8 Steps to Make Money as a Content Marketing Writer
Updated October 16, 2023 – This post was originally published almost 10 years ago. Since that time, I’ve published hundreds of blog posts, written a book, and accomplished a lot of other things. I dug up this old post to give it a long overdue update so it now includes many, many valuable pieces of advice I’ve shared on my blog over the last 10 years. If you’re completely new to content marketing writing or freelancing in general, or if you’ve been at it a while and need to breathe some new life into your business, I’m glad you’re here and I hope you’ll find these links helpful.
Here is what you need to know about becoming a content marketing writer:
1. Identify your niches.
- What is a Niche and Why You Need One for Content Marketing Writing
- How to Quickly Find Your Niche as a Content Marketing Writer
- Can Generalists Land High-paying Content Marketing Work?
- How to Add a New Niche to Your Content Marketing Writing
2. Determine a list of brands/agencies needing content for your niches.
- The Audience First Method of Brainstorming Potential Clients
- 3 Potential Content Marketing Clients that are Not Your Radar
- Find a Content Marketing Writing Gig on the Job Boards
- 3 Secrets to Finding Long Term Clients
- How to Land National Brands as Content Marketing Writing Clients
- How to Land Freelance Writing Work with Content Marketing Agencies
3. Write a letter of introduction (LOI) about your experience in the niche.
- My Five(ish) Sentence Letter of Introduction
- The One Sentence Every Content Marketing Writer Needs to Write to Land the Job
- 5 Secrets to Writing an LOI that Gets You the Job
- Customizing your LOI for Multiple Niches
- Why I Don’t Heavily Personalize Cold LOIs
- 7 Steps to Reaching Out to Potential Clients with LOIs
- How to Find the Best Contact for Your LOI
4. Find your perfect clients.
- 5 Steps to Finding Freelance Content Marketing Writing Clients
- More Advice on How to Find Potential Clients
- One Thing I Always Do Before Meeting with a Potential Client
- 5 Questions to Ask Every Potential Client
- Turning Down a Client: Creating Your Red Flag List
- Asking for Referrals from Current Clients
- How to Ask for Work from Current and Past Clients
- 9 Things to Do to Land Freelance Writing Work
- Should You Look for New Clients During the Holiday Season?
- How LinkedIn’s “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” Feature Landed Me a Great New Client
- How to Walk Away from a Low-paying Potential Client
5. Negotiate the pay rate.
- What is the Typical Rate for Content Marketing Writing?
- Setting Your Content Marketing Writing Rates
- 8 Things to Consider When Determining How Long a Piece of Content Will Take
- How to Get the Best Pay Rate: By Word, Project or Hour
- Should You Create a Rate Card?
- How to Ask for a Higher Rate When Negotiating With a New Client
- Negotiation Strategy #1: Always Ask For More Money
- Negotiation Strategy #2: Reduce the Scope
6. Create amazing content for your clients.
- Three Things You Need to Know About Your Target Audience for Content Marketing Writing
- 5 Questions to Ask Before You Start Writing
- Reducing the Never-ending Loop of Revision Cycles
- 5 Tips for Writing Content Marketing Headlines
- Advice for Writing Better Conclusions
- Why I Offer Unlimited Revisions
7. Continue to market your content marketing writing services.
- How to Create a Marketing Plan for Your Freelance Content Writing Business
- 80+ Marketing Activities for Freelance Content Marketing Writers
- 3 Silent Ways to Market Your Content Marketing Writing Business
- 5 Important Elements of Your Content Marketing Writing Website
- 3 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Increase Your Content Marketing Income
- The Importance of Following Up: How I got Two $1 Gigs This Week
- You’re Leaving Money on the Table if You Don’t Follow Up
8. Build better business processes and sharpen your skills.
- 5 Goals You Should Set for Your Freelance Content Marketing Writing Business
- Improve your Productivity with AI Tools
- Increase your Content Marketing Writing Income by Outsourcing
- What to Know About Working with a Virtual Assistant
- How to Reduce your Financial Risk of Losing a Client
- Start Your Own Mastermind Group for Freelance Writers
- How to Refer Work to Other Writers
- Tackling Tough Client Conversations
- How to Raise Your Rates with Existing Clients
- How to Ask for a Recommendation or Testimonial
- 3 Ways to Increase Your Income Without Raising Your Rates or Working More Hours
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Thank you so much! I’m new to content marketing and this is a gold mine. I so appreciate this and I look forward to reading more. 🙂
Hello Jennifer,
I am taking an online course on finding writing markets. I’m particularly interested in becoming a freelance content marketer. I’m new to the idea of this as a career focus but up for the challenge. I found your upbeat blog (Googled) on the way in which you build your brand–and make a good income as well! I’d like to receive your weekly blog. Thank you! Pat
Jennifer, the “The Audience First Method of Brainstorming Potential Clients” article is coming up as a 404 error on my end.
Can you retry? I just checked it and it was working. I didn’t change anything on this end.
It’s coming up as ‘sorry that page doesn’t exist’ for me too.
I just checked again and got the error.
Thank you so much for your help.