Side Hustle: Freelance Writer and SEO Specialist

Hi everyone. Lauren from L Bee and the Money Tree taking over for Michelle. Since I know everyone can have mixed feelings about “the substitute teacher” coming in for the day I thought we’d discuss everyone’s favorite topic: developing a side hustle. I’m not a “professional” blogger. In fact, Moneytree was the first self-hosted blog…

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: May 28, 2023

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Hi everyone. Lauren from L Bee and the Money Tree taking over for Michelle. Since I know everyone can have mixed feelings about “the substitute teacher” coming in for the day I thought we’d discuss everyone’s favorite topic: developing a side hustle.

I’m not a “professional” blogger. In fact, Moneytree was the first self-hosted blog and website I’d ever done/built and it’s taken a lot of trial and error to tweak and get it to where it is now. I do make a modest side income from the blog, but not enough for me to quit my day job and sit at home in my yoga pants all day.

Being a blogger has vastly improved my life: it helped me get the job I have now as a content and social media manager for a software company, and helped me sharpen a skill set I now utilize as my primary source of income. By combining what I do on my blog and what I do at my job, I’ve been able to string together a pretty baller portfolio of digital copy, a nice resume, and lots of applicable experience. Those assets in turn have morphed into a “freelance writer and SEO specialist” side hustle.

Unless you work with online content/marketing you may not know what SEO is; in brief it stands for Search Engine Optimization and it’s a process of super-charging your content so search engines can find it easier. There are a lot of factors that go into it, but the main trick is to write the copy so that it doesn’t sound like a robot or alien from Mars put a few sentences together and slapped it on a website. Poor copy means people take you less seriously, which is where I come in.

I work primarily in three ways:

  • Clients can send me copy they’ve already written and I fix it up and optimize it for them.
  • They give me keywords they want content for and I write 5-600 words specifically for each keyword.
  • I do research on what keywords would work best for them and their business (I work mostly with small business owners and start-ups).

 

If I have to do research, write the content, and do the optimization I make around $50 an hour. $35 just for SEO copy or optimizing what they’ve already written. I don’t make thousands of dollars doing this, but it can be quite lucrative.

If you are looking to build a side hustle for yourself in SEO (or in any industry really) I would recommend leveraging your networks, as that is how I get most of my clients. A really great friend of mine is a graphic designer and any time one of her client’s needs SEO/Copy she sends them my way. Friends help friends! I also never pass up an opportunity to help a blogger (free of charge, of course!) because you never know what opportunities fellow readers and authors can bring you.

You could also check job boards such as Craigslist, as a lot of people want SEO as just a one-time thing rather than hiring a contract or PT employment situation. I do know that as a blogger having a link to a complete body of work really pulls people in, so if you are thinking about a side hustle as an SEO specialist or freelance writer, I’d recommend starting a blog first to hone your skills and get people’s attention.

This is just a basic overview of what I do as a side hustle. The internet is abound with resources if you are wanting to learn more about blogging or SEO. Of course, I am nowhere near the epic level Michelle makes with her side income, but I’m happy being the master of my own destiny and being able to take on more work if there ever is a need.

Everyone should blog, it’s amazing. Don’t do it to make money. Never do that, because you’ll fail, but whoever said a little income on the side was a bad thing?

What side hustles do you have? Has a hobby of yours turned into a side hustle?


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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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  1. It seems like many are not on the Michelle level. How does she do it? Nobody knows her secret, besides she works really hard. Great SEO post, I would like to learn more about the tricks of the trade, to stick it in googles face. LOL. Thanks Lauren.

  2. SEO stuff might as well be German… I just can't wrap my head around it.

    I would LOVE to have a side hustle… I hate that all my income is dependent on one employer (despite having 2 separate positions). I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what my side hustle could be, but so far, nothing has come to mind.
    My recent post So, This is My Life, I Guess…

  3. thebrokeandbeautifullife

    I'm an actress and newbie blogger so side hustle is my life. I've babysat, worked tradeshows, waited tables, rented out space in my apartment, etc. I'm now personal assisting which is totally flexible and actually works with my schedule.

  4. brickbybrickinvesting2012

    Really sounds like you found your niche and love what you do. A lot of people would be envious of your situation. I'm currently working on getting up to speed with SEO for my blog as well.

  5. Branden

    I haven??t checked in here for a while because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I??ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂