How To Become A Freelance Writer

Reading for leisure has decreased in popularity, but for research, business and news seeking it’s just as, if not more popular than ever. Whether through engagement-seeking social media posts, website copy or content marketing, many businesses are looking for those with writing skills to generate interest and revenue. When they don’t have a dedicated writer on hand, they instead look to freelance writers.

But how does someone become a freelance writer? In this article, Real Business with outline how those with professional writing experience or skills can start a freelance writing career, including its profitability, the different types of writing work sought after, and more.

What Freelance Writing Work Do Companies Need?

The most common types of freelance writing services that companies require tend to fall in the following categories:

• Website Content – Creating effective homepage text, service descriptions and landing pages to convey brand messaging is some of the most valuable written work to companies. When prospective clients enter a website, they typically scan through the page looking for things of relevance. Being able to capture that attention through clear value propositions, convenient calls to action and language that targets the pain points of the visitors can generate leads or business, thereby earning the business revenue.
• Blog posts – It may seem unlikely that a blog post can attract consumers who then convert into paying customers, but many freelance writers who write articles do so with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in mind. This means that prospective clients searching for specific topics through questions or phrases, such as “what size ladder do I need for a two-storey house?”, can be targeted through written articles that use the same keywords organically. This allows blogs to show up in the results, on the very websites that offer the solutions to customer problems.
• Social media content marketing – There are millions of social media profiles across the world that use the platforms almost daily, meaning there is a wide pool of prospective customers that businesses siphon through the use of freelance writing. As opposed to blogs that take several hours to complete, social media posts are curated at higher rates in an overall “project”.
• Email marketing – Email marketing is a strategic approach to nurturing leads and conversions that involves delivering highly targeting, relevant and compelling content directly to the inboxes of current clients, or previous clients, whose levels of interest you already know. It involves segmenting these audiences based on demographics, purchase history etc, and changing your approach or levels of personalisation for each one. It’s said that effective email marketing campaigns can increase revenue by up to 760% when done effectively.

There are more types of freelance writing jobs to pursue, but these are considered to be some of the most common and profitable.

How Do I Start A Freelance Writing Career?

To start freelance writing, you first have to get together an effective profile of some kind. After all, as a freelance writer, you need to either sell yourself directly or be seen by those looking to hire freelance work.

The following are some of the best practices for getting yourself noticed as an authoritative freelance writer.

Assess Skills And Target Markets

• Decide your markets – Do something you love, and never work a day in your life. If you have fields of interest, such as social media marketing, then you should specialise in these fields. Freelance writing, as well as writing in general, can be draining, and passion goes a long way in staying productive.
• Evaluate expertise – Which industries do you hold expertise in? This is an important question for freelance writers to answer clearly, as when looking for one, companies are likely going to spend money on those they believe will get them the best results. If you know a lot about green energy measures, for example, good news – there’s a big market for that.
• Develop secondary skills – There are many secondary skills that freelance writers have, such as SEO or Copywriting. Whilst you cannot implement these skills without foundational writing ability, you will need these skills to deliver the actual intent of the content, which can be engagement, conversion etc.

Build A Portfolio

Building a portfolio is central to finding work as a freelance writer.

• Specialisation and tools – You will need to identify 2 or 3 niches that you specialise in, such as health, technology etc. Try not to be too hyper-specific here. Furthermore, consider the tools that you use in your work. For example – Mailchimp for email marketers allows the user to segment and personalise their emails to generate leads.
• Demonstrate – Demonstrate your work for your niche(s) through writing samples. Write content that highlights your skills, and show evidence of you using your expertise to nail the intended result. For example, in a blog post for a healthy eating company titled “5 foods that help with sleep”, not only should you showcase how good your writing skills are, but also highlight the SEO practices done within the post. This step is purely to show you know what you’re talking about.
• Publish – Publish work on sites such as Medium, or pitch work you can do to businesses that host their website, such as cold pitching guest blogs for a finance company, citing your ability to target certain keywords and bring more traffic in exchange for hosting the blog, and showcasing your talents to other potential clients.
• Mock projects – Mock projects for imaginary clients are big workloads, but act as value propositions for your potential clients. For example, creating an entire website for a made-up eco-friendly fashion brand, showcasing your ability to generate interested leads.
• Highlight versatility – Show that you can work in different formats, such as writing white papers and social media posts alongside the big, chunky blogs that a lot of fellow writers tend to opt for.
• Utilise links – Throughout your portfolio, as you create more work that you can show off, provide links to these works.

Create An Online Presence As A Freelance Writer

There are several ways you can establish a presence for yourself as a freelance writer:

• Launch a simple website – Create a website with a homepage clearly stating who you are and what services you provide. Use this site to host your portfolio, as well as an about page giving your background, education, work history etc. Furthermore, some way for people to leave their contact info for enquiries is almost essential.
  • Note – Do not simply throw a website together. Make sure you showcase your ability to use both SEO and WordPress (which is required for uploading if not designing).
• Professional social media profiles – There are social media outlets such as LinkedIn that are specifically designed to showcase professional experience and provide networking opportunities between professionals. Utilise this platform and others, such as Instagram and twitter.
• Promote and attract clients – Use social media to make blog posts about insights into content writing, or developments in the niches you work in. This is important because it marks you as not only being active but also being passionate.
• Monitor and improve – Monitor your website using analytical tools and regularly update your portfolio with new projects or skills.

Finding Your First Clients As A Freelance Writer

To start freelance writing and making money with your active profile acting as your foundation, you can set off finding clients, adding to both your skillset and active profile with legitimate paid work experience.

• Cold pitching – Cold pitching is reaching out to potential clients directly. It’s a form of salesmanship, where you identify your clients and their needs, then create a sales pitch that convinces them to take you on for freelance writing work. For example, if you see a company that has a great product with a loyal base, but cannot expand due to low traffic coming into their website, show them that you can put together a strategy that will boost that traffic and convert it into new customers.
• Networking – You may think that freelance writing is an “every man for himself” field, but this isn’t the case. There are only so many hours in the day and so many contracts the big, established freelance writers can take. So it’s better for both you and them if you get them instead, which can be done through networking. Join writing communities on places like Facebook, attend virtual/local networking events or even offer to collaborate with busy writers in your niche. Put yourself out there.
• Job boards and freelance platforms – Some platforms in the freelance writing business serve as a hub for new freelance writers to gain their first pieces of work. Upwork is a great example of this, but once you establish yourself, you can find bigger contracts in places like Fiverr, where companies go to outsource large volumes of work, or ProBlogger, where high-quality job postings are made looking for specific writing skills.
• Leverage referrals – If you are a freelance writer who once had employment with a company where writing was your main job, reach out to the employers or ex-colleagues and see if they have opportunities, or know of them. Otherwise, find other employers who may be able to use your services to find new clients etc.

Scaling Your Freelance Writing Business

Once you begin to get comfortable with writing freelance where you can and begin to start seeing work, what was once a side income will begin to show potential as a main income. This is when handling and managing your workload should become a priority. The following are some best practices to ensure you avoid burnout and use your time efficiently:

• Manage your hours – Create a schedule that includes time for writing, admin and breaks specifically. This will allow you to gauge your ability to complete tasks within set time limits, and ultimately be the benchmark for your workload.
• Prioritise high-value clients – The fact of the matter is, that the clients with high-paying and consistent work are the clients you should prioritise, simply because it’s more money. Gradually phase out low-paying, high-maintenance or inconsistent clients unless they are part of a wider strategy.
• Batch tasks – Group similar activities together, such as research, writing, or editing. Maintain focus and reduce context-switching for the highest productivity. The more you can get into a routine, the more you can develop your skills.
• Outsource – Outsource all non-essential tasks, such as proofreading, invoicing or even social media management. Virtual assistants are fairly cheap, and the more time you can spend delivering quality content that makes a difference, the faster you will grow.

Diversify Income Streams

• Content strategy services – Offer clients additional services if they are part of your expertise. For example, keyword research, content calendars, SEO audits etc. If you can demonstrate you can do them, and that they’d be worth investing in, you may find yourself developing your career at a breakneck pace.
• Consulting – Guide small business owners or writers on content creation, or even freelancing.
• Digital products – Create and sell templates, ebooks or online courses on how to make effective freelance writing content.

Build A Reputation

• Specialisation – Focus on one or two industries, like technology or finance. Highlight expertise through thought-leadership content.
• Publish thought pieces – Write guest posts for industry blogs or mediums detailing your expertise in your chosen niche, such as technical writing.
• Speaking engagements – Many universities, courses or other mediums are looking for people who have a reputation for giving a talk and engaging their audience/workers.

Conclusion

Overall, freelance writing can be cumbersome, and there are many more moving parts to it than simply sitting down and writing. Unlike a company, which pays a person to be there and do work, you will take up all the responsibility for the outcome of your workload by yourself. This can be both terrifying and freeing. Ensure that you constantly develop your skills, and you may find yourself as an expert in the industry.