8 Ways to Earn More Money as a Freelance Writer

Earning a living as a freelance writer can be difficult. Sure, some writers make a good income, but for every successful freelancer there are hundreds struggling to make a living. Fortunately, there are ways to earn more money as a freelance writer. Following are a few tips on how to do it.

Don’t Write On Spec

One of the keys to making money as a freelance writer is to make good use of your time. The amount of time you spend writing every day should translate into a certain amount of income. Writing articles on spec (speculation) may be a good way to break into a new market, to get your name known by various editors, but if you spend your time writing without a definite opportunity to have the article published, you could simply be wasting your time. You should make every effort to have a market for your writing before you actually type the words on your computer. That could involve sending a query to an editor--pitching an idea to an editor so they’ll assign you a job.

Start a Blog

A good way to get your name out is to start a blog. You probably have an area of expertise, something that you either feel very strongly about, have studied, or have been personally involved with and gained considerable knowledge about. If you write about things you are familiar with, and do some creative marketing to drive potential clients to your blog, you could be on your way to a career as a freelance writer.

Networking Works

As a beginning freelance writer, it’s up to you to get your name in front of the people who will pay for your writing. A good way to do that is join a writer’s group or join an online social network. The contacts you’ll make through networking will more than likely help you get work now and in the future--and the camaraderie will probably inspire you.

Try Revenue Sharing

There are many sites on the internet that specialize in connecting website owners with content for their sites. Someone writes that content, and gets paid for it. In many cases it will be work for hire, which means you get paid a certain fee for an article. Other websites operate on a revenue sharing plan whereby you get paid a small amount for each time the article is accessed on a website. With work for hire, you are limited to fixed price for each article, while the potential for ongoing income is unlimited with revenue sharing.

Always Do Your Best

A good way to continue being a struggling freelance writer is to give less than 100% each time you sit down to write. Editors can tell when you’re not giving it your all, so you should always do your best--strive to make each and every article come alive with information presented in such a way as to pique people’s interest. If you can do that on a regular basis, you should have no trouble getting new clients and keeping old ones.

Returning Clients Build Your Business

Getting a writing job is always an ego boost. Satisfying that customer is an even bigger one, and if you can get them to come to you when they need additional work done, you’ll be on your way to making more money as a freelance writer--because returning clients help build your business. The more satisfied customers you have, the more work you’ll get from them and other sources, because word of mouth is the best form of advertising--and editors talk to each other about which writers are reliable, and which ones to stay away from.

Ask For a Raise

Once you’re established as a freelance writer, and have clients coming to you with job offers, you may be in a position to get paid better. If you’ve been doing a good job for a client for an extended period of time, and they come to you with another job, bring up the possibility of getting paid more money. In most cases, a customer will give it serious consideration--but be careful not to price yourself out of a job.

Charge What You’re Worth

If you hope to make a living as a freelance writer, you’ll have to get paid what you’re worth. Early in your career you may have to take some low-paying jobs in order to become established as a writer, but once you’ve sold some work, your value as a writer will go up, because you’ve proven that you can give a client what they want in a timely manner. If you continue to work for less than you should, you’re not making good use of your time.

Guest post from Payton Price. Payton writes for TermLifeInsurance.org.