In 2017 I finally took the plunge, to express myself in words — a burning desire that had consumed my childhood dreams.

I was way past the age of adventure-seeking, in my twilight thirties. I was committed to stability. Writing wasn’t just a hobby, but a life and death commitment I would do this to my last breath.

And I wasn’t doing it for egocentric reasons, I had a message, to succeed despite the odds, to learn from the best, and become the best.

That’s every writer’s dream, mostly forgotten in the backwoods of daily grind, fighting over scraps on writing mills. Platforms that milk writers’ blood for pennies. I was a victim, feeding an insatiable industry of low-paying content pirates, determined to milk me dry and watch my children starve to death.

And that’s the sad reality of many freelance writers starting out on penny-paying, bloodsucking soulless writing platforms. I was a victim, then I wasn’t, and that’s what this article is about.

It’s about how to find a boatload of potential well-paying clients and finally strike gold in your writing career.

Learn from industry leaders

But first I had to learn from the best. Tim Denning’s advice, How I Made More than $1M from Writing Online in 8 Years was worth its weight in gold, I gulped down every morsel, and hungered for more.

Tim is generous, he shares strategies, dos, and don’ts, and pointing willing pilgrims to a writing nirvana few knew existed. Soon, his articles were my favorite reads.

It wasn’t just Tim, Adoneji Awosika’s insightful content, articulating growth ideas, and providing actionable takeaways, especially in his article, I Built Six Figure Writing Business. You Can Too. Here’s How. Left me drooling for success.

I wanted to join the big league. But it wasn’t going to be easy, I had to carve a path for myself, through the woods.

You see not every piece of advice works for everybody. I had to apply what I learned to my unique circumstances and personality.

The advice you need to succeed

As a writer you have a choice, to spend your time working on low-paying gigs, or write for free both options will leave you feeling discouraged, frustrated, and used.

But I have a third option, a strategy that worked for me when I finally grasped that I wasn’t just a writer but an entrepreneur in the writing business.

When it dawned on me, that I wasn’t condemned to tread the poverty treadmill churning out content for low-paying blood-sucking vampires.

That’s when I realized I could sell my services for top dollar — to willing buyers, who had a budget and had no problem paying for quality writing.

And that’s what I’m going to show you.

How to escape the noose of bottom feeder rates and live your pipe dream writing for large paying clients.

Here is how to do it:

Change your mindset

You can land reputable clients, but first, you need a change of mindset, because whether you think freelance writing is a land of unlimited opportunities or a barren wasteland, you are right.

For as you perceive in your heart — in this case mind- so you are that’s what Napoleon Hill wrote, and that’s what the good book says.

Search and zero in on target clients

Signing up well-paying clients takes commitment and continuous searching. You need to start looking for work in the right places.

If you write for businesses, target bigger companies research revenue, and find out who they are.

Move up from who you’ve been writing for, and find companies within your target range.

For example, if you’ve been writing for $1 million revenue businesses with one store or office, try $10 million businesses with multiple locations.

Here is How to search for your ideal businesses

Use annual revenue as a guide:

Companies with $10 million or more in revenue pay better rates, but may at first look scary to approach.

That’s because some of the companies are Fortune 500, but here is my advice don’t be intimidated, and don’t feel like you can’t write for them.

They hire freelancers when they see value — package and present your value to them (more on this later)

Pitch to brick-and-mortar companies selling products and services.

Brick and Mortar businesses are often ignored by copy and content writers.

But, do you want to know something? they too are constantly looking for ways to get customers to buy their products. They wouldn’t mind a proposal that will get more customers walking in through their doors.

Zero in on Longevity

Lastly, look for how long they have been around, established startups have been in business for more than five years, have established systems and built enough cash flow, have a marketing budget, and can comfortably pay for your services.

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise — Create a Website!

There is an interesting story about the Lion, — one day the Hare asked the Lion why every animal in the jungle feared him:

The hare was like; “Why do they call you the King of the Jungle, yet you are neither the strongest — the elephant is, neither are you the fastest — the cheetah is, nor are you the shrewdest because the leopard is- tell me why do all animals in Jungle fear you?”

The Lion thought for a while and responded, “It’s true, I’m neither the strongest, the fastest nor the shrewdest,” He looked at the hare conspiratorial and said, “you want to know why they call me the King of the Jungle?”

The Hare was like “yes, yes! please tell me”

The Lion looked at him and said, “it’s because I advertise, I roar, my roar is so fierce that it fills every animal with fear and soon they all become lunch!”

Before you can think of signing up large paying clients, you need to roar, you need to advertise, and you need a website, Social Media presence and a platform to advertise your services.

Create a website that tells your prospective client what you do and why you can help them.

Leverage Your Strengths

Then you need to work on your strengths. Here is another anecdote about the Lion;

A single Lion may not Kill an Elephant but a pride of Lions will bring down any prey they choose to, no matter how large, or ferocious the prey may be.

Take a step back and think through your writing process, can you give quality services to several large paying clients? Or will you need to collaborate with other writers, do you need to build a team, to guarantee your client’s timely deliveries?

It’s crucial to know your strengths and your support base. You need to know the services you are most comfortable offering, is it article writing, blog posts, white papers, eBooks, or a combo of everything.

Ask and get to know why you are the best suited to offer these services to your clients. Revisit your past portfolio, where have you been focusing most of your efforts? And how you will upscale these services if you were to get 10 or 20 large paying clients?

Who should you target, are they medium startups? or established corporations? what industries are you most comfortable writing for?

The more clarity you can bring to the table about your type of customers the easier it will be to find them.

Analyze to identify your ideal clients

There are two types of profiles:

1. Aspiration-based –These clients are a perfect fit but aren’t looking for you. Like the Lion, work on your strengths, your interests, and personal goals.

For example, do you love motorsport? why not write for them, or do you love nature walks? Are you a world traveler? or are you a medical Doctor passionate about writing about what goes on in your world? Seek companies and organizations that mirror your interest, and bring your expertise.

2. Client-based — the second way to find well-paying large clients is to focus on the client, create a client profile that merges with your interests get to know who they are, their industry, annual revenue, employees count, online presence, and their technological adaptation.

Use this information to Zero in on the prospective client. Build a profile of who you want to target. It could be location-based, technology, or industry-based,

For example, you may live in New York and want to work with local mid-sized companies with 50 to 500 employees operating in advanced technology like AI.

These then become your niche. Build your profile to meet these groups’ expectations, write articles, and join forums that will set you up as an expert in this niche.

How to market your unique writing skill set

Now that you have your ideal client, it’s time to roar;

• Become invasive, publish guest posts on other authority websites., mostly in places your prospective clients hang out.
• Show case studies on your website, and list specific services focused on helping this group of clients.
• Publish thoughtful, well-researched, relevant content on industry publications, and attract them to your website and social media profiles.
• Think about podcasts. Podcasts have an established audience, and they are usually interested in getting new perspectives on their topics. Find podcasts that air in your industry and Pitch yourself as a guest speaker.
• There is no shortage of forums online — join and participate in as many forums and groups as you can. The more people recognize you, the higher the likelihood that new clients will come looking for your services.
• Join as many online relevant groups as possible, participate in conversations, answer questions on Quora, connect with others, and establish yourself as an authority. The more active you become, the bigger your brand will be, and the easier it will be to attract large paying clients.
• Go offline, Search for the right events, and get out there and network. Even if you don’t win clients right away — at the least, you will learn new ideas and skills that will help your business grow.
• Lastly, speak or become a panelist at events Reach out to the organizers of the events and request to speak.
• Some of your potential clients attend these events. When they see that you are openly sharing your expertise their trust automatically goes up
• When giving speeches or presentations always include a way for your prospective clients to find you or reach you. It could either be on your website or social media.

Focus on Value Not Price

When your first customer walks in through the door or shoots an email, it’s time to sell value and not price. Let them know the value you will bring to the table.

Avoid mistakes rookie freelancers make, — they fear losing the customer and shot themselves in the foot by undercutting their price.

Let the client know how much value they will be getting by hiring your services, then cost the services.

Build a team

You are an entrepreneur, build a team.

I watched a documentary, Buffaloes killing a male lion, he was big all grown up with a full mane, but he had made the mistake of attacking a buffalo in a herd alone. That mistake cost him his life.

In the same documentary, a pride of Lions zeroed on a buffalo from the herd, and they successfully had lunch as the herd watched.

Do not be a one-person show, large paying clients are process-oriented, and have established workflows. They expect you to have support systems.

Secondly, they expect professionalism.

Build an infrastructure, a support system that will help you secure their projects. The scope of the project may sometimes extend beyond your core competencies and skill set.

Collaborate with other writers — hire or retain them for projects.

Your prospective clients want to see a detailed proposal and scope of work To speed up the proposal process have some templates ready to edit and use.

Outsource tasks to organizations or people who have the skillset. For example, outsources a bookkeeper to help you invoice and follow up on payments.

Let low-paying clients go

Now that you are joining the big league, it’s time for some housekeeping, — get rid of Low-paying Clients

It’s time to shift your business model from a bottom feeder to chasing down large-paying clients. Small clients will make it harder for you to manage your large clients.

You have limited time and energy, and you can’t work for everyone. Make a decision about which clients you want to work with and which ones you should let go of.

Instead of pleasing every client, it might be better to focus your energy where the greatest amount of butter is coming from, — focus on working with a few large clients.

One last thing

Now that you have your first client, focus on making them happy. Give them your best.

Strive to do everything to absolute perfection. Go the extra mile on research, and write the best that you can. Spend time writing effective headlines, and constantly work to wow the reader.

You never know who else will see your work, and besides, that’s how you get a constant stream of large-paying clients.

 

This article was first published Here: Uncommon Ways Writers get large paying clients (you should use them too)

 

Sources and further reading:

https://www.hellobonsai.com/blog/how-to-get-freelance-writing-clients

https://wpastra.com/guides-and-tutorials/win-high-paying-clients/

https://vitaldollar.com/high-paying-freelance-writing-clients/