Earn More Writing | How Online Writers Can Double Their Income in 2022

Everlyne Dawa
6 min readMay 21, 2021

Would you love to earn more as a freelance writer? It’s possible. Here are proven tips to double freelance writing income in 2022.

How Can You Double Your Income As an Online Writer?

Hands typing on a laptop keyboard
Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

Are you earning low from your freelance writing career? Many people start from there. However, that’s not the furthest you should aim as far as your freelance writing earnings should go. According to statistics, well-paid writers earn up to $1,000 on 1500-word articles or even more. You can get there, too, if you put in the effort required.

There are strategies to learn, habits to break, and points to strengthen if you want to push yourself to higher limits.

First, learn to treat your freelance writing career as a business. Like any other venture, the purpose is to make profits and offer solutions. In that spirit, you’ll need to evaluate your freelance writing business, set goals, and identify what actions help you move closer to your targets. Here are some steps you can consider taking.

1. Weigh-in and analyze your freelance writing business

Like many freelance writers, you may be stuck in the gerbil-wheel trap. You’re probably spending your time to the last bit doing current client jobs, then checking your online job boards and content mills for more gigs. The cycle continues, and because you only earn what caters to the bills, you barely have any time to analyze your career, plan a future for it, and execute the strategies.

Take some time off your busy-busy schedule to focus on your writing. One hour a day is enough to help you scrutinize and focus on the bigger picture. You can start by listing all your current clients, analyzing how much you make from each, and how you landed them.

With the results, check if any pattern in your marketing brings you better rates and where you find the worst-paying clients. Also, check if a niche pays you better. This action will help you realize what consumes your time but doesn’t reward for it, which clients are better off dropped, and those from whom you may consider requesting a pay rise.

2. Drop the junk clients and niches

A picture of a dustbin
Photo by Sai Abhinivesh Burla on Unsplash

You probably have a clear picture of your freelance writing business, especially if you were tactical with the first point. Now act upon your results and drop what needs to go. Note the clients who pay too low and niches that don’t reward you better and lay plans to eliminate them.

This is where most freelancers come head-on with the elephant. Most online writers want to earn double income but aren’t ready to take the step. They are trapped by the fear of change and uncertainties and are comfortable working for the low rates rather than hunting for better-paying opportunities. However, you’ll need to break the bounds to scale up.

You don’t have to drop all your clients at once. Start with one and use the free time to hunt for better-paying gigs. If you land a better deal, drop the next lowest payer, and continue till you land the best rate.

Also, analyze your marketing strategies and focus on what patterns bring in better rates.

3. Create and Optimize Your Funnel

Your online writing business thrives better if you have a platform that showcases your expertise and prompts potential clients to reach out to you. Your funnel (whether it’s a writer’s website or LinkedIn profile) should be optimized enough to make you wake up to emails, messenger notes, and messages from decent prospects.

However, it doesn’t just happen; you need to work and make it come to light. First, you should schedule a weekly site improvement and network-building as part of your task list. It’s also the best time to consider starting to build a funnel if you don’t have one.

Clients are interested in freelancers who are masters of their game. As a result, you need to place yourself in their situation and think of what you would love to see on your next writer’s website before engaging them. Be clear about the kind of prospects you’re interested in, and come out as the expert they want to hire.

4. Learn When to Say No

The fact that you want to earn more money writing doesn’t mean you should go about throwing pitches at every opportunity and accepting every proposal. You need to know when to say yes, and when to decline. Remember, you want to earn more, and clients are only willing to spend huge budgets if they get value.

As a result, envision yourself living your best freelancing life, the topics you’re writing about, and your clients. That gives you a picture of the prospects that are ideal for you.

Next, list at least ten dream clients and sell your cards to them. Think about the clips that will turn them in and whether you need a stepping stone to reach them. For instance, if you dream of writing for Forbes, pitching and winning a local journal or business magazine may be a good start for getting your dream client.

Focusing on the jobs you need will help you build a path to your ideal writing business. You may pitch your dream clients directly and land them. If you fail, aligning your current prospects with your dream clients puts you nearer to closing their deals.

5. Raise your rates

An illusion of money germinating in a glass
Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash

Yes. You want to earn more, and so you should start charging more. Start thinking about how you’ll do this and apply it to your next project. Also, consider focusing on clients who appreciate your value to their businesses and have the money to spend. Such gigs may not be available on your job boards, so you may need to focus on where to locate them.

More prominent circulation magazines, larger businesses and websites, and authority job board sites like Problogger are some places to focus your pitches. Also, you may need to package yourself as the expert they need. Learn their language, know their audiences, and be ready to provide value. You may also want to boost your skills if necessary.

6. If Possible, Diversify

There are several side gigs that you can add to your freelance writing career. They will help you earn more while also killing the monotony of doing one thing daily. However, most of them need skills that you’ll have to learn. Some of the gigs to consider include:

• Editing

• Translation

• Captioning

• Content Curation

It’s possible to earn more from writing if you put in the effort and know where to exert the extra energy. The first step is to start acting. You know what you want, so begin aligning your actions with your desired results. Replace procrastination, fear, and self-doubt with action-taking.

After getting the best rates you need now, remember to be consistent and revise your strategies at least every six months. Your writing business needs to grow, so don’t be contented with any position.

That’s it for increasing your online writing income. What’s your favorite part? Share your thoughts in the comments.

--

--

Everlyne Dawa

Writing is a part of me. When I’m not journaling my thoughts, I’m writing for different brands. Let’s do this journey together. Email at everlynedawa@gmail.com