When I made my first $1000 freelancing in the month of March 2019, my neighbors were surprised and they thought I was doing yahoo.
I was in euphoria.
‘Yahoo’ is a term used to describe online fraud in Nigeria. It is a situation where you take other people’s money and use it to create a false impression of wealth.
Online fraud is not sustainable and the harvest that comes from doing fraud (commonly called scams) is enough to discourage one from participating in such schemes.
Many Nigerians have been defrauded via online investments that were unverified. The attraction is the huge returns advertised by the fraudulent investment companies.
While money gets lost in this kind of investment, you will never experience such losses when you invest in your talent.
One of the most secure ways of making money online is by writing.
I am living proof that you can make money online. I began in 2013 and I failed. Or let me say that I had people to fall back on so I was never really concerned about being successful on a large scale.
When my parents died in 2015/2016, I had to begin freelancing and I did this as a side hustle. When we were in desperate need of accommodation in 2019, I was fired (I was absent beyond the days I took for leave) and I had to make it work full-time and I no longer had any distractions that held me back.
I know some amazing writers in Nigeria who are also cashing out because they took out time to hone their gifts and skills. The good book says that your gift will make room for you.
What are you using your gift for?
You do not need your university degree to succeed as a freelancer in Nigeria. I was bereft and terrified when my parents died. When we were in desperate need of accommodation, that feeling multiplied.
I had God and trusted that He would look out for me. I prayed and began to learn everything I could from the best writers in the writing industry in the African space.
Thank God, for Walter Akolo who taught freelancing along with inspirational messages and the fact that Christianity and following God is a huge factor in becoming successful in any area of your life.
I am choosing to share the secrets to being a successful freelancer in Nigeria and indeed in the African space because times are very tough right now. I do not know if you will value this information because I did not charge 100,000 (or $180 approx.) for it. I am praying that one or two people will take this advice and change their lives.
The goal is to become a well-paid, highly sought-after media professional.
You will need some of the qualities listed below
· Hard work
· Commitment
· Consistency
Have you asked and answered these questions of yourself? Until you answer these questions, you will not be fully committed to making this a success of this venture.
· Do you want to be successful?
· Do you want to be a successful freelance writer in Nigeria?
· Do you want financial freedom so that you will stop feeling the pinch of lack?
If you have made up your mind to let go of some things to take up what God has for you, then you can keep reading.
If you do not want to be successful, you can stop reading this article now.
If you read past the last line, congratulations.
Now there are some requirements needed to be successful.
· Put in the hard work and work on your writing
You know I had this arrogance any time it was time to improve my writing. I thought that I am a great writer. Do not get me wrong. I was.
For pure gold writing, you must pass all your content through due process. You must fine-tune the writing.
Even if you have made money writing, you need to submit yourself to learn the skillsets that you need to become successful in your writing career.
Work on improving your writing skills daily. To improve your writing, you can gain knowledge via the purchase of some eBooks I wrote years ago that will strengthen those areas of writing that you need to be strengthened.
· Join A Freelancing Website – Upwork Or Fiverr
There are many different freelancing websites. My top two websites where I recorded good deals and earned as much as $500 in a week are Fiverr and Upwork. They are good places to start your writing career.
Fill your profiles, optimize your profiles and start selling. Market your gigs via social media so your friends and family can recommend you. Market through your blog.
You will get more value from Upwork. You can earn as much as $50 for 500 words on Upwork. You will earn higher as you gain the trust of your clients.
All you need to do is bid for a job, present your samples and wait for the client to create a milestone. Afterward, get the job done and your money is released from escrow. You can withdraw it five days later on Upwork. Withdrawal time is fifteen days later on Fiverr. You can easily make your first $1000 in three months.
· Share Your Expertise On Social Media
Use social media for more than networking with family and friends. Use social media for business and making money.
Some of your best clients will come from LinkedIn and Facebook. Optimize your profiles and post useful content on your page. This will establish thought leadership in the writing and SMM industry. You can also do this in the specific niche that you prefer.
Some people post on business and others on health. They become the go-to people when their families are looking for business solutions or health solutions.
When financial magazines or other reputable publications post about you in a professional capacity, share in your social circles. The idea is to let people know you are a writer. This would build up your sales funnel and very soon, you will be able to choose the kind of jobs you would rather do or not do.
· Cold Pitching Via LinkedIn & Facebook
Most companies get business partners and clients by advertising. They also have marketing departments where their representatives are on the phone all day long talking about their business and the benefits it provides to the people they are talking to.
Phone contacts, emails, and social media channels are some of the ways that you can reach other companies in 2022. You can approach the companies in your niche and tell them what you can do for them, and how this will affect their bottom-line.
Well-established writers do the same thing. They approach clients and brands with samples of their writing and testimonials on how it was instrumental in growing other companies in the same niche as the brand of the clients.
Apply for jobs with brands who put out job opportunity notices, this is warm pitching but the two strategies work in bringing in business.
You can also pitch companies that have put out no advertisements. I have a book that teaches how to pitch. You can find this on Amazon.
The title is How To Pitch And Land A Client That Pays You $200 For Writing An Article Or A Manual: A practical book
As you grow in expertise – which could be anything from 3 months to two years – you will begin earning in the range of $50 - $500 weekly. Your work will produce results and increase your confidence in your career path.
· Blogging
When you apply to help a company or brand repurpose or write content, they will usually ask for samples.
These samples are examples of work done that they can use to judge your expertise before commissioning a job. Higher-paying clients come with higher risk. In addition, they are more likely to do their due diligence so that they do not lose money.
Your job is to prove to them that you have proficiency in writing or SMM as the case may be. This you can do via your blog. Therefore, when you are asked for samples, you can give them a link to your blog.
If you do not have a blog yet, you can store MS word documents of your content on your Google Drive and give your client a link to see the sample.
The goal of having a blog is to prove expertise. You do this by writing well research blog posts in specific niches and posting on your blog. The usefulness of your post is directly proportional to the returning traffic you will get on your blog.
In this way, you will have clients finding you through other media as opposed to chasing after clients.
Most times, a client contacting you via your blog means that the work is 80 percent done. They have done their research and trust you to deliver a good job.
So what are your plans to make money as a freelancer in Nigeria?
Writing is certainly a great skill to make a respectable income in Nigeria.
Other ways to make money are:
· Social media management
· Computer programming
· App development
· Data science
· Web development
Your inquiries and questions are welcome in the comment below.
Also, share with someone who wants to become a well-paid freelancer in Nigeria.
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