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How I Went From $140 to $350+ Per Week With One Freelance Writing Client

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Two years ago, I was working with businesses that paid me $0.8 per article in Arabic.

At that time, my earnings were smaller than my bank account fees.

I felt scorned, broke, and hopeless. I wasn’t going anywhere earning peanuts working my face off all my holiday and after-school time.

Thankfully, I bumped into a few English freelance writing blogs then ended up landing a few clients after Bamidele Onibalusi’s challenge, “Earn Your First $1,000 as a Freelance Writer.”

Today, one year after I embarked on my business journey, I’m working with various retainer clients that offer on-going work I can easily write and get paid for.

Yassir Sahnoun - Freelance Writer
Yassir Sahnoun

Recently, I was able to boost my writing income with one of my clients from $140 to over $350 per week.

The strategy I followed was very simple, and landing the gig was relatively easy.

According to Paul Farris’ book Marketing Metrics, there’s a 60-70% chance you’ll be able to successfully upsell to your existing clients.

So if you pitch them new services, ideas, and projects, they’ll probably hire you for those.

How I First Landed This Client

To give you some context, I landed this client after filling out a contact form in their “Guest Post” page – which I spotted while browsing their blog.

Websites that are on the lookout for writers usually link to their Guest Post page in the footer or header of their blog. In my case, here’s how it looked:

The client is a multi-million dollar SaaS company that works with writers to generate organic traffic and attract clients via search engines.

To get the most out of my pitch, I used Bamidele Onibalusi’s second pitch template that he posted during the Earn Your First $1,000 challenge – it’s more personal, as you can see below.

cold pitching for freelance writing clients

After I made the necessary tweaks and sent the pitch template, here is the response that I received:

freelance writing

I got back to the editor with article ideas, samples headlines, and my experience in that specific niche. I also attached a sample blog post as proof of my writing ability.

In a matter of hours, they set me up to start working with them then invited me to their WordPress platform.

After months of continuous work, I found out that my client has recently launched a new website and acquired another SaaS company.

Here is how…

#1 Check Your Client’s LinkedIn Profile (the Founder/CEO)

My client has listed the companies he owns and the exact dates he started running them on his LinkedIn profile. I used this data to learn more about whether he might need my services for his other businesses.

Here is an example from Neil Patel’s LinkedIn profile.

Neil Patel LinkedIn Profile

As you can see, he has listed both of the websites he has co-founded on his LinkedIn account. Therefore, if you work at Crazy Egg, for example, you can easily reach out to your editor, content head, or CEO (depending on the volume of the company and your relationships) to pitch them your ideas for KISSmetrics.

In case your client doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile or hasn’t updated it in a while, feel free to drop them a line to learn more about their possessions and entrepreneurial activities.

This leads us to the next step…

#2 Do Your Research

Familiarizing yourself with your client’s business is very crucial to send a successful and personalized pitch. Here is what I’ve done to learn more about the company and its needs:

Initially, I browsed their blog to have an idea about the type of content they publish and whether it can match my expertise in this particular niche.

Then, I chatted with a writer at that business to ask questions concerning keywords, SEO strategy, number of writers, payments, etc. Luckily, I was already connected with this freelance writer – which made asking detailed questions easier.

Lastly, I googled “Company Name + Freelance Writer” to see if they posted any job offers online. Fortunately, I stumbled upon an announcement at ProBlogger where they mentioned all the relevant requirements for their new blog.

#3 Pitch Your Freelance Writing Client

Freelance writer and WriteWorldwide co-founder Nick Darlington has recently shared a phenomenal pitch template he used to land a high-ticket client here at FreelancerKenya in his guest post, “How I Built My Freelance Writing Business (And Earned $2793 Last Month).

freelance writing pitch template

In case it’s not enough for you to edit his template and pitch it to your client, you can also use the following email that landed me this gig…

successful pitch template

Although the email looks well-written, the editor didn’t respond. So, I had to follow up…

After no more than two weeks, this email hit my inbox…

Before upselling this client, I was only assigned two articles per week for $70 each. Now, I almost tripled my writing income after they enabled me to write more content for their other businesses on topics that I’m familiar with.

With this being said, I’m now able to make $1400/month writing 860 words per day from just one freelance writing client.

What are your thoughts and experiences on upselling clients? Let me know in the comments section below and I’d be happy to join the conversation.

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Yassir Sahnoun is a writer, polyglot and co-founder of WriteWorldwide – the go-to resource for freelance writers whose first language isn't English. You can learn more about Yassir at his website .

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Eunice

Hi Yassir,

I don’t like to leave comments but I MUST say that you have the ability to reach $1000 plus. In addition, I love your style of writing. Thanks for sharing this motivating story with us bro! Keep grinding 🙂

Sebastian
Sebastian

Do you need a website as a freelance writer for your niche?

Maxwel Odiwuor Jabuya
Maxwel Odiwuor Jabuya

Its encouraging, i now believe that its achievable.all i request is if you can coach me on how to get clients on Upwork and any other site.Am an upcoming writer.

Makorre Wilson
Makorre Wilson

This is great, I love how issues have been articulated. For success, a decision needs to be made, and focussing on accomplishing what you start fills life with great happiness.

I love your determination Yassir, I will love to learn more from you, kindly,

My email; wmakorre@yahoo.com

Lennox Kimtai
Lennox Kimtai

Really inspiring…I will follow in the footsteps of Yassir and maybe some day I’ll share my success story too.

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Lennox Kimtai

Hi Lennox! Love the optimism. You can definitely do — looking forward to that.

Best,
Yassir

Gary Harvey

Great story. Thanks for sharing it, Yassir.

It shows me two things:

1, the value of marketing yourself. Many writers only want to write. Not sell themselves. Not put themselves out there.

2, the value of working in a quality niche. One with money. One with a demand.

Gary

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Gary Harvey

Hi Gary!

Thank you so much for commenting. Happy to see here.

I like the way you outlined my post. I’m a big believer in the importance of selling one’s business, instead of just doing the actual writing.

People need to think outside the box to make more money.

Thanks again!

Best
Yassir

Nick Darlington

That’s our teammate 🙂 Great to have him onboard at WriteWorldwide. Proud of you Yassir!

Yassir Sahnoun

Cheers mate! Thank you for helping me make this happen.

Linda

Encouraging. Thanks for sharing the story

Dr. Smart Oyejide
Dr. Smart Oyejide

Definitely, you have gained for taking actions on what you have read,heard and seen,More grace to your elbow.Do not relent at all.Make sure you increase your list of clients and learn to invest.

george

great work bro, this shows age is not a hindrance towards achieving our lifetime goals.

Abel
Abel

thats a massive move brother, kudos. am confused between venturing either as an academic writer or as an article writer. I got to know about academic writing early this year and have done quite a number of orders but have equally suffered in the hands of the employers.

Musundi Wefwafwa

Wow. This is mind-blowing. It goes a long way in showing that the only hindrance to your success is yourself, not even age is a barrier. To make it requires a commitment to your chosen path.

Upselling is definitely on my list of to-do things as a freelance writer. Thanks a lot Yassir Sahnoun.

Dan
Dan

Quite inspiring considering his age. Sometimes, we just seek for excuses to justify why we are not building solid online income sources or reaching out to high paying clients.

Maureen
Maureen

What a brilliant young man!

You sure are going places

Karanja Joseph

It’s encouraging to see young techprenuers hitting the road and registering such a great level of success. I have been writing since 2014 and, I must say, it’s strive to excel that attracts the best paying clients.

Congrats Yassir.

Astariko
Astariko

I like the style you used to land your job. Worth trying. Am also perplexed with your age, just 16 and you can do all this!! Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Nancy
Nancy

Thank you Yassir for sharing your success story with us, Personally I’m inspired. I’ve learnt a lot!

Danvas Kegesa Abdullah

People register thousands of websites every day. The demand for freelance writers who can create quality content can never plummet.

Such a success story as this one should inspire every writer to take the work seriously.
Upcoming writers should also take up courses or even self-educate and start earning.
Many thanks for sharing this amazing information.

Angie
Angie

Am overly challenged.

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Angie

Hi Angie,

That’s a great problem to have!
Keep up the good work.

Best,
Yassir

Essy
Essy

Wow this is great.Congrats

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Essy

Hi Essy,

Thanks for commenting. Happy you liked my post.

Best,
Yassir

Letitia
Letitia

Wow wow ,this is captivating and insightful, good work Yassar.I am just learning but you have given a reason to succeed ,why not

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Letitia

Hi Letitia,

I’m glad you liked this post. You also can use the screenshots and templates above to upsell your clients. Let me know if there is anything I could help you with to take action.

Best,
Yassir

Peris
Peris

Wow…I am inspired. I’m just starting out and your success story is a big encouragement.

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Peris

Hi Peris,

I’m glad this post encouraged you to work on your success.

Best,
Yassir

Mary

This is a great story. Am honestly inspired.

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Mary

Hi Mary,

Thanks for passing by! I hope this post has helped you take action and increase your revenue.

Best,
Yassir

Benedict
Benedict

Wow, I am for you.

Looking forward to hearing more success stories from you.

Yassir Sahnoun
Reply to  Benedict

Hi Benedict,

Thanks! I’ll absolutely be sharing a lot more. I’m planning to share a post that breaks down all the steps I took to become a freelance writer. I’ll be publishing it in a few months though.

Best,
Yassir

Victor Wachanga

Really inspiring Yassir. If age isn’t a limit, nothing is. We can all do it

Yassir Sahnoun

Hi Victor,

Definitely. It’s all action.

I’m happy this post inspired you!

Yassr

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