How I Land High Paying Clients and Produce Passive Income with My Blog

Have you ever thought of your blog as a tool to get high paying clients and add passive income to your life? After almost three years of online business, I’ve found a powerful income combination: freelance writing and blogging.

If you’re not sure how this super combo creates the perfect synergy for relatively quick, online income generation, I’m happy to report that I’m close to cracking the code on how it all works together.

Related Reading: April 2017 Income Report

Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve gotten to know many other bloggers who make their online income in a variety of ways: eCourses, info products affiliate marketing and more. Surprisingly, I’ve encountered a large number of bloggers who earn income as freelance writers, too. I’ve seen this play out with a number of six-figure online earners.

In fact, I’vintervieweded a few myself: Gina Horkey, Holly Porter-Johnson and even Michelle Schroeder Garner. All these ladies have this one thing in common: they earn money via freelance writing/VA services and blogging. What’s more is that many of them started their online earnings with their freelance writing or virtual assistant (VA) offerings, but have also been able to use their success and services revenue to boost their blog income as well.

Seeing this process, plain and clear, has allowed me to etch out the same path. If you take a look at my income reports, you’ll see that my income has steadily increased from early 2016, where I was in the negative some months to around $2,000 in August. From there, my online income continued to increase and is currently between $3,000 and $7,000 per month.

I am projecting that by the end of 2017, I’ll be consistently making $10,000-$15,000 per month with a combination of freelance writing and blog earnings.

So, how does it all work?

Starting with Freelance Writing

In the beginning, I was relying solely on the income my blog earned from ad networks and affiliate sales. It was a slow way to start for, as my traffic was pretty low. However, at some point, I became keenly aware that I could boost my online earning potential with a service offering. I choose to focus on freelance writing.

Once I got wind of how it could all work together, I began to write articles on my own blog that would serve as an example of the kind of content I could produce for potential editors. I pitched a bunch of publications (including ones that didn’t pay) and finally landed acceptance as a Huffington Post contributor. I published a few articles on that platform and then went on to accept some other, non-paying guest posts.

I continued pitching other clients. I spent a good two weeks sending emails with my resume, bio and writing samples and finally got my first paying client with a major personal finance brand. I was thrilled. Once you get one, good paying client, it’s a lot easier to get a foot in the door with others.

I set up a free profile on Contently (where you can also receive writing assignments) and began to keep records of my published content in the Personal Finance niche. Each time I would pitch new clients, I was able to refer them to not only my website but also to other places I had posted (free and paid.) It all started to add up. Now, having written for publications like Inc., Magnify Money and Go Banking Rates,  I’m able to start with clients at the highest rate they offer freelancers.

Freelance writing is a really good, flexible side-hustle. So much so, that I tell everyone I know about it. Everyone isn’t into writing and doesn’t desire to earn money as a writer, but for those who have a sliver of an inkling for writing, it helps to know how to effectively monetize that talent. Also, I should mention that you don’t need a journalism or English degree to become a writer. Start your blog, do some guest posting, create some awesome sample work and you’ll start to get work as a writer.

Adding Passive Income to the Mix

When I publish my income reports, people will notice a few things:

• How I earn money freelance writing
• How I used my blog to pave a path into freelance writing
• How I get traffic to my blog
• How I earn money from my blog via affiliate marketing

When my audience sees something they are interested in knowing more about, I am able to refer them to reputable products to help them launch out into their own blogging/freelance writing journey.

So the following products help me also earn residual income by way of affiliate products that meet the need of my audiences:

• How I earn money freelance writing- Earn More Writing eCourse
• How I used my blog to pave a path into freelance writing- Bluehost.com, plus free blog set-up tutorial
• The course that helped me increase by blog income- Elite Blog Academy
• The traffic + marketing strategies that continue increasing my online income-  Core Affiliate Strategy/Pinterest Strategy Guide
• How I earn money from my blog via affiliate marketing- Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing eCourse

Plus, there are some people interested in supplementing their freelance income with virtual assistance work, in which case I recommend Gina Horkey’s VA and Pinterest VA courses.

Between all of these recommendations, I able to earn an additional $1,000-$2,000 per month in passive income.

So there you have it, this is exactly how I am able to attract high paying clients while also earning passive income with my blog. It’s a strategy that I’ve used personally along with many others. It’s not the only way to earn money online, but it can be a good start.

If you think that you would like to start your own flexible, freelance writing/blogging career. Check out some of the resources below that will inspire you and help you get started:

• How to Get Started as a Six-Figure Freelance Writer
• How to Start a Blog like Rock Star
• Elite Blog Academy
• Earn More Writing eCourse
• Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
• 5 Places Write for Free to Help You Get Paid Writing Jobs

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Aja McClanahan

Aja “A.J.” McClanahan is a writer, speaker and entrepreneur.