Are you looking to become a freelance writer but don’t know where to start? Learning a new skill is always difficult at first.
Everyone with an interest and devotion can work as a freelance writer, but it is especially appealing to self-motivated individuals who seek more flexibility in their daily lives.
As a freelancer, you can write articles, blogs, scripts, instruction manuals, technical documents, short tales, adverts, and much more.
If you want to work as a freelance writer, you should first understand the job and how to start your own business.
In this article, we’ll share some advice on how to become a highly sought-after freelance writer. So keep reading and learn how to start your career the right way.
Become A Freelance Writer: What Do They Do Anyway?
Rather than working for one company full-time, a freelance writer serves as an independent contractor for various customers and publications.
Freelance writers have many options for their employment outside of traditional publishing, including copywriting for businesses and selling short pieces to literary periodicals.
From blog articles to sales copy, affiliate articles, YouTube and movie scripts, novels, books, and much more – you can write anything and everything as a freelance writer.
A 7-Step Guide on Becoming a Freelance Writer
If you’re struggling with beginning your freelance writing career and learning how to become a freelance writer, this detailed step-by-step guide will help you create and stabilize your writing career as a freelance writer.
1. Research Your Way into the Basics
If you’re committed to exploring how to become a freelance writer, it’s essential to research the basics of it.
With the internet knowing all things, you don’t have to worry about asking others and waiting for others’ help in person.
Instead, all you need is a smart device, and you can search your way into the best of experts in the writing industry sharing their tips, tricks, and do’s & don’t’s.
You can do this by:
- Finding other writers
- Reading their blogs and their website
- Learn their writing style, how they share ideas, and how they promote their business using their content
- Reach out to the writers you find the most interesting and ask the questions you have. This can include questions like what helps close a writing client, what rates you should set, how to prepare your portfolio, etc.
Once you know the basics, you can start your freelance writing journey.
However, this doesn’t end your learning journey as a writer because freelance writing, and writing in general, is about continuously learning new ways to connect with readers using just your words.
2. The Writing Skills and Tools You Shouldn’t Ignore
Although you can become a freelance writer and start working without a specific or high-profile degree, you may still need to learn and polish specific skills to grow as a writer.
So when learning the ins and outs of freelance writing, make sure you don’t miss out on the crucial skills and tools to help you grow from a beginner to a skilled writer.
Some critical skills you should have for freelance writing are:
Organizational Skills
First, you must keep track of all your assignments, invoicing information, client information, pitches delivered, and content calendar for your own and, occasionally, your client’s projects.
Furthermore, it is essential to have your content sorted and handled according to its niche so you can use it as a portfolio.
Will your organizational skills help you perform better as a writer as you write?
Without a doubt, yeah! You can use these abilities to create a writing routine to organize your written content.
So, how do you go about gathering research for your pieces? How do you structure your articles?
As you begin your freelance writing career, the best way to figure out all this is to create a system for your projects/writing tasks. You don’t want to make a mistake or forget to do something right now.
So it’s always better to:
- Keep writing notebooks
- Write down ideas about different content and blog topics/descriptions
- Create a checklist for every piece of content/article you have to do
- Follow the checklist to write
Blogging Skills
If you’re just starting as a freelance writer, you might not be familiar with publishing your written content online via blogs.
However, it’s a really important skill you need to learn since it shapes many other forms of content writing.
But don’t worry; blogging isn’t difficult. It’s as simple as learning to use any popular social media app today, such as Facebook, Instagram, and others.
All you need to do is browse other blogs to examine how different information, sections, and themes are written and presented in a single blog using white space, formats, sizes, fonts, etc.
Simply put, writing for an online audience differs from writing a term paper for your college professor.
Hence, while you research various blogs and articles online, pay great attention to how to grab a reader with your headline and introduction.
You should also back up your statements and facts using credible sources linked in your text.
Additionally, your content should also have the following:
- Headings
- Subheadings
- Bullet points/lists or numbered lists
- Actionable and reader-friendly tips and discussion
- Less fluff
- FAQs (if possible)
- Images/videos to better attract readers and help them understand
Editing Apps
When learning how to write content and how to become a freelance writer, you may need to consider various areas of writing, such as grammar, sentence structure, and message delivery.
Yet, because we live in an AI-driven society, you can use tools to automate most of your tasks. Grammarly, Hemingway, and other editing programs are popular tools for freelance writers.
Now, if you’re wondering how to become a freelance writer using such tools, you can watch various videos online to understand how to use these tools to improve your written content.
Whether you are a beginner freelance writer or an expert, it is preferable to go for an in-depth editing process using these tools before you submit your freelance work to clients.
You may have to buy a paid subscription for tools like Grammarly to access advanced and in-depth editing features, but it’ll surely be worth the investment for your freelance writing work.
3. Write, Write, and Write
One advantage of freelancing in today’s society is that you don’t have to be the best writer to be successful.
Nevertheless, to learn how to become a freelance content writer, you must be able to construct sentences and express yourself clearly!
But what if English isn’t your native language? Don’t worry! Many freelance writers do not speak English as their first language and make a living by writing.
So it’s definitely doable, but it may require you to work more to demonstrate to prospects that you can write for them.
If you’re a decent writer, focus on improving your writing skills. You can do this by practicing on your personal blog/social media group/page before you start freelance work by focusing on the following:
- Incorporating sensory details
- Getting rid of superfluous/fluff words and sentences
- Proofreading your work
- Writing in a clear flow
- Not using hard-to-read and long words
- Reading your preferred niche of content/stories/articles/blogs and improving your vocabulary
- And improving your craft by writing and practicing regularly.
While you focus on these details as you write, ensure you understand the distinction between blogging and content authoring.
This will not only help you become a better writer, but it will also assist you in marketing your freelance writing business.
4. Turn Your Work into a Presentable Portfolio
Whether you’re an experienced freelance writer or just starting, every job ad/post you come across will want a portfolio or samples.
This portfolio or sample helps clients determine whether your freelance writing style suits their audience/business voice requirements.
You may also be required to show your published work to some clients for them to know that your writing is worthy of being published on their sites.
That being said, unless you already have a blog, you will not have any published material if you are new. So don’t wait for anyone to hire you without having any samples to present.
Start your blog instead, or develop your own content/blog/article samples in your desired area.
You can accomplish this by:
- Writing a few items and uploading them to Google Docs or publishing them on Medium
- Posting your written work as a guest on other websites. Blogs that accept guest authors accept guest entries. With this method, you can post to other people’s blogs without building your own and sharing links to your material on these blogs with possible clients.
5. Start Pitching to Prospects
After you’ve learned how to become a freelance writer, it’s time to actively look for potential clients. But where do you search, and how do you find them?
Numerous writing and freelancing platforms feature new, and well-paying job offers online daily.
Furthermore, job boards include thousands of remote work chances, freelance writing opportunities, and other freelance gigs such as online editing jobs, proofreading jobs, copywriting jobs, and even transcribing tasks!
While applying for positions, you must demonstrate your trustworthiness to clients and corporations with guest post links, testimonials, and samples.
Some standard methods/platforms for applying for freelance writing gigs are:
- Upwork/Fiverr (Remember that these platforms are highly saturated, and it takes time to rank your gigs/profile and get orders here)
- Facebook groups
- LinkedIn Posts
- Online ads on Google and other recruiting websites
- Reaching out through hiring posts and employers’ profiles on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter
6. Create Your Social Profile and Become a Brand
To become a freelance writer online, you must work hard. But, this does not imply that you must ALWAYS hustle. The goal is to attract clients sooner or later.
Namely, when you’re new, businesses and magazines don’t even know you exist. Thus you must sell your services and get your name known.
You can accomplish this efficiently by networking on various channels to find freelance work.
This can include:
- Guest Posting: A guest post is not just another item for your resume. Getting your name out there is another benefit. You will get a bio with links to your author’s website, portfolio, and social media accounts for every published guest post you write.
- Being Active on Social Media: Joining a social media platform isn’t about making new friends; it’s about expanding your professional network. Join social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn and begin networking with other writers and companies you wish to write for.
7. Don’t Stop Learning, Practicing, and Improving
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of slow and steady improvement and growth as you discover how to become a freelance writer.
No matter what industry you’re in, you can only master that specific craft and develop your career and earnings in that specialty if you continually concentrate on learning, practicing, and enhancing your talents.
As a new freelance writer, it is vital to keep learning. Thus, whether it’s writing, business, or pitching tips, refine your skills by learning from people who have done it before and putting what you’ve learned into practice in real-time.
You can also:
- Search for, read about, and practice writing other forms of content
- Listen to podcasts about effective writing
- Watch YouTube videos and follow advice on SEO writing and optimizing your content for search engine visibility
- Study skilled freelance writers’ online articles and books for social media marketing advice
Become a Freelance Writer – FAQs
What qualifications do you need to become a freelance writer?
Successful freelance writers require three things: patience, perseverance, and a flair for budgeting; this includes a portfolio of writing samples, a network, and creative writing ideas.
Can I make $1000 a month of freelance writing?
Here’s the good news: Making $1,000 or more monthly as a freelance writer is possible quickly, even with little to no experience. This is only the beginning, though! Freelance copywriters can make anywhere from $60,000 to $120,000 per year, and that’s just the starting point for the top earners in the field.
How do I sell my writing online?
It’s simple! All you have to do is:
- Contribute to Leading Online and Print Publications by Writing Articles on or for them as a ghostwriter
- Make Marketing Materials for Organizations Starving for Content
- Get known as a copywriter who specializes in increasing sales
- Create a specialized blog where you can advertise other businesses’ products through added affiliate links.
Become a Freelance Writer – Conclusion
All in all, those who lack self-motivation are unlikely to succeed as freelance writers.
If you don’t look for employment, you will spend your days sending emails and creating pitches because it’s unlikely that work will come to you. For most people, the freelancing does not bring consistent work at first.
Thus, once you’ve figured out how to become a freelance writer, ensure you’re mentally prepared to deal with the constant stress of finding a stable writing gig for consistent revenue.
It may take time and effort, but as long as you don’t give up and keep developing as you write and reach out to clients, you can join the ranks of the hundreds of successful freelance writers who exist today.
Continue to Write!