Is it nonetheless potential to earn cash as a contract author in 2025?
Briefly, sure.
AI writing instruments are getting higher, however these freelance writers show which you could nonetheless earn a six determine wage 2025:
Even in the event you’re simply getting began, this step-by-step information will aid you begin making a living as a contract author in 2025.
1. Choose Your Area of interest
Some freelance writing niches pay considerably greater than others, so selecting a excessive paying area of interest can dramatically enhance your incomes potential.
Two elements to think about as you’re deciding on your freelance writing area of interest are:
- The service
- The shopper
A number of the hottest freelance writing platform/alternatives embrace:
- Social media: Social media ghostwriting for LinkedIn and X is an in-demand service. This can be a nice service in the event you get pleasure from brief kind content material and are an excellent storyteller.
- Content material advertising and marketing: Firms rent freelance writers to create weblog posts to rank for particular key phrases. If you wish to be a content material marketer, study the fundamentals of search engine marketing, as most corporations hiring content material entrepreneurs care extra about rating for key phrases than the content material itself.
- E-newsletter author: E-newsletter writing is a superb area of interest in the event you get pleasure from analysis. Decide a topic you’re captivated with as you’ll want to remain on high of the newest information and developments.You possibly can both ghostwrite a publication for a person, or you possibly can write for a publication firm (like Morning Brew). Right here’s an instance of a private publication:
- E mail copywriting: There are lots of forms of e mail copywriting, from common firm updates to in-depth nurture sequences. Gross sales emails for merchandise or programs are typically essentially the most worthwhile because it’s value it for a corporation to pay an additional few thousand {dollars} for an e mail copywriter who can enhance conversions by even a small share.
- Video scriptwriting: YouTube is maturing as a professional advertising and marketing channel, and loads of corporations are hiring scriptwriters. Moreover, many YouTubers have turned their channels into professional companies and are hiring scriptwriters to expedite the manufacturing course of. Video scriptwriting is clearly an up-and-coming area of interest as one creator not too long ago earned $70,000 launching a YouTube scriptwriting course.
The following step to deciding on your area of interest is selecting your dream shopper – each the business and enterprise.
Pinpointing your dream shopper is essential as a result of your revenue as a contract author is not correlated with effort.
Your incomes potential is correlated with the worth you ship to shoppers.
Understand that:
Worth ≠ Work High quality
Worth = {Dollars} Earned
This idea is essential to recollect as a result of the sum of money you generate for a shopper usually varies on elements outdoors of your management, like:
- The profitability of their product
- Their viewers measurement
- Their advertising and marketing funnel’s optimization
For instance, an excellent e mail copywriter can cost $10,000 for a gross sales letter that generates $100,000 in revenue for the enterprise – even when they solely spent three hours writing it.
Nevertheless, a model new dropshipping enterprise that sells a $5 product in all probability gained’t pay greater than $100 for a similar quantity of labor. It is because a brand new firm has a small viewers, and the value is so low that it doubtless generates little revenue.
As you’re contemplating your dream shopper, ask:
How a lot cash will my outcomes make for this particular person/enterprise?
Listed here are some primary pointers for figuring out a mature shopper throughout a number of completely different providers:
- Social media: Entrepreneurs who’ve exited their enterprise or are making eight figures per 12 months.
- Running a blog/content material advertising and marketing: Companies with a robust model (no less than 100k in month-to-month visitors.) that rely closely on search engine marketing for buyer acquisition.
- E-newsletter: Newsletters that have already got giant sponsors (you possibly can subscribe and see how large the businesses sponsoring them are), paid newsletters which have a big subscriber base, and newsletters in extremely profitable industries (suppose banking, and many others.).
- E mail writing: Course creators with a considerable, engaged following (a number of thousand folks) and a excessive worth course ($1,000 plus) or B2B corporations that want nurture sequences for top worth merchandise are all wonderful prospects.
- Video scriptwriting: You possibly can goal a significant YouTuber or a big model like HubSpot that’s starting to create movies for particular key phrases.
Lastly, the business ought to be a subject you’re genuinely captivated with, as your ardour will impression each your work high quality and general happiness as a contract author.
For instance, you possibly can cost quite a bit to write down a publication about mergers and acquisitions, however in case you have little interest in the topic, you in all probability gained’t do pretty much as good of a job as somebody who lives and breathes mergers and acquisitions.
Moreover, you’ll burn out in the event you don’t benefit from the topic you’re writing about, which can in the end trigger you to fail.
So selecting a topic you’re keen on writing about actually does impression how a lot cash you’ll in the end earn.
2. Create a Record of Your Dream Purchasers
New freelance writers usually make the error of focusing on smaller shoppers after they first begin as a result of they worry their dream shopper gained’t need somebody inexperienced.
Nevertheless, your dream shoppers don’t actually care about your expertise – they need to rent an individual who constantly delivers nice work.
Within the subsequent step, you’ll show that you simply’re that A-tier freelancer by creating a tremendous free pattern for that shopper.
For those who create a stellar pattern piece, most dream shoppers gained’t even ask about your expertise.
Then again, advertising and marketing price range is extra valuable for a smaller shopper, so they might ask extra about your expertise.
The opposite issue that may impression your shut price (the share of shoppers that rent you) is whether or not or not the shopper is actively hiring for that service.
If the corporate already has a staff in place, they won’t be all for hiring one other particular person, no matter your high quality of labor. That field is already “checked” on their to-do record.
For this reason you’ll want to achieve out to a number of corporations. Don’t be discouraged in the event you don’t obtain a reply in your first few tries.
That mentioned, if the corporate is actively hiring a full-time worker for the service you provide, that’s a transparent signal they want your service.
To search out corporations hiring a full-time worker to your providers, you possibly can have a look at a job board like LinkedIn, Wellfound, and even Certainly.
Firms hiring in-house expertise for that place have already put aside a price range for the service you provide, and plenty of of them are completely happy to think about freelancers somewhat than hiring in-house.
You may also publish on job boards like Upwork, however these are typically way more aggressive and it may be troublesome to face out.
You possibly can nonetheless attain out to corporations that aren’t actively hiring for the position, as they might want that service and simply haven’t gotten round to posting a job description.
For those who can entry a instrument like Crunchbase, search for corporations that not too long ago employed a brand new advertising and marketing chief (e.g., CMO, VP of Advertising, Advertising Director, and many others.) or obtained extra funding. New advertising and marketing leaders must develop and can in all probability rent for brand spanking new roles. Equally, corporations that not too long ago obtained funding will doubtless deploy that capital into hiring new expertise.
3. Create Free Pattern Items
“Construct a writing portfolio.”
That is recommendation most individuals inform you.
As a substitute, create free pattern items to your dream shoppers.
In case your dream shoppers don’t rent you, you should utilize these pattern items to construct a writing portfolio.
So let’s say you determined to supply content material advertising and marketing providers.
You recognized that your dream shopper is Influencity, an influencer advertising and marketing instrument.
Due to this fact, write a weblog publish on the subject of influencer advertising and marketing.
This apply will make you a greater author, and it’s a compelling pitch.
4. Pitch Your Dream Shopper
These are the 2 most essential ideas when pitching shoppers:
- Discover the suitable particular person to contact.
- Hold it brief.
First, the suitable particular person to contact is the one that has the authority to rent for that position.
I take advantage of LinkedIn. The free model lets you search by “advertising and marketing” below the “Folks” tab:
The very best particular person to contact is normally the very best ranked advertising and marketing govt if it’s a advertising and marketing staff of 5 or fewer folks.
If it’s a bigger firm with a advertising and marketing staff of 5 or ten folks, there’s a great likelihood these executives obtain too many pitches for yours to chop by the noise.
In that case, pitch the content material or social media advertising and marketing supervisor (relying on the service you’re pitching).
As soon as you discover the suitable particular person, ship them a connection request. For those who see that they’re energetic on LinkedIn, touch upon a few of their content material.
Subsequent, discover their e mail deal with.
You need to use a instrument like Hunter.io or Verifalia to do that.
Strive a number of completely different combos like:
- (first)@area.com
- (first).(final)@area.com
- (firstinitial).(final)@area.com
- (final)@area.com
A type of will in all probability work.
Subsequent, write your e mail. Hold it to simply two traces.
Right here’s the template
Hello (identify),
(one line saying why they’re your dream shopper)
I’d love to write down (service) for (model). I already wrote one for you (see hooked up).
Tim
Keep in mind to connect your pattern!
Right here’s an instance of how you can modify this template for an actual pitch:
Hello Alex,
It was love at first chew after I tried the peanut butter chocolate taste 🙂
I’d love to write down emails for SkinnyDipped. I already wrote one for you (see hooked up).
Tim
Don’t be discouraged in the event that they don’t reply to your first e mail. Observe up with them no less than twice.
It would take a number of tries, however you’ll finally land your first shopper and construct your portfolio within the course of.
5. Construct Your Private Model
Chilly outreach is right to get your first few shoppers and get began.
Nevertheless it’s quite a lot of work.
Touchdown a shopper is normally about timing. If the shopper is about to rent for that place, they’ll in all probability rent you. If not, they’ll in all probability move.
What in the event you may get in your dream shopper’s radar earlier than they’re prepared to rent? Then, they attain out to you when they’re prepared to rent.
How do you get on their radar earlier than they’re prepared to rent?
Construct a private model.
If shoppers see you posting useful content material (or no less than logical content material that reveals you recognize what you’re doing) on LinkedIn and X, you’ll in all probability be the primary one who involves thoughts after they need to rent.
We now have a separate useful resource on constructing a private model, however listed below are content material concepts that can assist you begin posting on LinkedIn and X:
- Templates you utilize to your writing
- Case research (as you begin writing extra)
- Errors and failures to keep away from (ideally from your individual expertise)
- Suggestions for a subtopic of your providers (e.g., writing topic traces in the event you provide e mail copywriting)
The best methodology to develop your following is providing information that solutions a burning business query or a free instrument.
Right here’s an instance of a free instrument:
Right here’s an instance of information that solutions a burning business query:
Free instruments and related information are sometimes essentially the most efficient strategies to shortly construct an viewers, however they’re extra concerned to create. So don’t procrastinate getting began in the event you don’t have a free instrument or unique information firstly.
Begin publishing content material a number of days per week.
Moreover, have interaction together with your dream shoppers’ content material. Depart insightful feedback and share their posts.
This isn’t solely wonderful for constructing real connections, nevertheless it additionally helps you keep updated with business developments. You’ll additionally find out about their ache factors, what’s working within the business, and enhance your individual expertise.
A professional tip is to pick simply 5 of your dream shoppers who’re energetic on LinkedIn (posting no less than 3x per week) after which put them in a Google Sheet.
Then, for the subsequent week, revisit that Google Sheet every week, click on into their profile, and meaningfully have interaction with every new publish they publish.
These folks need LinkedIn engagement, so participating with their content material is the easiest way so as to add worth.
6. Elevate Your Costs
As you construct your private model, you’ll finally have extra shoppers than you possibly can tackle.
Finally you’ll have two choices to proceed rising: Both construct a staff and flip it right into a advertising and marketing company or increase your costs.
If you wish to rent different writers and construct a advertising and marketing company, you are able to do that, however needless to say operating a advertising and marketing company requires very completely different expertise than freelance writing.
For a lot of freelance writers, growing costs is a greater methodology to generate extra revenue.
For those who’re unsure the way to enhance your costs, ship this e mail to your least favourite shopper:
Hello (identify),
It’s been a pleasure working with you and I’m actually enthusiastic about (final marketing campaign that went nicely).
I’m at present at capability and should enhance my costs to proceed giving every shopper the time they deserve.
Starting (date), my costs shall be $X,000 monthly. If that works for you, I sit up for persevering with our partnership.
Thanks,
Identify
As quickly as you hit capability, increase your costs.
Even when the shopper cancels, you’ll nonetheless produce other shoppers, and you should utilize that point to reinvest in your private model to draw extra prime quality shoppers who will pay much more.
Get Extra Assist Constructing Your Freelance Writing Profession
The step-by-step course of outlined above will aid you kickstart your freelance writing profession, however getting began might be lonely.
You in all probability gained’t land the very first potential shopper you pitch, however you’ll construct a gradual shopper base in the event you’re persistent and constantly ship high quality work.
To make the journey simpler, we created Copyblogger Academy. It’s a course and group that offers freelancers and facet hustlers the entire advertising and marketing supplies they want. There are 9 programs on subjects starting from private branding and copywriting to search engine marketing and e mail advertising and marketing.
You may also ask the group for suggestions in your work and even ask inquiries to seven determine entrepreneurs, Charles Miller and Tim Stoddart.
Try Copyblogger Academy right now to see if it’s a great match for you.
