Although I have been writing poetry, fiction, news and more since high school, I consider my official start as a freelance writer on January 4, 2014. That was the day I opened my account with an online freelancing service named oDesk (now known as Upwork). Exactly six days later, on January 10, 2014, I received my first ‘professional’ writing job. It was for a US client and was for a set of 5 x 600-word articles on “How To Get Into Radio.” I still find that to be funny and ironic considering I had spent 23 years in that industry.
By the end of January 2014, I was writing articles almost daily. It only made sense to me to help cross-promote myself online so I registered the domain name www.looseink.net on February 25, 2014, and launched a website soon after. I added a Facebook Page on December 24, 2014. When I discovered the internet TLD .ninja, I saw some marketing opportunities and registered www.looseink.ninja on January 28, 2015. I started calling my freelance content writing service “Looseink Freelance Ninja” and stayed busy with writing jobs.
Switching Online Freelance Platforms
Although I enjoyed “bidding” on writing projects at oDesk/Upwork, I had some clients I picked up there contact me directly and that enhanced my freelance business greatly. Then I discovered Fiverr. I liked that there were no bids required but didn’t like the $5 price structure. Anyway, in April 2016 I joined Fiverr. I wasn’t active on that site as I just didn’t like the way rates were controlled. Anyway, I started using Fiverr to hire people for other things I needed. My first time was April 19, 2016, when I hired someone to “promote my Kindle book” on their Facebook.
I wasn’t convinced that Fiverr was for me and on December 7, 2016, I posted my first gig – “sell your message on Twitter” thinking I may be able to pull in a few $5 ads that I could blast out on my Twitter accounts. At the time, I had 5 different Twitter accounts with a reach of over 15,000 followers. No one bit. So I kept using oDesk/Upwork and working with a group of web entrepreneurs from Australia who hired me direct for article jobs.
Then I Had Another Interesting Idea
It was on February 3, 2017, when I finally posted an actual writing gig on Fiverr. Up to this point, my profile was mostly bare as I didn’t see myself using the service for anything. Regardless, I gave it a try. On February 20, 2017, I received my first Fiverr writing job. It was for a single 500-word article titled “Even Your Pooch Needs A Paws From Winter.” It was my title and for a US client. I earned a whole $5 before Fiverr took their cut. I got two more writing jobs that month and it soon grew to a steady flow of article writing work.
After I had passed a specific set of milestones set by Fiverr I could add more gigs, add more options to each gig and increase my rates from $5 an article. In 2018, Fiverr was bringing me the majority of my business along with outside writing work adding to it. The following year saw me increase my Fiverr rates more than once and to rates that were better than I was getting anywhere else for my writing service. Fiverr essentially built my writing business.
My Current Situation
As I mark my 6th anniversary as a freelance ghostwriter, my jobs come from many different sources now. I have a couple of ad agencies I provide content to regularly in addition to about ten other regular clients who hire me directly via email. I had to “pause” my Fiverr account more than once in the past five months as I was getting swamped with work and didn’t want to start falling behind or punching out sub-standard product. I was also sick during November and December 2019 but regardless, 2019 has so far been my most successful ghostwriting year.
The funny thing about the success of my home-based business is that I originally started it to earn a few extra bucks on the side thinking it could help us get through the slow economic dip our other business had experienced. I never intended to be a full-time, professional freelance writer but it soon became apparent that this was the path I should be following. I thank all my past and current customers for their support and look forward to working throughout 2020 on many more interesting ghostwriting projects.
By the end of January 2014, I was writing articles almost daily. It only made sense to me to help cross-promote myself online so I registered the domain name www.looseink.net on February 25, 2014, and launched a website soon after. I added a Facebook Page on December 24, 2014. When I discovered the internet TLD .ninja, I saw some marketing opportunities and registered www.looseink.ninja on January 28, 2015. I started calling my freelance content writing service “Looseink Freelance Ninja” and stayed busy with writing jobs.
Switching Online Freelance Platforms
Although I enjoyed “bidding” on writing projects at oDesk/Upwork, I had some clients I picked up there contact me directly and that enhanced my freelance business greatly. Then I discovered Fiverr. I liked that there were no bids required but didn’t like the $5 price structure. Anyway, in April 2016 I joined Fiverr. I wasn’t active on that site as I just didn’t like the way rates were controlled. Anyway, I started using Fiverr to hire people for other things I needed. My first time was April 19, 2016, when I hired someone to “promote my Kindle book” on their Facebook.
I wasn’t convinced that Fiverr was for me and on December 7, 2016, I posted my first gig – “sell your message on Twitter” thinking I may be able to pull in a few $5 ads that I could blast out on my Twitter accounts. At the time, I had 5 different Twitter accounts with a reach of over 15,000 followers. No one bit. So I kept using oDesk/Upwork and working with a group of web entrepreneurs from Australia who hired me direct for article jobs.
Then I Had Another Interesting Idea
It was on February 3, 2017, when I finally posted an actual writing gig on Fiverr. Up to this point, my profile was mostly bare as I didn’t see myself using the service for anything. Regardless, I gave it a try. On February 20, 2017, I received my first Fiverr writing job. It was for a single 500-word article titled “Even Your Pooch Needs A Paws From Winter.” It was my title and for a US client. I earned a whole $5 before Fiverr took their cut. I got two more writing jobs that month and it soon grew to a steady flow of article writing work.
After I had passed a specific set of milestones set by Fiverr I could add more gigs, add more options to each gig and increase my rates from $5 an article. In 2018, Fiverr was bringing me the majority of my business along with outside writing work adding to it. The following year saw me increase my Fiverr rates more than once and to rates that were better than I was getting anywhere else for my writing service. Fiverr essentially built my writing business.
My Current Situation
As I mark my 6th anniversary as a freelance ghostwriter, my jobs come from many different sources now. I have a couple of ad agencies I provide content to regularly in addition to about ten other regular clients who hire me directly via email. I had to “pause” my Fiverr account more than once in the past five months as I was getting swamped with work and didn’t want to start falling behind or punching out sub-standard product. I was also sick during November and December 2019 but regardless, 2019 has so far been my most successful ghostwriting year.
The funny thing about the success of my home-based business is that I originally started it to earn a few extra bucks on the side thinking it could help us get through the slow economic dip our other business had experienced. I never intended to be a full-time, professional freelance writer but it soon became apparent that this was the path I should be following. I thank all my past and current customers for their support and look forward to working throughout 2020 on many more interesting ghostwriting projects.
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