You want to be smiling like the lady above, but you’re tired.
One month you’re earning a lot online, enjoying life and paying all your bills.
Another month you earn much less.
…and another, almost nothing.
In short, one month feast, another month famine.
It’s easy to blame such things on many known or unknown forces.
However, it’s wise to fix things to do with YOU that can make a difference. Use these tips to finally get out of the feast or famine cycle. To finally be able to mostly earn the same, or even more, in each coming month.
1. Stop overdepending on online work accounts
Whenever someone tells me that their online income is inconsistent, I almost always rightly guess they’re overdepending on some online work account.
Here I’m talking about accounts like Upwork, SpeechPad, Rev, PeoplePerHour, name it.
It’s okay to work on these accounts. However, the point here is not to overdepend on them.
This means that you can use them when starting out. They can help you pay some bills. They can help you get your feet wet in online work. But…
Here are 3 quick reasons why you shouldn’t overdepend on them
First: You’re forced to follow their rules, even those ridiculous ones
For example, Upwork nowadays randomly autorejects profiles.
It charges 20% fees to freelancers earning between $1 and $500 with a client, which is above the 10% fees that used to be there.
It suspends people who send too many proposals without getting jobs.
If you only work in such in Upwork, you have to keep following their rules, both the good and the bad.
And yes, let’s cut them some slack; there are some great things that have happened there. Such as the introduction of M-PESA a few years ago, and the fact that it still has high paying, amazing clients.
However, to be absolutely honest, they once in a while come up with ridiculous rules.
Second: You confine yourself between specific pay ranges
This may also not be such a bit problem if you’re starting from the bottom.
However, once you’ve been working for a while and you’re already earning something, this becomes a big problem.
Check this out:
Freelancer A starts at, say, SpeechPad, where they earn a certain amount per audio hour of transcription. With that, they only earn a maximum of $1,000 per month.
Freelancer B decides to branch out and get higher paying clients. They grow from clients paying the same amount as SpeechPad. However, as their skills and expertise grow, they start getting higher paying clients. They have no set limit as to how much they can earn per month.
See, Freelancer B has the ability to keep getting higher paying clients, unlike Freelancer A who is locked to SpeechPad rates.
That’s why in our transcription course, and even our article writing course, we teach about multiple ways of getting jobs/clients.
Third: They can kick you out
Yes, plain and simple, these sites can ban you.
Of course, if you don’t follow their core rules, you deserve to be banned.
However, there are many complaints of people being banned from sites for no good reason. Just google or check out Facebook groups to see how people have lost their sources of living for absolutely no reason.
I’ll give you one example:
Remember iWriter?
This used to be a great site back in the days, but it long lost its glory.
Guess what?
They banned absolutely everyone from specific countries. At the time of writing this, if you have an iWriter account somewhere, just try logging in and you’ll most likely get an error stating something like “Account banned due to security risk”.
Imagine following all the rules in a site, then waking up to this. How painful would that be if it was your only source of income?
There are more reasons as to why you shouldn’t overdepend on online work accounts, but I’ll limit myself to those three.
Here’s exactly what you should do instead
Start with online work accounts if you have to. I actually recommend this as a potential starting point. After that, swiftly start looking for direct clients. Check out this guide to see how you can do so.
Note that if you’re not starting from the bottom income-wise, you can just go straight for the direct clients. This means clients you’ve hustled for yourself without using any online work account.
2. Manage your time
No, I’m not just giving you the obvious time management tips you’ve heard out there. In fact, I’m giving you one of the most important lessons I’ve learnt my entire life.
It’s something I’ve been working on for a while. But I recently read this book called Work Less, Earn More and it totally changed the way I look at time management.
What I realized is that online freelancing can make you waste so much time.
See, here you’re doing everything yourself. You’re your own boss. You do your own accounting. You do your own marketing, human resource, evaluation and so on.
Therefore, you don’t really reprimand yourself whenever you’re on the wrong.
You may waste precious time watching movies, browsing on Facebook, watching videos on YouTube…name it. After all, you have no boss, right?
This heavily hinders your progress.
Here’s what I suggest when it comes to time management:
- Create a checklist of things you have to do daily. Make sure you check them off before you even log into social media. Don’t be surprised if a day goes by without Facebook 🙂
- In your daily work schedule, always start with things that have the most impact on your income. This includes things like looking for clients and delivering client work (don’t wait for last minute). I’d also add things like starting and growing a high income business, so that you don’t just depend on client work.
- Always learn how to earn using smarter ways. Find ways to increase your passive income streams. Aim to one day be able to get 50 to 75 (plus) percent of your income passively. Don’t watch a movie or dash to Facebook before you’ve learnt something today.
I prepared a valuable daily routine that you can be using. This has really helped me to live a happier, more productive life.
3. Scale up consistently
Try to make sure that every few months, you significantly increase your income.
If you’ve been a member of a Facebook group or any other group for a while, you’ll notice a pattern. Some people start off as very active members, then they slowly start keeping quiet. Eventually they either leave the group or become very inactive.
By God’s grace I’ve managed to talk to some of these people privately. Some actually become inactive since they literally can’t keep up. Why? Because they’re so busy scaling their businesses.
Some of my friends, who are no longer so active on social, ended up earning heavily with their blogs, doing affiliate marketing, dropshipping or creating companies that offer valuable services. Their business literally takes up all their working time.
When free, they travel around the country (or world) and do charity work.
They’ve founded wonderful things — both great online and offline businesses.
See, these founders didn’t just stick to writing, transcription or virtual assistance. They quickly scaled up to other things that have higher income potential.
Did you know that Brian Dean of Backlinko, who earns hundreds of thousands of dollars, was once a writer like some of us? Yes, with hard work you can get to such levels.
I keep challenging most people I meet nowadays to find a way of creating a sustainable business. There’s so much opportunity today than ever before.
4. Focus on making clients succeed, and you’ll succeed as well
If you’re only focusing on your success, then please know right now that you’re limiting your success. Your focus should be on making someone else succeed. Your client’s success will lead to your own success.
Airbnb, Uber, Netflix and Google are huge because people genuinely benefit from them.
I’ll give you a quick personal example on this:
There’s a client in UAE that I’ve had on and off since 2013. For the last 2 years, her workflow has been even more consistent and lucrative.
Nowadays, I don’t even do her work myself. I hired another guy to do it. The client is totally okay with this arrangement.
She pays me via Western Union and takes care of absolutely all the fees.
Recently, she got an extension in her workplace because of our input. She literally emailed me and said that she’d like to work with me for 6 to 9 more years.
Look:
You don’t want to just focus on getting that one client or that one pay. You need to get clients consistently and stay with them for the long term.
And you do this by making those clients succeed.
If you write for a client and that article gets 100k views, awesome Google rankings and consistent sales, why won’t the client hire you again?
Focus on delivering pure gold. Never forget that. People out there make money simply because they aptly sort other people’s problems.
5. Look for clients even when you have clients
Listen carefully:
You’ll (prayerfully) one day get an awesome, dream client who pays your dream income, respects you, and gives you a good volume of work.
Please remember that today’s dream may not be the same as tomorrow’s dream.
Therefore, don’t stop looking for clients just because one of your dreams came true.
Back in 2011, I prayed and fasted so that I could start earning 30k per month. That was my dream income. But when I hit 100k (plus) per month within a few months of online work, my dreams changed.
Apart from monetary dreams, many of my dreams changed once I hit a specific milestone.
What many freelancers do is this:
They get an awesome client and they feel like they’re in heaven.
Until that client runs out of jobs, and they’re back on the streets looking for work. That keeps them in the feast or famine cycle.
Don’t do that to yourself.
Keep looking for clients consistently. When you get clients, only take up workload that will allow you to still have time to look for even better clients.
This means that every few weeks, you’ll be getting better clients and letting go of clients who don’t match your criteria.
Funny thing is that some clients will be willing to adjust.
For example, remember the client I’ve talked about above? The one who says she wants me to work with her for 6 to 9 years?
I once told her, truthfully, that I’ve landed other opportunities and wasn’t able to continue working at our usual rate. You know what? She instantly increased her rate.
Not all clients will do this. But you’ll keep getting better and better and better clients as you go along.
I really don’t want to see you struggling with this feast or famine cycle
I want you to succeed. In fact, I’d be happy to see you owning a huge online corporation the size of Google, Netflix and Uber among others.
To get there, you need to stop living the feast or famine lifestyle. These tips will help you consistenly increase your income.
Have you struggled with the feast or famine cycle? What did you do about it? Let me know what you think in the comments section.
And since you also want the best for your friends and family, go ahead and share this post with all your circles.
Hello Walter and Happy New Year. Before anything, I would like to commend you for your in-depth and absolutely applicable content to real-life. To be honest, I have had to bear the brunt of this feast or famine cycle since I ventured into freelance writing several years ago. It is such a pleasant surprise and coincidence that I landed on this article, just when I had gotten tired of this cycle.
I feel like your well-thought out piece is literally speaking about me; I am guilty as charged! I depend so much on online accounts and, thus, you can imagine how ruthless the low season is for people like myself (Pssst! don’t tell anyone). I am equally guilty of wasting most of my time on social media, some of which could be put to good use.
That notwithstanding, I have learnt the hard way about the importance of having a passive source of income: It cushions you during the hard times and averts the possibility of boarding the debt bandwagon to survive.
I personally write for someone who owns an account just because of under-utilizing my potential and my “preference” for having a secured source of income.
But, I have purposed to correct such a grave mishap in 2020 by continually improving myself and eventually setting up something that will enable me change my feast-famine narrative into a stable-income narrative. I am certain that your blog will be part of my success equation this year, and I will be back to share about it.
Otherwise, thanks for continued inspiration!! You are one of a kind.
Hi Simon,
Thanks for your comment and kind words.
Great goal here! Yes please do your best and come back to tell us all about it!
Thank you so much!
I now believe, that my desire of becoming a good freelancer is valid
Thanks Walter
You can do it!
Hi Walter,
Thank you so much for another insightful article. You always inspire me to grow as a freelancer.
God bless you.
Hi Ruth,
You’re most welcome!
God bless you too immensely.
Great tips you shared here.
Thanks Johnson!
I would like to remove feast or famine
Great. Follow the tips in the post!
Hi Walter,
Thanks for the great piece.
I had $103 on iWriter and today woke up to this message when i tried to log in “Due to high rates of fraud from similar IPs, this account has been closed.”
Its heart breaking after spending my week on those articles.
Is there a way i will get my money?
Hi Bonface,
So sorry for that.
Please contact iWriter support and they will advise about getting the cash.
Implement the tips in this post to have more control over your writing career!
Pretty honest post
Working on leaving the feast/famine lifestyle
Thanks Tessa. Happy to help!
Thanks Walter! You are God sent. Love your insights.
Thanks Boaz. God bless you.
A powerful article. I realize that if blogging is a great way of making your life productive. It keeps you on toes by having meaningful tasks.
Thanks Sebastian. I loooove blogging!
Nice article Walter!! Your posts are always insightful…and really encouraging…God Bless!!
Thanks a ton! God bless you too immensely.
Thanks Akolo. This was helpful.
Many thanks, Clem!
A quick shout-out to you Walter, what you do matters and impacts many people so, keep up. I have followed you for a while now, and I make time to read your emails since they are packed with info that helps people solve their problems (and I guess that’s how to make money).
The best decision I made was taking your course back in August 2017, the 2k I spent at the time turns out has been more valuable to me than the 500k+ I spent on a college degree I don’t think I will need in my life.
You see, I was listening to Jocko Willink and he was talking about “every man has to find his mission,” and I believe everyone should “struggle and stress” to find theirs because that’s the only way you get to live with purpose and do things you will be proud of and make lots of money etc.
After college, I tarmacked and eventually landed a poor paying job (at the time it felt great finally I would be able to support myself, family… I had a baby on the way…etc.) But as I worked I never felt happy, I saw guys that had worked for the company for years, and they had nothing to show for it.
We worked for six days a week, every day was the same waking up at five to beat traffic to get to work on time and in the evening I was rushing back (like a guy who just got out of prison) to ensure I got home on time to spend some time with the family or taking care of some other important thing before I was up the next day to repeat the same routine… it was exhausting.
I was barely making enough to pay bills and ensure we ate, so this meant I couldn’t hang out with friends (that cost money sometimes), and even if I wanted to, there was no time. I had only Sunday free, and that day I would sleep.
The one positive thing about the job is that I was able to get some capital to start my own business. I opened a small movie shop and eventually quit to work on my business since I realized employment wasn’t for me, and I need to create my own company… I found my purpose… I had a starting point.
At the shop, I worked from 9 am to 10 pm, and the funny thing is I felt good, I was never exhausted, and I worked every day and loved it. It was my thing… my company… you get it…
When the business was good, it was great, but sometimes things would slow down and (of course am struggling with bills, the shop rent alone was the size of my previous salary, and the house I was living in and family but I was managing to take care of all that) it was during these slow periods I realized I had a lot of free time.
In my previous job, I had met a friend that had introduced me to your work, and I had proceeded to subscribe to your emails. I was interested in freelance writing, but I was always afraid, especially after some “friends” had told me I couldn’t do it. I always read the emails that at times had inspirational stories of people that were able to make a living online and in August of 2017, I decided to try your course.
I would work in the shop during the day and in the evening after closing lock myself up and follow the course. I remember it took me like a month before I wrote my first article on iWriter. I was afraid, I doubted myself, but eventually, I did it because it was taking me forever… The first one was rejected, the second one I got a rating of three, the third one a five star, then another five star…. my confidence started to grow (I could write a whole book on my journey as a freelancer so far, it hasn’t been easy, and I won’t lie to you I made my first $1000 a month after like a year)
Eventually, I made $21 on iWriter and left after a guy maliciously gave me a rating of 1, (iWriter was an excellent platform to get my feet wet, build confidence in my abilities and I got some samples to use) anyway I used the money to open a Freelancer account, paying for the exams etc.
Freelancer is another ridiculous platform (to me), difficult for beginners, lots of scammers (I have made like $400 since Jan 2018, crazy, I even stopped using the platform). But, it helped me believe in whatever I was doing and keep going on.
When starting out you are advised to pick a niche as this will make it easier to get jobs in the long run since you get to learn the subject deeply, become an expert of sorts, and you can build on that, however, when beginning you don’t know which niche to pick.
That’s how I got on Upwork, after the struggle that is opening an account there, I did a few tests (necessary for newbies if you are to get jobs) and started biding on jobs I believed I could do. Upwork is great, but if you bid to much without landing jobs, they suspend your account for good. This is what happened to me after earning only $5, which I couldn’t even withdraw. (My advice for starters, pick a niche, become an expert on it, building your portfolio and then join Upwork, you will enjoy)
By December 2017, I had decided to focus on blockchain as my niche, it was after the crypto craze, and I like tech, so I was curious to learn about it. On the Facebook group, I found Daniel Nyario who has was very helpful and kind he advised me that it was easier to establish myself on the niche since it was new tech that people were curious about and not many understood it.
After some intense research I was able to write an opinion piece and publish it on Medium (on cryptocurrencies) I shared the link to the article on Walter’s FB page, and that’s how I landed my first direct client. A great guy based in the Netherlands who runs a crypto website. (I Still work with the guy, and I publish every day of the week).
Publishing work under your name is vital in that it helps put your name out there and makes you look credible. After almost a year after getting kicked out of Upwork, I decided to get back, (I figured out how you can guess…something to do with the name and email address). Now I was an expert of sorts, and I had a niche and links to my work.
This time around things have been different; I didn’t do any tests except for the Upwork readiness test to become top rated. I have a simple profile with samples of my work, and I focus on my niche. I have been successful, it took me long to make my first $1000 online, but now I make it like every month and some months even more. Why? Because the clients pay well.
It’s on the platform I managed to land another DC, a major Crypto website around the globe for a long-term gig. Still, I am continually looking for new work, outsourcing (all the things Walter has taught me through his emails) because what makes you money today might not tomorrow… so, you have to stay on your toes at all times.
The online income has helped me grow my business and made my life a bit comfortable. Now I have a bunch of things going on that bring me some extra cash.
I have even begun to learn how to code as I plan to venture into developing blockchain systems with hopes of one day owning my own startup. (Developers make millions a year, if I successfully manage to do this I will be able to multiply my income by some crazy number, this will help me to venture into bigger businesses etc.)
All this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken Walter’s course, which has helped me discover my mission/purpose, I want to be a successful businessman with many ventures. I know I am getting started, and I am on track.
This started as a simple comment and shout-out but ended up as my life history anyway, I hope to inspire someone somewhere, maybe starting out, be persistent, keep learning new things, stay positive, develop positive habits that help you achieve your goals (this is what has hindered my progress but I am always trying to improve), never get comfortable even when things are good, learn a new skill or start another stream of income that’s the only way you will be on top at all times, And remember every day you have to put in the work, the more you succeed the more you will have to work harder… God bless, Shout-out Walter, you’re the best.
Hi Basil,
Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience. I appreciate your kind words. I give God all the glory.
This is very encouraging. I like your resilience and tenacity.
Congrats on your success! I’m glad you’ve made it this far since you did the course back in the days. As your trainer, I’m so very proud of you!
Thanks for encouraging many in this platform. You have wonderful dreams. Keep pursuing them. I believe you can really go far.
Stay blessed!
Once again thank you….
This built me up immensely. I have learnt so much already from you peers, albeit experts. I have just started out and am yet to make a coin. The sky is looking bright with people like you along the way.
Thanks a a lot and God bless you.
Hi Gerald,
You’re most welcome. Thank you so much.
God bless you too.
A very insightful write up I must say. Been a bit discouraged of late but this is a wake up call for me. Thanks for sharing Walter.
Hi Lydiah,
Sorry for the discouragement.
I’m glad this was helpful. Make sure you take action.
Stay blessed.
Dear Walter,
Thanks for the great article. I look forward to being an excellent writer like you.
Regards,
Albert
Hi Albert,
Thanks a ton.
You can do great things if you work hard at it.
I’m just getting started but having problems getting clients
I understand. Use the tips in the post. Keep us posted on how things go!
Hi walter im interested in freelancing.. How do i start?
Hi Joachim,
I mentor in article writing.
Join my free mini-course for writers here http://bit.ly/akolopack
Thanks Walter, I look forward to be a better writer one day.
Anytime, Kevin. Keep practising it every single day.
Hi Walter,
This is a great read.
If I happen to forget everything from this post, here’s what I’ll walk away with…5. Look for clients even when you
have clients
Hi James,
Yes, yes, yes! Never forget that.
Many thanks.
An insightful post indeed! am currently experiencing the same and in a dilemma regarding the best approach to utilize to ensure consistency of my income. Am looking forward to getting more of this as i believe they will help me a lot. Thanks Walter!!
You’re most welcome, Christine!
This email has come at the right time. For the last few weeks, a’v been over dependent on one client. His work have been so consistent until this week. He only sent me three article and became silent. Am back to the streets sourcing for more clients. Thanks a lot Walter.
Hi Naomi,
Yes, that’s exactly the point.
Marketing consistently ensures your well doesn’t run dry.
That’s why giants like Coca-Cola, Safaricom and Facebook still market themselves, despite the fact that they make billions!
Thank a lot Walter this article is very educative to me and encouraging. I will look for more clients and stop depending on one client.
Hi Maurice,
Thanks a lot. That’s a great resolve!
this article is an eye opener but I am really looking forward to that day when someone will start a course on how to deliver pure gold. You might teach people how to fish but if you don’t tell them which fish is edible and which is not they might end up fishing even the unedible fish that might poison them and make them sick to a point of not fishing again.
Thanks Penina,
Well said. However, I strongly believe that any good course does teach you how to deliver pure gold. And a good trainer (or his team) assesses your content and tells you what you should specifically improve on. Such personalized assistance should then be taken seriously and implemented daily.
The problem is many people don’t actually practice what they learn. This way they keep moving from trainer to trainer to trainer. While at the end of the day, they simply need more practice.
A quick example:
Let’s say your trainer tells you that a great article should have a catchy title, an alluring intro, valuable body content that meets the needs of the target audience, and an assuring conclusion. They then give you homework to write like this, and assess to see if you’ve done so. They point out exactly what you’ve done wrong.
You then remain with two options:
1. Feel bad that you got a poor rating on your practice article
2. Actually practice using the tips you were given
To be honest, most of my trainers didn’t give me as much as some would think. They probably gave me just 30 to 50% of what I know.
However, I surged ahead and kept practicing daily what I learnt. This pushed me to succeed, sometimes to even overtake my trainers!
Not just me but many other great writers, scholars, athletes, artists and so on did so.
I hope this helps.
Using your analogy…
…once you’re taught how to fish, go ahead and learn exactly what fish you need to catch, where exactly to get fish, where to sell the fish, how to employ other fishermen, which nets give fastest results etc. You can keep communicating with your trainer about any ideas, worries, fears, concepts etc. Valuable trainers will really help you build up on this.
All the best!
This is the best reply I have ever gotten and you might not see it but the answer to my query lies in the reply you just gave me. You see Walter sometimes you are assigned work and you give it your all but at the end the clients claims it doesn’t meet the standard and I have been wondering is there another way to provide a gold work? Now I understand things better.
Awesome. I’m so happy it helps 🙂
Feast and famine have been my biggest challenge as a writer. As you said, I get into a comfort zone any time I get an excellent client, and therefore, I end up being jobless when they have no more work. I will try the above tips, and I hope to earn consistently. Thanks so much, Walter.
Hi Lucy,
No worries. This is a big struggle for many people, even those high-earning, esteemed professionals. As human beings, we’re inclined to get into comfort zones.
However, we should borrow a leaf from those big corporations that keep marketing regardless of their success.
You’ve made the right decision to start making a difference today.
All the very best.
Many thanks,
Walter
Your posts are always filled with actionable tips. The one about always applying even when you have clients is one I plan to begin.
That’s great, Megg. Yes, please implement it. It can take you far.
This is very helpful, Walter.
I have implemented most of these tips and it’s amazing how they can change your life.
Walter. Keep ’em tips coming.
Thank you.
Hi Evelyn,
That’s awesome. I’m glad the tips are changing your life.
Stay blessed!
Thanks again for another great article. It has been long discussing these negative possibilities offline and it is encouraging to follow and read your writing on alternative solutions. I hope the photography is yours – that is another alternative to earning income or just improving visibility for myself and other aspiring bloggers. Thanks again. Great article.
Thanks Blasto! And no, the photography is not mine. It’s a free image from Pixabay. But it’s true there are people earning online as photographers. Thanks and stay blessed!
Wow Walter! A very helpful post. I have been struggling with the same issue. Thanks for the tips
Thanks Martin. I feel you. Sorry for that.
Please follow the tips for a better future. Keep me posted on how things go.
This is a wake up call that i really needed. It has been discouraging almost six months in the industry i must say but not giving up. I mean, i needed this so much and i want that change as much as the other person. Thank you so much for the Insight. Bless you.
Hi Beth,
All will be well. Just make sure you put in the work. All the best.
Working on it ASAP. It was quite an eye opener i am literally overwhelmed in a good way..