Are you a stay-at-home mom looking for ways to make money? Or maybe you’re just tired of the 9 to 5 grind and want to start working for yourself? If so, freelance writing for blogs may be the perfect option for you!

Not only does freelance blogging allow you to work from home and be their for your precious kiddos, but it can also be INCREDIBLY lucrative. In fact, I’m currently earning a six-figure income from freelance writing (working VERY part time hours!).

In this blog post, I’m going to share all my strategies and tips for making six figures writing blogs for my clients. I’ll also tell you a little bit about my own journey from broke waitress to successful freelance blogger.

What Is a Freelance Blogger?

A freelance blogger is somebody who gets hired to write blog posts for businesses. Blog posts are kind of like an article, but they’re usually shorter and less formal.

Blogs fall into the content marketing category, which means that the main purpose of the blog post is NOT to sell something, but rather to provide valuable information that will help build trust and relationships with potential customers (and ultimately lead to a sale).

So the goal for most freelance bloggers is to write high-quality content that will help promote the client’s business, products, or services.

When written correctly, blog posts can be extremely effective at:

• Marketing and even selling products or services
• Building an audience or customer base
• Generating leads and inquiries
• Increasing traffic to a website
• Answering common questions or overcoming objections
• And much more!

In other words, good blog content has value and even contributes to the revenue a business makes. That’s why they are willing to pay good money for well-written blog posts.

How Much Do Freelance Blog Writers Make?

Freelance bloggers typically get paid per post or per month. most of my clients pay for my blogging services as a monthly retainer. This means that every month, I get paid a set amount of money to write a certain number of blog posts for them.

Rates for blog writing can vary widely depending on the:

• Client
• Industry
• Topic complexity
• Length of the post
• Research required
• Search engine optimization (SEO) requirements
• Potential return on investment (ROI)

Your level of experience will also play a big role in how much you can charge for your blog services. New writers might only be able to charge $50-$100 per post, whereas more experienced writers make between $200 to $700 on average for their blog articles.

And if you bundle your blog writing services (like I do!) with other content marketing services such as social media or email marketing, you can charge even more. It’s not uncommon to land freelance writing jobs that pay $2,000 per month or more. And if you have 4 or 5 clients in that range, you’re looking at a very comfortable 6-figure income working part time hours!

Some companies are even willing to pay you for things beyond just the article writing aspect of the job. For instance, as the freelance writing expert, they might want you to come up with ideas and topics for their blog posts. This would mean you’re charging for your freelance blogging services and consulting or strategy work (more on how to upcharge for these tasks in a minute…)

How to Write a Blog

Now that you know what a freelance blogger is, it’s time to learn how to write a blog. While there are different ways to structure a new blog post from scratch, most of them will follow this basic outline:

Blog Title

Different companies will expect different things from your blogging. Some clients might want you to come up with the blog title and topic, while others will give you a title and keywords to work with.

For example, if a client owns a chain of pet stores, they may want a freelance blogger to write about “The Top 10 Products Every New Dog Owner Needs.”

Titles are one of the most important aspects of a blog post because they are what will show up in the search engine results pages (SERPs). And it needs to be written in a way that will make people want to click on it.

A good blog title should:

• Be clear and concise
• Include the primary keyword or keyphrase in a natural way
• Use a number if possible
• Invoke curiosity
• Address the readers pain points or needs

It takes practice to write a really good title. Here is my advice on how to write a catchy headline in 5 minutes or less!

Blog Introduction

The introduction is where you’ll outline what the blog post will be about, without giving away too much information. You just want to tease the reader, to make them want to read more.

With each sentence you write, the goal is to get the readers permission to read the next sentence. So you need to make sure your blog introduction is engaging, relevant to your topic, and super compelling!

The introduction should be around 100-200 words and should use the primary keyword or keyphase once in the first 100 words.

Blog Body

The body of the blog post is where you’ll dig into the topic. Blogs are divided into different sections, each with a different subtopic. And each section will have its own heading (or subheading, often called an “H2”).

Here’s an example of what that looks like:

You’ll continue this pattern until you’ve covered all the subtopics and ideas in the blog post.

Most people like to skim read blog articles, so you want to break up your content into smaller paragraphs and use bullets and numbered lists whenever possible. This will make your blog post more visually appealing and easier to read.

It also helps to write in a conversational tone because the average person reads at the 7th or 8th grade reading level. You don’t want to talk over their heads or use tons of industry jargon (because you’ll lose their attention and trust and they’ll click away).

Use Keywords Throughout the Blog

Beyond using your primary keyword in the blog title, don’t forget to use your primary keyword or keyphrase in the body of the blog post!

But beware of keyword stuffing, which is when you stuff too many keywords into your content and it starts to sound unnatural.

Keyword variation is important. So if your primary keyword is “dog food,” you might want to use related keywords such as “best dog food,” “homemade dog food,” or “healthy dog food.”

Sprinkle these different keywords naturally throughout as you’re writing blog posts so you can help it rank in the SERPs.

Blog Conclusion and Call To Action

The conclusion should be around 50-100 words and summarize what was talked about in the blog post. But the most important aspect of this conclusion is the Call to Action (CTA).

The CTA is what you want the reader to do next. It could be something like “Download your free e-book on dog training,” “Sign up for our email list to get the latest pet news,” or “Visit our online store to shop for all your pet needs.”

Make sure your CTA is relevant to the blogging topics and is something that will benefit the reader.

Writing a blog from start to finish can take some time. But with practice, you’ll be able to write a high-quality blog post in no time!

When I first started freelance blogging, it would take me around 6 hours to do all the research, writing, and editing for a single blog post.

Nowadays, I can write a blog post in as little as 30 minutes (which means I make a LOT more money per hour!).

Want to learn my secrets for writing a blog post so quickly? Click here.

How Freelance Bloggers Can Find Clients

If you want to start freelance blogging, one of your biggest questions is probably, “where do I find potential clients and land my first writing gig?”

My absolute favorite way to land writing gigs is on LinkedIn, and you can read my entire strategy here. But the great thing about freelance blogging is that there are a ton of ways to find clients.

And once you land your first writing gig, it becomes a lot easier to get more work because you can use that as a writing sample and showcase your skills to other potential clients.

Here are some of the best ways to find new clients as a freelance blogger:

• Social media (LinkedIn, Facebook Groups, Twitter, Instagram)
• Cold pitching companies or solopreneurs directly via email
• Job boards (Upwork, Fiverr, Problogger, etc.)
• Marketing networking events or business conferences
• Local business networking groups (BNI, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
• Referrals from other freelancer writers in your network

Need more ideas? Click here to learn how to land your first freelance blogging gig with NO experience.

Tips for Making Six Figures as a Freelance Blogger

If you want to become a freelance blogger that isn’t just scraping by – but making a six figure living writing blog posts – then you’re in the right place.

There are a lot of low-paying writing gigs out there… But if you follow these strategies, you can dramatically increase your freelance blogging income.

Here are my best tips for making six figures as a freelance blogger:

Niche Down to Become an Expert

One of the most important things you can do to make more money blogging is to niche down. That means picking a specific industry and becoming an expert in that field.

When you’re a generalist that writes about anything and everything, it’s really hard to command higher rates because clients can find cheaper writers that know just as much as you do about the topic.

But when you eat, sleep and breathe a specific topic? Suddenly you become an invaluable asset to companies because you know things that other writers don’t. They don’t have to hold your hand through the entire process or make tons of revisions because you don’t understand the nuances of their industry.

You can charge a lot more for your services because clients will be willing to pay a premium for your expertise.

Niche sites that require a certain level of expertise also tend to have less competition, so it’s easier to get your foot in the door and land high-paying blogging jobs.

Picking the right niche means finding a balance between:

• Profitability: Is there enough demand for writers in this industry? Are companies willing to pay what you’re worth?
• Expertise: Do you have enough knowledge about the topic to be able to write authoritatively? What kind of research will you need to do to make sure your articles are high quality?
• Passion: Do you actually enjoy writing about this topic? If not, you’ll quickly get burned out and will be less likely to stick with it long term.

Click here to discover the best freelance writing niches right now! These are the one’s with the highest demand and pay rates.

Write Long-Form Content

The best blog is one that is long, in-depth and provides a ton of value. Like I mentioned, the goal with blogging is to get eyeballs and traffic to a business so that they can sell a product or service. And usually the best way to do that is by digging into the topic very thoroughly — answering all the questions someone might have about the subject.

Not only that, but when you write articles that are lengthy and compelling, you increase Time On Page (TOP) — which is a ranking factor for SEO. The longer someone spends on your page, the better it looks to Google. And that can lead to even more traffic down the road for that particular blog.

The sweet spot for good longform blogs is between 2100 to 2400 words, according to HubSpot.

Many freelance bloggers can’t, don’t or won’t write long articles. They get bogged down, run out of things to say, or just don’t want to put in the extra effort it takes to produce a high-quality, lengthy blog. But if you can do it and do it well? You’ll virtually eliminate your competition.

Plus, content writers that can produce quality work at that length can command a higher rate than those that stick to shorter blog posts.

But writer beware: just because you can write long doesn’t mean you should. Pay attention to the type of content that does well in your niche and try to mirror that in your own writing.

Pitch Companies Directly

Many freelance bloggers look for work on job boards or sites like Fiverr and Upwork — and that’s fine for your first client or when you’re just starting out.

There are some good job boards for freelance blogging jobs (here are 17 for you to check out), but I don’t usually recommend them because there are lot of downsides to job boards:

• The competition is fierce because everyone and their mother is applying for those gigs.
• The pay rates are often low because there’s so much competition (it ends up being a race to the bottom on who can charge the least).
• The work is often one-off, so you’re constantly hustling to find new projects which can be very time consuming.
• You’re usually working with low quality clients that give you little to no direction and expect miracles.
• Platforms like Fiverr are middlemen, so they’re also taking a cut on top of your low pay rate — making it even harder to earn a decent wage.

Pitching companies directly is a much more efficient way to find high-paying blogging jobs. And it’s really just a 3-step process:

1. You research companies in your niche
2. You look up the name of the person that’s in charge of content for those companies (usually it’s the marketing director, marketing manager, content director, etc.)
3. You send them a pitch via email or LinkedIn addressing their pain points and why you’re the perfect person to help

If the company you’re interested in writing for doesn’t have a blog, that’s actually a good sign. It means there’s an opportunity for you to come in and be the one to start it — which can lead to a lot of long-term work down the road.

If they DO have a blog but it’s not very active, again, that’s a good opportunity. It means they’re probably too busy to keep up with it and would love to outsource that work to a freelance writer.

And if the blog is active and has a lot of content, that’s also a good sign! It means they value content and are willing to invest in it. And if they crank out a lot of content, they may need multiple writers to help with the workload. Or you can be a back up for when their regular writer is on vacation or decides to leave.

And if I’m being honest, a lot of writers are flaky and unreliable. Companies that have a lot of content need are always on the lookout for good freelance writers they can count on to produce quality work on a regular basis.

So don’t be afraid to pitch companies directly — it’s actually one of the best ways to get high-paying blogging gigs.

Upsell clients on additional services

As a freelance writer, your job is to produce content that will help the client achieve their goals. And it’s very unlikely that a blog alone is going to be enough to do that.

Your client is probably going to need things like:

• Social media captions
• Email copy
• Ads
• Landing pages
• Sales pages

And the list goes on…

And as a freelance writer, you’re in a unique position to upsell them on those services. You already have a relationship with the client — they trust you and value your opinion. And you understand their business and what they’re trying to achieve.

So if you can also offer additional services that will help them achieve their goals, it’s a win-win. They get the results they’re looking for and you get to earn more money.

If you don’t want to do other forms of writing (social media, email, etc.), you can still offer other freelance blogging services that are complementary like:

• SEO/Keyword research
• Image recommendations
• Content calendar planning
• Backlink building
• Image sourcing
• Uploading content to WordPress

There are endless possibilities when it comes to upselling clients on additional services. And the best part is, once you land that initial client, the sky is the limit. You can keep selling them more and more services and scaling your freelance blogging business to new heights.

Invest in Your Writing Business

In my experience, there are 7 ways freelance writers guarantee failure… but one of the biggest mistakes I see other bloggers make is not investing in their writing business.

If you want to have a lucrative freelance writing career, you need to think of it as a business. That means you need to:

• Always be learning new skills
• Buy the right tools and resources to work more efficiently
• Use a Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) to track leads and follow up with them
• Create a professional brand and freelancer website to attract clients
• Outsource tasks that you’re not good at or don’t have time for
• And reinvest your earnings back into the business

If you don’t invest in your writing business, it will be very difficult to have anything more than hobby.

Eliminate, Automate, Delegate

In about 1 year I doubled my income from around $51,000 to over $105,000 as a freelancer, and I did this by doing 3 things in exactly this order:

1. Eliminate
2. Automate
3. Delegate.

The first step is to eliminate any and all distractions, sirens, and shiny objects that are preventing you from reaching your writing goals. This includes things like social media, email, phone calls, and anything else that pulls you away from your work.

It also means being absolutely ruthless with your time. If you want to make more money as a freelance writer, you need to be very intentional with how you spend your time and only work on tasks that are directly related to making more money. This is especially important if you’re a stay at home mom like me (and have limited time to really work on your business!).

The second step is to automate as much of your business as possible. It seems you can automate just about everything these days, and there are a ton of great tools out there to help you do just that. The ones I now use are:

• Calendly for scheduling calls and appointments
• Wave for sending invoicing and taking payments
• DocuSign for getting contracts signed

And my absolute favorite copywriting tool for efficiency is Jasper AI. It’s an AI-powered writing assistant that helps me write faster and better.

Jasper AI truly saved my freelance writing career when I had my colicky baby, giving me the ability to scale my business while still being present for my son. You can read all about Jasper and how it saved me here.

The third and final step is delegation.

How many multi-million or billion dollar businesses do you know that have ZERO employees?

None.

The reason is, even the most successful entrepreneurs understand that they can’t do everything on their own and that delegation is key to scaling any business.

As a blogger, you still have to be the one writing the content. But there are a ton of other things you can outsource to help you grow your business, like:

• Building and maintaining your website
• Email management
• Bookkeeping/accounting
• Customer service
• Lead generation
• And so much more!

Hiring my first virtual assistant (VA) was a major milestone and turning point in my freelance writing business. It allowed me to take on more clients, make more money, and have more free time!

The amount I pay for a good VA is nothing compared to the money she helps me make. I’m even considering hiring a second VA to help with some of the tasks that my first VA can’t do or doesn’t have time for.

I have also started delegating household tasks like cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping so that I can focus on my business and spend more time with my family.

It’s not always easy to let go of control, but if you want to have a successful freelance writing business, delegation is key!

Get involved in the Freelance Writing Community

In the last 2 years, I’ve spent more time then ever before getting involved in the freelance writing community.

I joined a several different Facebook groups for freelance writers, started attending virtual and live events, and overall just tried to immerse myself in everything freelance writing.

It’s been really helpful meeting other writers and hearing about their businesses, what’s working for them, and what’s not. It’s also been great to have a network of people I can reach out to when I have questions or need advice.

I even pay for masterminds and memberships to surround myself with other high-earning freelance writers. This has been one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my business.

They say you’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so if you want to make more as a freelance writer, it only makes sense to spend more time around other high-earning writers.

Do I Need My Own Blog to Make Money as a Freelance Writer?

The short answer is no, you don’t need your own blog to make money as a blogger. However, I do think there are some benefits to sharing your own blogs on your professional writer website:

• It can help you attract clients organically through SEO
• It can serve as a writing sample/portfolio
• It can help you build your personal brand (which can open you to opportunities for guest posting, speaking gigs, podcasts, and more)
• It can help you establish yourself as an expert in your field and demonstrate that you know what you’re talking about, which helps you attract higher-paying clients
• If your own blogs start getting enough traffic, you can monetize your website with ads, sponsored posts, or affiliate marketing

At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether or not you want to blog on your own website. Just keep in mind that it can be a big time commitment — and that could pull you away from your commitments to your freelance blog clients.

If you decide not to, that’s totally fine! You can still make great money freelance blogging for other businesses.

My Experience as a Freelance Writer

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved reading and writing. I would spend hours devouring books and making my own stories. My mom always said I should be a writer…

But I always thought you had to become a famous novelist to ever make a dime writing (like J.K. Rowling or something), so I never pursued my passion.

Instead, I wound up not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I pursued acting and modeling for a while (but it’s a soul-sucking industry). And like any wannabe actress, I became a waitress….

A broke waitress…

I was working as many hours as my managers would give me and barely scraping by. I dealt with rude customers and holiday shifts and always being short on rent. I was miserable.

Things felt pretty discouraging and I was starting to feel like I would be stuck waitressing forever (thankfully, I was wrong!).

I was desparate to find a way out…

So I started searching for different ways to make money online. And partly because the Google algorithm knew my search history (and mostly because God had a plan all along), YouTube recommended a video that would change my life forever.

There was a pink-haired girl on the thumbnail with a title that said something like “How I Make $3K per Month as a Freelance Writer.”

I was intrigued, so I clicked.

Her entire video (and most of her channel) was about how to become a freelance blogger.

She talked about how she was a two-time college drop out (like me!) and had been fired from her day job. She basically got forced into pursuing freelance writing full-time. And it was a big success for her!

She described how she now made a living traveling and writing from her laptop (making a better living than she ever had at her 9 to 5!).

I was hooked!

That video led me down a rabbit hole of research about freelance writing. I couldn’t even tell you how many podcasts, YouTube videos, articles, and courses I consumed.

And about 30 days after watching that pink haired girl’s video, I landed one of my first blogging gigs!

Now, about 6 or 7 years later (my mom brain can’t figure out how long it’s been lol!), I’m a six-figure freelance writer.

And I genuinely love writing and can’t imagine doing anything else!

If you’re feeling stuck in a job you hate, or just need to make some extra money on the side, I highly recommend you start freelance writing for blogs. It’s an incredible way to make money from home, even if you don’t have any prior experience writing.

I believe that if you have a passion for writing and are willing to put in the work, anyone can be successful as a freelance writer!

Want to get started in 30 days just like I did? Grab my free guide + 30 day success planner to help you become a freelance writer too!