How to Turn Your Advanced Degree into Freelance Writing Cash

by Courtney Danyel

I love anthropology but by the time I finished my MA,
I was already showing signs of burnt out with academia.

My favorite thing about my career was doing fieldwork (traveling to interesting places, learning new languages, and helping people). But I only got to do that 1 or 2 months out of the year. The rest of the time I spent in a windowless office doing research.

I started dreaming about how I could do my favorite parts of anthropology all the time.

In the summer of 2014 I started fieldwork in a new country — Ethiopia. I absolutely loved it there and wanted to go back. But I was set up to start my PhD in the fall. After returning home at the end of the summer, I had a long talk with my parents and dropped out of my PhD program.

I decided to start calling myself a freelance writer instead.

I Have Good Writing and Research Skills: Can I Go Freelance?

I got into that niche because I already had excellent research and writing skills. At first my writing was way too formal (I wrote every blog post like a research paper). But the more web content I read, the easier it was to tone down my writing.

Within 4 weeks of starting my freelance business I sold my car and bought a plane ticket to my field site (Ethiopia). Finally I was living somewhere I loved while doing work that earned me great money.

I’ve never left since.

While my main source of income is now from freelance writing, I still get to help out with anthropology fieldwork most summers. I’ve learned new languages, explored new cultures, and found a way to help people by becoming a mom. I’m really lucky I get the best of both worlds.

I Got My Start as a Freelancer on Fiverr

Unlike most people who gradually transition into freelancing, I jumped in head first. I needed money right away if I was going to keep myself afloat. So I started out writing press releases on Fiverr. At the time I didn’t realize I was qualified to write much more valuable content. So I earned very little at first (unnecessarily).

Then by chance one day I landed a gig on Guru writing blog posts on digital marketing topics. As an anthropologist, I knew nothing about digital marketing. I had no portfolio clips — I’m pretty sure I showed the client a copy of my master’s thesis as a writing sample. She saw I was a good writer and decided to take a chance on me.

Every time I wrote a blog post for her I had to spend hours researching the topics. I was so worried she was going to figure out I had no idea what I was talking about. But she always loved what I wrote.

How My Writing Appeared on Forbes Without My Knowledge

Then one day, while researching a different blog post, I discovered a Forbes article that looked strangely familiar. I took a look at it and realized those were my words. My client (unbeknownst to me) was publishing my writing under the name of a business executive.

I did a little more digging and found my ghostwritten content on top business blogs and magazines all over the web. That’s when I realized I could teach myself how to write about anything and do it with confidence.

Then after a little more digging I discovered that my client was charging her clients 10x what she paid me to write content for them. The next day I quit that gig and started pitching my own clients as an expert digital marketing writer. The business really took off from there.

How I Found My Niche as a Writer

I specialize in B2B/digital marketing, SaaS and entrepreneurship. I came into the digital marketing niche organically, like I discussed in the previous question. SaaS stemmed from that because a lot of software tools are designed to help people with marketing.

I got into entrepreneurship after writing for a software company. Their CEO and COO needed to create thought leadership content for their personal blogs. I was recommended to them as a writer.

One of my favorite parts of freelance writing is trying to write with the voice and sentiment of other people (AKA major business leaders). I learned how to do this by reading a lot of content that was written in their own hand, then trying to mimic their style.

How to Get More Bylines So You Have Clips to Show

I think having a professional, updated website is essential. Lots of freelance writers don’t even bother having a website, so having one can really make you stand out from the crowd.

It’s also important to get your own bylined articles in major publications. When I first started out I was mostly ghostwriting so I didn’t have any portfolio clips of my content in major publications. So I started pitching blogs and wrote a few guest posts for free. Having these bylined clips in my portfolio showed potential clients that I could help get their content published on high authority blogs too.

Don’t Limit Yourself When Pitching Guest Posts!

It’s important to not limit yourself when pitching guest posts. A lot of publications look for experts only or submissions from journalists. But if you write great content, they’ll publish it.

Years ago I submitted an article to an editor at Wall Street Journal, despite the fact that I had zero experience in journalism. They published it.

Over the years I’ve also perfected a cold-pitching strategy and tell my students exactly how to use it. So whenever business slows down (as it inevitably does), I fall back on that. I try to seek out potential clients who can afford to hire me and have a need for me.

For example, I focus on pitching software companies who recently received venture funding but haven’t updated their blog in 2 months!

My Most Lucrative Type of Writing Assignment

I write case studies, ebooks, reports, etc. but blog articles are still the most lucrative type of assignment for me.

Back when I first started out I had to spend hours researching every blog post I wrote. Now I can write about a lot of topics off the top of my head. That helps me earn the most money.

Say, for example, a client pays me $440 flat rate for an article and it takes me two hours to write it. That’s $220/hour! So the longer you stay at it the easier it gets and the more you make per hour and per month.

How Online Courses Helped Me Expand My Writing Services

Years ago clients started asking me if I could help them with other things besides writing. They wanted me to help them build their content calendar, promotion strategy, SEO, etc.

I didn’t like telling them I didn’t know how to do these things. So I took some online courses and taught myself how.

Now I offer package services (content strategy + writing) that allow me to offer more value for my clients — at a much higher price! Clients love a comprehensive solution to their ongoing challenges and it usually means an ongoing gig for me.

People with a Higher Education Don’t Realize How Lucrative Their Fundamental Skills Are

I recently launched AcademiatoAffluence.com which hosts an online course I created: How to Turn Your Liberal Arts Degree Into Endless Freelance Income.

After I left university, former colleagues and students who were struggling financially would reach out to me for advice on how to get into freelancing because they knew I was making good money. That’s why I decided to create a course that helps people with an education use the skills they already have so they can earn good money freelancing from the beginning.

People with a higher education just don’t realize how lucrative their fundamental skills are. I can’t make much money in anthropology, but I can use my academic skills to make more than a tenured professor does.

Should other freelancers build an additional stream of income like this?

Definitely. Diversifying your income is just smart overall. And there are lots of ways to do it (creating courses, writing books, consulting, blogging, etc.) Having an extra stream of income is a smart move overall, and also means you don’t have to spend all your time writing. I’ve been able to take lots of long vacations over the years.

Advice for a Young Writer: Don’t Underestimate Your Worth

Don’t underestimate your worth!

I spent my first year doubting myself and I’m sure I lost $30,000+ in potential income as a result.

Just keep telling yourself that you already have the skills and experience you need to succeed as a researcher, writer or editor. And anything you don’t know you can teach yourself very quickly. With that in mind, you deserve good pay for your freelance services from day one.

No one should toil away on job sites making little money for no reason.

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Courtney Danyel is a course creator, business writer and anthropologist, in that order.

She can teach you how to build a successful freelance business using your existing skills at AcademiatoAffluence.com.

Learn more about her writing services at her website, or connect with her on Twitter.