How to Become a Freelance Content Writer ($5K+/Month)

My step-by-step guide to go from $0 to $5K+ per month in 12 months — even if you have no experience

So you want to become a freelance content writer making $5K+ a month?

You’re in the right place!

I’ve been writing online since October 2020, and I now make $5K/month from freelancing, affiliates, blogging, and online courses.

It’s taken me 2+ years to reach this point, but I’m confident you can reach your income goals way quicker by avoiding my mistakes.

Before we get to the guide, though, there’s something you should know.

I don’t want you to fall into the trap I’m about to tell you about…

The Creator Path

Writers get distracted by dopamine — myself included. We’re so fixated on views, followers, and likes that we forget this stuff doesn’t matter.

Not really.

Sure, it’s possible to blow up on social media and go down the Creator Path. You know the drill: put out content, build an audience, and sell products.

And I get it. The alternative is scary. Work an okay job and get pulled into pointless meetings with zero incentive to do better?

F*ck that.

The thing is, the Creator Path is boring AF.

Here’s how it looks:

Talk about being a creator → become successful → talk about this success → leads to more success…

It feels pretty “meh”.

And so many people are trying to win this game. We’ve all got the same tools. The same information. The same playing field.

This is why you should stay the f*ck away.

The Creator Path looks like this:

But there’s some good news.

If you want to make a living as a writer, there’s a better way.

Freelance Content Writing.

And that’s why you’re here.

Last month, I landed a new client. They’re paying me to write two blog posts a week, and it’ll be around 20 hours of work a week. I’m over halfway to my $10K/month goal.

So if you want to write for a living and work from anywhere in the world, here’s my step-by-step playbook on how to become a freelance content writer — even if you have no experience.

Spoiler Alert: This Won’t Happen Overnight

Give yourself at least 12 months.

I’ve published one to two articles a week on medium.com since October 2020.

My early articles were terrible. I churned out 30 of them before people noticed. It took another 70 to find my voice. Only now do I have a sense of where I’m going.

If you want to build a skill, there’s no shortcut.

It takes time to get good.

Niharikaa agrees:

And if you’re holding back on putting something out there because you want it to be perfect, remember:

Quantity *usually* leads to quality.

I’m not the only one saying this:

“Imagine if you met a comedian and they’re like, ‘I’m really focused on quality instead of quantity. I don’t do a lot of stage time…’
“You’d be like, ‘You’re a sh*tty stand-up comic.’
“The way you get good is by doing it a lot.”
— Ryan Holiday

So with this in mind, here’s how to become a freelance content writer.

Step #1: Write at Least 50 Articles Whilst Working a 9–5

And don’t buy a single online course.

I’ve seen many writers come and go in the last two years. Even those with writing courses have disappeared.

So only spend $100s on courses once you’ve published at least 50 articles. It’s easy to trick yourself into thinking you’re working when really you’re just watching videos.

I also recommend working a 9–5 or part-time job while writing on the side. You don’t want to sour your passion by depending on it to survive — at least not in the beginning.

“You will hear stories of people who risked everything to achieve this or that goal…
“But I do not believe your best creative work is done when you’re stressed out… Just the opposite.
“You should set up your life so that it is as comfortable and happy as possible… It should accommodate your creative work.”
— Susan Cain, Author of Quiet

Step #2: Set Money Aside for Your “Personal R&D” Budget

I wish I’d done this sooner.

Last November, I started saving £50/month for my “personal R&D” budget.

What the hell’s this?

I use this money to invest in courses, books, and learning materials. You can think of it as a personal MBA.

This R&D budget has helped me banish guilt.

If I want to buy a book, I buy it.

SEO is a great skill for writers to learn. Having advanced SEO skills helped me secure my latest freelance client.

So “talent stack” ideas and become unstoppable.

“Most people can — with practice — develop a variety of skills that work well together. I call this idea the Talent Stack.”
— Scott Adams

Step #3: Portfolio > Anything Else

Start building yours today.

You need a portfolio to convince clients that you’re the best freelancer for the job.

Think of it as your coach, hype man, and best friend all in one.

It will:

Tell clients why they should work with you
Improve your skills
Give you bearhugs

If you consistently add to your portfolio, it shows other things. You have sticking power. You’re serious about your craft. You want to get better.

Tick, tick, tick.

Don’t expect the money to come straight away, and don’t worry about your following.

Trust takes time.

You also don’t need to get fancy. Write on Medium and build a simple landing page with ConvertKit.

Step #4: Use This “Lazy Client Attraction” Method

Well, lazy-ish.

You’ve still got to put in the work of writing content. But it’s lazy because you don’t have to send proposals or cover letters.

Here’s how it works:

When you find a creator/company you like, write an article about them. For example, I wrote this article about a company called Passionfroot.
In your article, insert bit.ly links anytime you link to their website. This way, you can track the number of link clicks.
Once the article has gone live, email the creator/company about the article and the number of link clicks (with screenshots). Here’s the email I sent to Akta at Passionfroot. I sent the email before the article went live, but you can send it after:

Notice that at the end, I float the idea of working together.

I’m also not sure why I signed off with “Warmly”, as I’ve never used that before in my life, but there we go!

So that’s that.

Just see what happens.

I sent the email above on a Saturday. The following Monday, Akta got back to me:

Pretty positive, I’d say!

Passionfroot also shared my article on Twitter — and their CEO liked it:

Last week, I also wrote an article about one of my favourite creators — Louise Henry.

And just like Passionfroot, I emailed her to let her know.

Louise’s response blew me away.

She replied back with a wonderfully warm email and shared the article on her Instagram stories (she has just under 30K followers):

Screenshots from my email inbox and Instagram

Now whether anything comes from these exchanges doesn’t matter. I’m in a position where I don’t need more clients, so I’m just planting seeds.

I can also add these articles to my portfolio (see step #3).

The key is to plant these seeds before you need their fruits.

Step #5: Apply to as Many Gigs as Possible That Appeal to You

Combine inbound with outbound leads.

Steps #3 and #4 can help you land jobs in your sleep.

Three clients reached out to me because of my newsletter and writing on Medium:

These opportunities can be great — particularly if you’ve never freelanced before. The potential clients have made it clear they want to work with you (so you don’t have to sell), and they can give you a taste of freelancing.

** Spoiler alert: writing for clients is completely different to writing for yourself (but no less enjoyable when you find amazing clients!) :) **

Later in this article — step #6 — I’ll show you how to secure these inbound leads.

However, steps #3 and #4 are slow burns, and you shouldn’t depend on them as a freelancer.

A more reliable method is applying for jobs directly.

My favourite job-hunting platforms for freelance writers (in this order) are Write Jobs PLUS+, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Upwork.

Before landing my latest client, I applied to around ten jobs a week and aimed for a 10% hit rate. In other words, 1 out of 10 applications (usually) lead to an interview.

I’ve tracked these applications in a spreadsheet since Jan 20th:

Screenshot from my proposals sent spreadsheet

My friend, Luba, shares some great tips about her Upwork success.

Her tips helped me improve my profile:

Screenshot from my Upwork profile

If I had to sum up Upwork:

Choose a niche. I have clients in the SaaS space, and I enjoy writing about business.
The first two lines of your bio are what people see in the search results, so make them pop. A client testimonial is excellent for this.
Complete as many sections as you can. A descriptive bio, client testimonials, examples of past work — they all stack up.

After nailing your profile, apply for jobs.

Although it’s a numbers game, you still want to personalise things. So be honest about your shortcomings too.

Here’s a proposal I sent on Upwork that landed me a client:

So which jobs should you apply to?

Here are some key points:

Is this worth my time? In the beginning, you may have to take on lower-paying gigs to gain experience. Just don’t undervalue yourself. Ever.
Has the recruiter taken the time to write a detailed job description? They’ll probably cut corners in other ways if they haven’t.
Have previous freelancers said nice things about them? If they still need to get reviews, look for other gigs.

Step #6: To Land a New Client, Do This…

Lead and put them at ease.

In every interaction, show your new client you know what you’re doing. There are lots of subtle ways you can do this.

Here are my favourites.

Tip #1: Suggest a Time for Your First Call

Offer a menu of options:

Tip #2: Do Your Research

Do some Googling if you know what the client is looking for.

For the client above, I watched her videos and browsed her website. I also did some keyword research.

Then, on our first call, I presented these findings in a Google doc.

Tip #3: Treat This Call as a Fact-Finding Mission

If you need to learn more about the client, you’ve got to determine their goals. So remember, two ears and one mouth.

I start most client calls casually. For example, I might ask where they’re from and how their day’s been so far.

When we segue into writing, I ask lots of questions:

What are your goals from this writing (increase traffic, drive sales, increase bookings, etc.)?
Who’s your ideal customer?
Which platforms do you want to prioritise?
What tone of voice are you looking for? Professional? Friendly? Something else?
What would success in six months look like for you?

Sometimes, clients don’t have the answer to these questions — and that’s okay. It opens the door to strategy work which I can include in my proposal.

At the end of these calls, we agree on actions.

Tip #3: Send Your Proposal

Here’s a breakdown of the first client proposal I ever sent.

It landed me the client.

Front Cover [Page 1] & Overview [Page 2]

This proposal was five pages long.

The first page was a cover and looked like this. It wouldn’t win any design awards:

On page two, I detailed packages.

These packages were tailored to my client’s needs. Therefore, I included estimated times for each, as well as prices.

I settled on £20/hour. I didn’t want to price too high because this was my first time writing content for someone else:

These days, my quotes aren’t hourly; they’re value-based. This means clients pay for the value and ROI of my writing — not the time I spend producing the content.

At the bottom of the page, I summarised my proposal.

This included trialling one of the packages, as well as what was included:

Responsibilities & Phases of My Process [Page 3]

On the third page, I detailed the responsibilities of both parties. This was to make sure I aligned our expectations.

Also, if the client asked me to go outside the scope of work, I could ask for further payment.

The “phases of my process” section was similar to the responsibilities I listed for myself:

Timeline & Summary and Acceptance [Page 4]

I outlined what I’d be doing each week on the fourth page.

This outline served two purposes. The first was to reassure the client I had a plan in place. The second was that it acted as my roadmap when I started working with her.

In week four, I included a line about working together in the future: (“Discuss retainer options for future content packages and ghostwriting.”) This opened the door to working with the client continuously after the trial.

(We worked together for 12 months.)

Finally, I summarised the packages, my rate, and the date I could start. I also said, “I look forward to working with you!”

I’m no David Blane, but I figured this couldn’t do any harm!

Appendix [Page 5]

On the packages page [page 2], I wrote, “examples can be found in the appendix”.

I listed popular blogs and posts I’d written before in the appendix, with links to each. I also included a screenshot of the stats for my most popular posts.

This appendix is likely the last thing my client read.

I wanted to leave a positive impression:

Here’s a link to my Google Doc proposal. You’re welcome to copy it when pitching to clients.

Remember this: keep it simple.

Potential clients want your writing skills — not your design skills.

Tip #4: Seal the Deal

Once I’ve put a proposal together, I leave it alone. I then come back to it the next day and hunt for typos.

Only once I’ve triple-checked it do I send my proposal email:

My first client emailed back a few hours later:

With pricing, I follow Michael Ellsworth’s advice of charging your “happy price.” So slide up and feel the energetic shift from “not worth my time” to “yeah, I’d do that.”

Don’t worry about contracts for your first few clients, and don’t bother setting up a company until you know whether you like freelancing.

You’re testing the waters.

Step #7: Nail Your Why

Why do you want to freelance?

Working for someone else is more straightforward, so you need a compelling reason to push through doubt. If you don’t, you’ll revert to what’s comfortable.

A 9–5 job.

(For the record, there’s nothing wrong with this. Freelancing isn’t for everyone.)

My reason for freelancing is simple. I want to make enough money to move to NYC and live with my girlfriend.

So make sure your why is in place.

It’s also essential to carry an abundance mindset when you go into freelancing.

Don’t let scarcity drive clients away.

To this end, keep your day job for as long as possible, and only take the plunge when you feel 1000% ready.

I quit my job when I met the following conditions:

12 months of savings in the bank
At least one steady client
Replace my monthly 9–5 income (~$2,000/month) with the money I make online (freelancing, blogging, online courses, and affiliates)
A proven process to land high-value clients
I tested that I like freelance work (by doing it on the days I wasn’t working my part-time job)

I also sold my car, sold sh*t on eBay, and pruned monthly subscriptions.

I wanted to make my savings go further.

Takeaways

If you follow all the steps in this article, I truly believe this is the last freelance writing guide you will ever need.

I’m making over $5K/month because of these steps.

Following them may take up to 12 months, so this is a good benchmark. It’s taken me three years to get to this point, but you can do it sooner by avoiding my mistakes.

Here’s a quick summary of the steps:

Step #1: Write at Least 50 Articles Whilst Working a 9–5 — If you can’t do this, forget the rest.
Step #2: Set Money Aside for Your “Personal R&D” Budget — Spend money building your “talent stacks”.
Step #3: Portfolio > Anything Else — Keep it simple. Writing on Medium and a simple ConvertKit landing page will do the trick.
Step #4: Use This “Lazy Client Attraction” Method — Cast people in leading roles and see what happens. Have zero expectations.
Step #5: Apply to as Many Gigs as Possible That Appeal to You — Applying for jobs is the quickest way to get one. My favourite job-hunting platforms for freelance writers are Write Jobs PLUS+, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Upwork.
Step #6: To Land a New Client, Do This — Lead the way. Put potential clients at ease during calls, through emails, and when sending proposals.
Step #7: Nail Your Why — Why do you want to freelance? Cling to this reason when times get tough.

You’ve got this! :)

Want to ditch the 9–5? Get my free 19-page guide: Everything I Did to Quit My 9–5 Job & Transition Into Profitable, Sustainable Solopreneuring :)

How to Become a Freelance Content Writer ($5K+ per Month)

My step-by-step guide to go from $0 to $5K+ per month in 12 months — even if you have no experience

So you want to become a freelance content writer making $5K+ a month?

The Creator Path

Spoiler Alert: This Won’t Happen Overnight

Step #1: Write at Least 50 Articles Whilst Working a 9–5

Step #2: Set Money Aside for Your “Personal R&D” Budget

Step #3: Portfolio > Anything Else

Step #4: Use This “Lazy Client Attraction” Method

Step #5: Apply to as Many Gigs as Possible That Appeal to You

Step #6: To Land a New Client, Do This…

Tip #1: Suggest a Time for Your First Call

Tip #2: Do Your Research

Tip #3: Treat This Call as a Fact-Finding Mission

Tip #3: Send Your Proposal

Tip #4: Seal the Deal

Step #7: Nail Your Why

Takeaways

Scott Stockdale

How to Become a Freelance Content Writer ($5K+ per Month)

My step-by-step guide to go from $0 to $5K+ per month in 12 months — even if you have no experience

So you want to become a freelance content writer making $5K+ a month?

The Creator Path

Spoiler Alert: This Won’t Happen Overnight

Step #1: Write at Least 50 Articles Whilst Working a 9–5

Step #2: Set Money Aside for Your “Personal R&D” Budget

Step #3: Portfolio > Anything Else

Step #4: Use This “Lazy Client Attraction” Method

Step #5: Apply to as Many Gigs as Possible That Appeal to You

Step #6: To Land a New Client, Do This…

Tip #1: Suggest a Time for Your First Call

Tip #2: Do Your Research

Tip #3: Treat This Call as a Fact-Finding Mission

Tip #3: Send Your Proposal

Tip #4: Seal the Deal

Step #7: Nail Your Why

Takeaways

Hitting My Goal of $5K/Month Felt Anticlimactic

This Adventure Photographer Has Made $150,000+ Whilst Living in Her Van

Scott Stockdale