How to Get Freelance Writing Jobs and Make Six Figures Yearly

Freelance writing can be an incredibly lucrative career if you know where to find clients and charge profitable rates. In just a few years, I’ve gone from struggling to find any writing gigs to earning over KSh1 million annually from freelance writing.

Below I outline the exact strategies I’ve used to land high-paying freelance writing jobs and hit six figures in annual income.

If you’re looking to get started or take your freelance writing career to the next level, this guide will show you how.

Build a Portfolio of Writing Samples

The most important thing when starting out is having a strong portfolio that shows clients the quality and range of your writing abilities. Here are some tips for developing a kick-ass portfolio:

• Write 3-5 samples in your niche like technology, finance, health, etc. Make them around 1000-1500 words each.
• Show off different formats – include copywriting samples, blog posts, SEO articles, social media posts, etc.
• Highlight top skills – infographics, research, interviews, editing, etc.
• Pick best work – only include your highest quality pieces. No filler.
• Make it look sharp – visually polish samples. Easy to navigate and read.
• ** Publish samples** – add them to a personal blog or sites like Medium. Include live links in portfolio.

I spent months curating a portfolio that highlighted my finance and tech writing. This gave me pieces to share with clients when applying to writing jobs.

Learn In-Demand Skills

Expand your skillset beyond just writing. Many high-paying writing jobs require additional abilities:

• SEO writing – optimize articles for search engines. Weave in keywords naturally.
• Research – dig up data, statistics, expert interviews to form a solid basis for articles.
• Topic specialization – develop deep expertise in finance, crypto, SaaS, healthcare, etc.
• Tools – learn markup languages like Markdown. Know basics of Grammarly, Google Analytics, SEMRush.

I invested time learning SEO best practices, researching complex topics, and sharpening my finance knowledge. This made me much more hireable.

Find Freelance Writing Job Opportunities in Kenya

Once you have a rock-solid portfolio and skillset, it’s time to start finding job opportunities. The best places to look include:

• Problogger job board – Great source of vetted clients hiring writers. I landed my first big client here.
• Contena – Database of thousands of writing jobs from top companies worldwide.
• Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr – Freelance networks listing writing projects. Need to weed through junk but can find gems.
• LinkedIn – Connect with editors, content managers, marketing directors. Pitch yourself rather than just applying to job posts.
• Twitter – Follow top writers and publications in your niche. Engage and network with them.
• Job boards – Flexjobs, SolidGigs, Remote.co, AngelList. Search for “content writer”.
• Direct pitches – Pitch yourself to brands directly through website contact forms and cold emails.

I used a mix of job boards, freelance networks, social media, and direct pitches to source work early on.

Pitch Clients and Apply to Writing Jobs

Once you find open writing jobs, stand out by pitching clients tailored proposals:

• Address them – “Hi [name], I saw your post on [site] and think I’d be a great fit to write for [brand].” Customize each pitch.
• Hook them quickly – Summarize your expertise and achievements in a sentence or two at the top.
• Highlight portfolio – Provide links to 3 relevant writing samples.
• List skills – Mention your specialized knowledge, credentials, experience.
• Explain your process – How you research, interview, optimize, deliver, etc.
• Quote rates – Give pricing aligned to value you’ll provide. Offer options.
• Be personable – Show enthusiasm and interest in their brand. Ask questions.
• Follow up – If you don’t hear back in 3 days, send a polite follow up.

I send dozens of pitches weekly to land jobs. It’s a numbers game, but great clients do notice passionate proposals.

Negotiate Rates and Sign Contracts

Once a client wants to hire you, negotiate fair rates and sign detailed contracts before starting work:

• Quote your rates – Price based on value, not hours. Avoid low-ball bids just to win work.
• Be flexible – Offer per word, per post, and package pricing options.
• Ask about budget – “What budget range do you have in mind for this project?”
• Sell your expertise – Politely explain why your skills merit higher pricing.
• Prioritize long-term clients – Offer discounts for recurring work vs. one-off gigs.
• Sign contracts – Formal agreements protect both parties.
• Require 50% upfront – Get deposit before you start writing to avoid payment issues.
• Use escrow for big projects – Sites like SafeChain let you safely hold funds during project.

I made the mistake early on of not signing contracts and getting stiffed on payment. Now I treat freelancing like a business.

Deliver Incredible Work

Once hired, overdeliver and make yourself invaluable:

• Ask lots of questions – Make sure you completely understand project goals, guidelines, tone, audience.
• Thoroughly research – Dive deep into the topic using expert sources. Back up all key points.
• Interview people – Get quotes that support the article narrative.
• Send outline first – Let client review topical structure before writing full draft.
• Send drafts in stages – E.g. share intro first, then body section by section.
• Use readability tools – Like the Hemingway App to improve clarity.
• Check SEO – Optimize and include target keywords.
• Proofread thoroughly – Double check stats, facts, links, headers, etc.
• Format cleanly – Use Markdown, bullet points, tables, etc. to make readable.
• Meet deadlines – Take on work you can complete on schedule.

By overdelivering and making the writing process seamless, I built a reputation and loyal client base that kept assigning me more work.

Streamline Your Operations

Manage your freelance writing like a real business:

• Track taxes – Keep records of income and deductions. Use an accountant.
• Get invoices paid – Use PayPal, Wise, M-PESA. Send reminders if unpaid.
• Automate billing – Use tools like Freshbooks to track time and auto-send invoices.
• Build a team – Hire assistants for research, formatting, editing to scale.
• Create contracts – Use templates from sites like Shake. Keep both parties protected.
• Have clients sign NDAs – Ensure confidentiality when writing about sensitive topics.
• Get business insurance – Covers liability if you accidentally misreport information. Gives clients peace of mind.
• Be professional – Treat this like a business. Stay organized. Communicate clearly.

Systems I implemented allowed me to manage many clients seamlessly as a one-person operation.

Make Six Figures and Beyond as a Freelance Writer

If you stick to these strategies, you can realistically expect to:

• Earn KSh5,000-10,000 per article as a beginner.
• Hit KSh50,000 per month within your first year.
• Make KSh500,000-1 million per year once established.
• Charge KSh100,000+ per long project as top tier expert.
• Earn multi-millions per year by managing a team and scaling.

It won’t happen overnight, but by relentlessly honing your portfolio, skills, and process, the income potential as a freelance writer is immense. The work is flexible, challenging, and immensely rewarding.

I can’t imagine doing any other career. I get paid to learn and write every day from anywhere in the world. Freelance writing has been the perfect profession for achieving location independence and financial freedom.

Hopefully this guide gave you tactics to land your first writing jobs and build a lucrative freelance writing career. Just stick with it, never stop improving, and six figures can absolutely be a reality.

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