I went viral and it has changed a lot of things. If you are starting out as a freelance writer, take heart – it can happen to you. I guess a quick recap is in order.
I got laid off from a reasonably well-paid and not very demanding job about 10 months ago. I wrote and edited stuff for a big institution for about five years. I did a bit of freelance on the side for random clients but not often because… well I had a job.
When I got made redundant, I thought about getting proper employment and working once again ‘for the man’. Screw that. I opted to return to the precarious life of full-time freelancing.
All my previous clients had moved on or gone out of business
I used to write for several print magazines until I got the job and worked online for random people. The random people just paid better. Nearly all my old clients had either gone out of business or were digital only and paid peanuts.
So, as I have mentioned before, I thought I would give Medium and Fiverr a try. I knew that sites like Fiverr had a bad rep but I had read that people were making quite decent money on there. Like Medium, it seems a very small percentage, but a lot of people are just trying it out. I write for a living which should help but both platforms are worth a try even if you are new to writing.
It has taken 10 months but everything is coming good
I am not writing this to gloat. I am hoping to inspire someone who is doubting whether it is possible to make a go of the freelance lifestyle and are stuck on similar platforms. Here is how things have panned out.
I worked both platforms from April or May onwards. It was slow going on both at first. Fiverr actually helped once I had a couple of clients and reviews. I made a few hundred dollars each month and was making roughly $5-10 on Medium.
By December, Medium was picking up a bit. Which was handy as some algorithm shift on Fiverr meant I had no work except for a couple of repeat clients. Then, last month, the algorithm shifted and I have had requests almost daily. From that, I also got a couple of regular clients who send me weekly work. Which is nice.
Also, in January, an article I wrote on Medium went viral. It is called “Here’s the Real Reason Why Photos Are Banned in the Sistine Chapel“. It made $1000 for just one story and led to all my other articles getting lots more attention and a lot of new followers.
The result of multiple regular clients and earnings from Medium meant, for the first time since redundancy, I earned my old salary. Exceeded it in fact. While going viral certainly helped, everything was on the up and that was just down to persistence.
So, if you are starting out and things seem bleak – just keep going. It was acts of randomness that led to my clients but that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t kept plugging away. The more you write, the more likely an act of randomness will happen. The same goes for Medium. I have no idea why that particular article did so well, it is impossible to predict. Some do well and others do poorly. So again, keep writing and hoping. Things will eventually pick up.
Good luck.
