When I started out as a full-time writer, I signed up with sites like Fiverr and Elance. Back then, I thought platforms like these were the answers to all my problems. I’d just given up work for health reasons and writing meant I could stop worrying about how I could earn some money.

I soon had a steady stream of writing work coming in. But, after awhile, it became too much. I was faced with 20-plus articles at a time to finish and I was working 7 days a week, and up to 2.00 a.m. in the morning to get things done.

However, I kept going regardless until I got to the point where I realized the volume of work was taking me further away from my dream of writing for high-paying corporate clients. Eventually, enough became enough and, after shutting down my Fiverr gigs, I finally started to put a plan into action.

Here’s how I approached it:

1. Established a niche

I learned that clients are willing to pay more for specialist writers, so narrowing down a sector became my priority. I’d started writing in the health and press release niche. However, as most of my work was ghostwritten, it was difficult to build a strong portfolio.

So, I thought about the other sectors I’d written for, and about my own background.

I’d regularly produced content for payment processing companies and I have a background in retail and e-commerce. As I had both practical and personal experience in these areas, I was a natural fit for these niches.

2. Set a minimum amount I was willing to work for

I was determined to only pitch my services to higher-paying markets. I was no longer going to write articles for less-than-minimum-wage fees.

3. Let people know about my niche

My next step was letting potential clients know about my new niche. Beyond reaching out to various SEO and digital marketing agencies for some better paid writing work, I wasn’t ready to go cold pitching to corporate clients. For this reason, I started with the basics first.

For instance, on People Per Hour, I updated my profile to include my background as an e commerce seller and a writer for payment processing sites.

Then, I focused on pitching to well-paid writing opportunities in these categories. This enabled me to build up a steady portfolio of higher paying clients, and gave me better quality work samples.

I also sent out applications to companies that were proactively looking for writers, and used some examples of work from my new portfolio. Later, I received an email telling me my application was successful, my first pitch was accepted, and it paid $150 a post.

Updating my profiles on various sites also paid off for me. A potential client saw it, and felt that my background as an ecommerce seller meant I would be a good fit for his site.

I few emails back and forth and a phone call later, I was about to start writing my first £150 (approx. $186) per 1000-word article.

However, you could skip this step, and go direct to cold-pitching clients in your niche. I didn’t do this because, after months of taking on low paying writing work, my confidence was at an all-time low.

Conclusion

Finding higher paid clients, and pitching to those, sounds daunting but, for me, it was about taking three simple steps.

1. My first step was finding a niche that I had a proven track record in, and that offered higher paying opportunities.
2. The next step was setting a minimum amount that I was willing to work for.
3. And, finally, I took my first steps toward marketing to clients in my chosen sector.

Jane Fazackarley is a freelance writer with a special interest in ecommerce, payment processing and retail. Her debut novel, Then He Left Me, is available on Amazon.