How to Make $350/Hour as a Freelance Writer
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All of the TikTok’s I’ve posted on how I make $350/hr as a freelancer have reached over 100,000 eyeballs, so I thought I’d make a blog post breaking down how I got here, why I charge what I charge, and how other freelancers can mindfully grow their craft and provide a ton of value to their clients.
Before you begin reading, check out my Freelancing 101 Guide on how to get started as a freelancer. Even if you’re already down the road with freelancing, it’s a good refresher and reminder of how to shore up your fundamentals.
The Secret to Six-Figure Freelancing
…is to provide insane value to your clients, and find a way to market yourself and your unique skills so they know you can do what you say you can do.
That’s it.
I wrote a blog post recently about the difference between entry-level and expert freelancers, and when it’s best to go with an expert. There’s nothing wrong with being an entry-level freelancer, or someone who prefers to freelance on the side in a more casual way. There’s less to think about: you don’t need to be constantly up-leveling your skills or finding new ways to brand yourself and your skills. It’s less brain-intensive, especially if you have a day job or other things you’re focused on.
Because when you’re charging $350/hr, you’ll have people ask you: okay, so tell me why you’re worth that much?
And if you don’t have the confidence in your skills and the knowledge you can blow them away, you’re not going to be able to justify your rate.
Even if you’re not at a triple-digit hourly rate, that’s okay — I can help!
Disclaimers for New Freelancers
Before we begin, a few notes:
Scaling your freelance business takes time. I was freelancing part-time for five years in-between writers’ rooms and Hollywood jobs before I went full-time freelance post-pandemic. Even during the times I wasn’t on a show, I was more focused on creative pursuits, so I didn’t break $100/hr until I was truly in the freelance world. Anybody who tells you freelancing is a “get rich quick” guarantee is wrong. I can offer advice and share my own experience, but anything worth doing takes real effort and energy.
Finding high-quality clients takes experience. I’ve had some nightmare clients, and those clients taught me the red flags to look out for when vetting the people I work with. However, the amazing clients I’ve worked with have made it all worth it! Take the good with the bad, and learn from the jobs that didn’t end well.
Start on a freelance platform like Upwork. It’s the easiest way to get started and begin building out a portfolio and list of client reviews. I created a new course on how I made my first $200,000+ on Upwork, and it walks you through how to get great writing jobs and not get scammed on the platform.
How to Learn Quickly as a Freelancer
I’m going to speak to all the freelance writers in this post, but my advice holds true to everyone, not just writers.
First of all, you do not need a degree to become a high-earning freelancer. You just need a love of learning new things.
This is pretty key. As a freelance copywriter, I’m focused on helping all different types of tech startups with their marketing collateral. That means I need to keep up with news about the tech world, from Web3 to NFT’s to how regulations are affecting fintech. Depending on the assignment, I may need to do my own research or learn an entirely different industry or subject.
As a memoir ghostwriter, I need to learn everything about someone’s life. Whether that’s poring over case files or reading someone’s journal, I have to become an expert in their story, often interviewing people around them.
When you’ve settled into a type of writing you love, you need to learn skills specific to your niche.
For example, if you’re a copywriter, considering learning more about…
Writing and creating sales funnels
Newsletters and email sequences
Landing pages and boosting conversion rates through A/B testing
If you’re a blogger, consider…
Pinterest marketing and creating blog-post-specific images that boost posts on Pinterest
Taking Google’s SEO certification and learning more about optimizing for search engines
How to turn blog posts into TikTok to drive engagement
Learning how to ghostwrite YouTube scripts for YouTube personalities
By getting even more specific into what type of copywriter you are, you can provide more value through gaining specific knowledge.
You don’t have to limit yourself, either. As long as you commit to learning different formats, you can specialize in a few different areas.
For example, I routinely test the success of my copywriting skills on my own websites. I’ve targeted different keywords on this blog and watched rankings change, testing out SEO strategies that rocket my site to the first page of Google. I’m able to offer a variety of services to my clients because I’ve spent the last decade learning how to apply my skills in a variety of different ways, and have real-world results.
Here are some of the ways you can continue to learn more about your craft:
Follow experts in your niche on YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok
Take online courses and read books and blogs related to your niche
Get relevant newsletters delivered to your inbox each week to stay up on trends (and consider adding my Storytelling Secrets newsletter to your subscriptions!)
In summary? The best way you provide value to your clients is by constantly learning.
How Personal Branding Creates Huge Value for Freelancers
Earlier this year, I hired the design firm Design Kick to redo my entire blog and create branding materials for me. I recognized that my old blog didn’t feel high-end enough in its design to attract the kind of clients I wanted to work with. I also hired a professional photographer in Los Angeles to take new headshots of me, to replace the more outdated ones I had previously. Then, I worked with a PR team and also learned how to do PR myself to create a wave of press to support the initiatives I was putting out in the world.
Basically? I taught myself all the nuances of personal branding, and then implemented them. That — along with a huge jump in my learned experience and portfolio items! — is what allowed me to go from $90/hr to $350/hr in a little under a year.
I’m going to have to go more into personal branding in another post, but basically your Internet presence is your personal brand. This includes your website, your social media, your photos — everything. My clients read my blog, follow me on socials, subscribe to my newsletter, and stay up-to-date with what I’m doing. By sharing my knowledge here on my blog, I’m proving my expertise in my areas of focus, and showing how I can provide immense value to them.
But personal brand is more than that! It’s showing off your personality, your taste, your interests — what uniquely makes up your perspective as a creative and as a freelancer. To encompass all of that through digital assets such as headshots, websites, color palettes, font selection — it takes time. For me, my personal brand refresh took about a year.
When thinking about your personal brand as a freelancer and creative, ask yourself: how do I want to be perceived? What do I want people to know about me? Then, start to apply your answer to every piece of your Internet presence.
If you need help with personal branding, I’m going to be offering full-service personal branding help since I know how hard it is to get all this right without spending a gajillion dollars. Contact me if you’re interested!
Improving Your Client’s Experience
Once you’ve honed your skills and learned personal branding, it’s time to hone your client’s experience.
When you’re leveling up from a beginner to an expert freelancer, you need to set aside time to build out better onboarding practices. This doesn’t have to be fancy new client surveys or complex “getting started” documents. In fact, I find myself gravitating to more simpler, kick-off calls. Instead, I optimize for honing the types of questions I ask clients to get them exactly what they want.
I do have a series of systems I use for non-Upwork clients, though. Here’s my client workflow if you’re curious! In that post, I break down all the tools I use to manage my freelancing business.
Want to know where you can improve? Ask your current clients for feedback! Or, create a post-project survey you can send to clients to get their feedback on your workflow. You can also use that post-project survey to ask for testimonials.
Remember, freelancing is a service business. In some of my earlier jobs when I was in college, I worked a lot of service jobs: I worked night shifts in the post-production labs helping fellow students, I was an RA and helped freshmen acclimate to college, and post-college I ran open mic nights, writing workshops, and taught yoga. All of these jobs helped me learn how to create great experiences for people, and I bring that into every experience I have as a freelancer.
How to Set Your Rates as a Freelancer
When you’re getting started as a freelance writer, you’ll probably start around $20/hour. However, I recommend starting to raise your rates for every new client you take on. When I got started, I never really raised rates on existing clients, just new ones: that allowed me to continue to work with long-term clients I loved while quoting new clients at higher rates.
I created a freelance hourly rate calculator that will help you nail down what your target hourly rate is by calculating expenses related to freelancing and in your personal life.
Once you’ve nailed your ideal hourly rate, start working towards that rate by raising your rate another $10 per hour for each new client you take on. That way, you can prove clients are willing to pay that rate on a profile like Upwork if you’re starting there, and you can slowly begin to justify with each new experience and client that you’ve got the skills required to provide value at that level.
How High is Too High of a Rate for Freelancers?
On the contrarian side of things, I’ve heard people argue that too high of an hourly rate prices you out of working with small businesses, nonprofits, and other clients that could be great.
I get it! I’ve worked with clients who were on a strict budget. However, realize this: nonprofits often get grants that allow them to pay for experienced freelancers, and I’ve worked with some awesome businesses, nonprofits, B-Corps, and ethical startups that had the funding and saw the value I bring to the table and were able to afford my services.
Generally, you’re going to find better clients at a higher price point. That’s because they’re coming to you because they want an expert and they have enough funding to hire the best.
That’s not to say that clients below your rate aren’t worth your time. You can always work out fixed-rate quotes for people who can’t afford your hourly. However, when calculating fixed-rate jobs, you should still stay close to your hourly rate in terms of how much time it’s going to take you.
If you find yourself with a rate that’s too high to get any clients at all, that’s probably a sign you’ve raised your rates too high for your experience level. I suggest only raising your rates when you’ve got too much work to take on: that way, you’re not in need of new clients, and any new clients you do get will reduce the number of hours you need to work as they’re paying you higher than your existing client base.
At the End of the Day, Be Generous with Your Work
With every project I take on as a freelancer, I strive to bring a dusting of magic to my work. At the end of the day, I want my clients to feel like the project is a success, and that they’ve gained more than they thought they would have. I try and bring a nuance, new insight, or a different perspective that will add value to their business or impact.
Being generous with your work as a freelancer doesn’t mean giving huge discounts or doing a ton of free work.
Generosity as a freelancer means you strive to go above and beyond, you don’t overcommit yourself and charge what you’re worth so that you can bring your A-Game to every project and client.
So many freelancers are trying to just earn money or clock in each day. Don’t be like every other freelancer: tap into your joy, and show up for yourself and your clients each and every day.
And if things feel like a drag? You might be burned out, or maybe you haven’t found the right niche yet.
Now go out there and create something beautiful.
If you liked this post, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and check out the rest of my posts about freelancing. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or on TikTok for more tips and inspiration. I can’t wait to continue to share more freelancing tips with you!