October 31, 2025
Can you really make $1,000 a month freelance writing? The short answer: yes and you don’t need years of experience or a huge freelance writing portfolio to do it. An extra $1,000 a month can change a lot in someone’s life, less financial stress, more breathing room, paying off consumer debt, and maybe even the confidence to go all-in on your goals of becoming a full-time freelancer.
When I was getting started, I used my evenings and weekends to take writing courses, read books, and learn how to turn writing into real income. I didn’t ask if I could earn $1000 a month freelance writing, I only wanted to earn about $500 a month freelance writing to have spending money, build up savings, and start to pay off my student loan.
Years later, I’ve built a full-time freelance business that brings in between $7,000 and $11,000 a month — but that first $1,000 milestone was the most memorable.
In this post, I’ll walk you through what I learned about how to earn your first $1,000 a month freelance writing, from finding clients to pricing your work and building momentum so you’re building a strong freelance writing career.
Caveat: I don’t think freelance writing is the fastest way to earn extra cash. If you need $1,000 to buy food for your family, pay utilities, address the basics, I think you’re better off earning money doing babysitting, dogwalking, mowing lawns/raking leaves, offering side jobs for people, selling some items, or experimenting with other jobs that will deliver cash in hand faster.
I’ve been doing this for over two decades, and while I truly believe you can earn great money freelancing as a side hustle from home, it’s not always the fastest way to put cash in your bank account.
That being said, if you find great freelance clients who pay on time, it’s an option for how to make 1000 dollars fast.
Still, there are plenty of ways how to find freelance writing jobs if you’re looking for work to supplement your income.
Now that you have a truthful understanding of how to earn $1,000 on the side freelancing, keep reading.
Ready to earn an extra $1000 a month freelance writing? Want to know how to make 1000 fast? Here are simple ways you can earn an extra thousand dollars a month freelancing.
You might need some initial capital but you can start and grow a newsletter that can earn money via sponsorships, subscribers, and or affiliate links. Substack, Mailchimp, Beehiiv, Kit, ActiveCampaign, and Mailerlite are some newsletter options to consider.
How to earn $1,000 a month freelance writing with a newsletter subscription:
My freelance writing newsletter earnings come from ad sponsorships, not memberships, at this time. I also sell online products through my newsletters and that occasionally adds up to revenue.
Small businesses are looking for help getting the word out about their products and services. If you’re already writing blogs, social media posts, or website copy for a small business or an agency, see if they need help with press release writing.
Freelance writers might charge about $0.50/word or between $150 and $1,000 a release. Start low to gain experience and then raise prices. Charge extra if the client wants your help with distribution or pitching editors.
How to earn $1,000 a month freelance writing with public relations and press release writing services:
Some bloggers and podcasters use membership communities to earn additional “passive” income. It’s one possible solution to “how can I earn $1000 a month freelance writing?.” (I say passive in quotes because it takes work to stay on top of Slack channels, questions, responding throughout the week, and possibly hiring a virtual assistant or community manager to stay on top of it.)
But, if you charge a monthly fee to community members–or ask for the full year upfront–and have 60 to 80 paying members, it could be a nice little side hustle that brings in at least $1,000 a month. I put it in this category for freelance writing because yes, you will probably be writing sales pages, guides, landing pages, and newsletters to get audiences interested in joining.
How to make 1000 fast a month freelance writing with a membership community:
Skilled in writing Facebook ads? Know how to create scroll-stopping Instagram posts or write scripts for TikTok videos that trend? These are services small businesses and large businesses want.
One of the best ways to earn $1,000 freelance writing as a social media marketing writer is to get a few retainer clients. You can work a day job and use your mornings, evenings, and weekends to write, create, and schedule posts to go up throughout the week. If you have two or three retainer clients and charge about $500 a month for ongoing services.
Learn how to use social media to find freelance clients.
How to earn $1,000 a month freelance writing with social media services:
If you aren’t sure what freelancing looks like, check out examples of freelance writing work.
BTW, here’s how much to charge for 500-word article.
Okay, you knew this one was coming. Everyone and their grandmother have an online course. (Yes, I have some freelance online courses, too!) But, online course sales are still going strong, even in a saturated market. )
Topics run the gamut so think long and hard about your interests, skills and background. Coach Pee Wee football in your spare time? There are digital products for football plays.
Love to meal prep and meal plan for your family? People will buy digital products that show them how to get dinner on the table faster.
Search for online courses on your favorite hobbies to learn about what’s out there and consider if starting an online course or selling an eBook or digital guide would be something that sounds fun for you.
You’ll have to plan out the content, lesson plans, video scripts, landing page copy and more to get the course or digital product up and running. Still, it’s a good way to look into how can I make $1000 a month freelance writing, especially since you can earn money while you sleep or work a day job.
Yes, you can still earn 1000 dollars a month freelance writing, but it depends on the services you offer, your freelance writing skills, how many clients you have, and the freelance rates you’re being paid. If you’re writing freelance articles for $10 each for 1,000 words, it’s going to take you a lot longer than if you’re charging $500 for a freelance article of the same length. It’s still possible to earn $1000 a month freelance writing — even in the age of AI — but you’ll need to put in time, effort, market yourself, and don’t count on fast payment.
The number of hours a freelancer works to earn 1000 a month freelance writing depends on what they are charging per freelance assignment, how long it takes them to complete the assignment, or how many hours they’re billing to a client. If the average freelance writer in the U.S. earns about $50 an hour, they’ll work 20 hours a month to earn $1000 freelance writing each month.
The number of clients a freelance writer needs to earn $1000 a month freelancing depends on what work they’re doing. This could be one retainer client for social media writing. It could be five clients that pay you $200 a month for freelance writing. Once you’re earning competitive freelance rates, you should be able to reach $1,000 a month freelance income with two to four clients.
Tags: beginner, business, clients, freelance writing tips, money, side hustle, writing tips
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