It’s not actually that difficult to make money as a freelance writer.

If you’ve been trying to find clients for a while, then you may take issue with that statement. But it’s true.

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The amount of work that’s available for freelancers is insane. At nearly every corner of the internet, someone is looking to hire a freelance writer.

I’ve found clients on job boards, through referrals, from other freelancers, in Facebook groups, on LinkedIn, from Google searches, and even from Craig’s List.

That’s why most freelancers who have a decent level of writing ability and put some effort in almost always end up landing at least a few clients.

In my experience, it’s pretty rare that someone just get anyone to hire them.

4 reasons you’re not making more money writing

The problem for most freelance writers is that they never make any real money at it. They find clients and earn a little bit here and there, but can never generate enough momentum to earn a real living as a writer.

Here are four reasons why I think that happens.

1. You’re not managing your time very well

If you want to make more money as a freelance writer then you’re going to have to get really good at managing your time. If you manage your time well then you can write more articles and earn more money.

It sounds obvious, but it’s so hard to put into practice.

When I first started freelance writing, this was one of the biggest things that held me back. I constantly wasted time and then wondered why I always felt stressed and could never accomplish everything on my to-do list.

And instead of acknowledging how much time I wasted, I blamed my lack of productivity on external influences. Namely, I believed I couldn’t be productive because I’m a mom and because I’m not naturally organized or a planner.

I’m still a mom and I still don’t consider myself naturally organized or a planner. But I’ve gotten much better at managing my time.

Here are some of the biggest things I implemented:

Plan ahead: Every Sunday, I take 30 minutes to plan out my week in Trello and my Google Calendar. I schedule activities that are going on with my kids, articles I have due, and anything else I want to get done.

Stick to a daily schedule: My work hours are not sporadic -- I get up at the same time every day and I work from 8:30-2:30 while my kids are in school.

Eliminate distractions: I try not to check my email or social media before noon. I’ve just learned the hard way that it becomes way too much of a distraction and gets my off-track from my writing.

2. You’re not consistent about doing the work

Here’s what I’ve noticed happens to many freelance writers: they start finding paid writing work and get really excited about it.

What? I can actually make money writing blog posts from home? This is my dream job!

And that sentiment lasts for about a month or so until they get bored with it.

Because like anything else in life, writing for a living sucks at least some of the time.

Once they start getting bored, they quit doing the things that made them successful in the first place.

They stop sending proposals, looking for new work, or following up with their clients.

As a result, the work dries up and the money goes away with it.

And most people will tell themselves that the “problem” is their niche or that they’re just not “passionate” about what they’re writing about.

But none of it is true -- they’re just bored and ready to move on to something that feels more exciting.

I wish that I could give you a solution to keep this from happening, but I can’t. The occasional feelings of boredom and restlessness never go away.

I earn six-figures freelance writing so you’d think I would always be excited about it or at least motivated to do the work, but that’s just not the case.

But I have learned that I can be consistent and do what I said I’m going to do regardless of how I feel. Don’t make the feelings mean something because they don’t.

3. You’re looking for marketing hacks

One day, I came across the following post in a Facebook group I’m active in:

“Have any of you guys had any luck finding clients by writing articles for Medium? I’m just wondering if it’s even worth my time to try it.”

I’m not picking on this person because I used to say things like this all the time. But I want you to understand that this person is looking for a marketing hack.

She wants that one perfect marketing strategy that’s going to help her effortlessly bring in tons of clients.

The problem is that the “perfect marketing plan” doesn’t exist and you’re going to waste a lot of time searching for it.

Your success as a freelance writer never depends on any single marketing plan -- it’s about you and the level of effort you put into it.

You’re going to have to try a lot of different things to find clients and most of them won’t work.

So if you’re trying to figure out the best way to market your freelance writing business then here’s my advice to you: just pick something.

Wondering if writing articles for Medium could help you find new clients? Try it for 30 days and see what happens.

And if it doesn’t work then at least you learned something. Now you can move on and try something else.

4. You’re not saying yes to the opportunities right in front of you

A big turning point in my freelance writing business came when I started networking with freelancer writers who made a lot more money than me.

Think upwards of $20,000 per month.

And I was surprised to find that most took on lower-paying writing jobs at least some of the time.

Don’t get me wrong — they didn’t write articles for 5 cents per word.

But let’s say they typically made between 50 cents and $1 per word.

They were also willing to occasionally work with clients who paid 30 cents per word.

And they rarely turn down new work because high-earning freelancers take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of them.

In comparison, I’ve noticed that freelancers who aren’t earning much money will regularly turn down work from potential clients.

And they always have a reason for why that job wasn’t a good fit.

Maybe it didn’t pay well enough or didn’t come with a byline.

Perhaps it was about a topic they find boring or uninteresting.

But they routinely turn down work and then wonder why they aren’t making any money.

In my opinion, it’s rarely ever a good idea to turn down paid writing work, especially if you’re new. And there are a few reasons why I believe this is true.

First, you’re not just turning down that one job; you’re also turning down all the other opportunities that come with it.

You’re turning down any future work that client might have given you. You’re turning down the referrals you could have gotten from that client.

And most importantly, you’re keeping yourself stuck in the exact same place. And that’s the absolute worst place to be of all.

Bottom Line

It’s easy to blame external circumstances for why we’re not reaching our goals. But most of the time, we’re the ones standing in our own way.

If you’re looking for a way to find clients and starting making money as a freelance writer in 2021, I’d love for you to check out my free webinar:

How to Use Upwork as a Freelance Writer

I’ve been building my freelance writing business for over four years, and Upwork has played a huge role in my success. Check it out and let me know what new strategies you learn!