From Passion To Profit — The Story of My Freelance Writing Career

After 4 years of volunteering, I landed my first paid writing job, and that too with an international client — without a blog — through LinkedIn, marking the start of my paid writing career. 🤩

It Started Over a Decade Ago on LinkedIn!

I still remember publishing my first LinkedIn article in 2014, during my undergraduate years. I wasn’t building a personal brand, setting up my blog, or chasing content strategy trends — writing was purely driven by passion. Thoughts constantly swirled in my mind, and LinkedIn became my digital journal. I felt compelled to document my reflections and the lessons I was learning.

I had no idea that this voluntary passion for writing would one day lay the foundation for my paid writing career on such an amazing platform like Vocal. ✨

So, my freelance writing career started over a decade ago on LinkedIn.

What started as voluntary writing eventually evolved into several paid opportunities in between, and today I am on Vocal. 😍

The journey has been amazing — from posting reflections as a student to earning through storytelling!

A Series of Mind-Blowing, Back-to-Back Paid Opportunities

First $300 Job Offer by SleePare Inc. — through LinkedIn

It was 2018, 4 years since I had been writing voluntarily, when everything changed! A message landed in my LinkedIn inbox all of a sudden. Here you read it —

It was an invitation to write for SleePare, a well-known name in the sleep product review niche. We locked the deal with a $300 compensation. I was so happy and excited. 🥳

Upwork — My Next Go-To Platform for Writing

My paid contract, first-ever, with SleePare Inc. lured me to set up an Upwork profile at the same time. I was already pretty familiar with Upwork. Since it was all freelancing, there was no harm in juggling multiple jobs while keeping the quality high. I quickly grabbed numerous freelance writing projects and built a track record of a small number of repeated clients.

WriterBay — Another Paid Job through LinkedIn

This was another fantastic place I joined through a LinkedIn message. WriterBay was purely an academic writing site. Although the transition to academic writing was challenging, as it required strict adherence to formatting styles, title pages, in-text citations, bibliography, etc., the pay rates were outstanding!

The Power of LinkedIn lies in keywords. They make it easier and quicker for employers to find your profile. Getting hired by SleePare and WriterBay through LinkedIn proves it.

Made it to Medium — Finally!

After back-to-back successes, I was now craving for Paid Medium. I have been a Medium user since 2017. Until recently, the Medium Partner Program wasn’t available in Pakistan. I discovered a while ago, in April 2025, that Pakistan was now on the list of supported countries. This inspired me to write my first member-only story on Medium. Here you go —

The response was incredible—my story was soon accepted and featured in Curiosity Sparks.

Today, I'm Very Excited — I'm on Vocal 💖💗🥰💞

Honestly, I didn't know about Vocal earlier. I noticed and read on Medium that every other writer was talking about Vocal. I was destined to join — and I'm here today!

This is my first story on Vocal. I'll write my reflections on comparing and contrasting Medium and Vocal in a day or two.

For now, I'd say Vocal has far more and better features and offers writers more ways to earn.

I strongly feel compelled to say it again — I'm so excited. 🥰

Key Takeaways

1. Maintain an All-Star LinkedIn Profile. Your LinkedIn connections will soon be your blog followers. 💫
2. Use popular keywords in your LinkedIn headline and profile summary (most important for everyone, also, the top source in my case).
3. Keep your followers informed and engaged, i.e. stay active.
4. Stay patient and use legit ways to make money online.
5. Never give up — success comes with persistence and dedication.

💬 Let’s keep this going in the comments.

💭 What’s your take? I’d love 💖 to know!

🧡 Likes keep me driven, let's see 'em!

🔔 Subscribe and stay tuned for more!