How to Become a 6-Figure SEO Writer (No BS)

5 min readJun 7, 2021

SEO copywriting has opened the door to near-limitless opportunities for me — both personally and professionally.

It’s no secret that “starting your own business” has been a trending topic in the past few years, and I am proud to say I actually drank the Kool-Aid.

There are many get-rich-quick schemes out there but becoming an SEO content writer is 100% genuine, lucrative, and relatively simple, even with ZERO experience.

I’m happy to share my tips for getting started so you can start your own SEO content business, market yourself effectively, set your rates, and become a highly paid content writer.

1. Choose a Focus (aka “Niche”)

Do a Google search on how to start a wiring business and you are likely to find tons of articles that talk about choosing a writing niche. This is just a fancy way of saying that you should narrow your focus to what topics you want to write about and what types of clients you want to work with.

Some of the most lucrative writing niches include:

Ecommerce
B2B
SaaS
Finance
Fashion
Beauty
Fitness

However, don’t let what’s “most lucrative” deter you from following your passion. If you want to write about animals, sports, travel, marketing, or whatever, there is certainly money to be made by targeting the right audience.

2. Launch Your Portfolio from Scratch

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have a ton of(or any) writing experience to become a content writer. Certainly, it helps to have some experience under your belt, but it’s totally possible to start from zero.

Here’s how to do it:

Get set up on a content publishing site. This could be social blogging a platform like Medium.com, your own website (I like WordPress or Siteground), or even LinkedIn Articles. Any platform that allows you to post original content for free can become your professional portfolio.
Publish unique content. Once you’ve chosen a niche, start writing and publishing content that’s 1) related to this niche and 2) would appeal to your target audience. This will mark the start of your writing portfolio.
Format your content. Follow SEO best practices to format your content for SEO. This will take practice but, over time, you will have some solid work examples that highlight your writing style AND ability to write for SEO.
Curate your work examples. Add images to your work examples (you can use Unsplash.com or Canva.com) to make your content look pretty. Post your work examples on your social media accounts so potential clients can review your portfolio in just a few seconds.

Watch: How to Create a Winning Writing Portfolio

3. Spruce Up Your Social Media Profiles for Inbound Leads

I HATE the idea that freelancers “have” to be salesy to land new clients. This is simply not true. With an inbound marketing approach, you can attract new clients to you, passively, without seeming like a spammy a-hole.

The top platforms I use to acquire SEO content clients are Facebook and LinkedIn.

Here’s what inbound marketing looks like for these two profiles, but many of these tips can apply to any social media platform:

Fill out your bio to describe the type of content you create, how your approach is unique, and the types of clients you work with. If you are brand new, this may all seem hypothetical, but the key is to focus on your niche rather than market yourself as a generalist writer.
Post valuable content your audience would be interested in. Is your target audience finance companies? What types of questions might they have about content writing? What tips can you share? How will your content help them generate results?
Establish a brand identity. I’ve marketed myself as the “SEO copy chick” for quite some time — with magenta brandy, a quirky attitude, and tons of SEO-focused content, people know to go to me for a certain type of content and style. Clients want to hire someone who is unique, is the best at their job, and knows what they want in terms of results. The better you can solidify your own unique brand identity, the easier it will be to stand out from other writers.
Use groups to your advantage. LinkedIn and Facebook groups present countless opportunities to “bump elbows” with other writers and business owners. These people can be a source of clients OR send referral business your way. Don’t shy away from a little friendly competition; use these groups to your advantage to make a name for yourself in your niche.

Watch: How to Get Writing Clients on Facebook

Watch: How to Get Writing Clients on LinkedIn

4. Charge Competitive Rates

I cry many tears when I see new and even experienced writers undercharge for their work. My mantra is that as long as you write content that provides value to your client base, then you have something to bring to the table and are worthy of charging a competitive price.

Being new is not enough reason to scrape the bottom of the barrel. I see brand new writers who have excellent writing skills and are miles ahead of more “experienced” writers. This is why it’s best to adopt value-based pricing — which considers the results you are able to generate for clients.

Look at what those in your market are charging. If you have NO clients gasping at your prices, your rates are probably too low. If ALL of your potential clients gawk at your prices, they may be too high (for now). Also, increase your rates every 6 months. I said what I said.

Watch: How to Set Your Rates as a Freelance Writer

5. Scale Your Content Business to 6 Figures

Having a 6-figure SEO content business is NOT a pipedream. It is very feasible, even for the freshest of writers, to reach this level with the right marketing strategy.

Inbound marketing, to start, is the key to landing your first few writing clients. After that, you can work to grow your referral network (through partnerships), invest in SEO, and even run paid ads to generate leads.

Beyond marketing, implementing systems will help you automate workflow and increase productivity. You will be able to manage more projects with ease, all while increasing your rates to reach that higher paygrade.

Remember: The success of your writing business heavily depends on you keeping your clients happy and landing them stellar results. Ask your clients for positive reviews, write case studies, and post testimonials on social media to show the world you mean business.

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