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BTS 9: My technical writing journey from $15 to $800

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Today we revisit the native home of Barack Obama, Kenya, where we interviewed Flavia Kaunda, she went from an abysmal pay of $15 for a full-blown article to earning $200 per piece in his technical writing journey. 

She’s a remarkable technical writer who started at the very bottom, earning $15 a piece, and now she has $800 deals under her belt for the articles she writes.

Flavia shares her interesting journey and also drops an important tip on what to do when pitching to clients.

Want to learn? Then read through with laser focus 

Please introduce yourself

Hello, my name is Flavia Kaunda, I’m based in Kenya, Nairobi. I’m a B2B Technical Writer and content creator focused on SAAS companies and for the past 2 months, I have been trying to get into Copywriting.

What is the reason for wanting to move into copywriting?

In my past project, I was hired as a content writer and in the process of working for them as a content writer, they requested I write an email series for them. With this event, I fell in love with Copywriting.

A portfolio builder for tech writers

How did you get into technical writing?

Well, it found me. When I started freelancing, I didn’t have any focus. So, I used to write articles on beauty, travel, and anything you can think about. 

I wrote some YouTube scripts for some clients at a point in my career. Another client requested a product description for their laptops and electronic products. 

They wanted a B2B article and that was where I started to write B2B-related articles.

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 I have been into technical writing for about 2 years but as a freelance writer, I started writing a long time ago— around my final year in the university but I wasn’t serious because I was still in school and I also had another job.

Could you tell me one of your best experiences in technical writing?

I had a client who was patient and understanding. Working with them was a smooth experience for me.

 I was part of the marketing team so they shared a sales course with me, it was amazing.

If you could turn back the hands of time in your technical writing career would you want to change anything?

So I wouldn’t want to say that I would want to change anything. 

This journey has been necessary for my growth and even my transition into copywriting which I fell in love with over time. So, no, I wouldn’t want to change anything.

How do you manage negative critique?

I haven’t gotten a negative critique I would rather refer to it as a point of correction from the client.

For instance, if you write a certain statement and the client doesn’t understand why you wrote it and they point it out to you, It’s not criticism. It’s more like feedback.

How have your earnings be?

I started like most freelancers with little earnings like $15 for a 1000-word article but now a client has paid me up to $800 for 4 articles.

How was your experience with the client?

The experience was good. It was an industry that was educating and fascinating at the same time and the client was understanding. 

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They gave me all the materials I needed to write the article. Also, they gave me a point of contact so I had someone to contact.

What would you want to say to freelance technical writers out there?

My advice to them is to just start. What’s the worst that can happen?

How do you land clients?

I get clients mostly through cold pitching. 

Send them links to access 3 works you are most proud of, and then make them shareable, so that when it gets to the client, they don’t have to request access.

Make sure that you only put the google docs settings to the document as “view only” not “editor”.

There is a portfolio site that allows you to create a portfolio where you add your works into different categories.

If you have written for several SaaS companies in different industries, you can organize your work according to the different industries and send out different portfolio links, all from one single platform.

It’s great. It’s called Contentre and it’ll be amazing and helpful to grow your freelance technical writing business.

Connect with Flavia

  1. Linkedin

Ready to ditch Google Drive? Try Contentre.

Contentre helps technical writers stay organized and gain more clients. Grow your technical writing career in one place.

Now that you’re here, let me briefly recap the most important features Contentre can offer you:

  • Organize your content in categories, topics, and tags
  • Create and manage multiple clients
  • Create and manage multiple personalized portfolios
  • Get statistical analytics of your content revenue, top categories, and tags.
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Try it now. It’s free

Founder Contentre.io | Grow your technical writing career in one place.

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