Today I want to share with you the exact process I followed to land my first ghostwriting client.

The idea of making money online has always been enticing to me.

• It costs little money to start.

• You get to work from the comfort of your home.

• You get unlimited opportunities to scale your income.

But there’s one big problem:

"How do I find my first client?”

This is the approach I followed:

Find a forcing function

“I will teach you how to make $5000 per month as a freelance writer”

That’s the promise in the email that changed everything for me. During this time, I’ve been consuming content on the internet about how I can start making money by writing. So I subscribed to a lot of free stuff. But then this one person sent me this email that seems so good –– except it costs $499.

For about a week, I thought “There’s no way I’m spending $499 for this. I can find everything on the internet for free.”

Yet, I kept going back to this email. I read the testimonials and they claim that it works. But I was still not willing to spend the money because I’d never bought a course before.

And I can buy so many other stuff for $499.

And everyone would think I’m crazy if I spent $499 on a course.

And what if it doesn’t work for me because I don’t have previous writing experience?

I don’t know exactly what happened. But one morning, I decided to screw all my reasons. I told myself I was going to invest in my learning.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and bought the course.

My goal was one thing: To get the returns on my investment.

To this day, this course is still one of the best investments I made. I was determined to start making money because if not, I would have wasted my money and time.

After a few weeks, I landed my first client and got paid.

Sometimes, all you need is something that will force you to take action.

Plant the flag (even when you don’t feel ready)

Finding my niche was the biggest bottleneck I had as a beginner.

At first, I had no idea what to write about. I felt like I didn't know anything worth sharing. I didn't feel qualified to write or teach about different topics.

I was stuck “finding my niche.”

If I had to start all over again, I'll fast track my journey by deciding what I want to write about:

• List down professional skills/background

• Write down hobbies or activities you do on the weekend

• Check YouTube and Google history for topics of personal interests

From the list above, you’d have 10 topics you can write about. Pick one from these, then write about it every day for one week.

Just like that, you’re ahead of most beginners who keep going from one topic to another.

Important: You can always change your niche once you made enough progress.

Impress them with your portfolio

I feel bad for the person who sent me the DM above.

But we all know why his approach doesn’t work:

Nobody will hire you if you can’t show them that you are a great writer.

Once you have done the first step and know what to write about, the next challenge is creating a writing habit.

Learning how to write is not for the faint of heart. Unlike traditional jobs though, finding online clients is more feasible. You don't need years of experience to flaunt your resume. You don't even need a degree.

You just need to prove that you can do the work.

And you can do this by creating a portfolio.

This is where you direct your clients and show them that you are a professional writer.

Creating your portfolio is the start of your writing journey:

• You will struggle to create a writing habit.

• You will challenge your discipline and creativity.

• You will have a hard time discovering a writing system that works for you.

But this is also where the fun begins.

I started to think this was not about money. It’s about figuring out whether this is what I want to do.

The last thing you want is to find a client without a solid writing process. You don’t want to charge if you can’t deliver and do the work.

So before finding clients, write at least 10 articles (1000 words each) and post them on your portfolio.

I spent $100 on a website in my first year as a freelance writer. But I later used Medium to serve as my portfolio.

I recommend Medium nowadays because:

• You get paid directly even as a beginner

• Your articles can rank on Google (and clients might find you)

• You can grow an audience while creating your portfolio

Creating your portfolio should not take more than 2 weeks.

Write one draft every single day.

Edit the next day. Write another draft.

Repeat this process for 2 weeks.

Don’t wait for clients to come to you

Now that you have a portfolio, don’t make the same mistake I did.

I kept thinking I wrote great articles, so clients would reach out to me and ask about my writing services.

I was crazy to think this would happen.

If you want to find clients, you need to reach out to as many people as you can.

This is where I looked for potential clients:

• Google

• Twitter

• Upwork

• Problogger

I found my first luck on Upwork.

The platform has a bad reputation because it takes 20% of your earnings and most clients here don’t pay a lot.

Yet, I recommend starting with it. Although there is a lot of competition, you can easily stand out.

Why?

Because most of the freelancers on Upwork are not taking it seriously. This website also makes it easy for you to find small gigs. Small gigs are great for beginners as they will help you learn how to negotiate with clients. Some tips you need when reaching out to clients on Upwork:

1. Read the entire description of the job posting. Most of the time, they have specific guidelines. For example, they will ask you to use the word "banana" at the beginning of your pitch. If you don’t follow this, they will ignore you.

2. Do not copy and paste your pitch. Write your pitch in a way that is specific to the job posting. This goes a long way instead of the generic templates that most freelancers use.

3. Always direct them to your portfolio. Tell them what you do, then link them to your portfolio.

4. Keep it short. If you don’t want them to ignore you, get straight to the point.

5. Send your pitch in the morning. That's when clients check their email.

Sending 10 pitches a day should be your minimum.

If you do this, you will land your client in less than one month.

Follow up regularly.

This is the step most freelancers forget.

And it’s also the easiest way you can stand out.

Create a spreadsheet of your potential clients. Collect contact information, then follow up:

• After 3 days

• After 1 week

• After 2 weeks

Sometimes, clients will not respond not because they don’t want to work with you.

They don’t respond because they are busy.

So remind them that your writing services exist.

Call To Action

That’s it for today.

I hope you find these steps useful and actionable.

By the way, I’m creating a course about “finding your temporary niche.” This is most helpful for planting your flag and getting started with your writing journey.

I am giving away free access to my subscribers once it’s ready. If this is something that you might be interested in, just reply to this email.

Have a happy weekend!

-M