How I earned nearly $15K in January as a Freelance Content Marketing Writer
Note from Jennifer: I’ve got a super exciting announcement to share today! After the response to my post about what artificial intelligence means for freelance writers, I decided to use my 8 years of experience writing about artificial intelligence combined with my 15 years of freelancing to launch a mini course to help writers use ChatGPT to be more efficient with writing-related tasks (like research, headline, SEO), not writing itself.
Registration for my new course is open now and the self-study course will go live Monday, February Feb 20th. I’m offering a special early bird price of $99 between now and the launch when the price increases to $125. In addition, for five mini-modules on different tasks that AI makes easier, you will get a tip sheet, exercises, access to a group on Facebook, and a new module every 3 months with updates to GPT/AI. Register here! And let me know if you have any questions.
Every time I publish a breakdown of how I earned my income in a month, I get a lot of thank you comments from writers saying it’s helpful to see the nitty gritty of my work. I decided to make it a monthly feature sharing what I earned each month in 2023, but more importantly how I earned it and what I learned that month.
I was nervous about starting this regular post in January since my income usually sucks in January. But honestly, this was one of my better Januarys in a long time. And even if it wasn’t, I decided that I would share the good and the bad with everyone.
January Breakdown
Here are my earnings for January 2023:
Agency A
$3750
Five blog posts at $750 each (750 words, no interviews) for a relatively new agency client. I landed the client last fall through a referral and it’s turned into an anchor client, accounting for $3K to $4K a month.
Agency B
$850
One 1000-word article for an agency that I’ve worked with for over 8 years. I landed this specific project when my editor moved to a new project and took me with her. I write about 1 to 2 of these a month and they are super easy. They take me about 2 hours tops because there are no interviews and I know the topics well.
Agency C
$1200
Two stories at $600 each for an agency I met years ago at a networking event at a conference. I like the topic and the more journalistic style of these projects, so it’s one that I look forward to. Each story required one interview and “should” take me about 3 hours each for an hourly rate of $200. But I managed to turn a 3-hour story into a 10-hour story. It’s one of my special talents – more on that in a bit as well.
Skyword
$4000
Four 1000-word articles for a Skyword project that’s new to me. I used to do a lot of work for Skyword but haven’t in recent years. While the tech topic is one I know very well – 5G – the industry for this month’s project was new to me – mining and oil/gas – so each article took me about 5 to 6 hours instead of my estimated 2 to 3, which still worked out to a $175 to $200 hourly rate.
Agency D
$3,950
Ten web pages for a tech company that needed rewriting. I got this project when the owner of the agency reached out to me last summer on LinkedIn. This project ended up being a huge time suck and stressful experience (more on this later). I earned about $100 to $150 an hour, which is lower than I normally get, but still respectable.
Direct Client 1
$1200
Two articles that are 800 words each with no interviews. The client provides me with a transcript of a webinar/podcast or a detailed outline. Each post takes me about 2 to 3 hours, which gives me an hourly rate of about $200 to $300. This is my second month working for this client and I’m hoping they turn into an anchor client. They asked me to write 2 posts a month and would love to increase the volume.
Total Earnings for January 2023: $14,950
My goal income for each month is at least $15K (which ends up being $180K for the year). But I’d prefer to make $16,666, which puts me on track for $200K. But most Januarys I’m lucky to break five figures. So I consider this a record-breaking January and I’m on track for my goals instead of starting off behind as I do most years.
What Worked for Me in January
- Checking in with clients: I got my January work for Agency A lined up in December so I was able to jump right in and get started after the holiday, which meant no waiting around. I also checked in with my clients in early January and also at the end of the month. While none of my work in January is from those check-in’s, I got work lined up for February that way.
- Keeping profiles active on Skyword and Contently: I hadn’t worked for Skyword in years, but I still update my profile every few months. It takes me just a few minutes. And it paid off. I got put on a Skyword project in December that will hopefully continue.
- Working ahead: I am a procrastinator by nature. I work hard to not start a story on the day it’s due. And this month, I did a really good job of working a day or two ahead, which really reduces my stress.
What Didn’t Work for Me in January
- Taking a job with a nitty-picky template: Oh my goodness, when will I ever learn? Based on my track record, NEVER. I will never learn. I’ve shared before that I’m not very detail oriented. So every time I get a client that has a very detailed template, meaning 20 to 30 different sections each with a different character requirement, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. It’s just not my strength and never will be. I am always going to suck at these projects, no matter how hard I try.
Once again. templates and I did not get along and I spent way too long on the project, but even then client wasn’t happy. They politely told me that they didn’t have any more work to assign, which I know isn’t true since I can see the spreadsheet. I likely lost a good agency client, which stinks, when I could have kept the client and asked off the project right away.
- Falling prey to imposter syndrome: The editor for Agency C Project 1 did a fair amount of rewriting on the first article I wrote in January, which was actually my first for the client. So I of course decided I sucked as a writer. And then I proceeded to spend three entire days on the next article, which was utterly ridiculous. The editor ended up really liking my second article. But it wasn’t because the extra time made it better – most of the extra time was me staring at the screen or playing on Facebook to avoid writing. I also figured out that the editor just likes to rewrite everybody’s work, so he didn’t think anything of the level of revisions and neither should I in the future.
- Letting my work fill the available time: January was much less busy than November and December in terms of the number of projects. But I actually worked pretty much the same number of hours. Yes, I know that’s utterly ridiculous. I have a bad habit of letting whatever amount of work I have take as long as I have available. Because the weather was bad and I had a cold most of January, I didn’t go on hikes, which meant I had more time to work. I am planning on signing up for more hikes in February and making plans with friends, which force me to be work more efficiently.
- Taking work outside my niche: I am not a oil/gas or mining writer. And I’m not an expert in drones. I learned a lot about these topics for my Skyword articles. But it took a long time and was stressful. And it isn’t a topic I want to develop a niche in so these clips were just about the money for me. I am hoping that next month’s assignments for this project are in a different niche, but if not I’ll probably have to let the editor know that these topics aren’t my strength.
Looking Ahead to February
Even with the news of the layoffs and budget cuts, my February is looking pretty good right now. But I know that could all change tomorrow with the way things are right now. I already have $12,350 already booked for February, which is super high for me this early in the month since I tend to book up week by week. But I have the $3K a month work from Agency A now to count on plus I landed $5K in work from another project with Agency B along with a few odds and end projects.
I also have three potential new clients that I talked to in the last week that I hope to work with in February. One already booked me for a first project and I’m hoping to hear from the other two in the next week. But on the negative side, one of the contacts at a newish client got laid off today, so we will see how that plays out.
I’m happy with how 2023 is starting off. And I feel a bit less nervous with my February books than I did a few weeks ago. I plan to keep marketing and stay in touch with my clients as I hope for the best with the current uncertainty.
How was your January? What did you do well in January and what could you have done differently?
Congrats on a great month!
Thanks so much for being so real and discussing and elaborating on “what didn’t work.” I say that as someone who can very much relate, so it helps me to know that someone I consider a virtual mentor has similar challenges to what I face. I really appreciate your openness since it’s so easy to hide behind the computer and be a different person.
Have a great weekend!
I’m happy to share all the ways I screw up. I think it’s important for people to be honest so we don’t each feel alone. I’m really glad you found it so helpful.
Congrats on a super-successful start of the year! I also had a great January. Usually, that is the slowest month for me.
One thing that worked for me was to load up in December. I brought projects over for January, both to work on and to bill.
I did the same thing. And it really helped. I’m glad you had a good January as well!
That’s incredible, Jennifer! Thank you for sharing. I’m curious about expenses. Would you like to share?
Yes, I”m happy to share. My expenses for January were $2153, which is about norma for me. I spent$1248 on proofreading (I’m a terrible typo queen so I don’t submit anything without going through a proofreader first), $740 on virtual assistant and $165 on transcription. I’ll update the post with that information.
Hi Jennifer,
I have a profile on Contently and my recent work is published there, though I haven’t updated lately. However, I’ve never received one single nibble from Contently. How does it work? Also, I know nothing about Skyword. Maybe you could write a blog post on these two platforms if it would help others as well
First of all, God bless you for letting us into your head this way! It’s more helpful than you know!
And your third point concerning “what didn’t work” actually has a name. It’s called Parkinson’s Law.” And i definitely suffer from it as well!
Last but not least…Jennifer, I SO want to sign up for your course!! But when I click the link, your system is asking me for a password. I’ve tried all my email addresses, but the system doesn’t recognize any of them. Any tips? I am really, REALLY interested!!!
P.S. Okay I lied, my last comment wasn’t last. What did you mean “sign up” for hikes. Don’t you just go on a hike? ;o)
I’m so glad you find it helpful! And great to know there is a name!
You don’t need a password – just scroll down and hit the green button that says checkout.
Good questions. Nope, I sign up for meetup hikes. I can put it off if I am just going by myself, but if I sign up for a meet up group hike then you have to go or you get kicked out.
It’s me again. I can’t edit my last comment, but I figured it out. I was too impatient and didn’t realize I needed to scroll down on the page. So, I’m in!
This is a great breakdown. I have nothing to add specifically but can say that despite bad headlines about jobs and the economy, I also had a great January (I billed $13,000), and February is shaping up to be the same.
That’s great you are having a similar experience. I’m holding my breath and keeping marketing just in case things slow down for me. I think that in many cases layoffs are positive for freelancers because the marketing still needs to get done.
Congratulations. I’m still contemplating on how to earn that much money.
Hi Maurice, It’s very possible to earn this amount of money. Many writers are earning this or more each month. It’s about finding a profitable niche and being persistent.
This is both extremely inspiring and a little depressing… I work my backside off, but I’m nowhere near such clients. :/. Still very glad to know the details of how it can look when done right. Thanks for the financial “autopsy!”
Hi Jennifer, I hope you focus on the inspiration part of it. The reason that I make a high income is that I found out other people were making 100k or 200K and I realized it was possible. And if they could do it then there is no reason that I shouldn’t be doing the same.
Have you done this exercise https://www.jennifergregorywriter.com/2023/01/04/taking-stock-of-your-clients-for-2023/ I suspect that you likely have clients paying a lower hourly rate in a project rate that you need to drop for higher paying. Or that you have a lower paying niche that you need to develop a more higher paying. I think you are a member of the FB group. Feel free to start a post in there to get some ideason how to increase your income.
Thanks, Jennifer… I love the FB group, I learn a ton there. I try not to spam the group, but I will do what you suggest. & I do need to focus on the inspiration, and it helps to look at how far I’ve managed to get so far. It wasn’t simple, but I did more than I expected to pretty early.
You’re right about my clients… I have learned how to be selective, and it has tremendously reduced my stress levels. You can’t put a price on that. I just need to snag one or two more good ones, though that’s easier said than done.
Thank you for publicly sharing your challenges, it really helps to know that we’re not alone and that we cant win them all, always look forward to your very insightful/informative posts!
Thank you for this, Jennifer. You are always so generous. This is so helpful.
Thanks, Jennifer, for posting so many helpful details. I’d be interested in also hearing how you used the virtual assistant and whether you do that on a regular basis.
Thanks for the reminder about Skyword, Jennifer – I used to write for them years ago, and have just logged in and updated my profile as well. Fingers crossed!
And good luck making it to your $16,666 monthly goal in Feb 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve earned and what you know. It’s comforting to read that even at your experience level, there are some things that don’t always go to plan. I’ve had a fairly successful first 18 months in business, but this month I’m experiencing major “imposter” syndrome!
Even when you use clients that don’t really suit you, it still stings! You have to pull yourself out of that “this is personal” mindset. Ugh!
Had a recent weird moment with a client recently… the whole relationship had been decent up until this, very lucrative, but everything went straight down the drain in one evening for reasons I still can’t fathom. Not sure what happened, other than that it was definitely not work-related.
Sometimes other people just have meltdowns of their own and due to nothing but proximity, we get some of it on us. Try to shake it off and remember your wins. People are the hardest part of ANY job. We all get a little better as we go…
Hi Jennifer,
That’s great and thanks for sharing. Real nice start to the year. Hoping to catch a groove even though the world is in a tough spot. Some consistency in client acquisition will be nice.
Take care.
Jay