How I Earn $1,250/month Freelancing Online

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I’ll get it out the way first: I’m not making $3,000/month as a freelancer. As a recent college graduate going into the workforce during a global pandemic, there aren’t many job opportunities and I happened upon freelance writing. I did manage to find work as a Covid-19 Contact Tracer, but the emotional toll was far too high to continue working that job.

I make enough money from my freelance writing every month to cover my basic expenses, but my parents do help me out. I’m a young 2020 college grad. I’m not a success story yet and I want to be clear about that — but I see the potential.

Freelancing takes a certain kind of mindset

I have wanted to be my own boss for as long as I can remember. Although I have dutifully completed 4 internships, gone to job fairs, and worked hard in school, I never saw a 9 to 5 job as where I wanted to end up. I’m not knocking anyone who likes their 9 to 5 — it’s just not for me.

As a child of the internet, I knew there was significant money to be made online, and the pandemic, although absolutely terrible, was an opportunity like no other in terms of remote jobs and online offerings. Although I was anxious about finding a “real” job, I also wanted to try out writing online.

I cannot go into specifics as I have a confidentiality clause in one of my contracts, but between my multiple income streams, I make about $1,250 online each month from article writing and social media copywriting. That’s pretty good for messing around on the internet.

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I want to build my own brand, not work for other people’s

I’m sure at some point I will have a “normal” job, but that isn’t the end goal for me. I want to gain the experience needed to make it on my own. This may very well end up being your goal as well, whether it be now or in twenty years.

Examining other writers, it’s clear what works. Consistent, daily publishing, owning a blog, and having an email funnel will have you earning in no time. Implementation of that model is what stops most of us. I’ll admit, I’m savvier than average on website management, but my website is a huge work in progress.

Writing on platforms besides your own, whether for the engagement or for money, is a great way to start out. However, in order to have stability long-term, having a website you control and the ability to determine how much advertisers pay for ads is a huge benefit. You will be able to make your own business decisions, for better or for worse.

Thinking long-term with freelancing

I don’t want to be one of those people who wake up one day ten years from now and the idea of going into work for one more day crushes them. Yes, this predicament can be avoided if you have a job you enjoy, but that is not the case for many people.

I want to be able to change up my work when I feel like it and have the personal experience to succeed when I do. Freelancing is about independence from an employer. I want to be accountable to myself. I have a schedule and I stick to it because I believe in my vision.

I am in a very privileged place at the moment. I am young, and with this job market, I’m not expected to find a great job right off the bat. My family monetarily supports me when needed. I have a significant emergency fund. I have the wiggle room to test out freelancing in this part of my life, which is a huge gift many others do not have.

You are likely in a different position age-wise, family-wise, or emergency fund wise, not to mention your energy level. I don’t mean to preach freelancing as an easy out of the 9 to 5 grind because it’s not. If it is something you want and you can make time for writing during your busy day, I highly encourage you to try writing for money. I understand that many people simply don’t have the energy or resources and that’s perfectly fine.

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My future freelancing plans

I want to get my posting schedule up to one piece per weekday. Often times my pieces are stuck pending in publications or magazines and it takes weeks for them to be posted. Overall this hurts my views, earnings, and momentum. My new aim is to publish one piece per day across both sites I write for while writing two pieces per day some days so I can also submit to publications and get that publication boost when my writing is eventually published.

I am working on my email list, but it isn’t tempting enough for people to mass follow for updates about my writing. I am working on designing an ebook to reel in subscribers. The email list is free to sign up to, but having a large audience you can directly message is an incredibly valuable tool, both engagement-wise and monetarily.

Any articles I originally posted on the writing sites I write for are a waste of earnings potential. I could be posting on my own website, monetizing the views through advertisements I control, and then also publishing on the writing sites. Both sites I write for allow un-original content [aka you can publish elsewhere first], so I’m leaving money on the table by not publishing articles on my own website first. I am working on creating a backlog of articles to publish on the sites I write for so I can spend a full week working on my own website to make it easy to attract readers and publish articles quickly.

Summary:

Freelance writing may very well be the career for you if you enjoy writing and being your own boss Being able to stick to self-imposed deadlines and having a significant emergency fund is a plus. You decide what you need to make freelancing work for you.

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If you are lucky enough to have a 9 to 5 job I wouldn’t suggest leaving it to freelance full-time until you are able to meet your expenses comfortably with your freelance income. Even if you dislike your job, you don’t want to trade an uncomfortable position for a worse one.

Give freelancing a go if you have some spare time and energy. I think you'll be surprised by how enjoyable [and hard] it really is.