Freelance Writer & Strategist Earning $110,000/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'm a freelancer. Writer mostly but I've transitioned to designing content strategy for my clients. I've positioned myself as an agency but am pretty much a one-man band. I've never held a full time position or had a job—too entrepreneurial for that! My first year full-time freelancing I earned $50,000.

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

• 2019 - $50,000
• 2020 - $65,000
• 2021 - $80,000
• 2022 - $110,000
• 2023 so far - $110,000 run rate

These aren't fixed since we're talking about a business. It makes more sense to break it out in monthly clusters but that would be a huge list.

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

I'm the founder of an agency, lead content strategist and freelance writer. I average $11,000 per month.

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

It's been consistently trending upwards—no major jump.

What is your most valuable skill?

Empathy as well as passion for a challenge. I like figuring things out.

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

I liked Cal Newport's book on Deep Work.

I don't read such books generally. If I want to learn how to write better I read fiction authors instead of marketers. I do read a lot, though, as part of work and daily. So I get my fix that way.

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

Yes, Ilse Benun. She helped me organize my marketing tasks into a framework and provided mental support in tough times.

I need the latter more because I'm prone to overthinking. I found her by reference from another coach I had approached.

What skills or habits help you thrive at work?

There are many! 

• Organization
• Empathy
• Focus
• Discipline
• Curiosity
• Willingness to try things and make a fool of myself
• Showing up and doing something, anything even when I don't feel up to it
• Listening to myself and stepping away when I'm not up to it

It's all about balance.

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

People exaggerate the factors that bring them monetary success. A lot of it comes down to luck. However you have to be in a position to leverage it when it arrives.

Therefore keep working in the hope (not expectation) of luck.

Content marketing isn't some deep thought leadership field like tech or academia.

The gap between a beginner and an expert isn't that big. The ones who have high profiles have luck plus skills gained through work. So don't think the gap is huge and get discouraged.

Keep working and showing up. Never think of yourself as inferior to anyone else in this field. Remember it's mostly marketers exaggerating what they've done.

Show up, do things, and double down on what's working. Always listen to yourself. Your intuition is correct.

Where do you live? What is your gender and ethnicity?

I'm a digital nomad with an Indian passport. My company is based in Dubai, UAE.