successful freelance writer is YOU.

And your excuses.

What You Don't Need to Be a Successful Freelance Writer

• You don't need any fancy writing degree to be successful. If you can write and deliver the needs of your clients, you become an instant success.
• You don't need to spend consistently high amounts of money paying for writing courses before you start writing. You can learn on the job.
• You can enroll in a copywriting course while you build your business and write copy for your clients.
• You do not need endless research into your industries or niches before starting. When I used to do that, it was impostor syndrome attacking my confidence. 
• The truth is that you gain experience as you write. You do not need experience before you start freelance writing.
• You don't need to be an expert in a particular niche. You can choose many different niches until you discover the niches you prefer working on.
• You do not need a perfect website. It is a part of the process of building your writing business.
• Don't pursue perfection. Start small and grow in time.

Okay, let's begin this post.

But too many people aim for perfection. 

Stop it. 

Launch something simple; you can always change it with time.

Okay, now let’s dive into the post.

My time writing for Upwork and Fiverr.

Writing for Upwork and Fiverr was great. I got high-paying clients all the time until the dry season.

When the dry season came, I started accepting clients who paid below $150.

I spiraled from there. 

A Nigerian gave me one star and my account left its esteemed position. Ironically, that was one of the toughest work I did. 

I regretted accepting that client but it was a learning curve for me. If there are any red flags in a potential client, decline the job instead of accepting the job and ruining your account.

After that, getting a job was tougher so I was forced to go for some coaching to learn my next steps.

This was how I overcame my fears and began cold pitching.

How I built my foundation as a freelance writer.

As I wrote for clients, I began positioning myself as a professional writer. 

I created a free website and began sharing my experiences as a writer via my Facebook and LinkedIn social media channels.

I could not figure out a niche so I positioned myself as an online professional who provided blog posts and social media caption-writing services in different niches such as business and marketing.

If you are struggling with defining your niche, no worries!

Not knowing your niche is a stumbling block at the beginning of your writing career.

Choose many different niches and see where your interests take in.

Find what you love and where you have interests.

How I Landed my first Set of high paying writing clients

I started pitching.

At first, I asked for very small sums because I was under pressure to make some money to pay the bills.

As I began writing single articles for $50 I gained more confidence in my work, and pitched more.

Sometimes I would have four different clients respond to my pitch out of the blue.

One day a client asked me to do a job for $300. 

A simple job. 

I did the job and submitted and my client went terrific! 

That night I slept with joy in my heart because my business was finally getting satisfied clients.

My time working for an agency that delayed payments

I began by writing for local clients but my most memorable time was when I worked for a Kenyan client.

I got the job after sending in my portfolio. I wrote almost 50 different posts for Mr. L at an affordable price.

The pay was not good and it was sometimes delayed but it paid the bills.

It was a starting point. Mr. L helped me write a post that was ready for the client. He taught me on-page SEO. He helped refine my writing and from that position, I got almost two other clients who paid better and I used Mr. L's posts as a portfolio.

The insanely simple technique I used to land my highest-paying blogging gig ($200 for an eBook for a 20-page eBook)

It is a simple skill called cold emailing or pitching.

I used the template below to reach out to clients.

I used the subject line "Content at Imagineit".

Out of the 100 pitches I sent out, I got responses from different websites and business owners with publications and landed two different clients.

One client agreed to two $50 blog posts per week. The other agreed to write a lead magnet at $200 eBook every fortnight. 

These rates were amazing compared to what I charged when I worked at the content mills and the agency. 

These clients made me self-employed and able to handle the logistics of my business with some ease. 

I landed a few jobs via referrals.

Optimizing your social media channels is a great step for a newbie.

I made more than $750 from one project. I executed the project in three months.

It’s something you should consider if you’re a new writer.

So when the tough times come as they sometimes do, trust your channels to keep feeding you clients.

Also, pitch daily when you have jobs and when you don't.

You will succeed!

How I increased my rates with some of my best clients and let my low-paying clients go.

When I became confidence, I was able to challenge clients who attempted to abscond with my pay by challenging them with the small claims court.

This is a story for another day.

Today I charge much higher.

• $100 for articles and blog posts.
• $200 for short eBooks.
• $500 for eBooks.

This was a journey.

I did not get here in one day.

You would be surprised what you are capable of if you only try.

You were born to create, to write, to inspire.

Write.

Grow.

You are born for this!

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: These articles may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. I won't put anything here that I haven't verified myself.