Introduction

I s freelance writing a realistic career path for you? Considering how

competitive the freelance writing landscape is at the moment, can you
still have expectations of building a successful freelance writing business?

To answer the above questions as well as put you on the right track
towards success in freelance writing, I went ahead and interviewed four
accomplished freelance writers who just recently started and are making
four figures monthly in freelance writing income. I asked them a series of
questions and distilled their answer into this report. I also got them to share
exactly what they would do if they were to start again from scratch and have
about two months to start earning four figures as a freelance writer. Enjoy!

© Bamidele Onibalusi 2 How They Started

Meet Richard Rhys Rowlands.

R ichard is a Brit and “former” teacher of English as a second language. He

taught for eight years in South Korea and Japan and just recently quit
his job after he felt he was earning enough from freelance writing and has
enough work piled up to sustain himself without a formal job. Below is a
screenshot of the message Richard sent me on July 7, the week he quit his
job:

© Bamidele Onibalusi 3 How They Started

 Today, Richard is a successful freelance writer in the pet industry. He has
been freelance writing for over a year now, earning a stable four-figure
monthly income before deciding that he is earning enough to quit his job.
In his words:

“Freelance writing has been a side hustle for me for most of the time I’ve
been doing it, but I built up my income to an average of $2000 a month
before quitting my job and returning to the UK.”

After quitting his job, Richard earned a whopping $3,558 in his first month
as a full-time freelance writer.

Richard is the co-founder of WriteWorldwide, the go-to resource for writers

who speak English as a second language. You can learn more about Richard
by visiting his website at richardrowlands.com

© Bamidele Onibalusi 4 How They Started

Meet Tolulope Ajiboye.

T olulope Ajiboye is a 22 year old lawyer from Lagos, Nigeria. Tolulope

came across freelance writing while in college. Towards the end of her
undergraduate program, she realized that she didn’t want to earn her living
by practicing law. However, she had to earn money, and, as someone who
grew up reading lots of novels and writing fictional stories, she couldn’t be
more excited when she discovered freelance writing -- yes, should could
finally get paid to write!!!

Tolulope began to take freelance writing really seriously when I announced

a challenge for beginner freelance writers last year. It didn’t help that this
was towards the beginning of her final exams, yet she resolved to take the
bull by the horn. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Tolulope earns an
impressive four-figure income monthly. In fact, she earned a whopping
$4,500 during her best month -- just four months after she started earning

© Bamidele Onibalusi 5 How They Started

as a freelance writer, and about six months after discovering my challenge
for beginner freelance writers. In her words:

“Freelance income is not stable and there have been periods where I’ve
made over $3000 monthly consistently, while some other months it’s been
way less than that. My best month was when I made about $4500 from
writing- it was in December 2016, six months post-challenge and about four
months into when I just started earning from writing.”

Yes, that’s literally jumping into a comfortable, stable four-figure monthly

income right out of college. Count me in!

Tolulope has also been featured in The Guardian, Entrepreneur and other
major publications. You can follow Tolulope on Twitter via @Yesmina_t or
email her: tolu@thehealthandbeautywriter.com.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 6 How They Started

Meet Nick Darlington.

N ick Darlington is a business graduate who took a job as a business

development manager for a startup shortly after graduating. Two and
a half years into the job, Nick decided that corporate life just isn’t for him.
Instead, he wants to travel the world -- backpacking solo. He went on a
transformative 14-month adventure, visiting countries such as Germany,
Mexico, Thailand, Samoa and New Zealand. That trip changed Nick, though.

Upon Nick’s return from his adventure in 2014, he decided that he needed
a change in life. He decided he wanted to be his own boss. Here’s how he
put it:

“I returned home in 2014 transformed. My worldview had changed, and I

wanted to live life on my terms. One where I was my own boss. One where
I could live and work from anywhere. I started experimenting. I created a

© Bamidele Onibalusi 7 How They Started

blog, worked part-time at a winery, and tentatively began freelance writing
in June 2016.”

Nick felt that the best way he could be his own boss was by becoming a
freelance writer, so he started freelance writing in June 2016. In a way many
struggling freelance writers can relate to, he started writing for a site called
Lifehack, that paid him $15 per article. Nick knew that, at this rate, being
paid a measly $15 per article, it will take way too long for him to be his own
boss. So when I announced my challenge for beginner freelance writers,
Nick jumped right in. Today, Nick has a thriving freelance writing business.
He is truly his own boss. Nick earned $3,600 in August of 2017, his highest
grossing month at the time of writing this report. By the time I interviewed
him, Nick had earned about $20,000 in 2017. In fact, during the months of
June to September 2017, he earned about $12,000.
When I asked Nick for specifics about what he is currently earning as a
freelance writer, here’s what he said:

“Things have taken off in the past four months after I decided to increase
my rates and find clients who are willing to pay those rates. With one client
I now earn $300 for 1000 word blog posts. A far cry from $15 article for
Lifehack and $60 blog posts I wrote when I started. Because I overdeliver I
now am able to earn $2000-$3000 from that one client alone. My income
for 2017 currently stands at about $20,000. In the last four months alone
(June-September 2017) I’ve earned $12,000. My highest grossing month
was in August; I made exactly $3600.”

Nick is the co-founder of WriteWorldwide, a top resource for freelance writers

who speak English as a second language. You can also learn more about Nick
from his writer’s website at nickdarlington.com or follow WriteWorldwide
on Twitter and Facebook.

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Meet Nicholas Godwin.

Ican kind of relate to Nicholas’s story. You know, you hear that you can
make money online if you have your own website. So you spend a bazillion
years learning HTML and other technical stuff just to have your website
ready. You then wait for the money to start coming in, only to… wait for it…
hear crickets! That was the scenario Nicholas found himself in.

Learning that if he builds a website and published articles on it, he would

start making money online, Nicholas invested a lot of time into learning
HTML and building a website. Except he wasn’t making any money after his
website was built, and he certainly wasn’t living in a fancy house or driving
lamborghinis like the “gurus” selling the “make money online” dream.
When he realized that there’s no magic in making money online, Nicholas
decided to do some more learning -- he started reading books on how to
make money online. How did that end up for him? I’ll let him tell you:

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“When my website eventually went live, I had no idea what to do next,
apart from putting up some random articles. In desperation, to justify all
the money, time and effort I’d put into building my WordPress site, I started
downloading eBooks on how to make money online. My confusion more
than doubled.”

Eventually, though, Nicholas discovered freelance writing through (you

guessed it!) Writers in Charge. He soon got a job with a magazine that
wanted him to interview entrepreneurs, and that was paying him $200
per interview. Today, Nicholas earns a healthy four-figure freelance writing
income. Just how well is he doing? See for yourself:

“My earnings have gone up a little higher ever since I started working entirely
on my own. I have since stopped producing research work for the research
company in New York. I have maintained over $2,500 monthly for a while
now, and I’m in the process of closing a new client. If all goes well and I close
the client, my earnings will hover around $4,500 monthly.”

You can learn more about Nicholas by visiting his website at

TechWriteResearcher. You should also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 10 How They Started

What Do They Have in Common?

N ow, isn’t this just amazing? The tech whiz that bought into the
dream of building a website and making money only to end up being
disappointed, the ESL teacher who needed a better livelihood, the 22-year-
old law school graduate who didn’t want to practice law but instead had a
passion for literature, and the business executive who wanted to be his own
boss. These are unique and interesting people from different walks of life
-- in terms of goals and direction, they are all very unique. However, they
still made freelance writing work for them. What do they have in common?
Here are three things they all had in common:

● They were beginners. Like you, they were beginners -- in fact, three
of them (Nick, Richard and Tolulope) just started freelance writing
in 2016. They had no experience, and at a point were completely
clueless and uncertain about how the whole thing worked. So if they
can do it, you can too.

● They knew they wanted freedom... to be their own boss. They all
pursued freelance writing in an attempt to secure a better life; for
you, a better life could be freedom to travel the world, freedom to
pursue your passion and dreams (yeah, that kind of freedom exists
too!), having enough money to pay the bills, or just to be your own
boss. Although it’s not the kind of world I live or advocate, but you
know some people want to wake up at 2PM and not literally feel like
their hair is on fire. Freelance writing makes that possible.

● A proven roadmap. As you’ll later see from their responses, I

cannot overemphasize the importance of the fact that they all had a
roadmap; as you will later see in their answer to my questions, they
were able to start piecing the puzzle together after taking part in a

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 challenge I ran for beginner freelance writers. Now, the challenge is
long concluded, but I’ll tell you more about what I have in stock for
you, for beginner freelance writers, in a moment. In the meantime,
though, these writers all credit a roadmap -- a proven blueprint that
pointed them in the right direction -- for making their freelance
writing journey smooth and seamless.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 12 How They Started

Three Challenges these Freelance Writers Had to
Face

T hese writers faced a lot of challenges. You have probably faced some of
these challenges yourself in your quest to make things work as a freelance
writer. If you haven’t, you most likely will. They overcame, however, so you
can, too. Here are some of the challenges:

1. Being undervalued and not really realizing their worth: In Nick

Darlington’s case, even as a business executive, he was literally being
paid $15 per article -- because he was a “beginner!” He had a goal of
being his own boss, but it’d probably take him decades to achieve this
goal while earning a pittance like $15 per article. In his first month as a
freelance writer, he was only able to earn $105. However, eventually
realizing his worth and changing track, he followed my strategy and
earned $569 in the first month of following my blueprint, gradually
getting to four figures monthly in income:

“In my first month writing for Lifehack, I earned $105. But, I only considered
myself a serious writer after I followed the strategy laid out by you. Because
it was then when I started to think like a business owner. And so, in my first
month, which was August 2016, I earned $569.”

In fact, as evidenced by their stories -- you’re only really limited when YOU
undervalue yourself. Take Tolulope Ajiboye’s comment for example:

“I had always known about freelance writing but I had just assumed it was
limited to writing for publications and magazines, and I didn’t really have
much of an idea of the company/business side of things until about two
years ago. Also, when I found out about Bamidele Onibalusi from an article
on Bellanaija, and started following and subscribing to his site Writers in

© Bamidele Onibalusi 13 How They Started

Charge, I was amazed at how lucrative freelance writing could be. In fact,
it seemed too good to be true but the proof was there. From then on, I
discovered other freelance writing resources which served to cement my
determination to succeed in the freelance world.”

I can so relate. So many times I’ve had people accuse me of lying or being
dishonest because I tell them that they can earn better than $3 per article,
better than $15 per article, better than even $50 per article. I mean, how
can you sit down and write and earn $100 or more for just one article?!!!
Well, the proof is in the pudding. Tolulope also felt it was too good to be
true, well now she’s an evangelist -- her story is proof that it is possible!

For Nicholas Godwin, his instinctive response was “why would anyone pay
me to write articles?”

Richard Rhys Rowlands felt the same way -- he just couldn’t believe that
real people (not the “poster boys” and “poster girls” for freelance writing
-- the established gurus) could be earning anything but peanuts from
freelance writing: “When I first heard about freelance writing I found it
difficult to believe that people were making good money from writing. Like
many people, I thought that only very well-established freelance writers
and authors made any real money from writing, and that the majority of
freelance writers were scratching out a living writing for peanuts.”

So these were potential four-figure monthly earners who didn’t even believe
it is possible to earn that much freelance writing. Things changed as soon as
they broke that mental barrier, though.

2. Rejection -- especially without a proven formula: Now, here’s the cold

hard truth about freelance writing. You will face rejections! Ouch, it
hurts. I know! See, I have been freelance writing for about seven years

© Bamidele Onibalusi 14 How They Started

 now, I have written thousands of articles during my career (I’m not
even sure of the exact number anymore -- I’ve lost count!) and I’ve
been featured on major publications (Forbes, Business Insider, Fast
Company, etc). Heck, I’ve been referenced/published/interviewed/
featured in at least five published books. Yet, I still get REJECTED.
And I will still be rejected. It is the reality of life, of freelance writing.
However, knowing the right things significantly lowers your rejection
rate. Having the right roadmap could be the difference between
being rejected 500 times or just 50 times.

These freelance writers also had to deal with rejection. Just ask Tolulope
Ajiboye: “Earlier last year, I had made a few attempts to write for platforms/
publications. They mostly ended in ‘No, sorry we’ll pass on that idea”, but
even though I hadn’t gotten used to rejection yet, I was still determined.”

Or Nick Darlington:

“I created a writer’s website, got featured in the Huffington Post, built

a prospect list, and sent 80 cold pitches using a standard cold pitching
template. I landed two clients from this. Both those clients are still clients
today.”

Two clients out of 80 pitches means 78 rejections, but that’s a pretty good
closing rate!

3. The Harsh Reality that They Had to Work Hard: Alas, they realized
they won’t be earning four figures having two-hour work weeks and
sipping margarita on the beach like most gurus make it seem!

See, freelance writing is no unicorn and rainbows. Anybody who tells you
that you can “set it up and forget,” or “launch a thriving freelance writing

© Bamidele Onibalusi 15 How They Started

business working two hours a week” is lying to you. In fact, if you have that
mindset you shouldn’t be reading this.

Freelance writing takes hard work. All these freelance writers had to work
hard. In fact, Richard Rhys Rowlands was surprised at the range of activities
he had to really understand to make freelance writing work for him: “I also
didn’t realise how organised you need to be as a freelance writer, and all
the skills that need to be developed. I’ve needed to develop skills in areas
such as marketing, selling, time management, and budgeting – as well as
writing.”

As for Tolulope Ajiboye, she had to send about 500 pitches before getting
her first client (ouch! I told you freelance writing can be hard work): “The
first was: cold-pitching consistently. I pitched and followed up with about
500 companies before I landed my first client. It got tiring at first and
there were many times I wondered if it would actually ever click, but I’m a
determined person so I stayed on track and never wavered with my efforts.
I don’t cold pitch as much as when I started, sometimes when I have many
clients/projects to work on it slows down considerably, but I never ever stop
completely”

However, it was well worth it for them. Pitching 500 companies (initially --
this number has significantly reduced as Tolulope mentioned) with certainty
that I’ll eventually have a $4,500 month? I’ll take it! Developing all the skills
that Richard developed to have a $3,558 month? Give it to me!

© Bamidele Onibalusi 16 How They Started

What They Would Do if They Were to Start Again

P erhaps the most important question I asked all these amazing freelance
writers was this: “If you were given just one or two months to start
generating income as a freelance writer, to earn four figures, what would
you do? Can you share the exact steps you would take?”

They all gave amazing answers -- which I’ll be sharing here in their own
words (no need to paraphrase or add anything of mine). In fact, Nick even
included a template (which he tells me is a modified version of one of my
templates from my challenge for beginner freelance writers).

So enjoy their answers:

© Bamidele Onibalusi 17 How They Started

What Richard Rhys Rowlands would do if he were
to start again:

I’d use Bamidele’s challenge again. It worked, so why change it? The steps
include:

● Building a foundation – writer’s site, social media profiles,

professional email
● Building social proof – getting articles published on authority sites
● Deciding on rates
● Prospecting for clients
● Tracking results

Knowing what I do now, I’d also include LinkedIn marketing as well as

cold email pitching. Results from LinkedIn marketing seem to be similar,
or sometimes slightly better, than cold email. I think it’s good to mix up
methods to avoid becoming bored or discouraged, too.

The challenge Richard is referring to long ended, but I have something better
for you which you’ll learn about later in this report. Just keep reading!

© Bamidele Onibalusi 18 How They Started

What Tolulope Ajiboye would do if she were to start
again

I would take almost the same exact steps as I did.

1. I would choose a niche (one or a maximum of two), and create my

freelance portfolio website.

2. I would get social proof. Getting your work published in well-known

magazines and platforms is a step you cannot miss. It shows potential
clients that skilled editors have worked with you and find your writing
worthy of being published. I didn’t get paid for the articles I wrote for
The Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post last year, but their value
was well worth it.

3. I would work on crafting a good and flexible cold-pitch template and

cold-pitch till I drop. When you’re still new, clients won’t come to you,
you go to them. Introduce yourself to them, offer your services, show
them that you’re interested in making their business grow. That’s
really the best way to land clients.

4. If I was living elsewhere but Nigeria, I would likely have focused on

warm pitching in addition to cold pitching. But because I generally
don’t offer my copywriting services to Nigerian companies and
businesses, warm pitching has never really been an option.

5. I would focus on pitching medium-to-large sized companies that have

the budget to pay freelance writers well. That’s not to say completely
avoid small companies. If the products and ethos of a company really
appeal to me, I’ll always want to work with them.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 19 How They Started

6. I would follow up consistently and keep a spreadsheet for that specific
purpose. Following-up is key and I’ll use Bamidele’s 3-7-7 follow up
if I had to do it again.

7. I’d join a writers group. I don’t know if people really understand the
value of belonging to a group of people in similar lines of work, even
if it’s an online community. Freelance writing can be lonely- sitting
in your room or at your home desk all day, not being able to talk
to anyone who shared your passion or understands the work issues
you’re facing can be very discouraging. It’s why I’m forever grateful
for the facebook group and that it continues to exist even a year after
the challenge ended.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 20 How They Started

What Nick Darlington would do if he were to start
again

I would:

1. Position myself - whether that’s by niche (e.g. technology writing) or

service (blog posts, guest posts and magazine articles).

2. Decide on my rate to start - this would be between $0.10-$0.15/word.

3. Build a writer’s website with pages: my about, services, contact, and

hire me page. I would build a simple one-page site to start. It doesn’t
have to be perfect; the key is to get going. I can always change it with
time.

4. Establish my online presence by updating my Twitter, Facebook, and

LinkedIn pages to reflect that I’m a writer.

5. Build social proof to command higher rates.

● Select and pitch a few major publications such as Huffington Post and
Entrepreneur.
● Find the decision maker and their email addresses by using email
finding apps such as Hunter.
● Pitch the decision maker of these publications - such as the editor - to
stand out from the many submissions on their contact forms.
● Keep these pitches short because editors are busy people.
● Once I have one major publication, I will forget about this step and
move on. One is enough to boost your credibility in the client’s eyes,
even if you’re a beginner in yours.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 21 How They Started

6. Build a prospect list of websites and publications I want to pitch. It
will be a list of 100 prospects. To speed up the time it takes to build a
list and also to create a targeted list, I’ll target writers in my niche or
niches and see who they write for.

● Find the decision maker and their email address

● Document this list in an excel sheet

7. Pitch those publications using a proven template (see below)

● Follow up with each of those prospects using the 3-7-7 formula. With
this method, you follow up three days later if you hear nothing. You
do the same seven days after that follow-up, and then another seven
days after the last. If you still hear nothing, consider it a dead lead.
● Document my progress in an excel sheet to make sure I’m on top of it
all.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 22 How They Started

Template

“Hi (Insert name),

I’m reaching out to see if you need a freelance writer who can help with
content at (insert company/website).

I’m (insert your name). I’ve been featured in (insert social proof if you have.
Include some relevant publications).

I’m a feature writer and B2B/B2C blogger (update according to your own
needs, e.g. you could just put “freelance writer” or “writer”), providing:

● Ebooks and whitepapers to capture leads for your business

● Feature articles for magazines; with a focus on profile stories
● Blog posts (ghostwritten if required) to drive traffic to your site
● Emails and newsletters to grow your revenue
● Tutorials and guides to educate visitors
(make your own list according to the services you offer)

Here is a link to my writer’s website and testimonials from previous clients

(Exclude if you don’t have a writer’s website or testimonials yet).

Shall we connect? (Ask a question to get a response. Better yet, set a specific
date and link to a calendar).

I’d be happy to jump on a call to see how I can help your business. (Optional)
Cheers,
Nick Darlington”

© Bamidele Onibalusi 23 How They Started

What Nicholas Godwin would do if he were to start
again

I’ve since learned a lot since I started freelancing. If I had just two months
to reach a thousand dollars or more in earnings, I’d follow these steps:

1. Identify three strong themes or topics I can produce epic content on

(like business, tech, leadership, eCommerce, health, and wellness,
etc.),

2. Make a list of 10 or more publications in the niches I identified,

3. Use Google Sheets to create a simple spreadsheet with the columns

reflecting the names of the publications in step two above, the contact
persons to pitch, the date I intend to pitch them, and the topic I plan
to pitch.

I could find the contact persons for these publications by searching

through their websites, using Google Search, or using Recruit ‘em to find
possible contact persons on LinkedIn.

4. I’d use Sonia Thompson’s infographic on writing epic content as guide

for crafting three or more epic articles on each of the themes I’d
identified in step one,

5. Write three articles on each of the three themes I identified (making

nine articles in all),

6. Open an free account on Medium and post my articles there. These

articles will serve as samples when I start pitching prospective clients
and authoritative publications. Having sample articles in three niches

© Bamidele Onibalusi 24 How They Started

 improves my chances of landing a client fast.

The principal reason for using Medium at this point and not setting up
my website is that posting on Medium gives me access to over 30 million
Medium readers. Plus my readers can share my article on Facebook and
Twitter. Medium provides plenty of room for social proof.

7. I’d invest a little money in promotion of my articles. Ideally, I’d use

Facebook or Twitter for advertising. This step is optional but helps
with certain clients. Some clients want to see that you’ve written
articles that have generated buzz.

8. Familiarize myself with the writing styles, topics, and audience of the
publications I listed in step two above, and then pitch them articles
that fit their audience using Oni’s pitch template on Writers In Charge.

9. Once I’ve been accepted to post on one or two authoritative publications

in any of the niches I identified, I’d write and publish those articles
promptly.

10. Next, I’d find prospective clients. I’d use Google Sheets to create a
simple spreadsheet with columns reflecting the names of prospective
websites to pitch, the contact persons to pitch, the date I intend to
pitch them.
11. While prospecting for clients, I’d also get on quality job boards and
find clients from those places too.

I’d keep prospecting clients until I have enough feedback to know what
niche to focus on.

12. Now I’d choose a niche based on the theme (from step one) that’s

© Bamidele Onibalusi 25 How They Started

 earned me the most clients and paid well too.

13. I’d then set up a website on WordPress to harness my successes and

grow my business.

© Bamidele Onibalusi 26 How They Started

Do You Want in on My Proven Blueprint for Building
a Successful Freelance Writing Business?

R ichard, Nick, Tolulope and Nicholas all credit my system -- my blueprint

-- for helping them get their start as freelance writers. Now, they all earn
a healthy four-figure monthly income. If not one, or two, or three but four
(there are lots more, but let’s stay with four, alright?) SUCCESSFUL freelance
writers say that I know a thing or two about freelance writing, well they
must have seen something.

I don’t know what they saw, but it sure has helped them get to four figures
monthly in freelance writing income today. AND I want YOU to see what
they saw, too.

I’m currently working on a resource that I aim to eventually position as the

definitive resource for beginner freelance writers. It’s a course for beginner
freelance writers, and it is tentatively titled “Getting Started: Kickstart a
Successful Freelance Writing Business in 14 Days or Less.” In essence, you’ll
give me 14 days and I’ll guide you towards building the foundation of a
successful freelance writing business that will position you to be earning
four figures monthly in income, just like the successful people you just read
about.

I’m stuck, though. I obviously know a thing or two about freelance writing,
as Richard, Nick, Nicholas and Tolulope attest to, but my course will not be
complete without input from you. I need you to do just two things:

1. Answer a quick, very short survey so that I can ensure this course
addresses your exact concerns.

Simply click the link below to answer the survey: http://www.

writersincharge.com/survey/kickstart

© Bamidele Onibalusi 27 How They Started

2. Ensure you’re subscribed to be notified when it launches. If you got
this report through my email to you, you’re set -- you’ll know when
it launches. If a friend forwarded this report to you, or if you got it
through some other means, you might very well miss out when the
course launches. In that case, be sure to head over here to subscribe:
http://www.thewriterincharge.com/hts/

© Bamidele Onibalusi 28 How They Started