So you want to get paid for writing. It’s one of the most romantic things that you would have thought of. Or maybe you read somewhere that, hey, freelance writing is a nice side hustle.
You can make a decent amount of money. You can sit in pajamas in your home, sip Margaritas on the beach, travel to any place in the world, and make a living just freelance writing.
Well, all of those stories are true. You can actually do freelance writing, pursue it as a professional career, and without any special skill set, start making money from freelance writing in two to three months, a few thousand dollars a month.
And all of this is valid even if you’re a writer with no experience.
In this article, I’ll share the specific steps on how to become a freelance writer. Here’s a video tutorial to start freelance writing if you prefer that:
What is Freelance Writing?
Freelance writing is the pursuit of writing as a business. You work for multiple clients instead of getting employed with a single organization full-time. The kind of writing you do can include: long-form blog posts, website copy, white papers, email newsletters, and the like.
How Much Money Do Freelance Writers Make?
Beginner freelance writers charge anywhere between $0.05 per word and $0.30 per word. The exact freelance writing rates you can command depend on your niche, existing skills, and your existing professional relationships. Ultimately the money you can make also depends on your ability to market and sell your skills.
Why Trust My Freelance Writing Advice?
I’ve been a freelance writer for close to a decade now. Indeed right out of college, I never got a job and wanted to make a living writing. My earlier website was elitecopywriter.com. I can command over $1.5k for a long-form content piece today, and also work with freelance writers day in and out at my day job as an inbound marketing director at On The Map Marketing.
Let’s look at the specific steps to begin making a career as a freelance writer.
Understanding What Quality Writing Is
The first step is to understand what high-quality writing looks like. See, when I started freelance writing, I thought high-quality writing was just about good grammar. I thought if I could form good sentences, that should be sufficient for clients to rush to my doorsteps.
The barrier of entry is low, but you don’t get paid well. Freelance writing is hard, and the first step is understanding the kind of writing you want to do. So if I am specializing in blog posts, then I need to understand what a high-quality blog post looks like.
If I don’t have that mental model, then I will not be even willing to put in the effort to make my writing high quality. So, understand, most people online scanned writing. They will not appreciate long paragraphs and lengthy sentences. You’ll have to keep it short. You’ll have to use a lot of images. You’ll have to make your writing conversational.
Building Your Writing Business
The second step is to understand how a freelance writing business works. Most freelance writers fail not because they are bad writers but because they can’t get themselves in front of a sufficient number of people.
Nobody is going to come to your doorstep and ask you to write for them. You’ll have to put yourself out there. You will have to generate leads for your business.
That’s how a business works. A service business will require you to establish yourself as an authority. But even before you do that, you’ll have to just pitch a lot of clients. Focus on presenting yourself as a professional.
Getting Online and Promoting Yourself
For this, a website will help under your own name or a branded name for your writing business. You can also start a blog on your website and start self-publishing articles that will be of interest to your prospective clients. I recommend using GreenGeeks for your website hosting.
Once you have a website, you can start guest posting that will help your website’s SEO. This could be a bit advanced, so I also recommend you to cold pitch clients. Engage with prospective clients on social media, especially LinkedIn and Twitter.
Building Your Portfolio and Choosing a Niche
Now, for the next step, I lied to you when I told you you have to have a freelance writer website. If you don’t have one, you can start self-publishing on platforms like Medium, and LinkedIn, or even start your own Substack newsletter.
What do you write about? Well, this is where choosing a niche comes into the picture. I started out writing different kinds of content: email copy, website copy, and blog posts. But then I found the sweet spot in long-form SEO writing.
Before you begin pitching, you need a portfolio of writing samples.
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Landing Your First Clients and Building Relationships
Getting your first client is going to be a struggle. But once you get your first few clients, it becomes easier. You can start building relationships and getting more references.
A tip to gain momentum: Once you have a few self-published pieces, reach out to editors at niche publications. Engage with content managers and marketing directors on LinkedIn and Twitter. Approach marketing agencies. They’re always looking for freelance writers.
Housekeeping and Financial Management
Once you have a decent monthly income, I recommend setting up a dedicated bank account. You also need account management software and invoicing software. I recommend using Freshbooks. Once you have a few client projects, use a project management software like Trello. Track your time. I use Rescue Time.
Start Your Freelance Writing Career Now!
As you start the first step from above, you’re already on your way to becoming a freelance writer. From there, you can transition into a full-time remote job, start your agency, or scale your writing business. The choice is yours!
If I were to start freelance writing in 2024, here’s what I would do:
So start today to crack those freelance writing jobs. Remember becoming a successful freelance writer is all about bouncing back after a failure.
