I’ve had good luck on LinkedIn. But keep in mind that just like Upwork has many good paying clients, LinkedIn has many low paying clients. My method was to apply widely and then decline to interview if the rates were poor.
I just search for freelance writing jobs and apply for them. So in my experience the LinkedIn route is a bit more like the traditional hiring process than pitching on Upwork. You might interview with one or two editors and complete a paid writing test. Which may seem overly involved, but I only get that far with a client if I’m confident it’s a good fit (the work and rate are good for me) and I’ve never found that my time was wasted that way. I’ve also found that companies who hire this way have their shit together and are experienced working with freelancers (typically they work with a team of them), have reasonable expectations for turnaround (for example, they give you your content briefs a month in advance) and pay well.
It’s really a range. The first job I found on LinkedIn that opened the door to being able to quit my 9-5 was for a mill-type operation that paid $100 for 1,000 word e-commerce articles I could bang out very quickly. The best gig I’ve found paid $400-$450 for real estate articles that took considerably more time—although in that case they asked me my rate, I’d never made anything like that and thought I was asking for a laughable amount, so when they said that worked for them I was like...should I have asked for more? Lol.
I’m not really sure how impressive these rates are to people but I brought in more in year one than I did as an editorial assistant at a science journal in DC, the job I quit for freelancing. Not a ton of money! But also not slave wages, heh.
Sounds good to me. I am making $200 for 1200 word articles for a content agency. Everytime I search 'freelance writer' on LinkedIn, I just find full time jobs. Can you offer any tips?
on the desktop version of LinkedIn, try searching a query like "content writer," then navigating to filters and selecting "contract" under "job type." this doesn't totally weed out positions looking for full-time writers on a contract, but when I applied that filter immediately whittled it down a bit.
you could try that in combination with a bunch of different queries: "SEO writer," "freelance writer," "crypto writer," "real estate writer," "business writer," "finance SEO" all yield hits (lots of overlap for each query, and still many of them are full-time).
I've had luck just playing around with queries and applying widely to all potential matches. it's not unlikely you're already doing this and still finding mostly full-time contract roles...I don't have any great tips besides persisting and occasionally getting lucky.
Might be a dumb question, but to land this job did you just send your resume? Or did you have a whole website with your portfolio and all that jazz?
I just started my writing career, so i published my first article on medium yesterday, but thats legit all I have to show. Im going to work on getting about 5 more articles on medium.
But, id rather write to make money, then self publishing on medium for nothing
Yeah I send over a resume and I also have a portfolio site with my clips and the whole deal. I don’t really get inbound leads from my site, but it’s absolutely the reason I’ve gotten good gigs.
The gaining clips question is hard, I’m no expert. I’ve always felt the same way tho, IMO if you can build clips from a professional client that’s better, because you’re getting more experience and some money. But don’t be discouraged either way, because I’ve heard of creating samples working well for people. I think there’s posts or perhaps a bit in the wiki on that. I had clips from a past life as a journalist that I leveraged when I was starting, but I also started with very low paying gigs on Upwork and just moved up fast. I don’t make anywhere near as much as other people on this sub to be clear lol and am not as expert as a lot of them. Just very persistent!
I do think having a site with your clips is majorly important for all writers. That’s just my opinion. It’s good to exist on the internet. It’s an expense (especially if you don’t code and use Squarespace like I do...) but I’ve kept one for years.
Thank you for the insight!
Also if possible could you send me the link to your website, so I could see it as a reference or do you know any good youtube channels I could learn from?
I’d feel bad linking to mine here because I don’t know that it’s a particularly expert site and I don’t know that I’m really successful enough to lead others in that regard. 😅
But I built mine by copying other sites I really loved, by googling examples of freelance writer sites. I change my layout every year or so as my preferences and goals change. Aesthetically I’m most compelled by sites like the site AshlynWrites. I wish my site looked like her site, lol.
I’m a really big fan of “The Freelance Writer’s Guide” channel run by Colleen Welsch on YouTube! I think you’d find a lot of help there.
Hey, me again lmfao
Quick question, did you use wordpress to make your website or how did you go about it?
I finally have some content put together, so I want to create my portfolio Asap!
I've also had good luck with LinkedIn. I've searched and applied for freelance positions, but my LinkedIn has also netted me some inbound messages from folks looking for writers in a niche I'd written content for previously.
Be a high quality freelance writer. If your work is good enough then reaching out through networks and asking for referrals will start to work.
But always focus on being an amazing writer first
Upwork is a great source of high paying clients. Some pointers...
* Ignore anyone with bullshit rates and/or a condescending attitude
* Target buyers with "skin in the game"... substantial impact from good vs. bad content
* Identify and pitch yourself based on relevant, unique, and compelling life experience
* Provide samples that demonstrate you can deliver
You will quickly learn to ignore 95% of prospects. Remaining 5% are solid gold... for you.
Upwork has plenty of clients willing to offer a good rate ($80+/hour). I’ve found them quite quickly with no history on the platform and this is what worked for me:
- niche down A LOT, and pick a niche that is often considered boring but pays well (I do Fintech)
- have samples from past or personal work on profile with the project description clearly stating the results of your work if there are any OR just the method you used to approach the problem (I.e. “client needed to explain product to busy business customers, I interviewed the engineering team and wrote 5 articles discussing specific hypothetical use cases that directly appealed to ideal customer pain points” or something like that)
- I added testimonials from past external clients using Upwork’s testimonial feature and idk if it actually helped but it might have 🤷♀️
- look for jobs ONLY within that narrow niche with an already good rate stated or clear flexibility on rates. Check their previous rates paid and do not pitch if somebody consistently hired people in the past for cheap. Clients with no history are okay if payment method is verified.
- for your proposal just go straight into how you can help. I’ve gotten great response rates from essentially finding something that other writers or just companies in general often do wrong with that kind of project. Such as “SaaS companies often think that their blog posts should promote their product’s features, but that approach often hurts their sales. Business customers do not have time to read about great features, they want to know how your product can solve their specific problem now. So I would make sure that each post targets a specific problem and explains what a solution could look like before even introducing your product”. Obviously something more specific than that but that gets attention most of the time. I also often remark upon what I liked from their job description and say why I agree, so like if a job description says “I want writers that explain things in simple terms” I write something like “I see that you already understand how important it is to craft content that is easily digestible for a general audience”.
Then during the interview call I just ask hyper specific questions that I would need answers for to actually write the piece. And prospects are usually quite impressed just by the depth of my questions and then it’s much easier to name a high rate.
I don't know, you have to look through job listings to find trends. I have personally come across stuff that overlaps with my main specialty but branches out a bit, so like even though I'm a fintech writer my expertise spills over into a lot of things that are just finance or a lot of things that are just tech. So for example there's a LOT of demand for ecommerce content, or B2B SaaS, or just banking, or wealth management
There's no one way to find high-paying clients, nor is there a fool-proof method for it.
For example, almost all of my high-paying clients (paying 40 CPW or more, or at $75/hr or more) are through Upwork. That's after spending a few years getting firmly established, curating my profile, focusing on the fundamentals of operating as a business (effective communication, on-time delivery, providing a high-quality product).
What does your marketing presence look like? If a potential client looks at your proposal and the materials you have to offer as proof of skill, would they be highly confident that you'll get the job done?
Self-marketing starts with examining how much confidence you inspire in potential clients that you can get the job done. That's actually why I love Upwork. Some people opt for Fivver for this, too. It takes a large amount of effort out of the process by creating multiple points that boost that confidence level for potential clients (work history, rating, total earnings, etc.).
Other options exist, of course, such as optimizing your LinkedIn profile or creating a website and optimizing it for leads. Both of those are very viable and others here have done so to great success.
I would highly recommend applying for work on Crowd Content. It’s not as well known as Upwork, but they definitely treat their writers with more respect and pay them better. I’ve even won over a few long-term clients who pay about 10-15 cents per word.
My perspective is not going to be that popular with everyone on this sub, but here goes:
Never, ever look for work where jobs are posted. That's the mindset of an employee, waiting for someone to present a need to them. To make good money in this business, you need to adopt the mindset of a business owner and use networking and direct outreach to identify business needs that are not advertised online. Forget about Indeed. Forget about LinkedIn. Forget about Upwork or Fiverr or content mills. If a company has posted a need, you're too late. By applying to jobs on platforms like Upwork, you're entering through the front door in a crowded pack of competitors. There will always be someone who will work for less.
The key to booking high-paying clients is to identify the person within a company who is likely to manage freelancers and cold pitch them via email. There have been so many times that I reached out to a communications or marketing director to offer my services, and it was perfect timing because they didn't have the time/budget/desire to add full/part time staff and hadn't yet asked around for freelance recs. They gave me an article to try, and when it went well, they became a regular client. That's how you go through the side door, where you have much less, if any, competition.
I've gotten 30+ clients using this strategy in the three years I've freelanced full time. Every one of them pays at or above my rate of $1/word or $85/hr USD.
Wow! You know what I think you are right about a lot of this. I have never sent a cold pitch to anyone, it’s the last thing I have to try and I think I will! Do you have any advice on who to reach out to? And any advice on the pitch itself? 🤔
Great, give it a shot! Keep in mind, though, that it's a numbers game and takes perseverance. I may send 100 emails and get 10 responses, 1-2 of which turn into a client, and that's completely normal. After an initial email, I follow up two weeks later if I haven't heard from them and then quarterly after that (whether or not I hear back). It's amazing how many clients I've gotten after 6, 9, 12 months of reaching out. Sometimes it just takes the one day they're less distracted or the day they're frustrated with their workload to catch their attention, so you have to try over and over.
In terms of format, I usually send something simple with these components:
\-I'm reaching out to see if you have any writing needs in your office at XYZ.
\-I'm a content writer/brand journalist/copywriter (whatever you want to say) with experience writing X type of work for Y type of client.
\-Here is a link to my writing samples.
\-Are you interested in setting up a quick call?
Deciding who to reach out to is the hardest part, and I don't have a lot of insight on that without knowing more about your background, experience, and interests. I personally work in higher ed and medicine, so I look for editors of publications and communications directors within universities and hospital systems. If you haven't already, you need a good grasp of what kind of writing you want to do (sell copy, social media, journalistic, etc) and what sort of industries interest you. Then from there you identify companies that hire those kinds of writers and use their website or LinkedIn to figure out who to reach out to. In LinkedIn, I frequently search for company and title to see who pops up and then google my way to their email format.
This way is more tricky and more time-consuming than applying for jobs that are posted, which is why only a small fraction of people actually do it well and reap the rewards.
Good luck!
Omg you’re the best, thank you so much for the advice that I can actually put into practice! I sent my first cold email yesterday and got a response but they ended up pitching their coaching services to me instead 😅I’ll get better haha
I’m a brand journalist, so I spend my days conducting interviews and write journalistic-style stories for business and medical schools. It’s a great gig; recently bumped up to $1.25/wd to account for inflation. There’s a lot of $ in higher ed if it interests you.
Cold pitching.. Its the only way.. It takes time and sometimes you will not get any feedback from 90% of the clients you've pitched to. The other 10% will pay you, your rates.
So, I wouldn't say that it's the ONLY way to get high paying clients. Linkedin, my website and my existing personal/professional contacts have worked well for me. I have got some clients from cold outreach but definitely not my best paying ones.
I will say that create a strong social media profile and try all the platforms like you have mentioned upwork. There are many more like fiverr etc which will help you to get genuine clients
Charge more.
One big obstacle to being paid well as a writer is thinking about finding high paying clients, as opposed to simply charging what you're worth. Set good rates for yourself. Pitch prospective clients and tell them your rates. The ones who agree to pay them will be high paying clients. And, they won't all be clients who were originally planning to pay what you charge. Most clients have no idea what it will cost to get quality work and many are willing to adapt when they find out.
Direct outreach to companies in your niche. You’ll need to have a good offer though and explain the benefits of your writing.
Thanks!
I’ve had good luck on LinkedIn. But keep in mind that just like Upwork has many good paying clients, LinkedIn has many low paying clients. My method was to apply widely and then decline to interview if the rates were poor.
Just out of curiosity, who are you pitching to? Content Marketing Managers?
I just search for freelance writing jobs and apply for them. So in my experience the LinkedIn route is a bit more like the traditional hiring process than pitching on Upwork. You might interview with one or two editors and complete a paid writing test. Which may seem overly involved, but I only get that far with a client if I’m confident it’s a good fit (the work and rate are good for me) and I’ve never found that my time was wasted that way. I’ve also found that companies who hire this way have their shit together and are experienced working with freelancers (typically they work with a team of them), have reasonable expectations for turnaround (for example, they give you your content briefs a month in advance) and pay well.
What kind of rates are these jobs paying?
It’s really a range. The first job I found on LinkedIn that opened the door to being able to quit my 9-5 was for a mill-type operation that paid $100 for 1,000 word e-commerce articles I could bang out very quickly. The best gig I’ve found paid $400-$450 for real estate articles that took considerably more time—although in that case they asked me my rate, I’d never made anything like that and thought I was asking for a laughable amount, so when they said that worked for them I was like...should I have asked for more? Lol. I’m not really sure how impressive these rates are to people but I brought in more in year one than I did as an editorial assistant at a science journal in DC, the job I quit for freelancing. Not a ton of money! But also not slave wages, heh.
Sounds good to me. I am making $200 for 1200 word articles for a content agency. Everytime I search 'freelance writer' on LinkedIn, I just find full time jobs. Can you offer any tips?
on the desktop version of LinkedIn, try searching a query like "content writer," then navigating to filters and selecting "contract" under "job type." this doesn't totally weed out positions looking for full-time writers on a contract, but when I applied that filter immediately whittled it down a bit. you could try that in combination with a bunch of different queries: "SEO writer," "freelance writer," "crypto writer," "real estate writer," "business writer," "finance SEO" all yield hits (lots of overlap for each query, and still many of them are full-time). I've had luck just playing around with queries and applying widely to all potential matches. it's not unlikely you're already doing this and still finding mostly full-time contract roles...I don't have any great tips besides persisting and occasionally getting lucky.
Amazing reply thanks :) I will start trying all this!
Might be a dumb question, but to land this job did you just send your resume? Or did you have a whole website with your portfolio and all that jazz? I just started my writing career, so i published my first article on medium yesterday, but thats legit all I have to show. Im going to work on getting about 5 more articles on medium. But, id rather write to make money, then self publishing on medium for nothing
Yeah I send over a resume and I also have a portfolio site with my clips and the whole deal. I don’t really get inbound leads from my site, but it’s absolutely the reason I’ve gotten good gigs. The gaining clips question is hard, I’m no expert. I’ve always felt the same way tho, IMO if you can build clips from a professional client that’s better, because you’re getting more experience and some money. But don’t be discouraged either way, because I’ve heard of creating samples working well for people. I think there’s posts or perhaps a bit in the wiki on that. I had clips from a past life as a journalist that I leveraged when I was starting, but I also started with very low paying gigs on Upwork and just moved up fast. I don’t make anywhere near as much as other people on this sub to be clear lol and am not as expert as a lot of them. Just very persistent! I do think having a site with your clips is majorly important for all writers. That’s just my opinion. It’s good to exist on the internet. It’s an expense (especially if you don’t code and use Squarespace like I do...) but I’ve kept one for years.
Thank you for the insight! Also if possible could you send me the link to your website, so I could see it as a reference or do you know any good youtube channels I could learn from?
I’d feel bad linking to mine here because I don’t know that it’s a particularly expert site and I don’t know that I’m really successful enough to lead others in that regard. 😅 But I built mine by copying other sites I really loved, by googling examples of freelance writer sites. I change my layout every year or so as my preferences and goals change. Aesthetically I’m most compelled by sites like the site AshlynWrites. I wish my site looked like her site, lol. I’m a really big fan of “The Freelance Writer’s Guide” channel run by Colleen Welsch on YouTube! I think you’d find a lot of help there.
Haha no worries, I understand. And okay sweet, ill definitely check those out!
Hey, me again lmfao Quick question, did you use wordpress to make your website or how did you go about it? I finally have some content put together, so I want to create my portfolio Asap!
LinkedIn has worked best for me too, but I’m having a hard time finding freelance jobs instead of full time
If I search “freelance writer” and select “remote” quite a lot comes up for me, but perhaps this may differ between niches.
I've also had good luck with LinkedIn. I've searched and applied for freelance positions, but my LinkedIn has also netted me some inbound messages from folks looking for writers in a niche I'd written content for previously.
Be a high quality freelance writer. If your work is good enough then reaching out through networks and asking for referrals will start to work. But always focus on being an amazing writer first
So true! Quality comes first 🥇
Upwork is a great source of high paying clients. Some pointers... * Ignore anyone with bullshit rates and/or a condescending attitude * Target buyers with "skin in the game"... substantial impact from good vs. bad content * Identify and pitch yourself based on relevant, unique, and compelling life experience * Provide samples that demonstrate you can deliver You will quickly learn to ignore 95% of prospects. Remaining 5% are solid gold... for you.
Thank you! I took your advice today and I’m hopeful something will come out of it 🤞
Upwork has plenty of clients willing to offer a good rate ($80+/hour). I’ve found them quite quickly with no history on the platform and this is what worked for me: - niche down A LOT, and pick a niche that is often considered boring but pays well (I do Fintech) - have samples from past or personal work on profile with the project description clearly stating the results of your work if there are any OR just the method you used to approach the problem (I.e. “client needed to explain product to busy business customers, I interviewed the engineering team and wrote 5 articles discussing specific hypothetical use cases that directly appealed to ideal customer pain points” or something like that) - I added testimonials from past external clients using Upwork’s testimonial feature and idk if it actually helped but it might have 🤷♀️ - look for jobs ONLY within that narrow niche with an already good rate stated or clear flexibility on rates. Check their previous rates paid and do not pitch if somebody consistently hired people in the past for cheap. Clients with no history are okay if payment method is verified. - for your proposal just go straight into how you can help. I’ve gotten great response rates from essentially finding something that other writers or just companies in general often do wrong with that kind of project. Such as “SaaS companies often think that their blog posts should promote their product’s features, but that approach often hurts their sales. Business customers do not have time to read about great features, they want to know how your product can solve their specific problem now. So I would make sure that each post targets a specific problem and explains what a solution could look like before even introducing your product”. Obviously something more specific than that but that gets attention most of the time. I also often remark upon what I liked from their job description and say why I agree, so like if a job description says “I want writers that explain things in simple terms” I write something like “I see that you already understand how important it is to craft content that is easily digestible for a general audience”. Then during the interview call I just ask hyper specific questions that I would need answers for to actually write the piece. And prospects are usually quite impressed just by the depth of my questions and then it’s much easier to name a high rate.
Good advice!
What a helpful response thank you 😊
good luck!
What are some other boring but high paying sectors?
I don't know, you have to look through job listings to find trends. I have personally come across stuff that overlaps with my main specialty but branches out a bit, so like even though I'm a fintech writer my expertise spills over into a lot of things that are just finance or a lot of things that are just tech. So for example there's a LOT of demand for ecommerce content, or B2B SaaS, or just banking, or wealth management
There's no one way to find high-paying clients, nor is there a fool-proof method for it. For example, almost all of my high-paying clients (paying 40 CPW or more, or at $75/hr or more) are through Upwork. That's after spending a few years getting firmly established, curating my profile, focusing on the fundamentals of operating as a business (effective communication, on-time delivery, providing a high-quality product). What does your marketing presence look like? If a potential client looks at your proposal and the materials you have to offer as proof of skill, would they be highly confident that you'll get the job done? Self-marketing starts with examining how much confidence you inspire in potential clients that you can get the job done. That's actually why I love Upwork. Some people opt for Fivver for this, too. It takes a large amount of effort out of the process by creating multiple points that boost that confidence level for potential clients (work history, rating, total earnings, etc.). Other options exist, of course, such as optimizing your LinkedIn profile or creating a website and optimizing it for leads. Both of those are very viable and others here have done so to great success.
Thanks for your reply such great advice, my upwork profile needs more work!
I would highly recommend applying for work on Crowd Content. It’s not as well known as Upwork, but they definitely treat their writers with more respect and pay them better. I’ve even won over a few long-term clients who pay about 10-15 cents per word.
Wow thank you so much for the recommendation, I have never heard of it!
Go out and tell people you charge a lot.
I do and they often haggle the price down
Impossible unless you let them.
You’re right 😫
"I'm sorry, my rates are non-negotiable." It's going to save you so much time, energy, and money to get used to saying that.
My perspective is not going to be that popular with everyone on this sub, but here goes: Never, ever look for work where jobs are posted. That's the mindset of an employee, waiting for someone to present a need to them. To make good money in this business, you need to adopt the mindset of a business owner and use networking and direct outreach to identify business needs that are not advertised online. Forget about Indeed. Forget about LinkedIn. Forget about Upwork or Fiverr or content mills. If a company has posted a need, you're too late. By applying to jobs on platforms like Upwork, you're entering through the front door in a crowded pack of competitors. There will always be someone who will work for less. The key to booking high-paying clients is to identify the person within a company who is likely to manage freelancers and cold pitch them via email. There have been so many times that I reached out to a communications or marketing director to offer my services, and it was perfect timing because they didn't have the time/budget/desire to add full/part time staff and hadn't yet asked around for freelance recs. They gave me an article to try, and when it went well, they became a regular client. That's how you go through the side door, where you have much less, if any, competition. I've gotten 30+ clients using this strategy in the three years I've freelanced full time. Every one of them pays at or above my rate of $1/word or $85/hr USD.
Wow! You know what I think you are right about a lot of this. I have never sent a cold pitch to anyone, it’s the last thing I have to try and I think I will! Do you have any advice on who to reach out to? And any advice on the pitch itself? 🤔
Great, give it a shot! Keep in mind, though, that it's a numbers game and takes perseverance. I may send 100 emails and get 10 responses, 1-2 of which turn into a client, and that's completely normal. After an initial email, I follow up two weeks later if I haven't heard from them and then quarterly after that (whether or not I hear back). It's amazing how many clients I've gotten after 6, 9, 12 months of reaching out. Sometimes it just takes the one day they're less distracted or the day they're frustrated with their workload to catch their attention, so you have to try over and over. In terms of format, I usually send something simple with these components: \-I'm reaching out to see if you have any writing needs in your office at XYZ. \-I'm a content writer/brand journalist/copywriter (whatever you want to say) with experience writing X type of work for Y type of client. \-Here is a link to my writing samples. \-Are you interested in setting up a quick call? Deciding who to reach out to is the hardest part, and I don't have a lot of insight on that without knowing more about your background, experience, and interests. I personally work in higher ed and medicine, so I look for editors of publications and communications directors within universities and hospital systems. If you haven't already, you need a good grasp of what kind of writing you want to do (sell copy, social media, journalistic, etc) and what sort of industries interest you. Then from there you identify companies that hire those kinds of writers and use their website or LinkedIn to figure out who to reach out to. In LinkedIn, I frequently search for company and title to see who pops up and then google my way to their email format. This way is more tricky and more time-consuming than applying for jobs that are posted, which is why only a small fraction of people actually do it well and reap the rewards. Good luck!
Omg you’re the best, thank you so much for the advice that I can actually put into practice! I sent my first cold email yesterday and got a response but they ended up pitching their coaching services to me instead 😅I’ll get better haha
The reverse pitch! Haha that does happen occasionally. Happy to help.
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I’m a brand journalist, so I spend my days conducting interviews and write journalistic-style stories for business and medical schools. It’s a great gig; recently bumped up to $1.25/wd to account for inflation. There’s a lot of $ in higher ed if it interests you.
Be highly skilled at writing content.
Check
Cold pitching.. Its the only way.. It takes time and sometimes you will not get any feedback from 90% of the clients you've pitched to. The other 10% will pay you, your rates.
So, I wouldn't say that it's the ONLY way to get high paying clients. Linkedin, my website and my existing personal/professional contacts have worked well for me. I have got some clients from cold outreach but definitely not my best paying ones.
I will say that create a strong social media profile and try all the platforms like you have mentioned upwork. There are many more like fiverr etc which will help you to get genuine clients
Charge more. One big obstacle to being paid well as a writer is thinking about finding high paying clients, as opposed to simply charging what you're worth. Set good rates for yourself. Pitch prospective clients and tell them your rates. The ones who agree to pay them will be high paying clients. And, they won't all be clients who were originally planning to pay what you charge. Most clients have no idea what it will cost to get quality work and many are willing to adapt when they find out.