Freelance Writing: How to Create a Six-Figure Writing Income (Editorial)

Freelance writers have never had it so good. Established freelancers are booked solid, and are turning away writing jobs. If you’re a new writer, you may be wondering how you can climb onto the gravy train too.

It’s not complicated.

Writers who are booked solid have several things in common: they look after their clients and stay in touch with them, they plan their writing, they devote considerable time to marketing themselves, and they focus on their output.

Here are some tips which will help you if you want to increase your writing income within the next few months.

1. Work out How Much Money You’re Making Now

You can’t set out on a journey without a map, and before you can create that map, you need to know where you are right now, and where you’ve been.

Take half an hour to check your freelance writing income last month. Then go back 12 months. Is your income steadily increasing each month? Is it higher some months than others? Why?

If you’re not tracking your income, that’s your first step. Start paying attention to your income. Create a Payments Received spreadsheet, with columns for: the date, the amount of income, the source, and notes. When you receive a payment, enter the details into the spreadsheet. (If you don’t already have one, create another spreadsheet for your Expenses.)

2. Set Income Goals, and Make Plans to Achieve Them

Now you know where you are, it’s time to chart a course to where you want to be.

Set an income goal for next month that’s ten per cent higher than this month. You can do it.

Remember that the easiest way to increase your income is to do more work for the clients you already have.

Create a marketing plan. Do some marketing every day.

3. Develop Passive Income Streams: Stop Trading Hours for Dollars

Everyone’s time is limited. If you’re trading your hours for dollars, that puts an immediate cap on your income.

You need to develop passive income streams. If you’re not already creating products which you can sell (websites, ebooks, e-courses, reports) start creating one product today.

Yes, creating your own information products takes time. However, no matter how busy you are, you can squeeze 20 minutes out of each day. If you spend 20 minutes a day creating a product, you’ll be able to create three or four products each year.

Those products will boost your income passively.

4. Keep Your Focus: Do More of What’s Working for You

Please stop doing what isn’t working for you. My Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON) students, tell me the same thing over and over: “I’ve made more money this month than I’ve ever made…”

The reason for their increased income is that they start seeing the possibilities, and they stop doing what isn’t working.

5. Get Known for Your Specialty: Blog for Dollars

Buyers of writing prefer specialist writers. “Generic” writers are a commodity. Choose a specialty and become known for that. The easiest way is to create a blog on the topic.

6. Focus on Output: the More You Write, the More You Earn

To increase your income, you need to do two things. You need to both build your writing skills, and you also need to increase your output.

Create another spreadsheet for your daily word count. Your Word Count sheet has these columns: the date, the number of words you’ve written, the projects you’ve worked on, and notes.

You’ll increase your output automatically simply by knowing exactly what your output was yesterday, last week, and last month.

You don’t need to put pressure on yourself. Just track what you’re actually doing.

You can create a six-figure income from your freelance writing. The opportunities are all around you. Take advantage of them, and starting today, track where you are, and plot a course to where you’re going.