Freelance Content Writer & Consultant Earning $175,000/year

Welcome to another post in the $100k Club series. You can see the full series here. This is "My Morning Routine" for content marketing folks making six figures. The goal is to shed light on the skills and habits that enable people to achieve lucrative jobs and help get more people in this club.

These will be anonymous and updated regularly. If you make more than $100k/year and want to contribute, fill out the form here.

For more info on content marketing salaries, check out our salary report.

If you'd like to see more info on salary by job title, check out these resources: Content Marketing Manager Salary, Content Strategist Salary, Head of Content Salary, and Content Director Salary.

What was your first full-time job in content? What was the salary?

I've actually never had a full-time job in content! I started freelancing part-time when I held customer success and partnership roles at B2B SaaS companies.

List out your income by year for as long as you've been working in content marketing.

• 2020: $16k (part-time)
• 2021: $23k (part-time)
• 2022: $65k (part-time, but really scaled up because I wanted to start my business)
• 2023: $175k+

How much do you earn today? What's your job title?

I'm on track to hit the $200k mark this year, which is crazy! I'm the founder of Liz the Wordsmith, and I provide content strategy, writing, and consulting services. Caveat here is that writing/content makes up a bulk of my earnings, but I do earn maybe 15-20% from partnership consulting (for which I charge more).

What's the single biggest salary jump you've made? (either from job-hopping or a promotion/raise)

Definitely starting my own business. I was making a good salary with benefits at a tech startup, but I hated the culture and upward movement was stagnant. Starting my own business gave me so much freedom to work with who I wanted, charge whatever I wanted (within reason, of course), and run the business my way.

What is your most valuable skill?

I think being able to relate to so many of my clients and my deep familiarity with the B2B space. I've held numerous types of roles -- customer success, product management, partnerships, strategy & ops -- so connecting with SMEs and extracting the best information possible is my specialty.

What's the best book you've ever read on writing, marketing, sales, business or productivity? (Feel free to suggest more than one!)

I don't have anything revolutionary to say here besides Atomic Habits. This may be competitive, but I have gleaned so much from The Writer's Co-op podcast. And I think I've honestly learned the most from my first boss at Accenture and from my editors.

Have you had a career mentor/coach? If so, how did you find them and what have you learned from them?

I wish! I've learned a lot from Superpath and folks who freelance in other industries.

What skills or habits help you thrive at work?

I'm an organization fiend and I've kind of always been that way. I block off two chunks in the day to slot in my work on Gcal, putting the stuff that needs extra concentration first because I'm a morning person. I also block off time for the gym and connecting with friends because that loneliness is tough as a solo team! This is random, but I think being a former athlete cultivated my discipline a lot. If I have something slotted in my schedule, I do it.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to join the $100k club?

My best advice is to believe in your skills. You have a lot to offer, and if you're not getting what you want out of a job and they aren't recognizing your talent, it's time to leave. It may feel like giving up, but going somewhere else that values you is so much better than sticking around and just hoping it gets better.

Where do you live?

Los Angeles, CA