Assuming you have an internet connection and a laptop, you have all the resources you need at your fingertips. You can learn how to pick a niche, get clients and set up your freelance writing website from the comfort of your own home. 

But a lot of the conversation that happens around freelancing is unhelpful.

For instance, I’ve noticed there’s this tendency for many freelancers to brush aside the topic of money and act like it doesn’t matter. 

As a freelance writer, you should care about more than just doing work you enjoy for clients you like. I think you should care about making more money. Yep, I said it. 

In fact, if you’re serious about giving freelance writing a go, then I think your goal should be to learn at least $100,000 per year. Here are a few reasons I believe that’s true. 

1. More income = more impact

The other day, I saw a website that said “impact over income.” That sounds like such a lovely idea, doesn’t it?

Imagine being someone who cares more about the people they’re helping than how much money they’re making. The world would be a better place if more people adopted that attitude.

Of course, the world would also be a better place if we could all get our basic needs met without ever having to worry about money. But since that’s not going to happen, we all need a way to bring in money. 

My experience is that I have the ability to make more of an impact when I make more money. That’s because my needs are met, and I have a whole lot more brainpower to devote to other people who I’m not worried about getting my bills paid. 

If you’re someone who regularly says this then please stop. It’s a false choice — you create more impact and more income. 

2. Money gives you more time

Ever since I started freelancing in 2016, I wanted to earn six-figures. But for a long time, I struggled with this idea because I thought earning more money would make me a bad parent.

I thought that if I earned six figures as a freelancer, I would work constantly, ignore my kids and miss out on their childhood. 

Yikes! Who wants to focus on making more money with that kind of mindset?

I bring that up because I think it’s a common limiting belief people have around money. Many people think if they earn more money, they’ll work constantly and lose all sense of work-life balance.

And in fairness, that does happen for some people, but it doesn’t have to. I worked much harder and longer hours as a $40,000 a year freelancer than I do as a freelancer who makes over $100,000 a year.

Why? Because I have the money to outsource the tasks I don’t like to other people. I can hire other people to clean my house, design my website and schedule my social media posts for me, among other things.

I also have the ability to turn down clients who aren’t a good fit and charge more for my services. And I’ve been able to branch out into offering digital products to earn more passive income. 

3. It’s a totally doable goal

If you’re like me, then you probably follow many freelance writers you admire on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. And have you ever noticed they occasionally try to taper down your expectations? 

They might say something like this, “Success doesn’t happen overnight! I had to work hard for years before I started earning six-figures. I wrote boring articles, worked with crappy clients and worked day and night to get to where I am!”

I get why people say things like this. They’re trying to paint a realistic picture of what it looks like to make a living as a freelance writer. And likely, trying to weed out all the people who aren’t serious and only want to make a go of freelancing if it comes easily. 

Here’s the thing — people who aren’t serious and don’t want to put in the work are going to quit regardless. There’s nothing you can say or do to help them “see the light.”

But what I’ve found over and over again is that most serious freelancers massively sell themselves short. They scrape by financially every month and don’t think earning more money is possible for them.

So if you take only one point from this blog post to heart, let it be this: earning six-figures as a freelance writer is a completely realistic and doable goal.

Stop making it seem like this huge, overwhelming task that only a few rare freelance writers can accomplish! I promise you that it’s not.

I’m not saying that it’ll be easy or that there won’t be setbacks along the way. Of course, it will take work, but you already know that. 

But it’s also not as hard or as elusive as you think it is. So do yourself a favor and believe that it’s possible.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

And over the years, I’ve noticed that most people share the same basic advice: 

If you want to be successful as a freelance writer, you absolutely must set up your freelance writer website and optimize it for your niche. 

And the underlying message always seems to be that if you don’t have a website, you’ll never be seen as credible to potential clients. Instead, you’ll be stuck writing blog posts for one cent per word on content mills forever.

The advice about setting up a website is spouted off so often, it’s taken as some sort of gospel. But is it actually true? 

If you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, do you need to set up a website right away? 

My unpopular opinion is no. 

4 reasons you don’t need a writer website immediately

To be clear, I do think having a website matters. I just don’t think it’s the most important thing new freelance writers can focus on. 

Here are four reasons why.

1. A website in itself doesn’t do anything

Just setting up a website in itself isn’t going to find you clients or make you money. How do potential clients even land on that website? You need a marketing plan and a strategy and those come with experience.

For many people, setting up a website turns into some sort of vanity project. They’re focused on “building their personal brand” when what they really need is paying clients. 

If you’re just starting out, your time would be much better served by setting up a basic portfolio website. And you can do that in about 10 minutes with a site like Contently or Muck Rack. From there, focus on finding and pitching clients. 

2. You may not know who your ideal client is

Some freelancers know exactly what their niche is from the start. They already have a subject they’re passionate about and have expertise in so picking their niche is a piece of cake.

But for most of us, that’s just not the case. In all likelihood, you probably have a variety of subjects you’re kind of interested in, but nothing you’re ready to commit to. Heck, you may not even know what types of clients you want to work with.

The thing is, you figure those things out by working with clients and figuring out what you like and don’t like. That’s why I think it can be helpful to get some experience as a freelance writer first and then set up your website. 

3. It can turn into a giant distraction

One of the hardest parts about starting any new venture is knowing what you should focus on. After all, your time and money are limited so you want to spend it in areas where you know you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

What I commonly see with new freelancers is that setting up a website turns into a huge distraction. You’re focused on figuring out how to choose a domain name, wondering whether you should use WordPress or Squarespace and searching for stock photos.

In fact, you’re so busy working on the website that you haven’t quite gotten around to pitching potential clients yet. It feels like you’re doing something productive, but you’re really not because your efforts won’t necessarily lead to paid work.

4. A website isn’t necessary to find clients and get hired

A lot of people will probably disagree with this statement, but I don’t believe you need a website to get hired. After I started freelancing, it took me four months to set up a website. I found tons of clients and earned thousands of dollars in the meantime.

And today, I write for clients like Business Insider, Credit Karma and Quicken Loans. None of those editors ever asked for a link to my website. They did, however, want to see some writing samples. 

The idea that you need a website to get hired is an idea that’s mainly perpetuated by other freelancers. It’s a made-up rule that new freelancers use to stress themselves out and waste time.

The bottom line on your freelance writer website

If you’re just getting started as a freelance writer then you probably will want a website at some point. But just understand that your website isn’t what’s going to find you clients or make you money.

All you need to make money as a freelance writer is to find a client who’s willing to hire you. So make it your goal to put yourself out there, find a client, and earn your first $1,000 as a freelancer. Once you’re making money and solving problems for people, then you can worry about setting up a website. 

Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash

Fortunately, a friend happened to tell me about the global freelancing platform Upwork and my world was changed forever.

I know that’s a little dramatic but the minute I learned about Upwork, I saw a path to being a writer that I had never seen before. I figured if I just kept pitching potential clients, eventually, someone would have to hire me.

This strategy quickly paid off and I landed lots of freelancing writing jobs, banking roughly $500 during my first full month as a freelancer. Four years later, I’ve earned over $100,000 using Upwork alone.

Why do some freelance writers hate Upwork so much?

Once I started networking with other freelancers, it was a pretty big surprise to learn that most people are not a fan of Upwork. In fact, many freelancers will recommend you avoid it at all costs.

The interesting thing is that many of the people who hate Upwork the most have never tried it. 

But of those who have, here are some of the biggest complaints I’ve heard:

• Upwork charges high fees: When you start working with a new client, Upwork charges a 20% fee on the first $500 you earn. After that, you’ll be charged a 10% fee until you’ve earned $10,000 from that client. Once you reach $10,000 in earnings, the fee drops to 5%.
• It’s a race to the bottom: I can’t even count the number of times someone has told me Upwork is a race to the bottom. The theory being that you’ll be forced to charge less for your services to compete with low-bidding freelancers.
• Upwork never worked for me: Of those who have tried it, the most common argument I hear is that Upwork never worked for them. Usually, this means they joined, sent a few proposals and didn’t get the results they hoped for so they moved on to something else. 

Is Upwork legit? Here’s why I still use Upwork to this day

So given all the supposed disadvantages to being a freelance writer on Upwork, why do I recommend you use it? 

Here are the five biggest reasons why: 

1. It’s an easy marketing strategy

I once heard someone say that anyone who looks for writing work on Upwork is lazy. At first, I felt offended, then I realized they were absolutely right. 

Yes, I choose to make things easier and more convenient for myself whenever possible. Call that lazy if you want, but this strategy is what allows me to earn six-figures as a freelance writer working roughly 25 hours per week.

To this day, I have not found an easier way to drum up new freelance writing work than by using Upwork. I can log into Upwork and immediately find 5-10 writing jobs to apply for. On average, I spend about 30 minutes a day (or less) looking for work. 

2. Great clients use it

Great clients are on Upwork looking to hire writers and that is a fact. Many of my best clients came from Upwork jobs, or as a result of referrals from clients I met on Upwork. 

I’ve landed writing projects with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, PandaDoc and Business Talent Group thanks to Upwork. Those kinds of clients aren’t interested in hiring someone who’s willing to write a $10 blog post because they know that person isn’t a professional.

3. Payment is guaranteed

Many people love to complain about the Upwork fees, but can we take a second to talk about the fact that payment is guaranteed on Upwork? This is true whether you do a fixed rate or hourly contract.

Upwork offers payment protection on hourly work, and you can see if the milestone is funded before you begin a fixed-rate contract. Plus, I receive payment on most of my Upwork jobs within a week of finishing the work.

As someone who regularly works with clients that have invoicing terms of either net 45 or net 60, getting paid that quickly is a huge advantage in my book.

4. Your success builds over time

I think most people give up on Upwork too soon because they are expecting overnight results. But Upwork will work best for you if you use it as a long-term strategy.

I’ve been on Upwork for over four years now so I regularly get invited to apply for new jobs and don’t have to spend much time looking for work. This doesn’t happen overnight, but if you put in the time, you’ll start seeing success a lot sooner than you might think. 

5. Upwork levels the playing field

And finally, the biggest reason I like Upwork is that it levels the playing field for all freelancers. And this is especially important right now when so many people are being forced to start over in their professional lives thanks to COVID-19.

With Upwork, you don’t need a journalism degree or tons of experience to start finding clients. You can start exactly where you’re at right now and raise your rates slowly over time.

The bottom line on Upwork

If you find tons of freelance writing work using LinkedIn or cold emailing, then I’m not here to convince you to switch to Upwork. I wrote this article for the person who finds themselves where I was four years ago — desperate to try something new, but unsure of where to start.

If you want to make money as a freelance writer, then you can do it using Upwork. Just like any other marketing strategy, it “works” based on the level of effort and energy you put into it.  

What are your favorite platforms to use to find freelance writing work? Let us know in the comments.

Photo via franz12 / Shutterstock