Forget Upwork: The Real Secrets to Landing High-Paying Writing Gigs Online

My friends, mmeskia?💸 Kuna fom ya “kufinya computer alafu dollar tunaweka kwa mfuko!”💸 Sounds like a sweet deal, right? Kama mtu ameonja hio pesa ya online gigs, I can tell you for a fact, ni tamuuuu!

Alafu, do you know that the gig economy is growing rapidly? Gig economy ni ile marketplace inallow companies kupea watu jobs, most of which are done online. By 2032, the gig economy marketplace is expected to be valued at US$1,847 billion (KSh 258.30 trillion)🤑.

It’s giving…opportunity!💰 It’s giving … chance ya kuhustle ndio tutoke ghetto. The cake is big na kama unataka piece, lazima ukue na strategy!

I started writing in 2016. Iyo time, I was a young mum. Mtoi alifika just before my last exams in uni. Those were the days kila mtu alikua anaambia Nerea asitoe mimba coz “Mungu akileta mtoto, analeta sahani yake” - as Sauti Sol put it. But reality kwa ground ilikua different!

Mimi niligrow up na struggle and I knew that sikutaka mtoi wangu apitie the same things nilipitia. So, two weeks into my young mum life, nilianza kusaka writing gigs. I knew a few guys tulikua uni nao who were doing the legendary academic writing (najua mmeskia hizo story za watu hufunga laptop ukiingia kwao 🤣). So, I approached 2 of them. Wakaanza kunitumia gigs💰.

Hapo ndio safari 👣 ilianza! The journey that has led me to the point I am at today ilianza na mimi kufanya writing gigs on my phone🤳🏾 - an Itel phone that cost me KSh 5,000, which, by the way, nilichukua loan ndio ninunue. Weeh! Watu hutoka mbali 🥹.

Lakini leo, 9 years later, I can call myself a writing guru! Safari imekua ndefu. Kumekua na challenges along the way. But, wins pia zimekua TAMU! So, nataka kushare tips kadhaa that can make your journey easier kama unataka kuanza hustle online!

From my experience, hakuna one “right” way ya kusaka clients online. Different tips and tricks work differently for different people. Kwa hivyo, for you to win at this game of getting remote jobs, you need to test the tips you hear and read about, and see what works for you!

Step 1 ya kujipata kwa pipeline ya watu wako successful in getting online gigs ni kujiuliza the following questions:

☑️Who do I want to work for/with?

☑️What skills do I have that can benefit the company I want to work with?

☑️What platforms (website ama social media) are they on?

The answers to these questions will help you understand the skills you have, the companies that can be your target clients, na zitakupea idea ya kuanza interaction yako with your potential clients.

Ile strategy ya finding online gigs that I will focus on inaitwa cold calling ama cold outreach. Inainvolve identifying the person/comapany (client) you want to work with, and sending them a message telling them:

⏹️ How you can solve a business problem they have👩🏾‍💻, or

⏹️ Explaining how you can add value to their team 👨🏾‍💻.

For example, kama wewe ni transcriber, unaweza approach organization kama MESH. Unaweza waambia you can use your skills to transcribe the videos on MESH’s IG page. Unawashow utawatengenezea transcripts that they can upload as post captions so that wale watu wanaprefer kusoma over videos can get the message pia. Hio ndio inaitwa cold calling📳!

Simple, right? It is! Bora ukue na STRATEGY! Strategy yangu hukua “maneno matamu ya kumtoa nyoka pangoni”🐍. I am a writer after all. I use my skills to my advantage. Here are two examples of how I have cold called clients and landed gigs🤑.

Nilikua raundi mwenda Instagram, about 2 years ago, when I had the bright idea ya kuingia DMs za companies that I thought would need the services of a blogger. So, nilikua naona a company page on IG, I go to their profile, checkout their website, alafu naangalia kama wako na “blog page.”

If they have a blog page, naangalia how frequently they publish articles. Hii ni important coz kama wanapublish articles every week, ni kumaanisha they have a blog writer already. So, if I pitch them, kuna high chances wataniambia they already have someone for the job. Akili mtu wangu🤔💡.

In the spirit of saving time and energy, I preferred to cold call a company that didn’t seem to have a blogger. How did I know they didn’t? Tuko June and the last published article ni ya April. The one before that ni ya January. Clearly, hawana mtu wa kuwapea blog content. And that is where I entered 🚶🏾‍♀️the chat💬!

Niliwatumia message IG after kumaliza hio shughuli👆🏾 ya Inspekta Mwala 🕵🏾‍♀️ nimeongelea hapo juu😆. Imagine, message ilikua simple. Niliandika, “Hi. Do you hire writers for your blog?” Alafu, cheki ileresponse nilipata 👇🏾

See God ooooh! See God! [Insert Nigerian accent] 😁

Hio response ilikua my invite to the club. Bado niko nje. Naweza fika kwa mlango alafu mabouncer waniifanyie ile kitu bana. So, in the next phase of my interaction with the organization, I brought my A game. Yeni nikakua Lebron⛹🏾 wa hii writing sector!

Hii ndio email nilituma:

Umeona maneno matamu! Exactly! But as I mentioned, nilkua kwa mlango bado. Mabouncer hawakua wanacooperate. After nimetuma hii 👆🏾 email, a few hours after niambiwe nitume, crickets🦗🦗! No response! A day later. 2 days later. 9 days later… silence🤦🏾‍♀️!

Hapa ndio ntasema freelancing, this online gigs world, is NOT for the weak. To survive, lazima ulambe glucose on the regular. Nililamba yangu na nikarudi DM. Nikaongeza “Hi” nyingine! 🙃. Nilikua nimeamua, nakufa na hii opportunity. This 👇🏾 is the follow-up email I sent on day 10 of my wait.

That follow-up email got me this 👇🏾

Strategy🎯! Patience🤲! Persistence🧗! That is how I landed this client! I was interviewed, I signed the contract, and I have been writing blog posts for the company for almost 2 years now. Call me big man bazuuuu 💪!

Hii ya pili ni a recent experience. It is one that has permanently altered my brain chemistry ikikuja kwa mambo ya kusaka online gigs. The story started with a ChatGPT prompt🤖.

I prompted ChatGPT to give me a list of companies hiring freelance writer in Kenya. One of the results GPT ilinipea ni an old job ad from MESH☺️! Deadline ya kuapply for the job ilikua August 7, 2024. Na mimi, nanona ad May 21, 2024!🤭 Wadau! Say it with me! “Delulu is the solulu” 🫣.

Hapa strategy yangu ilikua different. Nimeona job nimelike - a job that I would have been very qualified for had I applied ikiwa open. So, plan ilikua, let me shoot my shot in case wahitaji more writers ama kukue na opening writer mmoja akichujwa ama amove on!

This time round, I am very much in my LinkedIn era - embracing my writing guru status and wanting to present myself as a professional freelancer. Kwa hivo, I sent a DM to MESH’s LinkedIn page. Hizi 👇🏾 ndio lines nilidrop!

Now, the thing about LinkedIn, ukiandikia companies messages, hua inakupatia a limited number of words you can use. So, I had to keep my message short and sweet - Nyashinski style.

Ukisoma hii message nilitumia MESH and the messages in my first example apo juu, utarealize my message to MESH was a bit more informal. Uki cold call companies, tumia lugha yao. If their website and social media pages are formal, write to them in proper English. Waonyeshe we ni ule msee. But kama una cold call organization kama MESH, loosen up! Show off your skills and have fun with it!

That is what I did. I sent my message to MESH in a language that MESH understands. Lugha ya mtaani. Apo juu message ikianza, niliambia MESH my favorite color 🤭. You know why? Ile job ad niliona, ilikua imeandikwa “⚠️ Somewhere in your application, finish this sentence: “My favorite color is…” So, niliamua kuanza message yangu na hio line kuonyesha MESH nilisoma ad yao juu mpaka chini. Nilkua nataka wajue, I am locked in and very interested in working with them!

Hii strategy ilikua different na ile ya kwanza👆🏾, but it was just as effective. MESH walirespond in under an hour 🤩

Nilituma portfolio (samples of work done) na sasa unasoma hii article by yours truly (me) on MESH’s platform! Aiseeeee! Ndio naingia sasa hivi.Ndio naingia aces Arusha! All eyes on me kama Tupac😎!

💡Yote tisa kumi ni, what is your strategy? Nimekuambia yangu hapo juu. And as you can see, hakuna one-size fits all! Strategy inachange depending na ule client unataka kuwork na yeye💡

Unaonaje strategy yangu? Inabamba ✔️ ama haibambi✖️?

Wewe umejaribu nini ikafanya upate online client ama gig?

Share with us🗣️. Keep the convo going💬!