14 Freelance Writing Tips to Ensure You Make More Dough

Money. Cash. Dough. Scratch. Bills. Bread. Cheddar. Greenbacks. Moola. Guap. Skirlla. No matter what brought you into freelance writing, you want to make more money. It’s not rocket science. The more dough you have – the better life will be. And if you’re already a freelance writer, you know the stuff doesn’t just grow on trees.

So here are 14 freelance writing tips to ensure you make more money:

• Just Do It

Your client doesn’t give a damn about your qualifications. The only thing that matters is your writing. If you’re writing is good enough, your client will be thrilled. If not, expect revisions. Worse – the client may just stop sending you work. Your college degree or past writing for a major qualification is irrelevant. All that matter is the quality of work you produce. If you want to be a freelance writer – just do it. No one will hold you back, but you.

• There’s Money Here

Many freelance writers quickly give up on the endeavor because they only see $5-10 articles coming in on UpWork. They quickly dismiss freelance writing as a way to make decent cash because they never get past the initial “rookie” phase. While it’s unlikely you’ll get rich freelance writing, you can make more than enough to live comfortably on.

• Write More

Along the lines of just do it, the easiest way to become a better freelance writer is to write more. Rocket science, right? Even if you’re churning out $5 articles on UpWork each and every day with little regard for quality control, you’ll become a better writer because you’re producing more. The one freelance writing guarantee is this: if you write more, you’ll improve your writing. Every. Single. Time.

• Find Inspiration

Most of us don’t have the ability to write from a balcony overlooking the ocean. Well, at least not every day. Still, it’s imperative to find inspiration each and every day. This means getting out of your writing den and into the real world. I prefer to work on freelance writing projects in public, preferably a coffee shop. Something about being around others helps me focus and enjoy writing for someone else (as much as possible). If this isn’t an option for you, at least try to take a walk every three to four hours writing. You’ll clear the mind and consequently, improve the tone of your words.

• Edit Your Stuff

My writing isn’t perfect. Your’s doesn’t need to be, either. However, your clients will expect a certain level of professionalism – even if you’re getting paid $5 an article on UpWork. Professionalism for a freelance writer means a couple things. First, you need to format every article. Even if the client doesn’t give you guidelines on how to format articles, you’ll want to break up paragraphs, make the title larger, and bold all subheadings.

Next, you need to edit your writing. While freelance writing often goes through an editor before being published, you should always edit your own work. And not just spell check. That’s a given. At the minimum, you should read your piece once over. Then run it through an editing app like Grammarly.

P.S.: Grammarly is amazing. Highly recommended if you’re taking freelance writing seriously!

• Stay Organized

Organization isn’t my strong suit. Once I started getting freelance writing clients out the wazoo, I struggled to keep all my clients happy. I’d forget about an assignment and miss deadlines because I couldn’t stay organized. Don’t do this! If you struggle with organization, I have two tips for you.

First, keep track of every job when it comes in. Have an Excel sheet constantly open on your computer and put every single job you get in it (along with the deadline). Then mark it complete when you turn the project in. As well, I highly recommend you check out this guide on organization. I haven’t missed a deadline since I started incorporating the advice found in “How to Get Organized” into my day-to-day life.

• Find Your Expertise

One of the best ways to increase your rates while freelance writing is by finding your expertise. Clients, along with all people, pay a premium for expertise. If you can position yourself as an expert in a niche, you’ll find your rates skyrocketing before you know it.

• Build Your Brand

One of the easiest ways to take your freelance writing from rookie to vet in the game is through a business website. Building a brand around your writing offers a sense of professionalism that clients will pay more for. I wrote a little more about this here. By building a website for your writing company, you’ll instantly be able to command a higher rate.

P.S.: Building your website has never been easier, or cheaper. Start your site here.

• Professional Email Etiquette

No client wants to hire a freelance writer who cannot create a proper email. Logically, it just doesn’t make sense. If someone cannot write a grammatically correct email, how could they create content for you? Hint: they can’t. Don’t leave any doubts in potential clients’ minds about your writing abilities. Craft professional emails while interacting with all your clients. The same advice goes when communicating on Skype, UpWork, and other platforms.

• Don’t Miss Deadlines

Avoiding rookie mistakes is a major key. Learn from my mistakes – don’t ever miss a deadline. Many clients will never send you work again if you miss a deadline for them. Just. Don’t. Do. It. Making deadlines goes hand in hand with taking freelance writing seriously.

• Modest Use of Modafinil

Some won’t like this tip. That’s ok. Just ignore it. For the others, by utilizing the smart drug Modafinil, you can increase the amount of money you make significantly. On days I take Modafinil, I usually earn at least $200 USD freelancing. That’s a decent chunk of change for a freelance writer. The only caveat is you should never take Modafinil every day due to health reasons. Curious about the smart drug? Learn more here. 

• Always Communicate

Once a freelance writing client trust you, the deadlines and projects may become more open-ended. Maybe your client sends you eight articles at the start of each month and allows you to turn the project in over the course of the month. I have a few freelance writing gigs like this and they’re amazing. Flexible deadlines and consistent work? Sign me up!

And you know why my clients allow me to work like this? Because I’m always communicating. I’ll send an email on a Sunday saying I’ll have half of the articles done by Wednesday. Then I’ll turn half the articles in for the month on that Wednesday. Hell, even if you’re about to miss a deadline, you can avoid some problems by sending an email to the client explaining the situation. Always. Be. Communicating.

• Time Matters

The quality of your work is of the utmost importance. However, you can only spend so much time on one post. If you’re not banging out at least one 500-word post at $25 USD per hour, you’re not making good money. Freelance writing is all about producing quality work as quickly as possible.

• Diversify Your Clients

Often, you’ll get one client sending your gobs of work on the regular. This seems like a great thing, and it is. However, you need to be careful about relying on one client for a majority of your income. If that client stops needing work, you could be high and dry without cash for awhile. Even if one client is sending you enough work to live on – keep writing for your other clients, too. By doing so, you’ll ensure you never have a bad month – even if one client decides to stop using your freelance writing services.

Freelance Writing Tips For You

If you’re a freelance writer, then improving your craft is essential to continually improving your income. Use the 14 freelance writing tips above to ensure you make more money and keep you clients happy. If you have any questions or comments about writing for dollars, sound off in the comments, and we’ll chat.