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How to Get Started as an Online Freelance Writer

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It takes certain qualities to be a freelance writer, but if you’ve determined that you have what it takes, the next step is getting started. Here are a few practical and critical things to do as you break into a competitive, oversaturated field:

  • Don’t be too proud to ask for help
  • Constantly build your portfolio
  • Finding clients is a priority
  • Determine a niche and perfect it
  • Don’t expect overnight success

Ask for Help

Think about your writing preferences and expertise. Determine your style and niche and then reach out to individuals or clubs for guidance, tips, and even hookups to potential clients and gigs. A simple Google search will point you to such resources. Don’t forget to tap into your social media connections as well. Networking is an invaluable tool in business that you certainly should leverage in freelance writing.

How is Your Portfolio Looking?

So the big question is: How do you start a portfolio if you’ve never written professionally before? When you’re competing against established writers for work, your blank portfolio isn’t going to look to enticing to prospective clients. First, take a look at a few of these sites designed especially to host writers’ portfolios: portfolio sites.

Content pieces that are suitable for inclusion in your portfolio: press releases, web copy, marketing flyers, posters, blog posts, white papers, academia, even creative work. Imagine yourself as a website owner. What would you look for in a freelance writer? You want someone who can demonstrate an understanding of your field, writing skill, comprehension of grammar, and further than that, a proven ability to convert. Include any positive praise or feedback you have received. If you’re just starting out, that may be from professors, but it will still look good to prospective clients.

Next, work your way through this list to start accumulating your best work to put up on your portfolio:

  • Seek out opportunities to write for friends or colleagues
  • Compile your best academic or personal creative work
  • Write mock copy (content you’ve imagined for your client or a made up company)
  • Write guest blogs or opinion pieces to submit to online magazines (it doesn’t have to be published to include in your portfolio. It just has to be your original work.)
  • Google search pro bono writing jobs and volunteer your writing services

Time to Find Some Clients

Determining what you’re worth is important, and don’t sell yourself short. Heavily research freelance writing rates (definitely talk to your new mentor friends about this too), and establish your rate to start charging.

Get used to asking, “Do you know anyone in need of a good writer?” Also, there’s nothing wrong with seeking out exactly what you want to do and write. Now that you have a portfolio, you can reach out to a client you would love to write for and provide them a link to your portfolio. Even if they don’t respond, it was a worth a shot, and the more direct queries you send out, the more chances you’ll have at getting a positive response.

Don’t forget the usual haunts either. They’re worthwhile venues to check out: Craigslist, Idealist, freelancewritinggigs.com, LinkedIn, and eLance.

What’s Your Niche?

Eventually, as you take on more and more gigs, you’re going to start learning about yourself as a writer. You’ll become more and more familiar with the types of gigs you like most and which you do best at. Your portfolio is going to start showing a strong inclination toward a particular vein and you can start directing your search for new gigs in that direction as well. Before you know it, you’ll be a specialist in a particular kind of copy.

Raise your rates, advertise yourself as an expert, and start honing in on the advantages of having a specialty niche.

Overnight Success is a Fluke

Freelance writing isn’t going to be your full-time job right out of the chute. You may not even want it to be, but if you do, set realistic expectations for the income you will be making as you start out. Make plans to supplement and then with hard work, allow yourself to grow. Soon enough, your results will be commensurate with your efforts and you’ll find yourself juggling gigs.

In fact, here are a few tips to stay organized, since at this point in your journey, you’ll be an established freelance writer.

What has been your greatest hang-up in your freelance writing journey? Share in the comments!

Source

Hamill, Kate. “So you want to be a freelance writer.”https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/2014/09/10/how-to-start-freelance-writer/. (January 23, 2015.)

What All New Freelance Journalists Need to Know

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In previous posts, we covered a few of the essential qualities and tips new freelance writers needs to know and possess in order to be successful. These included:

Qualities

  • Writing skills
  • Self-editing skills
  • Quick turnaround
  • Job satisfaction

Tips

  • Don’t be too proud to ask for help
  • Constantly build your portfolio
  • Make finding new clients a priority
  • Determine a niche and perfect it
  • Don’t expect overnight success

In this post, we’ll talk about a few more things that new freelance writers need to incorporate into their practices and philosophies as they embark on the journey to become established, profitable writers.

Successful blogger and freelance writer Carol Tice offered this advice:

  • Forget about qualifications
  • Find a mentor(s)
  • Write your way into a niche
  • Don’t be scared!
  • Stay focused

Qualifications

As a freelancer, any other qualifications besides experience and ability simply don’t matter. In Tice’s words, “If you can get the story and tell it so we want to read it, you’re in.” No one will hire you for a gig solely because you have a master’s degree, and a master’s degree alone isn’t going to make you feel qualified. Remember that and keep writing, because practice and experience is going to be what gives you the edge in the end.

Find a Mentor

When you make knowledgeable connections, exploit them—in the best way possible! Tap into their expertise, ask questions, and be precocious. It’s the aspiring writer that seeks out and absorbs knowledge that makes it to the finish line.

Write Your Way Into a Niche

If you’re writing what you enjoy, you’re not only expanding on your expertise in that area, but you’re building your portfolio that proves your expertise to prospective clients. Build a strong case for yourself by backing up your experience with previously published work.

Don’t Be Scared!

Tice gives some funny advice: “Think of something scarier than writing an article, and it’ll be a breeze by comparison!” For example, you could be waiting tables instead, so cozy up in front of your computer and do what you love—write! Don’t allow the scope of the assignment daunt you either; just do it and chalk up the results (whether positive or negative) to experience. All experience is positive depending on your perspective.

Stay Focused!

Maintain focus on what you love to do and time will fly. As it passes, your experience will grow. Also,stay organized! As you take on more and more gigs, you’ll need to be in order to be successful.

Any comments on what you’ve done to pave your way as a freelance writer?

Source

Tice, Carol. “The Advice I Wish I’d Had as a New Freelance Writer.”http://www.makealivingwriting.com/best-advice-for-new-freelance-writers/. (January 26, 2015.)

How to Make a Living as a Freelance Writer

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As a writer, being new to the online writing game is overwhelming. The Internet churns out content on a constant basis—bad, good, and great—and figuring how to insert our voices and where (and then get paid for it) seems like a colossal and intimidating task.

Finding success in writing online will require networking, contributing to and drawing from writing communities like Free Guest Post, and ultimately becoming prolific in what you do. Writers characteristically exist in their earliest stages within a shell of insecurities and inhibitions; we all need to undergo the process of de-shelling to begin contributing our art to the world.

To start, we have to detach our sensitivity from our art and let it become second nature. Writing must become to us what music is to the skilled musician: simply an outpouring of fluid notes, well-versed, well-practiced, and precise. It’s not just our art, but our marketable skill, as easily uncorked and accessible as a singer’s voice.

One way to learn how to do this is to listen to the stories of others who have done it, hear about their pitfalls and successes, and to mimic what worked for them.

Things to Remember as a Freelance Writer

Here are a few practical tips offered in a condensed version of a Q&A session with Billfold contributor, Nicole Dieker, who recently answered fan questions about freelancing processes and best practices.

  1. Your pitch should fit the publication. Smaller publications will have individual submission guidelines that you’ll simply follow. You’ll want to have your piece finished beforehand. Larger publications will require more formality. A query letter will be more appropriate in this situation.
  2. These days, finding the resources for work as an online freelance writer (blog writing, copy editing, and more) is a simple Google search away. Other writers are already doing exactly what you’re setting out to do, and they’re writing about how to do it. Just do some research and use the Internet for the purpose it was intended. To get you started, Dieker provides these two links: a.) Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing, b.) Make a Living Writing.
  3. Ghostwriting comes in two sets: long-form and short-form. Long-form encompasses pieces like book and speeches, and the ghostwriter is credited for the work in the fine print. Short-form covers blog posts and similar pieces for another person’s brand and is published on their name. In this situation, the ghostwriter receives no credit, only compensation for the work. Generally, short-form ghostwriting is not a desirable or lucrative final destination. It should always be thought of as temporary. Seek out situations that allow you to use your own byline and receive credit for your work.
  4. When trying to find a balance between writing for work and writing for pleasure, consider your bliss. Are you enjoying what you’re doing? What’s compelling you to write at all? Both sets will demand to be written in one way or another, and if you can seek out work-writing that you actually enjoy, even better!
  5. Be pleasant. I was about to write professional, but the connotations with that word can mean stiff or formal, so I redacted. You can be fun and engaging, witty and controversial, without being unpleasant to work with. Understanding that healthy networking is key to your success, don’t use social media irresponsibly. Watch your writer’s tongue, which we all know craves the taste of sarcasm, and don’t burn bridges.

To the Keyboard!

The main trick to making it as a writer is to write. A lot. Be prolific, hone your craft, and let the words flow.

What resources have you found that have helped you the most as a freelance writer?

Source

Dieker, Nicole. “Advice to New Freelance Writers: How a Freelance Writer Makes a Living.”http://thebillfold.com/2014/06/advice-to-new-freelance-writers-how-a-freelance-writer-makes-a-living/. (December 9, 2014.)

Online Writing Tips for the Cool and Adventurous

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There are many types of online writing because—even online—there are many types of readers. There are still readers who will read for pleasure (blogs, ebooks, etc.) and for them, long, prosey text is appropriate. But for marketing/sales text, there are a few guidelines you will be wise to follow as you write.

Follow these guidelines to avoid repelling your online browsers and up your chances of converting your readers into buyers of your product or message (this doesn’t just mean spending actual money, but it means persuading your readers to your cause or point of view).

9 Tips to Write Compellingly Online

  1. Pay special attention to headlines
  2. State your main point first
  3. Keep paragraphs short
  4. Convert any type of series into a list, bulleted or numbered
  5. Parallel lists only
  6. Online copy can be personal; use I, you, and we
  7. Use active, not passive, voice
  8. To exude authority, use the imperative
  9. Use hyperlinks, bolded text, and italics to highlight important keywords and phrases.

Headlines

Your readers will scan this first before reading anything else, so pretending that the headline is all they’ll read, what information do you want them to walk away with? This information should be in the headline.

Give Your Main Point Priority

Don’t lollygag when you’re getting to your main point. Your readers won’t have the patience to wait. Jump right into the meat of your post and starting talking about what’s important.

No Long Paragraphs

You want your page to be both scannable and welcoming. Blocky paragraphs are intimidating and unattractive to your busy readers. If you keep your paragraphs short and palatable, you won’t go wrong.

Use Lists!

If you find yourself list out anything in a sentence, convert to an actual list to make it more scannable. The eyes love consuming lists so give your readers what they like to look at. Keep your lists parallel.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Personal

You only want to avoid informally addressing your readers if you’re writing something official or academic, and even then there may be exceptions. Think about what’s appropriate for your audience and make the call on your own. They are after all, your audience.

Be Active

The passive voice is a drag and has a tendency to get boring. Don’t get stuck using phrases like “Mistakes were made” or “a fire was started.” What this does is remove the subject of the sentence and introduces ambiguity. Keep your text direct.

Exude Authority

Use the imperative to create an impression of authority and action. This means giving commands and writing with confidence.

Highlight Important Text

Italicize, bold, or better yet, hyperlink your keywords and other important phrases that you want to stick out to your readers. The hyperlinks should go to related posts on content on your site or blog.

Conclusion

Questions or comments? Drop a line in the comments below!

Source

Nordquist, Richard. “Twelve Tips for Improving Online Writing.”http://grammar.about.com/od/improveyourwriting/a/OnlineWriting.htm. (January 30, 2015.)