I was 90% technical guy and 10% marketer when I started my first startup in 2013. I learned a few things about social media marketing but I was afraid of writing sales pages and blog articles on my website.
I starting writing for the content marketing of my startup because we did not have any money to hire freelance writers. That’s how I became better at writing.
I was contacting to startup media houses for the press coverage of our startup. We could not get the coverage but one of my articles got published on YourStory as guest post.
I was thrilled.
The article received a great response from YourStory audience. People came back to me telling that they liked my article. I was surprised and elated given that my background was in computer science and coding.
I am still not a professional writer but a simple guy with average English writing skills.
I realised that people were loving my article because there was a value inside the content. My article was written with average English but with a strong helpful message for entrepreneurs.
I stopped worrying about my English writing skills and focused entirely on helping my audience.
I am still doing that through this article – isn’t it?
My articles have been published on Huffington Post, LifeHacker, Entrepreneur, YourStory, Inc42 and on the websites of big brands.
My clients paid me Rs. 5000 for writing a single article.
..if you are at beginner level then keep reading..
You don’t need to have a degree in writing or extraordinary writing skills to become a freelance writer.
Having said that, you can’t become a successful writer overnight.
Just start in the right way and grow slowly. If you know the basic writing skills then follow below points.
#1. Select Your Niche
“If you want to become a highly paid freelance writer, the biggest blunder you can make is offering your content to each & everyone on the earth“
Now, whether it is becoming a freelance writer, launching a mobile app or starting an online store, the most important thing is to find a market for your services.
No audience means No money.
Let me help you in selecting the right niche so that you can build a strong expertise and reputation among your audience.
Let’s break this process into two simple steps.
Niche in which you have knowledge and interest
Start with a small mental exercise. Ask yourself –
- What topics are you really good at and have knowledge on
- What do you read about mostly
- What are the hobbies that you carried with you for a long time
- What topics do most of your friends generally seek help from you on
- What is your educational background
- What areas do you have professional experience in
For example, you could be a fitness lover and might be having a lot of knowledge in this domain. Which would mean that you could target fitness publications, fitness websites/blogs, and many other gigs on fitness.
I can share my story.
I am passionate about personal finance. I can target and write on a range of topics related to personal finance from credit cards, savings, income tax to retirement and so on. You see the point I am trying to make.
I also have experience of running two startups, so I write about entrepreneurship, productivity and marketing.
I enhanced my skills in these two domains and clients paid me as much as Rs. 5000 for a 1000-1200 word article.
Similarly, figure out what niche you want to focus on. There could be more than one niche that evokes your interest. That should not be a problem as in the next step I am going to show you how to finalize on one niche.
Validate the Market
You might be interested in writing about primary education or traffic safety but you may not make any money if there are not enough businesses who are looking for content writers in that segment.
You should validate your market before picking up your niche.
Step 1 – Google Search
Head to Google search engine and type in the niche you are interested in. Let’s say one of your interest is writing on fitness.
Then type in “ fitness writing “ , “fitness writer” , “fitness writing jobs” and such associated key phrases and take a look at the outcomes on Google.
In the Google search outcomes, look out for the next issues to validate whether or not there's a marketplace for the area of interest you have an interest in
- Are there freelance writing jobs & gigs posted
- Can you discover recommendation on that area of interest within the type of articles and publications
- Are there established writers in that area of interest
Step 2 – LinkedIn
In the LinkedIn search outcomes, verify whether or not
- There are lot of writers in that area of interest
- There are jobs posted in that area of interest
- What form of freelance jobs are they providing
- Are they from reputed firms or web sites in chosen area of interest
Bonus Tip: Don’t fear in regards to the location of the job postings and freelance writers as you might be simply making an attempt to validate the marketplace for your area of interest.
Secondly, use Linkedin Premium function (free for first month) to carry out the above validation on your area of interest. I recommend LinkedIn premium function as a result of it searches deeper throughout folks, jobs, posts, teams, firms and so on unexpectedly and reveals you the leads to a greater means.
Step 3 – Freelance Portals
To verify how a lot freelancers are incomes within the health area of interest, let’s search on UpWork platform.
You can see that freelancers from everywhere in the world are incomes from $10 to $50 per hour.
Steve T. has earned $80,000 until date by profiling himself as ‘Expert Fitness Freelance Writer’.
Do you assume he might have earned this a lot by profiling himself as “I write whatever the shit you ask me to write”
You get my level.
Be particular and be extra priceless in your area of interest.
Let’s transfer to the subsequent step.
#2. Focus on a single kind of writing
“Become an expert at one type of article rather than becoming average at ten type of articles“
Once you have finalized your niche, you can go one step further to become an expert in a specific kind of writing within that niche.
Be the Arjuna of your market.
Strong experience in one type of article will fetch you more money in the long run.
Here is the list to choose from..
- Writing for blogs
- Writing e-books
- Writing Press Releases for startups & corporates
- Technical writing
- Writing landing pages
- Writing sales pages
- Writing webinar scripts
- Writing email funnel sequences
- Writing columns and editorials for magazines
Bonus Tip: Don’t get intimidated by the number of options listed above.
Most of the freelance writers only focus on blog articles and miss the entire opportunity to make money in other segments. Remember that although you are trying to specialize in single type of writing, you can occasionally accept other options as well.
This is because the fundamentals of writing would largely remain the same among these specializations but profiling yourself as an expert in single type will help you win the client against other candidates who are profiling themselves as generic writers.
#3. Skills and Tools
“The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write, and keep on writing.“
Become a good writer to become competitive enough to succeed in your market. Read a lot and write a lot. Let your creativity flow even if you don’t make money in the initial days.
Writing
Just like a software engineer becomes better at programming by coding a lot or a marathon athlete becomes a strong runner by practising running, you will become a better writer only through practice.
One of the best way to practise writing is to start a blog of your own. Starting a blog will not only help you to practice writing and become a better writer but it will also help you to showcase your work which I am going to cover in the next section.
I have written a step by step guide to start your blog in 5 minutes along with practical videos to configure your blog.
Follow the steps and start your blog in less than $50 investment.
Reading
Reading has multiple benefits. It helps you to
- Gain knowledge in the niche that you plan to become a freelance writer
- Improves your vocabulary
- Arms you with information which you could use in your writing
- Become more empathetic towards your readers
Tip: Read books and blogs in your niche, especially those of successful bloggers to gain the above benefits.
Editing
“Write like a drunk and edit like a sober”
Edit your work earlier than you hit the publish button. I write the article in a single sitting with out modifying a single work. Then I begin modifying subsequent day and enhance my article.
- Taking assist of a mentor or a pal
- Hiring freelance editors
- Use instruments like Grammarly for fundamental modifying assist.
Creating Images
Writing articles on your shoppers or on your personal weblog posts is not only about writing plain textual content but additionally utilizing photos and infographics to make your work interesting and interesting.
You can undergo my articles to grasp how I take advantage of photos to seize the reader’s consideration and supply them extra worth via snapshots of my work.
You could make use of instruments like Canva, Photoshop, Unsplash, Pixabay to design & collect copyright free photos.
#4. Build a Portfolio
“ A good portfolio is more than a long list of articles and blog posts. It is a record of proven skills and provides the writer with immense opportunities.“
Yes, it’s difficult to establish your expertise and reputation for clients in the initial days. But if you are serious about your work, then your first aim should be to deliver quality work to your client even at low cost.
This way you can stand out from the crowd and also demonstrate practically your passion for the profession.
You can build a portfolio of your work by
- Creating a professional blog and posting content in your selected niche regularly.
- Writing and publishing articles on Medium.com in your selected niche.
- Guest posting on blogs or websites who are in your niche.
On the last point – guest posting, I would like to elaborate a bit as it can fetch you great dividends if done rightly.
Guest posting which means writing on someone else’s blog or website is a great way to connect with new audience and get your name out there in the online world.
Depending upon your niche, apart from blogs, try to guest post on bigger platforms like YourStory, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Entrepreneur or other such big ones in your niche, which command a strong brand value and have ton of readers.
That will build your reputation, enhance the quality of your portfolio and will help you in getting that first paid assignment from a client.
Write good content on the topic which will attract eyeballs, share your bio, and send it across to such big platforms. They would respond and would be willing to publish it on their websites. A win-win for both.
#5. Reach out to clients and Pitch to jobs
“Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they hustle and are determined to. Writing is hustling of another kind.”
I obtain emails from folks asking for paid writing work. When I ask for his or her portfolio, they are saying that they're simply beginning up writing work.
Come on… Don’t count on paid freelance writing work until you could have proved your self a great author in your area of interest.
Once you could have constructed a pleasant portfolio of your work, it’s time to hunt for freelance writing jobs.
Let me run you thru the 6 totally different confirmed methods through which you'll find your first paid freelancing gig.
Reach out to Startups
Many startups in India and around the globe search for freelance writers or contract writers who can ship the superb content material. It could possibly be writing for his or her weblog, newsletters, press releases, touchdown pages and rather more throughout the space through which startup is working.
That’s why focussing on a distinct segment and establishing your experience in a single to 2 areas of writing will are available very helpful for you.
Reach out to those startups utilizing platforms like Angellist, LinkedIn, Remote.co, Weworkremotely the place you'll find the startups and the contacts of their founders.
When you apply to those freelance writing jobs, ensure that to incorporate a canopy letter that talks about your bio, experience, hyperlink to your portfolio work, and how one can assist them.
Reach out to Bloggers
Blogs are an awesome supply to land your first paying writing gigs. Blog house owners particularly the highest ones typically discover it troublesome to submit articles themselves because of lack of time.
A number of them promote for freelance writing positions on their blogs and a few settle for writing work when you ship them a great pitch.
Even in the event that they don’t promote explicitly, attain out to them together with your bio and portfolio of labor and inform them that you're fascinated with working with them.
Search Job Portals
Not all job portals submit high quality freelance gigs and as a newbie freelance author it would turn out to be troublesome so that you can find genuine jobs.
Therefore, I've fastidiously curated an inventory of high job portals the place you'll find genuine and effectively paying freelance writing gigs, no matter be your area of interest.
- Problogger
- BloggingPro
- FlexJobs
- Contena
- MediaBistro
- Morning Coffee Newsletter
- Writers Market
- AllFreelanceWriting(AFW)
- FreelanceWriting
Bonus Tip: There are different established freelance job portals like Upwork and Guru which I didn’t embody within the record. These are popularly known as content material mills the place 1000's of freelancers compete and attempt to outbid one another typically resulting in heavy competitors and really low pay.
You can begin your profession on the portals the place competitors is low and in a while transfer to excessive aggressive & excessive rewarding platforms.
Use Social Media
Social Media particularly Twitter and Facebook will be leveraged to search out freelance writing jobs.
But don’t ever settle for a budget content material writing work that's provided in lots of Facebook teams.
There are three the reason why it is best to reject a budget work
- You won't ever enhance your writing abilities
- Your work is not going to be revealed on authority web sites
- You won't ever get a chance to extend the value of your work
Rather, use social media to attach with the best individuals who can provide you high quality work even when it's important to work without spending a dime initially.
That is the most important mistake of first time freelance writers. They don’t search for high quality work however fall for affordable writing work and by no means come out of that.
Let’s see how you should use the social media to your benefit.
#1. Finding Writing Work Using Twitter
Twitter is usually an beneath tapped useful resource. It’s an awesome platform via which you'll find the most recent job postings by companies.
Follow the beneath twitter handles to search out paid writing jobs.
@Write_Jobs
@WhoPaysWriters
You may use twitter to make your self seen and get into the eyes of content material publications.
Shreya who wrote a twitter submit on the current Mumbai floods and because of this somebody from Huffington Post was making an attempt to contact her.
2. Using Facebook for Finding Freelance Work
Facebook will be an effective way to attach with potential shoppers, construct relationships with them, and in the end land freelance writing work.
Depending upon your area of interest, be a part of the related teams, take part within the discussions, and inform folks which you can assist them in writing.
3. Freelance Writing Work on LinkedIn
Technically, LinkedIn would possibly fall beneath the social media class. But, LinkedIn is extra about careers, companies, and subsequently is a really skilled platform vis-a-vis others.
Use LinkedIn to seek for many freelance writing jobs that get posted by firms, magazines, and publications.
You may seek for firms and companies in your area of interest and goal them by writing a canopy letter or a small pitch.
Bonus Tip: See that your profile is full and use key phrases to fill your profile that immediately is expounded to your career, area of interest, the kind of writing you have an interest in, and your location. Prospective shoppers search for freelance writers by looking out by key phrases and so, this technique will assist shoppers find your profile.
Guest Posting
Remember, how we mentioned about utilizing visitor posting as a technique to construct high quality portfolio.
Once you could have revealed visitor posts without spending a dime and have impressed the proprietor of the weblog or the content material platform, you possibly can ask and negotiate with them for paid visitor posts.
The different means is to immediately seek for paid visitor posts in your area of interest in Google and apply to them with a canopy letter that talks about your bio, hyperlink to your portfolio work, and how one can assist them together with your experience.
Networking
You can use networking as technique to succeed in out to already established freelance writers in your area of interest.
There is not any hurt in making an attempt to community with different freelance writers as they could assist you to out by referring a few of their shoppers. Make use of LinkedIn to attach with different freelance writers.
Apart from immediately networking with fellow freelance writers, one different strategy to make use of LinkedIn is to affix the freelance author teams the place you possibly can work together with folks, take part within the discussions, and showcase your experience.
Bonus Tip: Don’t right away ask for referrals as quickly as you join with different freelance writers. First speak to them, construct some rapport, focus on questions in your career, and slowly it is best to be capable to get some referrals.
Remember – We are constructing a long run profession as freelance author and never on the lookout for making fast bucks.
#6. Set Your Rates
“The worth you set for any work is the quantity of life you alternate for it .“
When you're a newbie and have determined to take up freelance writing, one factor you'll not ensure of is how a lot must you cost?
Questions like what ought to be my charge would possibly make you nervous particularly on your first paid work.
Worry not, for I'm going to share with you some pointers which is able to present you the way to go about setting your charges and cost your shoppers accordingly.
Never write low cost with one exception
You is likely to be newbie who's simply making an attempt to interrupt into the freelance writing scene, however, that doesn’t imply that you just write without spending a dime or filth low cost costs.
This is a nasty follow. You will come throughout many consumers within the job portals and even in Facebook who would ask you to jot down without spending a dime samples. Reject it.
However, you can also make one exception to this rule.
Remember, how I mentioned visitor posting earlier on this article.
You can visitor submit without spending a dime for high blogs in your business and large platforms like Your Story, Entrepreneur, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and different standard magazines. Although you might be writing without spending a dime, you might be getting an intangible return within the type of constructing your personal model worth and fame.
When somebody asks you for the samples, then present your work revealed on branded web sites. You don’t want to jot down a pattern on your shopper to win the venture. A number of saving your time.
Charging home shoppers
In the case of Indian shoppers, if you find yourself simply beginning out, you possibly can cost Rs. 1000 for a 600 to 1200 phrases article. (No one goes to pay you that cash until you could have credibility as a author, work on that first)
Once established inside your area of interest, you possibly can enhance your charges to Rs. 1500 to Rs 2000 for the same work.
Slowly, with time and expertise behind your again, you'll be a place the place you would command Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 per 1000 phrases article.
Don’t rush for it. Create worth and other people will probably be keen to pay you on your work.
I've been supported by earnings from freelance writing work in my preliminary wrestle days. Now I reject even Rs. 10,000 presents for 1000 phrases article as a result of I dedicate my total time by myself enterprise.
Bonus Tip: It’s okay to jot down extra phrases within the article however by no means settle for lower than 1000 rupees per article. That will set your normal charge to Rs. 1000 per article in which you'll be able to write greater than promised phrases to make your shopper comfortable. A protracted-term affiliation will probably be established.
Charging world shoppers from US & UK
As a contract author, you'll be getting work from the world over for which you'll be able to select to set your charges in a different way.
In the case of world shoppers, if you find yourself simply beginning out, you possibly can cost $25 for a 600 to 1200 phrases article. After which you can enhance your charges to $50 for a similar work.
A day will come when your shopper can pay you $100 fortunately for a 1000 phrase article. Come again and thank me on that day if my article made any contribution to your success.
#7. Keep Learning
Landing paid freelance writing work doesn’t imply you cease studying. Learning ought to be a steady course of and Investing in your self ought to be your high precedence.
Continue to study new methods to enhance your writing, acquire extra information in your area of interest, study artistic methods to market your self, and develop your freelance enterprise.
In finance, there's a idea referred to as J-curve which will be utilized to our skilled lives. Below is an illustrative snapshot of J-curve which proves that when you continue learning and hold working, initially you might not see outcomes, however ultimately you'll attain epic success.
Conclusion
“Start writing it doesn't matter what. The water doesn't movement till you turned on the faucet.“
It requires persistence and a number of perseverance to make your profession in freelance writing. But, inform me which success story doesn’t have lot of arduous work and persistence behind it.
Humans typically underestimate what they'll obtain in long run which is a pity.
As I finish this text, I want to share a number of vital factors as you start your journey of a contract author.
Sometimes, one of the best paying writing gigs might not be posted on the job portals that I shared above. But, in case you are good at your job, begin your personal weblog/web site, construct a pleasant portfolio of labor, make your self seen within the on-line house via social media then you needn't to chase anybody.
Eventually, work will come to you each from home and worldwide shoppers and you'll be compensated fairly effectively.
In all of the industries, you will notice merchandise priced at totally different costs geared toward totally different prospects. You have BMW, Audi automobiles that are priced premium however you even have Maruti, Tata automobiles that are manufactured and priced for a sure phase of consumers.
Similarly, there will probably be freelance writers who cost low and cost excessive or shoppers who pay low and pay excessive. Where you need to be on that map is your sole resolution and would require you to take motion accordingly.