I’ve been a content writer for almost a decade. I’ve worked with different types of clients – low ballers, high-paying but demanding clients, low-paying but kind ones, and so on. For years, I’ve been dreaming of the day when I’ll have premium clients so I can do more of the things I love – writing as myself, teaching, cooking, and watching Netflix all night.
And I’d say I cracked the code. Because now, I can charge premium rates as a content writer.
So how did I do it? Below are nine tips, in no particular order.
9 Golden Tips to Be a Highly-Paid Content Writer
1. Choose a market
I was a generalist when I was just starting. I wrote on different topics for different markets – car wash, franchising, business, finance, baby supplies, health supplements, diets, yoga, meditation, etc.
Can you imagine the time I spent reading up on the different brands and audience personas? I was like an actress going from script to script, screenplay to screenplay. And – I had to transition from one voice to another, several times a day!
Thanks to John Pagulayan and The Freelance Movement Tribe for changing my mindset and helping me figure out which market to serve.
And I tell you – it’s a lot easier when you write about a couple of markets only. And since you become so familiar with the language, the brand, and the audience, you develop an authoritative voice that prospects would love to pay for.
2. Optimize your online profiles
Picture this: you’re in a grocery store with rows upon rows of different brands of canned goods. Which one are you going to pick? Probably the most attention-grabbing one. Yes, visuals play an essential part, my friend, so choose a photo that best represents you professionally. Uhm, no pictures of you wearing that scintillating hot bikini, please!
But wait – there’s more!
If you’re a more meticulous buyer who won’t mind paying more, you won’t just grab the product and put it in your shopping cart since it’s pricier than the others, right? You’ll read the label and fine print carefully, probably even Google for product reviews.
It’s the same for most premium clients. They search for you online. So better beef up all your online profiles, from LinkedIn to Facebook, to job platforms like Upwork. Because nothing is more convincing than profiles that show what you do, along with testimonials or recommendations from other professionals or clients you’ve worked with.
Once you’re done with this, do tip #3.
3.Be a visible content writer
“Mamu, I’ve already optimized my profile, but I still don’t have premium clients.”
I get a lot of this every single day.
When I ask if they’re posting about their work online, some of them say, “I’m too shy,” or “My family and friends might think I’m too loud!”
And some say, “Oh yes, Mamu, I post adorable pictures of my cat, the delicious snacks I’m eating, and the places I’ve been.”
Reality check – clients don’t care about all your cute cat photos – NOT AT ALL. They want to see how you work, how you deal with people, among others.
By visibility, I mean to be visible with a purpose. Show the results you’ve had with a client. Did you boost his sales? Increased traffic to his website? Post a screenshot. Did he praise you for your excellent work? Post your conversation.
Why? Because posts like these position you as an expert or at least show the world that you know what you’re doing.
And don’t forget to create value posts. Pack them with helpful tips your readers can use to improve their business.
4. Widen your network and…
When I say widen your network, I mean include fellow freelancers and friends of your friends. Build good, meaningful relationships. Don’t be obnoxious or judgmental. Just be helpful.
For example, my first two premium clients came from friends’ referrals. These are people I’ve given a piece of advice or two or helped one way or another.
And since they always see what I do on social media, my name is their top of mind for content writing. Sweet, isn’t it?
And once you have your premium clients, do your best. Make them happy. They can turn into long-term clients who can also be a source of referrals.
5. Propose a solution
When I was just a newbie content writer, I was far too happy receiving hourly rates – $5 – $15 already sounded good to me. But as you go along, you’ll find out that you can write faster and more effectively. This means you can finish what you’ve been charging $10/ hour at half the time. Ergo, you’re slashing your pay in half.
Now, what I do is ask the prospect to hop on a call or chat with me. This way, I can help him figure out what his single most important challenge is. Does he need more traffic to his website? Isn’t he getting enough leads and sales?
Then I create a proposal stating all the phases we need to do to solve his issues.
Now, if you were the client, who would you hire? Someone who charges you per hour, or one who proposes to solve your problems?
I guess you know what the answer is. 🙂
6. Reach out to people who can enrich your knowledge
So you’ve been writing for as long as you can remember?
That’s great!
But writing online, specifically content writing, is a different kind of animal.
There’s so much to learn.
Yes, you can Google everything you want to learn, but the shortcut is – to find mentors.
Go ahead and reach out. Stalk them if you will. Like and share their posts. Ask questions. They might not be able to reply to you immediately, but they will.
For example, when I was still thinking about creating The Ben Button Content Writing Course, I sought my mentors’ help – Ms. Janette Toral, John Pagulayan, and Miguel Campaner.
Ms. Janette pushed me to create the course. John referred me to people who can help me out and, at the same time, lent his experience. Miguel? Well, he’s the guy who gave the name “Ben Button” to my course!
See what reaching out to the right people can do?
7. Sharpen the saw
Writing good content isn’t something you can master overnight. You’ll have to practise a lot. Do you have to practice writing only?
No. Content writing is more than typing sentences on your word processor.
You have to plan it, do thorough research, perform competitor and keyword research, create outlines, draft the content, write, edit, and revise it.
If you want premium rates, you should add these skills to your content writing arsenal. Some of them may take time to learn. But that’s okay, considering the rewards you’ll get down the line.
And another tip – don’t focus your reading on the topics mentioned above. How to do SEO or how to create compelling headlines are good reads, but to be a better writer, you have to read a wide variety of genres.
Read self-help books. I recommend Atomic Habits, Intentional Living, and Today Matters.
Read novels too. Ever held on to every word in a John Grisham, Tom Clancy, or Dan Brown book, so much so it was difficult to put it down? Let them inspire you to write attention-grabbing, thought-provoking content!
8. Invest in the right tools
If you want to take your career to the next level, you’ll have to pay for the right tools. Tools that can make your writing life more manageable. Some of these tools have free versions. Try them out.
Here’s a list of the tools I pay for:
- Grammarly – for correcting minor writing mistakes
- Ubersuggest – for keyword research
- Zoom – for meeting with clients and students
- Google Drive – for storing files online
- OutreachBin – for sending cold emails to prospects
- Mailerlite – for emailing students
- Hostgator – for hosting this website, haha!
9. Add to your offer
And finally, if you want to be a content writer who charges higher rates, add some services to your offer.
For example, instead of content writing alone, why not offer content strategy too? Or you can provide social media marketing to amplify your prospect’s content. Or add email marketing.
Just ensure you can deliver on whatever promises you make for a longer-lasting, beneficial relationship with your client.
There you have it – my nine golden tips on how you can charge premium rates. You can use and abuse them. Good luck!
Do you want to learn how to be a highly paid content writer? Check out The Ben Button Content Writing Course. It has everything you need to start a content writing career.