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First off, let me say Happy New Year. I hope you’re raring to go on your dreams – whatever they are for this year. Now, to today's post . . .

As the New Year dawns, many are jumping into the freelance writing waters. One of the first obstacles many new freelancers face is what to charge. But, it doesn’t need to be this way. I've been a freelance writer since 1993 and have been writing SEO content for almost six years now; since 2007.


When Cheap SEO Writing Gigs Ruled the Day

When I first started out, it was very common to see SEO writing job ads like:

$1 for 500 words (must be perfect English); or

$3 for 400 words on weddings (some research is required); or

$10 for 800 words on intellectual property;

Etc.

FYI, the last listing was a "good paying" writing gig – woohoo – a whopping $10 for legal copy!

Gigs like these were one reason many freelancers were put off by the whole idea of writing SEO content. But, I dove in headfirst. Why? Because I knew there was a need (more on this below).

I charged $25 for 500-word SEO articles when I first started out in 2007. This brings me to the title of this article, which is:

What’s the difference between an SEO writer who can charge – and get -- $85 per article (my SEO writing company's current rate for SEO content), and a writer who slaves away for $5 per article?

In a word, it's "mindset." Following is how I developed the mindset of, "I can earn decent money writing SEO articles; I don’t have to settle for those ridiculous, low-paying gigs."

4 Keys to Landing High-Paying SEO Writing Gigs

a) Know the Market: I kept seeing job ads for SEO article writers, SEO content writers, SEO copywriters, etc. Hence, I knew there was a market for it.

Having been a business owner for many years, I also recognized that there were always going to be tiers when there's a high demand for a particular product/service, eg, from low-ballers paying $1 for an article, to those who were willing to pay more. So I set my SEO writing rates somewhere in the middle – charging $25/per article, which brings me to my next point, which is . . .

b) Know Your Worth: When I first started out, I set my rates according to what I needed to be able to make a decent living. My thinking was this, "Writing is hard work and if I can't earn a decent living doing this type of writing, then I won’t do it -- period."

By 2007, I'd been freelancing for 14 years, so I already had clients. Hence, if the "SEO content writing thing" didn't work out, I wasn’t worried that my freelance career was over.

At $25 per article, I figured even if I just wrote four articles per day, that's $100/day, or $3,000/month – enough to cover my monthly expenses – and then some (Note: This will be different for every person). To my surprise, I got so busy at this rate that within a couple of months, I had to hire other SEO writers to help me, which brings me to my third point, which is . . .

c) Know When to Raise Rates: Charging $25 per article wasn’t enough to pay other writers a decent wage, and still make a profit. So, I raised my rates to $35/article. When I outsourced, I paid other writers from $15 to $25 per article, and was able to earn a profit of $10 to $15 per article.

Nowadays, as a full-fledged SEO writing company, I raise rates every 12 to 24 months.

d) Market Consistently: No matter how busy you get as an SEO writer, you must always market to keep jobs flowing in. The mistake many freelancer writers make is not marketing when they get too busy. This can be fatal – no matter what type of business you run.

Marketing must become a habit. While all freelance writers go through dry spells, if you market consistently (eg, contact 5 new companies every day and/or follow-up with 2 old clients every day), then there will be fewer dry spells and your income will become more consistent.

Conclusion

The bottom line is, if you're going to be a freelance writer, treat it like a business. This means getting up every day and putting in the hours. Even if you have no writing project on your desk, there is still work to be done; namely marketing, ie:

Updating your blog;

Writing free reports to distribute;

Redesigning your website;

Interacting on social media;

Etc.

If you do what you're supposed to be doing day in and day out, it's not a matter of IF you'll land SEO writing gigs, it's just a matter of when.

About the Author: 
Yuwanda Black heads New Media Words (NewMediaWords.biz), an SEO writing company. She's the author of numerous eBooks on writing search engine-optimized copy, as well as the creator of one of the leading SEO content writing courses online. The course teaches everything you need to know about not only how to write SEO content, but how to earn $50,000 to $75,000 per year – your first year – as a freelancer. FYI, you can take the course online or in person -- in Jamaica! 

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