How to Earn Top Dollar Working as a Freelance Blogger
I am a freelance blogger and an online copywriter. Most people look at me in amazement when I tell them that.
Do you mean you can actually make money doing this thing? I am asked this question – a lot.
Isn’t blogging for people who want to share things online? Isn’t it really hard to make money from your blog? How do you find clients? Do they pay well? The questions keep on coming. There is genuine puzzlement on their faces, I can see that. So I thought it would be good to answer all these questions for you who wonder the same thing.
Yes, it is possible to make decent wages by offering your freelance blogging services. Very much so. Let’s look at how.
Kinds of Blog Monetization
There are ‘hobby’ bloggers, but there is another kind of blogger – professional bloggers – who monetize their blogs using a variety of methods. These can be categorized into two popular models.
Just like one can offer their editing, proofreading, resume writing, copywriting, content creation services, you could also sell your blogging services, at a very good cost.
You can monetize your blog by displaying advertising, participating in affiliate marketing, selling your own products, running continuity programs and things like that. This means that you have to generate a huge number of clicks and drive insane amounts of traffic to your blog to be able to monetize it successfully.
This is what most people think of, when they think of making money from their blog.
There is another way to make money blogging. You can sell your services on your blog.
Like any freelance professional, you could have a site where you sell coaching, consulting, writing, design and other sorts of valuable services. I am mentioning them because they operate online, as do freelance bloggers.
Just like one can offer their editing, proofreading, resume writing, copywriting, content creation services, you can also sell your blogging services, and at a very good cost.
Read a classic article, written by Leo Babauta, that was so popular that it was recently republished here on FreelanceSwitch. The post How to Become a Freelance Blogger has 244 comments so far and many people are raving about this exciting opportunity.
Is Freelance Blogging Right for You?
Okay, let’s talk about this for a minute: Do you enjoy this style of writing? I know some people who think bloggers are not real writers – especially the ones who have a very dry, stuffy writing style.
Do you write in a conversational manner and enjoy connecting with your audience? Are you able to write quickly so as to make a good hourly wage?
Do you have a blog of your own? If so, how long have you been blogging for? What is the niche like? Do you find it easy to come up with new ideas and fresh content regularly?
Are you active on Social Media platforms, especially the big ones like Facebook and Twitter? Have you got a decent amount of followers? This is relevant because sometimes companies that hire you expect that you will be promoting the posts in your network.
And the most important, do you have a special qualifications, skill set, or expertise that will make you more attractive to your prospective client? For instance, if you have a degree in IT, you are currently working or have some prior experience, you can approach technology based companies with confidence because you already have the technical chops to speak to their audience. They don’t have to spend time training you and teaching you about the industry. You are already well–versed with the language and expectations.
Okay, so now you see that you are suited to this kind of work. Let’s dive into the juicy bit now. How do you actually find the clients?
How to Find High Paying Clients
Carol Tice explains the difference in her post The Starving Writer’s Quick Guide to Finding Good-Paying Freelance Blogger Gigs and writes in detail about client profiles. She lists factors to consider, such as: size of the company, kind of gigs you’re looking for and the importance of developing your popularity as a blogger.
That being said, let’s have a look at 3 great strategies you can use to identify these opportunities. I have been using them with great success.
Quality Job Boards
Look for blogging jobs on quality boards like here on the Freelance Switch job board. I was able to successfully land an ongoing blogging gig with Open Colleges using this method. Now I work as their resident blogger and they are paying me a great rate, upwards of $100.00 for every post I write for their blog.
When looking through the jobs, you need to be looking at a few things: Give priority to those ads where the advertiser has gone through the trouble of giving you important details about the nature of the gig and their expectations. Also give preference to those positions where they haven’t chosen to remain anonymous. This way you can do your research and write a stellar application.
Finally, really take time with your application. Don’t send out a cut and paste kind of email. Work on your cover letter.
Sometimes you come across a position that you would have killed for – except it’s full time. There is no harm in writing to them anyway. You might be able to renegotiate hours or even create a position for yourself.
Warm Email Prospecting
Hate cold calling much? Well, there is a much easier and more dignified way to find clients. And we have to thank Ed Gandia (of International Freelancer Day) for it.
You can start by identifying 10 companies that you would love to work with.
Ed Gandia is the man behind the concept of ‘warm email prospecting’. His philosophy is based on creating a connection with your prospect first before you hit them with your offer.
For this you need to create a tightly focused prospect list. This list should match your ideal client profile and you don’t need hundreds of names for it – that’s the beauty of it. You can start by identifying 10 companies that you would love to work with.
The next step is to do some research on your prospects and try and find an angle to connect. You might discover some news about them online or come across some job openings. Then you make that into your initial point of contact.
Get in touch with them with this reference and introduce yourself. Ask if you could help them meet their goals and explain how you could bring value to the table. Finally, ask if they work with outside writers and finish.
Keep your emails short and resist the temptation to list each and every single accomplishment. Give them a chance to get back to you.
This method really works. It has a better success rate than using direct mail or cold calling combined. Every bit of success will depend on your research and your value statements.
SEO/Marketing Companies
It is very hard to land a gig with a high profile company. They usually have a team of in-house writers or work with an agency.
This means that you could potentially work with an agency as they do hire freelance writers or bloggers. Research 10 or so companies that offer content marketing, link or brand building services, and approach them for work. Again, do not send out a mass email and contact each one of them individually.
How to Get Your Foot in the Door
And finally, here are three ways that will help you go pass the initial test.
Guest Post Portfolio
Work on your guest post portfolio. Where have you guest posted so far? For instance some of my own guest posts have been published on Problogger, Lifehack.org, Daily blog Tips, Kikolani, and I am also a regular contributor to Write to Done.
Needless to say, the more impressive your ‘clips’ are, the better chances you have of negotiating a higher rate.
Consultancy Services
Can you educate your client about the benefits of business blogging and the ROI? Could you help your client use their blog as part of their overall marketing strategy?
Could you offer a mini blog review on top of your service? Make recommendations to improve navigation/usability or freebie offers to increase signup rates, etc.
Can you advise your client on their content strategy? Help them with an editorial calendar and blog topics?
Can you help them with tracking their efforts and interpreting the results of blogging?
Work on Spec
Agree to work on a short assignment without any guarantee of payment. Only do this when the client fits your ideal client profile perfectly. This is your kind of gig, the kind of gig that you have been dreaming of. And you feel confident that you would be able to impress them with your work.
Be clear up front that this is the only spec work you can do for them. Try and reach an understanding that if they like your work, you will be paid for it and given more work. For this to happen, be careful with the companies you choose, they must have excellent reputations.
What’s the pay like?
And finally for the all important question, what can you expect to earn as a freelance blogger.
It all comes down to your expertise, qualifications and experience. If you can show you are an expert in writing about Asthma because you have a family history and you practically have as much, if not more, knowledge than your GP, you could blog for all sort of markets and charge a higher rate.
If you have been a teacher for a number of years, you could tap into the higher education market and demand decent pay. Most professional bloggers make around $100+ for one post. If you are a beginner, $40-50 pay bracket is a decent place to start off with.
Remember, have a professional blog of your own, show off a killer portfolio, identify companies and then get in touch. You can do it!
Leave a Comment
This is by far the MOST helpful post I’ve ever read about how to further my career. I happened into professional blogging by chance when a former classmate recommended me to a company she does marketing work for. Since then, I’ve been looking for more opportunities on my own, but I didn’t know exactly what I was doing. I had no plan of action. Thanks to this post I have a clear plan of action!
THANK YOU!
Hi Sarah, glad you found it useful. This is a lot of misleading info about making money doing freelance blogging and people are often skeptical. I thought it might be worth setting things straight. Thanks for your comment.
Marya
As a professional writer, I question the use of “top dollar” in conjunction with blog writing. I haven’t seen many sites willing to pay anything remotely close to top dollar and unfortunately it shows in the quality of writing.
Take for example this post (the writing is great, by the way): It’s close to 1700 words long. If you were paid $100 for this, you’d have only earned .06/word. If you know your topic well enough to whip this off in an hour, you’re okay. But anytime you have to put research and thought into it, which is most of the time, you’re going to get screwed.
Also, don’t forget that earning $100/hr doesn’t mean you’re earning 40 hr/week. Billable hours are different than working hours. Freelancers spend as much time, if not more, marketing themselves as they do writing.
My only point in this is to give readers a reality check. Freelance writing is a great career but we have to be careful not to convey it as an easy, dream job.
DL,
It is an emerging niche – blog writing, I agree but if you are an expert in your field, you can demand top rates for blogging, for sure. You just know where and how to look.
You had me worried for a minute.
When you write for business blogs, you write approx 500 words, and often it takes you 60 to 90 minutes to do it. So, that makes it a pretty decent rate. The more you write for one company, the less time it takes you to write.
As for point about unbillable hours, surely that is the case with all forms of freelancing? It’s not limited to freelance blogging. Design, copywriting, journalism, it’s the same for any kind of freelance business.
All of that being said, I hear you. Never did I say it is easy to make this kind of money (and by the way, I still think $100 is great for an hour’s work. Ask writers who make $15, $25 or even $40 bucks putting in same amount of time).
Lastly thanks for your compliment about my writing.
Cheers,
Marya
I also question the wisdom of working on spec. Why? Because it creates an expectation of getting our time, talent, and expertise for free. And free doesn’t pay the bills. It never has.
If I came across an opportunity that was my dream gig, I would almost do anything to get my foot in the door. If the company suggests that I write a short piece without any promise of remuneration, heck, I’ll do it. This is what I was suggesting, not advocating working on spec generally.
Marya
Good idea to suggest guest blogging as a way to build up clips. I wouldn’t recommend writing on spec, though, as it causes problems for others in the profession.
Some great ideas in this article!
Again, I was merely suggesting that you consider it on special circumstances.
These are all valid tactics. In addition, putting out quality, actionable content or checklists your target audience can make use of goes a long way.
Very nicely written. However, there’s confusion about one thing. Why can’t a same sales/ info letter be mailed to different companies at once.
For example, you pick 5 SEO companies, and your email starts like.
Hello there,
I am from Blah Blah. I heard you run an SEO company. You may be interesting in content creation services.
and e-mail it to all of them!
Because you won’t stand out in your prospective employer’s eyes by doing so. They can see that you have no real interest in helping them, rather you are after any company that will hire them. If you send them a tailor made pitch, it shows that you are really interested in working with them to achieve their goals. This will help make your pitch stronger. A generic pitch is almost always destined to fail.
Marya
Great post Marya!
I’ve just started out as a freelance copywriter and your post gives me hope
I’m downloading your e-book right away. Keep up the good work!
Good post. Though, I estimate that only 1% of bloggers actually make money from their attempts, regardless of how hard they try. Don’t let that put you off though. Blogging isn’t really about making money, it’s about making additional money from a main income stream. All the ‘professional’ bloggers I know, and this figure is very low – all state that they didn’t actually sit down and think ‘I’m going to make money from this’, as it usually happens through chance and work undertaken to promote their own goods or services, rather than their writing style and writing ability. Good luck to those who are wanting to focus this on a career though.
Having had a really difficult few years I am considering getting into freelance blogging as a main stay to my freelance marketing co-ordinator business plan. I have been looking after my kids and need to feel that I have a professional future again. I did not know how to go about it but this has helped me formulate my plan. I now know where to start.
Here is the topic I am waiting for. Eventhough I am not so good at writing. Actually I want to improve my writing skill because I am sure this writing skill especially English is very urgent and can give us beneficial nowadays. By having this skill at least we can build a blog and communicate with our visitors every time. Thank you for sharing this interesting posting.
Thank you so much for these tips on maximizing my time… I have been experimenting with some low-paying blogging, and I really want to find a way to up my per-article price.
I especially like your comments about putting together a portfolio. Thanks!!