{"id":7382,"date":"2019-11-01T07:02:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T14:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/?p=7382"},"modified":"2019-11-01T07:18:18","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T14:18:18","slug":"how-i-went-from-getting-paid-30-per-article-to-1999-per-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/case-studies\/how-i-went-from-getting-paid-30-per-article-to-1999-per-article\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Went From Getting Paid $30 Per Article To $1999 Per article"},"content":{"rendered":"

My writing career started as a suggestion from a professor while I was getting my master\u2019s degree in psychology. I\u2019d been dreaming of writing for years, but never quite felt comfortable or ready to take the leap.<\/p>\n

It also didn\u2019t help that the one time I shared my writing dream with someone they asked me, \u201cWho do you think you are? The next J.K. Rowling or something?\u201d Back into my secret writing cave I crawled.<\/p>\n

So when my professor suggested I started writing articles, I thought, Great idea! <\/i>This could be my chance to see if I was any good at it. Little did I know, she meant academic articles. But that one suggestion threw me headlong into writing articles for publications around the world.<\/p>\n

Within a few weeks, I\u2019d been published in multiple countries on three different continents. Most of these gigs were free, but I knew that making money was possible with writing. That\u2019s how I found my first content mill. Like so many writers at the beginning of their journey, I was hungry. All I wanted to do was write and get paid to do it.<\/p>\n

Content Mill Queen<\/h2>\n

Like most budding writers, I didn\u2019t think about how much time I invested to produce quality reading material for different sites or publications. All I knew was that someone was willing to pay me to put my thoughts, expertise, and research to work in a way that would entertain people. I was so in!<\/p>\n

Gathering bylines became a game I excelled at, and all of a sudden, my writer pipedream didn\u2019t sound so crazy anymore. It actually looked real because it was real\u2014except for one small problem.<\/p>\n

Due to the demands of the content mills, I found myself dreading writing. I\u2019d log into my writer dashboard, look for the best paying gigs\u2014which were from $20-$30 per article\u2014and tried to bust out as many articles as I could just so I could buy some groceries.<\/p>\n

To everyone else, it looked like I was living the freelance writer\u2019s high-life. In reality, I was overworked, underpaid, and it was killing my passion. I had to find a way out.<\/p>\n

Writing for publications was my answer.<\/p>\n

Writing For Publications<\/h2>\n

Writing for publications paid significantly higher than the content mills. I regained creative control, and I could actually buy groceries. This is still one of my favorite ways to grow my career as a writer, but surprisingly, writing for publications wasn\u2019t the highest paying gig. The secret to financial independence for me came in writing for other people.<\/p>\n

Ghostwriting, Copywriting, and More<\/h2>\n

When you\u2019re a writer, you can take for granted how rare your gift is \u2014 I absolutely did. The truth is, most people suck at writing. They don\u2019t understand how to weave a story together, they struggle to relate to the reader, and they definitely don\u2019t understand how to turn their words into agents of change for their audience.<\/p>\n

That means there are literally millions of people walking around with important stories and messages inside of them that they can\u2019t get out in a way that creates the impact they\u2019re seeking. These people don\u2019t have your gift or skill, and without you, their gifts are stifled. Business owners, companies, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders are happy to pay you thousands of dollars for a single project because they know your ability to put the right words to what they\u2019re trying to say is the difference between creating a legacy and being forgotten.<\/p>\n

This is how I started making $1,999 or more per article, and thousands of dollars for other writing projects like websites, blog posts, email sequences, video scripts, and more. I connected with business owners and companies that I believed in, creating content that spoke to their messaging needs.<\/p>\n

For example, my audience is made up of predominantly of online service providers, such as coaches, consultants, graphic designers, online course creators, and more. Many of them get stuck in two places: getting the copy written for their website (copywriting) and getting their content written (ghostwriting).<\/p>\n

When it comes to copywriting, my clients get stuck because they feel weird talking about themselves, and they also get lost in talking about the things that they think are interesting but that their audience doesn\u2019t really care about. This can create writer\u2019s block that lasts for months, which means their websites are held up, and they feel like they can\u2019t move forward.<\/p>\n

So when I create content on my marketing platforms, I talk about how they\u2019re struggling to get their words down, how they\u2019re not sure what to say, and how they have an important message to get to their audience, but it\u2019s stuck inside of them because they\u2019re tripping over their words instead of hiring help to get their copy done for them. The more I reflect their experience back to them, the easier it is for them to feel seen, heard, and understood, as well as admit that they actually do need help.<\/p>\n

People often think that they should be able to write for themselves. There\u2019s a lot of shame people can feel around not being able to write in the way that they want to, so when they realize it\u2019s not just them, that most people actually struggle with this, it\u2019s easier for them to come to you and ask for help.<\/p>\n

At the end of most posts, I include a call to action for clients to reach out to me if they\u2019d like support with their copywriting needs. Clients who reach out to me to create copy for a five page website from scratch pay $4,999. If there are more pages to the website or there\u2019s something more in depth needed, the investment goes up.<\/p>\n

In signing ghostwriting clients, the process is the same, the work is just a little different. I\u2019ve had ghostwriting clients that have me help them with their content on social media, writing their blog posts, and even writing media articles. All of them are different. For a single blog post (usually just under 2,000 words), I charge $1,999. Some clients like shorter blog posts or prefer a monthly retainer. One of my mentors works with companies who are making over $20 million annually, and charges her retainer clients between $10,000 \u2014 $20,000 per month based on the deliverables.<\/p>\n

If these numbers feel big to you, keep in mind that I didn\u2019t start charging $4,999 for five pages of website copy overnight. I had to build up to it. Going from $30 content mill articles to thousands of dollars for copywriting and ghostwriting felt like a large leap, so give yourself some patience and grace if you feel the same way. You don\u2019t have to start big with your pricing. You only have to make sure you feel that you\u2019re getting paid fairly for your work. You\u2019ll know quickly if you need to charge more. Plus, the more results your clients get from the writing you produce, the more confidence you\u2019ll build in your writing, and you\u2019ll be open to charging more because you\u2019ll have the ROI (return on investment) results to back you up.<\/p>\n

My client list grew over time. After years of consistently putting myself out there and doing good work for clients, I now choose to work on the projects that I\u2019m most passionate about. I only have so many spots that I can fill with client work in my day, and I have more prospective clients than I can service. That means instead of feeling the need to take on every client who comes to my door, I only work with the clients that I feel a deep bond and connection with\u2014the people who I believe are making a positive difference in the world.<\/p>\n

Take a moment to think about that. How would it feel to have choices in who you work with? To hand select the causes that you are excited to give a voice to, while also giving yourself the time, space, and peace of mind to give to the passion projects that made you want to write in the first place? It\u2019s life changing.<\/p>\n

This is the good news for you\u2014there actually IS more than enough work to go around. That\u2019s why I\u2019m going to tell you how you can get more writing gigs for yourself so that you have more time to dedicate to the novel you\u2019ve been working on for the past ten years or write for publications that you love without having to take gigs that make you want to live in the forest without the Internet.<\/p>\n

Getting Gigs That Pay Real Money<\/h2>\n

There is a simple process to closing writing gigs that pay real money.<\/p>\n