How To Turn Writing Into A 4-Figure Per Month Side Hustle

Even if you work at a full-time job…

Writing is a lucrative side hustle that can turn into a full-time career. One of the strengths of this career path is that you can make it as high or low of a commitment as you desire. Some people write on the side and prioritize their day jobs. Other people write throughout the day, cranking out content for themselves and their clients.

You can grow your platform, help an individual or company build their platform through your writing or a combination of both. You’ll learn new things as you write for clients and become a better writer in the process.

The path to a writing side hustle will become more apparent with each step you take. However, some background information will speed up your journey and help you avoid common mistakes.

Build Up Your Freelance Writing Portfolio

Potential clients will want to see your previous work experience before hiring you. This request is an understandable expectation as clients can select multiple writers and want to know what their money can get them.

Most companies don’t care if you’ve been writing online for a few months or a few years. All they care about is whether you can provide them with the content they want. Quality writing is a prerequisite for potential clients, and each client defines quality differently. You need skills, and anyone who tells you that it’s possible to make X-figures with zero skill is a liar.

The three best ways to become a better writer are writing more often, reading other people’s writing, and using a tool like Grammarly to assist with your writing. That’s the most straightforward path to improving your writing, so more clients decide to work with you.

Not only will building up your work portfolio help with clients, but if you use a site like Medium to build up your work portfolio, you’ll grow a platform in the process. Medium is a top source of new email subscribers on my list, and the Medium Partner Program pays me every month for my content’s traction.

I keep it simple with five Medium articles and a link to my Medium profile for additional pieces when submitting writing samples. Most potential clients will review a small number of your samples because you’re not the only game in town. You can update your work samples to showcase improved content and eventually list client articles.

Building up your freelance writing portfolio doesn’t take too much time when you write for yourself. You can start with one new article each week and build up. Writing each day will yield the most growth for your career, even if you only write for 30 minutes each day.

Some writers opt to write in bulk over the weekends and not write throughout the workweek. While this isn’t possible for every client, it’s possible when writing your content.

Applying To Freelance Writing Jobs

Freelance writing on sites like Medium will give you enough material for work samples. After building up your work samples, the next step is to start landing work. Some writers recommend using a platform like Fiverr to showcase their services. I have seen greater success on Upwork.

Fiverr is helpful if clients find you through their search engine or if you already have an audience. Rather than bringing people to your services, Upwork provides you with a database to find people actively seeking out writers. This distinction is why I prefer Upwork.

People browsing on Fiverr may not feel an urgent need to hire a writer. They may still be in the discovery phase. Anyone posting a job on Upwork is beyond the discovery phase. They understand they need help with their content.

I filter my search to jobs with fewer than ten proposals. The less competition, the better. I also filter my search to ensure clients have paid freelancers in the past. New Upwork clients are hit-or-miss. Some might stick on the platform, while others might abandon it within a few days.

Usually, I’d apply to every possible fit. Still, since Upwork gives you a limited number of connects (their version of credits you pay to submit job proposals. You can pay to get additional connects), I filter my search accordingly.

Setting Your Pay Rate

Your pay rate determines the ease or difficulty in making 4-figures from your writing side hustle (or considering a path to full-time writing). If you make $10 per 1,000-word article, you’ll need to write 100 articles each month to hit $1,000.

If you do all of those articles on Upwork, it’s even worse as they’ll take a 20% cut. That means you’ll have to write 125 articles per month. That’s more than four articles per day and will look like a full-time job before you know it.

If you average $20 per article before Upwork fees, you cut your workload in half. While this is still considerable work, it’s less than writing four articles per day. On the bright side, all of your work to grow your platform will contribute to your earnings.

Some writers make thousands of dollars each month just from the Medium Partner Program. Writing a few viral Medium articles can secure hundreds of dollars in monthly income with the potential for higher earnings in the future.

As you build up your freelance writing portfolio and work with more clients, you can soon command $50+ for a single piece of content. At $50 per article, you would only need to write 20 articles each month to reach the $1,000 milestone.

Increasing your pay rate per article and your writing frequency will speed up your path to writing as a 4-figure side hustle.

Writing is an attractive side hustle because you can work from anywhere and scale it up to full-time work. Attracting numerous clients through Upwork will diversify your income, a vital element of financial safety.

No matter how many clients you get, always commit to growing your platform with at least one new piece of content each week. Some writers make a full-time income from their platforms, others rely on clients, and many writers utilize a combination of both.

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This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.