How to make more money without doing more writing — a breakdown of the add-on services you can offer clients and exactly when to charge for them.
Offering add-ons can be a great way to make more money with only slightly more work. We’ll talk about the money aspects of add-on services in the Rates chapter. But for now, I’ll just cover which add-ons you might consider offering.
I don’t recommend offering more than 3 add-on options. More than 3 options can leave your client feeling confused, overwhelmed, or just feel like you don’t totally know what you’re doing.
If you’re a content writer, you can offer SEO, stock photos, content planning, or platform uploading as easy add-ons. If you’re a copywriter, you might offer to upload deliverables to platforms or strategies.
Read the room. If you think your clients could use an extra service, offer it! Just keep it limited to 3 options. When it comes down to it, though, this lesson is really to show you that you don’t need to do extra work. You can get paid for anything that isn’t the actual writing.
So if a client asks you to write an article and upload it to their WordPress, let them know it’ll be an additional charge! It takes your time to upload it and you’ll also need to learn their content management system (everyone uses something different). You deserve to get paid for that time and effort!
If a client asks you to provide photos and quotes from an interview for anything that is not “journalism” then you should be getting paid for the time it took you to get those things and your expertise in choosing the interviewee, the questions you asked them, and the photos!
Here are some add-on services you could offer:
Content Writing
→ SEO keyword research → SEO strategy → Stock photos + SEO alt text → Uploading to a CMS → Content calendar → Content repurposing (turning a blog into social posts, email copy, video script, etc.) → Content or copy audit → Interviews and source gathering (anything beyond the writing itself) → Extensive research → Extra revisions → Extra meetings
Email Marketing
→ List segmentation strategy → Welcome sequence or nurture sequence planning → A/B test strategy → Email template design or formatting → Platform setup or migration (Flodesk, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, etc.) → Monthly performance reporting → Done-with-you copy (you write it together live)
SEO Strategy
→ Technical SEO audit → Competitor analysis → Backlink strategy → Content repurposing for SEO → Analytics reporting and interpretation → Local SEO setup
Branding
→ Brand voice guide → Style guide → Messaging framework → Tagline or positioning statement → Competitor brand analysis → Done-with-you brand strategy session
For Any Service
→ Content calendar or project roadmap → Templates (email, brief, proposal, etc.) → Strategy sessions → Project management and subcontractors (great for year 2–3 when you have a network to pull from) → Coaching or consulting → Freelancer referrals (when a client needs someone you can't be) → Graphic design
Before You Start Offering Add-Ons
A couple of reminders:
Keep your add-on menu to three options max per client. More than that and it starts to feel overwhelming — for them and for you.
If a client asks you to do something that takes your time and expertise, you can charge for it. Uploading to a CMS, sourcing photos, sitting in an extra meeting — none of that is free. You don't have to do extra work for free just because it feels small.
→ Not sure how to price your add-ons? Head to the Pricing Guide. → Offering a bundle of services to a specific client? The Custom Proposal lesson will walk you through how to package it.