How I made $6,550 As a Freelance Writer.
I have written over 22 articles in the past few months and that has earned me $6,550 in total.
I wanted to dive into how I made this happen, the ups and downs, and how you can achieve it too.
If you’re a Software Engineer not knowing that you can achieve this or even more as I plan to do in 2021.
Then you’re in the right article:
The concepts are not just for Software Engineers or Technical writers alone, I have included lots of hacks that can help you increase your income as a Freelance Writer in any niche.
The interesting part is that these contents are really very simple and what everyone with the same domain knowledge can write about.
Want to know how I did it?
How did it start?
Writing has always been a second choice for me, writing for fun, to share my knowledge with the world and myself, also writing to gain domain authority has always been my reason to write for a long time until I discovered that I could actually make a living off writing and content creating.
This year 2020, a friend introduced me to the concept of writing for companies and getting paid for it, which I never knew exist because I was a dedicated Software Engineer 👩💻
We started applying to different Tech companies to write for their tech blogs and luckily…
I did it, I got accepted very fast more than my friend.
Want to know why I got accepted faster? :)
Here are my possible reasons:
Have Good Written Contents:
Remember when I was writing for fun and for free?
Well, I have written a lot of articles free that have been trending on Medium and also on Google SERP's first page.
This article has gotten more than 50k views and has gained more than 20 hours of membership read time.
This article has helped a lot of people and some even reach out to me for some contract jobs which I completed successfully.
When I applied to these companies with my previous article links and stats, of course you know the rest of the story. They couldn’t reject me.
Always have excellent previous writing experience and great previous written samples.
Where to Apply
Imagine how much I will have made including the days writing for free and not having a single idea that I can actually write for companies and get paid for it.
Don’t be like me, at least know where to apply to write for and get paid.
I learned the hard way, I and my friend had to do a lot of Google searches and reaching out via Twitter before we can gain insights on where to apply and get paid to write.
To make the process easier for you:
Here is a list of companies that are currently paying freelance writers, the description of what kind of content they are interested in, and how much they offer per article.
Understand the Business
When applying to write for a particular company, you might be asked to submit your proposed topic right away.
Learn to study and understand what the company does and how you can use their product to come up with a great article.
If you can come up with a topic that is not already covered in their platform then your chances of getting accepted are higher.
In most of my cases, what I do is to study their business and the kind of product they are offering.
Next, I look up their blog for previous content to see if what I have in mind is already covered or how I can improve on what is already covered based on my own experience with the same tools.
Achieving my Goal
Now that I was accepted to write, how did I write up to 22 articles and how did I make up to $6,550.
Have A Plan
I decided to come up with a plan that will earn me an average of $2,000 a month as a part-time writer because I also had a 9–5 full-time Software Engineering role.
With that income plan, I came up with writing 8 articles in a month which will give me an average of $2,000 a month then I further divided it down to 2 articles in a week.
The calculation might not collate because I am calculating based on average, some months it above $2,000 and some months it’s less.
The lesson here is:
Create a plan and be disciplined enough to stick to it.
I have always stick to writing at least two articles a week.
Write to your Audience
Coming up with two topics every week that are based on the products of the company you’re writing for can be hard at times because in some companies you’re only limited to write content using their products and there may be hundreds of other writers as well.
How do I make sure I come up with two approved topics every week:
What I always do is to run a little Google Search on what users are finding difficult when using the company’s products, or what the are searching for about the products then I will develop my content based on that.
Tools like Keyword Everywhere, Keyword Surfer, Ubersuggests are very helpful.
Doing this extra work and research can gain you more visibility on your article thereby increasing your reputation as a writer and giving you more domain authority in your career.
Aside from those benefits, I was given a performance bonus by the company for the most viewed content which also adds up to make the amount.
The take-home lesson here is:
Go the extra miles to achieve your job effectively and efficiently even if there is no benefit attached, there is always who is watching.
Final Thoughts
Writing is a skill that you can develop and master, it is also a career that is paying lots of persons.
You need to decide to be a Writer to become a Writer.
You don’t need a degree sort of.
All you have to do is start sharing your experiences with others in form of writing.
While writing you’re building your portfolio, gain reputations, and domain authority.
Setting goals and coming up with plans can help you grow and start getting paid for your content.
Thanks for reading. I will really appreciate a few claps if you find this article useful.
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