Whether you just started freelancing or you’ve been at it for awhile, I’m guessing you want to know how you can find better-paying clients and make more money. One of the easiest ways to do this is by finding recurring work.

Recurring work will give you peace of mind because you’re not constantly starting over from scratch every month. What if you could begin your month knowing that you already have thousands of dollars of work booked?

Unfortunately, this isn’t the position most freelancers find themselves in. Most freelancers start the month with a pit in the bottom of their stomach, hoping they’ll be able to pick up enough jobs through the month to pay their bills.

Why Freelance Writers Need Recurring Work

This is the situation I found myself in a couple of years ago. Thanks to my marketing efforts, I was finding new clients on a very consistent basis and was earning about $3,000 per month.

But let me tell you, it was A LOT OF WORK to earn that $3,000. Every month, I was constantly hustling to find new clients so I could meet my income goals.

But in spite of the fact that I continued to find better-paying clients, I never seemed to be able to break past that $3,000 point.

Then at the end of 2018, I sat down and looked at my numbers for the year. And most importantly, I looked at how much I had earned per client.

And I was shocked to find that 25% of my income for the year had come from one client. And it was actually my lowest paying client if you can believe that.

How was that possible? It’s because that particular client was an ongoing client who gave me very consistent work.

Instead of randomly assigning me writing jobs here and there, that client gave me the same number of articles every single week. And even though the work paid less, it actually took me far less time because I was so used to writing for them.

This was a huge eye-opener for me and I went into 2019 determined to find more recurring work. And I’m happy to say that in 2019, I more than doubled my income and broke past the six-figure mark.

7 Ways to Find More Recurring Writing Work

Okay, so now that you know why you need more recurring writing work, how do you actually go about finding it? Let’s look at seven ways you can do this.

1. Pick your niche

If you’re a brand-new freelancer then I think it’s okay to hold off on picking a niche. But if you’ve been at it for a while and still aren’t making the kind of money you want to make then it’s time to choose a niche.

I held off on choosing a niche for a long time because I was afraid I would limit myself if I couldn’t apply for every available job on Upwork and ProBlogger. But it’s actually the opposite -- in time, you’ll find that it becomes easier to find work once you have a clearly defined niche.

The kind of clients who are looking for ongoing writers want someone who’s established themselves as an expert. Think about it -- do you think Forbes hires generalists to write for them?

No. They look for people who have some level of expertise in one or two areas.

Once I decided I was ONLY going to look for personal finance clients, it became much easier for me to attract the kinds of clients I wanted.

2. Find one big client in your niche

One of the easiest ways to establish yourself in your niche is by finding that one big client. Once you’ve written for a more established client in your niche then similar clients are more willing to take a chance on you.

For me, this happened once I started writing for GOBankingRates. From there, it was much easier for me to find bigger clients like Credit Karma or Quicken Loans.

3. Look for bigger companies

Unfortunately, small businesses and start-ups are not always the best source of recurring work for freelance writers. This is true even if that client is willing to pay you a higher rate.

Small businesses typically will not have the resources to put a content team in place. This means that you’ll often be working directly with the owner to plan the content strategy for the month.

The problem is, a small business owner has a thousand things to think about, like making payroll and bringing in new customers. So content marketing usually ranks pretty low on their list of priorities.

So this means that you’ll get one or two assignments, and then stop hearing from that client for months at a time. That makes it hard for you to build any kind of consistent income.

That’s why I recommend targeting bigger companies. Large companies are going to have the resources to put a content team in place so you’ll be working with an editor.

That editor’s top priority is going to be assigning new work and putting out more content. That means if you do a good job, you could land a lot of work from that client.

To be clear, I’m not telling you to avoid working with small businesses or startups -- just don’t make them the majority of your client base.

4. Pitch publications and blogs

One of the easiest ways to find ongoing work is by writing for well-known publications and blogs. These sites are constantly putting out new content, and likely have thousands of topics sitting in their editorial calendar just waiting to be assigned.

My recommendation is to email them directly to ask if you can write for them. Many of these sites will have “contact us” pages, but the likelihood of anyone actually getting back to you is slim to none.

If it’s a blog, you can pretty easily figure out how to contact the owner of that blog. If it’s a bigger publication, I recommend doing some digging and finding an editor to contact. One of the easiest ways to do this is by searching on Twitter because most editors will update their bio with their position and where they work.

5. Network, network, network

One of the best ways to find new work is by networking with other freelancers. You will learn new tricks and tips that you probably never would have discovered on your own.

For instance, when I started networking with other personal finance writers I learned about an event called FinCon. It’s a conference for content creators in the personal finance industry.

Attending that conference last September and joining the Facebook group was such a game-changer for my business. It resulted in thousands of dollars in work that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Obviously, in-person networking events aren’t an option for the time being. But Facebook groups and even LinkedIn groups provide a lot of opportunities to connect with other writers.

6. Keep following up

I cannot overstate how important it is to continue following up with leads and former clients. Most leads will not become clients right away, and it can take a lot of following up to get them to hire you.

I recommend keeping a spreadsheet of leads and keeping track of how often you contact them.

And you want to make sure that you keep in contact with your former clients as well. It’s easy to assume that if your former clients need something, they’ll contact you.

But in my experience, this is rarely the case.

Your goal should be to start building relationships with all of your current and former clients. That way, the minute they realize they need to hire a freelance writer, you’re the first person who pops in their head.

7. Ask your clients and leads for referrals

And finally, you should make it a habit to ask your clients and leads for referrals. I know that at first glance, this can feel really awkward and spammy, but I promise you it isn’t.

The truth is, most people love being asked for referrals because it makes them feel important and useful. It’s counter-intuitive, but people give referrals because it makes them feel good about themselves.

You may feel like you’re inconveniencing that person by asking for a referral. But all that person hears is, “I believe that you’re well-connected and know important people who can help me.”

Here is an easy script you can add on to the end of your emails when you contact your clients to ask for referrals:

I’m currently looking for new clients in the [Freelancing Niche -- i.e. health, personal finance, etc] industry. Do you know of anyone who’s looking for a freelance writer like me?

Final Thoughts on Recurring Work

If you’re looking for ways to earn more money as a freelance writer, recurring work is the way to go. It will help you break the feast-and-famine cycle that so many freelance writers fall into.

If you feel like you’ve plateaued in your freelance writing business, and don’t know how to get unstuck, I want to invite you to hop on a call with me.

My free, 30-minute Next Step coaching call is perfect for anyone who needs clarity on the steps they need to take to move forward in their business. You can sign up here.