My writing story goes back to my childhood years. I\nwas the kind of kid who would pick a Danielle Steele novel over going to the\nrace track with my family and friends. I remember being a very keen listener to\nmy parents\u2019 conversations or even the news anchor on TV. I did not do this\nbecause I had a bad eavesdropping habit, but because I wanted to pick up any\nnew word and search for its meaning in the dictionary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In school, my essays were read out loud so that other\nstudents could harness my creativity. My English teacher couldn\u2019t be prouder.\nEvery evening, I would open my little notebook and write the plot to a novel\nthat I would one day publish. Years went by and my love for writing became\nevident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But despite\nhaving the creative gene, my family considered writing a hobby, not a career.\nAnd not a way to make a living. So I took their advice and worked other jobs\nall through college. But I felt empty. As if nothing could give me the\nfulfillment that I needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a while, I came across a friend who never went\nto work but was still able to get good earnings right from the comfort of his\ncouch. I was fascinated and I wanted in. Luckily, he was kind enough to show me\nthe ropes. He told me that he was a freelance writer on Upwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He signed me up for an account, filled my profile and\nleft me to my devices. I felt liberated. I also took the time to scour the\ninternet to find other great writing sites. They were a dime a dozen. I signed\nup for most of them. The rest, as they say, is history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building\nMy Foundation as a Freelancer <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the beginning, my goal was to make as much money as\npossible. I dreamt of cashing in thousands of dollars weekly. After all, I had\nthe work ethic to back it up. But I learned that I would not be able to meet my\nincome goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How? <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I first signed up for writing sites, I ditched\nevery other avenue and decided to focus on content mills. I was sold on their\ndream. It does not get better than writing a couple of short articles and\ncashing out up to three times a week. The pay was mediocre but it felt like a\ngreat starting point at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I signed up for an iWriter account and over the next\nfew months, I wrote over 80 posts. I did not have a clear strategy. I only\nwanted to write enough articles to pay my bills and afford a few expensive\nthings. However, I started running into clients who did not appreciate my work.\nOne rejected article was devastating to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But on iWriter, it was not uncommon to meet clients\nwho would never be satisfied no matter how many times you corrected an article.\nEvery rejected article lowered my rank as a writer. And soon, I was very low on\nthe totem pole. I was raking in $2 for every 500 words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Along the way, I lost my passion and writing became a\nchore that paid the bills. For many months, things remained the same until I\ncame across an article by the freelance writer Bamidele Onibalusi. The article\nwas titled, \u2018Earn Your First $1000 Freelance Writing Challenge\u2019. It highlighted\nBamidele\u2019s writing story and how he was earning thousands of dollars every\nmonth through writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the challenge, he was willing to position himself\nas a new freelancer who does not have any connections or writing contacts but\nstill make $1000 in 30 days. I was shocked to find out that there were writers\nwho were making such an amount of money. It would be a dream come true for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was excited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If this was possible, I had to change my mindset and\ntactics. From then on, I followed Bamidele\u2019s challenge and at the very end, he\nearned $2,800 in less than 30 days. Was this guy a genius? I had to implement\nall of his strategies. I was determined to do so. I was ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My Renewed Mindset<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I first decided to create a website, something that I\nhad never thought of before. While it is best to find your niche, I enjoyed\nwriting on different topics. Thus, I positioned myself as a writer who offered\na variety of blog posts and guest posts on different niches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the website, I included the following\nimportant information: <\/p>\n\n\n\n